NEW YORK CITY — Meridian Capital Group has negotiated a $44 million mortgage loan to recapitalize a 17-story, 160,000-square-foot office building in Midtown Manhattan. The 7-year loan provided by a local savings bank includes a 4.3 percent rate and interest-only payments for the first year. The building is located on East 45th Street and is 98 percent occupied. Tenants include LIM College and AT&T. Allan Lieberman of Meridian arranged the transaction.
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Data center developer Russo Development has secured planning approval to move forward with Somerset Technology Park, a 71-acre data center campus in Franklin Township. The site can support more than 1.5 million square feet in multiple facilities and includes electrical power capacity of 100 megawatts from multiple 69kV feeds. Russo expects to begin site development activities within the next few months. This will be the company's ninth data center development in the New York metropolitan area.
EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Deanna Polizzo and Ernest DesRochers of NorthMarq Capital's New York City office have arranged $12.2 million for the first mortgage refinancing of Summerhill Marketplace, an 88,700-square-foot retail property in East Brunswick. Located at 675 Route 18, the center is anchored by a Stop & Shop. The Royal Bank of Scotland provided the 10-year loan, which has a 30-year amortization schedule.
WEST WARWICK, R.I. —Eaglebridge Capital has secured $746,000 in permanent mortgage financing for a Bank of America branch at 5 Washington St. in West Warwick on behalf of 5 Washington Trust. Brian Sheehan and Ted Sidel of Eastbrigde arranged the loan, which was provided by a regional financial institution. The branch contains 3,400 square feet of space.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — MIT Federal Credit Union has renewed its 16,573-square-foot lease at 700 Technology Square in Cambridge. Steve James and Greg Larsen represented the tenant in the transaction. Juliette Reiter represented the landlord, Alexandria Real Estate Equities. The credit union serves employees, graduates and undergraduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
CARLISLE, PA. — Trammel Crow Co. and USSA Real Estate Co. plan to break ground on a 700,000-square-foot, Class A distribution facility at Mountain Creek Distribution Center in Carlisle. The two-building project will be located on 113 acres at Exit 44 of Interstate 81. The first building is slated for completion in the summer of 2012 and will include cross dock loading and 32-foot clear height ceilings. The project is approved for more than 1 million square feet of space and is designed to achieve LEED Core & Shell.
PITTSBURGH — Discount grocer Bottom Dollar Foods is opening 14 stores in greater Pittsburgh and Youngstown, Ohio. The first stores open Jan. 26. The retailer plans to include Pittsburgh Steelers players at each location for the Pennsylvania openings at 7:30 a.m. Stores include 12012 Frankstown Road, Penn Hills, Pa. (Randy Grossman); 1160 Washington Ave., Carnegie, Pa. (LC Greenwood); 1155 Washington Pike, Bridgeville, Pa. (Louis Lipps); 300 Eden Park Blvd., McKeesport, Pa.(Mike Meriweather); 2011 Sheffield Road, Aliquippa, Pa. (John Banaszak); 7350 Saltsburg Road, Pittsburgh (Mike Wagner); 5239 Brownsville Road, Pittsburgh (Robin Cole). Four additional Bottom Dollar Food stores will also open in Pennsylvania Feb. 9.
NEW YORK CITY — Fidelity National Title Insurance Co. is relocating its New York City headquarters to 485 Lexington Ave. The company, which provides real estate-related products and services, including title insurance, signed a 7-year lease for 27,996 square feet. The office is about 5,000 square feet larger than the company's existing space at 1 Park Ave. and occupancy is slated for this spring. Leon Manoff and Robert Kennedy of Colliers International represented Fidelity in the transaction. David Amsterdam of SL Green represented the landlord.
PHILADELPHIA — Optimum Hotel Brokerage has closed on the bank REO sale of the Spencer Suites (formerly Clarion Suites) in Manchester. Joseph McCann of Optimum represented the seller, a national bank located in California. The buyer was a local owner/operator. The 104-room property was developed in the early 1990s as a Generation One Residence Inn by Marriott. The asset was formerly held by an affiliate of Lehman Brothers. After the company's bankruptcy, the hotel was returned to its California-based lender, which hired Optimum to market the property.
NORWALK, CONN. — In a joint venture KABR and Blackpoint Partners have acquired 535 Connecticut Ave. in Norwalk for $11 million. The 175,000-square-foot, Class A suburban office building includes a gym, cafeteria, conference facility and covered parking. The seller was LNR Partners, which purchased the building in 2006 for $26.5 million.
