Northeast

NEW YORK CITY — The Arker Companies, an affordable housing developer, has broken ground on two properties totaling 182 units in the Richmond Hills neighborhood in Queens in New York City. The projects are the 65-unit Richmond Hill Senior Living Residences and the 117-unit Richmond Place. Richmond Hill Senior Living Residences is a six-story, 62,500-square-foot property that will provide housing options for elderly residents with incomes below 60 percent of the area's median income. The project is being financed through 9 percent low-income housing credits and state low-income housing credits, which Bank of America will be collectively purchasing for $16.7 million. Bank of America is also providing a construction loan that will go toward the $20 million development cost. Richmond Place, a seven-story, 136,300-square-foot project, will include 13 studios, 28 one-bedrooms, 68 two-bedrooms and seven three-bedrooms. One-fifth of Richmond Place's units will be reserved for the homeless. Housing Development Corp. will issue $17.5 million in tax-exempt bonds for construction financing.

MOORESTOWN, N.J. — A 78,475-square-foot office/flex facility at 1601 Schlumberger Dr. in Moorestown has been sold. The one-story facility features 13,500 square feet of office space, 22-foot high ceiling and an open floorplan. The buyer, 1601 Schlumberger LLC, plans to lease the office space and use the warehouse for storage. Binswanger's Marc Policarpo and Bob Corr represented the seller, First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc., while Marc Isdaner of Colliers International represented 1601 Schlumberger.

NORWALK, CONN. — Pepperidge Farm, a subsidiary of Campbell Soup Co., has broken ground on a $30 million, 34,000-square-foot innovation center at Pepperidge Farms headquarters at 595 Westport Ave. in Norwalk. The facility will house a pilot plant with product development and testing lines, kitchens, laboratories and meeting rooms. The new center will focus on the baking snack sector of its inventory. The facility is slated to be delivered in fall 2012. The center will be designed to reach LEED certification by Springfield, Mass.-based The Dennis Group and Stamford, Conn.-based Perkins Eastman.