NEW YORK CITY — The grand opening has been held for the Holiday Inn Wall Street, a 20-story hotel located at 51 Nassau St. in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City. Owned by McSam Hotel Group, the hotel is a conversion project. It features 113 guestrooms, a 24-hour fitness center and a full-service restaurant. Hersha Hospitality Management is the manager of the property.
BOSTON — Fantini & Gorga has arranged $2.07 million in construction/permanent financing for two flex industrial properties located in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood. The first property, located at 31-39 Norwood St., is a two-story building totaling approximately 9,300 square feet. The second property, which is soon to be under construction, will be similar to the first building and will be located at 19-29 Norwood St. Casimir Groblewski of Fantini & Gorga secured the funds on behalf of the borrower, 19-29 & 31-39 Norwood Street LLC, through a local community bank.
UPPER MORELAND, PA. — Philadelphia-based Binswanger has negotiated a lease for a 125,000-square-foot warehouse located in Upper Moreland. The facility is situated on 18.54 acres at 1001 S. York Road. The tenant, Benjamin Foods, will consolidate its warehouse operations, currently housed at three separate buildings, into the new space. The tenant will take occupancy by March 1. Binswanger represented the landlord, Vornado Realty Trust.
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Bohemia, N.Y.-based CMB Wireless Group has purchased a 149,300-square-foot industrial building located in Farmingdale for more than $11 million. Situated at 40 Daniel St., the building features 22-foot clear ceiling heights, four drive-in doors, 12 loading docks, 36,500 square feet of office space and roof-mounted solar panels that provide electricity to the building. Richard Cohen of Hauppauge, N.Y.-based Ashlind Properties represented CMB. Bill Greiner of Greiner-Maltz Co. represented the seller, Daniel Realty Associates.
LANCASTER, PA. — Construction is advancing for Mill Creek Square, an approximately $40 million retail project located in Lancaster. The center will total 285,000 square feet upon completion and is located on 35 acres along Lincoln Highway East. The project's 225,000-square-foot Phase I is already 82 percent leased. Anchors include an 87,000-square-foot Kohl's, a 42,750-square-foot Bed, Bath & Beyond, a 34,500-square-foot Christmas Tree Shops and a 25,000-square-foot Ross Dress For Less. Phase II of the center will consist of the remaining 60,000 square feet. Phase I construction began in September 2009, and completion is anticipated in October. Phase II will open as early as May 2011. Locally based High Real Estate Group is the developer of Mill Creek Square. Greenfield Architects is the project architect, and High Construction Co. is the general contractor. Project financing is being provided by Integrity Bank.
BOSTON — Construction is complete for the renovation and conversion of Boston's historic Ames Building into a 114-room boutique hotel. The 14-story building, the second tallest masonry building in the country, is located at One Court St. in the city's Financial District. Constructed in 1889, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. A joint venture between Normandy Real Estate Partners and Morgans Hotel Group owns the hotel, with Morgans serving as operator. Tishman Construction Corp. was the general contractor for the renovation. Morgans' in-house design team collaborated with Rockwell Group for the design.
MONTVALE, N.J. — CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has brokered the sale of One Paragon Plaza, a 107,221-square-foot, Class A office building located in Montvale. The property was 84 percent leased at the time of closing by a tenant roster that includes Cisco Systems, Volvo Financial Services, General Electric Corp. and Adecco Employment Services. Jeffrey Dunne, Kevin Welsh and David Gavin of CBRE's New York Institutional Group represented the seller, One Paragon Associates LP, an entity controlled by Ivy Realty Services. CBRE also procured the buyer, Samson Paragon LLC, an entity controlled by Samson Management Corp. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Omni New York LLC has purchased a 53-unuit affordable housing community located in Manhattan, New York City, for $5.5 million. The property consists of two adjacent buildings located at 2059-71 Madison Ave. All f the units are under a Section 8 contract with HUD. Omni plans to continue the property's operation as affordable housing. Shimon Shkury and James Nelson of New York City-based Massey Knakal Realty Services represented Omni as well as the seller, a private investor.
NEW YORK CITY — Cosmetics retailer Avon has relocated its New York City corporate headquarters. The company will be moving from 1251 Avenue of the Americas to 777 Third Ave. Avon signed a lease for 246,500 square feet, which comprises floors two through 11. The lease carries a 15-year term that begins in the first quarter of 2011. Jon Zuckerman and Len DiMicelli of CB Richard Ellis and Dale Schlather of Cushman & Wakefield represented Avon. Frank Doyle and Peter Riguardi of Jones Lang LaSalle and Michael Lenchner of Sage Realty Corp. represented the landlord, the William Kaufman Organization.
NEW YORK CITY — SL Green Realty Corp. has taken over as sole owner of 100 Church Street, a 1.05 million-square-foot office tower located in downtown Manhattan, New York City. SL Green initially acquired a 50 percent interest in the tower's senior mezzanine loan and two additional mezzanine loans from Gramercy Capital Corp. in 2007. In August 2009, SL Green obtained management and leasing control of the property on behalf of the mezzanine lender, which foreclosed on it. As part of the foreclosure, SL Green reached an agreement with Wachovia to provide additional capital to extend and restructure the property's current debt. Gramercy declined to fund its share of this transaction, and instead chose to transfer its interests to SL Green. SL Green has brought on Newmark Knight Frank to launch an aggressive leasing campaign for the property, which is currently 42 percent occupied. It will also complete capital improvements to the building.