NEW YORK CITY — Blackstone Real Estate Advisors has procured a $138 million loan for the acquisition of a Class A industrial portfolio. The portfolio consists of 17 bulk distribution buildings located across the Eastern U.S. totaling 4.4 million square feet. ING Real Estate Finance helped secure the funds and committed $69 million as joint lead arranger. It partnered with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce for the funding.
MILFORD, CONN., AND ROBINSON TOWNSHIP, PA. — A joint venture between O'Connor Capital Partners and Wafra Investment Advisory Group has teamed up with The Wilder Companies to acquire two shopping center properties in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The first property is Milford Marketplace, a 122,000-square-foot, open-air center located in Milford. Completed in 2007, the center is anchored by Whole Foods Market. In the second deal, the partnership purchased an ownership interest in Phase I of Settlers Ridge in the Pittsburgh suburb of Robinson Township. Phase I comprises 400,000 square feet of space anchored by Giant Eagle Market District, REI, LA Fitness, Barnes & Noble and a 16-screen Cinemark theater. It opened in 2009. Both centers were developed and were previously managed by CBL Properties. Wilder will assume management and leasing responsibilities going forward.
SUMMIT, N.J. — A partnership between local developer Mark Yeager and Normandy Real Estate Partners has announced plans to redevelop the former Summit Medical Building into a Class A office building. The four-story, 40,000-square-foot building will be renamed Summit Executive Center. It will be redeveloped to LEED standards. Plans also call for a 25,000-square-foot addition to the building. Construction will begin in April and be complete by late spring 2012.
BOSTON — Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) has brokered the sale of a 32-unit apartment property located at 31-35 South St. in Boston for $7.8 million. J&W South Street LLC purchased the property from The Mount Vernon Company. The deal included the assumption of Fannie Mae debt. The C&W team of Simon Butler, Biria St. John, and Michael Byrne represented the seller and procured the buyer.
NEW YORK CITY — A joint venture between The Blackstone Group and Square Mile Capital Management has acquired a portfolio of hotel loans from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The portfolio consists of the first mortgages for 45 full-, select- and limited-service hotels. The loans, most of which are performing, carry a face value of $385 million. The previous noteholder, Silverton Bank, was closed by the FDIC in 2009. The acquisition amount was not disclosed.
NEWARK, DEL. —Fashion retailer Nordstrom has opened its first Delaware location. The two-level, 120,000-square-foot store is located within Christiana Mall in Newark. Nordstrom currently operates 210 stores in 29 states.
SAUGUS, MASS. — Shops at Saugus, a new 87,500-square-foot neighborhood shopping center located in Saugus, has opened. Anchors at the property include Trader Joe's, PetSmart and La Z Boy Furniture Galleries. Additional tenants include Starbucks and Qdoba. The center also contains 30,000 square feet of inline retail space. Regency Centers owns the center. New York City-based CREATE Architecture Planning & Design was the project architect.
LANCASTER, N.Y. — Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp.(MMCC) has arranged $3.9 million in non-recourse financing for Forestream Center, a 68,100-square-foot mixed-use property located in Lancaster. The property features 29 apartments. The loan carries a 10-year term, a 6 percent fixed interest rate and a 72 percent loan-to-value ratio. The lender was an insurance company. Gerald Kray of MMCC's Manhattan office arranged the deal.
LISBON, CONN. — Dick's Sporting Goods has signed a lease for a new 40,000-square-foot store in Lisbon. The space is located within Lisbon Landing, a 560,000-square-foot, open-air shopping center. Other tenants at the center include The Home Depot, Kohl's, Walmart Supercenter and a 12-screen multiplex. WS Development is the property owner.
OSSINING, N.Y. — Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) has brokered the sale of Claremont Gardens Apartments, a 183-unit community located in Ossining, for $14 million. Built in 1976 as affordable housing, the community was converted to market-rate housing in 2007. C&W's Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group — including brokers Brian Whitmer, Andrew Merin, David Bernhaut and Gary Gabriel — represented the seller, Claremont Gardens Associates, and procured the undisclosed buyer.