NEW YORK CITY — Gemini Real Estate Advisors has broken ground for the new GEM Hotel Union Square. The 18-story, 113-room hotel will be located at 52 W. 13th St. within Manhattan's Greenwich Village neighborhood. It will include a full-service restaurant and lounge, a fitness center and a business lounge. Upon completion, which is expected in 2012, the hotel will be the fouth GEM hotel in Manhattan, joining locations in Chelsea, Midtown West and SoHo. Gemini owns the hotel and will operate it. Andres Escobar designed the hotel, and Gene Kaufman Architect is the project architect. KSK Construction Group is the general contractor.
BLOOMFIELD, CONN. — Chozick Realty has completed the sale of a Bloomfield apartment community for $7.05 million. Wesdgewood Apartments contains 112 residences in a mix of garden- and townhome-style units. Sizes for the one- to three-bedroom apartments range from 825 to 1,385 square feet. Amenities include a clubhouse and a swimming pool. Rick Chozick and Ryan Perkoski of Chozick Realty represented seller, Monumental Properties LP. The buyer was Four Sisters LLC.
EDISON, N.J. — Newegg.com has signed an early lease renewal for its 374,148-square-foot Northeast distribution headquarters located in Edison. The online retailer will occupy the warehouse, located at 1 Gourmet Lane, for an additional 5 years. Scott Belfer and Lou Belfer of CB Richard Ellis represented the tenant in lease negotiations. The landlord, Morris Cos., provided in-house representation.
MARYLAND, PENNSYLVANIA AND VIRGINIA — A joint venture between Cedar Shopping Center and RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust has closed on its previously announced acquisition of a five-property retail portfolio for approximately $91 million. The portfolio totals 678,000 square feet; four of the centers are anchored by Giant Food Stores. The properties include Marlboro Crossroads in Upper Marlboro, Md.; Gettysburg Marketplace in Gettysburg, Pa.; Northland Center in State College, Pa.; York Marketplace in York, Pa.; and Towne Crossing in Midlothian, Va.
PHILADELPHIA — San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants has acquired Philadelphia's Lafayette Building and plans to convert it into a four-star hotel. Constructed in 1906, the Lafayette Building is located across from Independence Hall. Once groundbreaking occurs in spring 2011, its 11 stories will be converted into a Hotel Monaco that will feature 271 rooms, a chef-driven restaurant and bar, and 12,000 square feet of meeting space that will include a 3,200-square-foot ballroom. The opening is slated for the third quarter of 2012. Kimpton made the purchase on behalf of its Kimpton Hospitaliy Partners II equity fund, which also ownes the nearby Hotel Palomar that opened last October.
YAPHANK, N.Y. — Global Tissue Group has signed a lease for a 232,135-square-foot industrial facility located at 19 Nicholas Drive in Yaphank. The manufacturer already occupied the adjacent building as its headquarters and manufacturing plant. The new building is situated on 29 acres and was formerly occupied by Estee Lauder subsidiary Whitman Packaging, which vacated at the end of last year. The building contains 22-foot ceilings, 19 loading docks and 795 parking spaces. Richard Cohen and Ashley Cohen of Ashlind Properties represented the tenant in lease negotiations. The landlord, Melville, N.Y.-based Rechler Equities, provided in-house representation.
HOLLISTON, MASS. — Fresno, Calif.-based Electronics Recyclers International (ERI) has signed a 5-year lease for 100,000 square feet at 89 Cross St. in Holliston. The industrial space, formerly an Avery Dennison distribution facility, will be used by the company as recycling space to serve its New England customer base. The NAI Hunneman team of Cathy Minnerly, Mike DiGiano, David Gilkie, Michael McCarthy and Neil Sogard represented ERI in lease negotiations. Chris Tosti of CB Richard Ellis represented the landlord, Dennison Manufacturing Co.
YORK, PA. — The grand opening has been held for a new Kohl's located within West Manchester Mall in York. The department store occupied 87,000 square feet of space and joins a tenant roster that includes Walmart Supercenter, Regal 13 Cinemas and Macy's. The Lightstone Malls is the owner and operator of the shopping center.
PITTSBURGH — Forest City Enterprises has procured a $62 million loan to refinance its Station Square mixed-use property in Pittsburgh. The CMBS loan carries a 10-year term and a 5.85 percent interest rate. It will be used to retire three separate bank loans totaling $58.6 million. Station Square is a 652,800-square-foot property located along the Monongahela River on Pittsburgh's south side. Its tenants include Hard Rock Café, Gateway Clipper Fleet and U.S. Bank.
BEDFORD, MASS. — Acme Packet has relocated its headquarters from Burlington, Mass., to a larger facility in Bedford. Its new headquarters totals 123,000 square feet and is located at 100 Crosby Drive. The new space features a three-story atrium with a LED-lit glass feature as well as a café. Diversified Project Management provided project services for the headquarters. Other project team members included Chapman Construction, Spagnolo Gisness & Associates and Dyer Brown Architects.