PHILADELPHIA — Woodbridge, N.J.-based Onyx Equities has sold an 84,471-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility located at 3501 Island Ave. in Philadelphia. The property, which was formerly occupied by BOC Gases, features 19,000 square feet of office space, 24-foot clear ceiling heights, 10 tailgates, one drive-in door and expansion capability. Onyx was represented by Daniel Loughlin, Brian Knowles, Harry Thomes and Jon Compitello of The Staubach Company. The property was acquired by a Philadelphia-based real estate company for an undisclosed amount.
Northeast
NEW YORK CITY — Construction is underway for a nine-unit condominium building located at 180 E. 93rd St. in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Individual units will contain three or four bedrooms, and will feature an open-air terrace or balcony, a library or study, bay windows, a stone-surround fireplace, slate kitchen countertops, marble master bathrooms, and an integrated interface that controls the climate, entertainment, security and lighting of the entire condo. The property will also include sustainable features such as geothermal heating and cooling, rainwater irrigation for the property’s private garden, sustainable and recycled construction materials and efficient fixtures. Building amenities include a doorman service, a children’s playroom, temperature-controlled wine storage, outdoor space and a fitness facility. The property is being developed by Greystone Property Development, with Barry Rice Architects providing design services. First occupancies are scheduled for spring 2009.
NEW YORK CITY — Brooklyn, New York City-based Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates (KDA) has completed the sale of a 36,000-square-foot development site, located at 182-02 Jamaica Ave. in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, New York City, for $3.6 million. The site features 200 feet of Jamaica Avenue frontage, as well as an 11,500-square-foot parking garage. The property is situated within a recently rezoned New York State Empire Zone, which offers development incentives. Dmitri Gourianov of KDA represented the buyer, a private Brooklyn-based investor, which plans to development the property for retail use. Barry Fishback of Robert K. Futterman & Associates represented the seller, Jamaica Motors.
PITTSBURGH — CBRE Capital Markets has arranged a $47 million loan for the refinancing of Two Chatham Center, a 16-story, Class A office tower located at 115 Washington Place in Pittsburgh. The property also includes a 6-story parking garage. The office building is 85 percent occupied, with a tenant roster that includes The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Travelers, Access Data Corp., The National Labor Relations Board and the U.S. Secret Service. The loan carries a 7-year term with a 30-year amortization, a competitive spread over the 7-year U.S. Treasury Security and a 60 percent loan-to-value ratio. Financing was arranged by Keith Braddish and Jason Gaccione of CBRE’s New York City office, and Jamie Shafer and Chris Sheedy of the firm’s Pittsburgh office.
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield is slated to move its world headquarters office to 1290 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The brokerage firm has signed a 156,282-square-foot lease to occupy the entire seventh floor and portions of the eight and ninth floors at the Class A office tower. Cushman & Wakefield is moving more than 500 employees from 155,000 square feet of space at 51 W. 52nd St. Franklin Speyer and Amy Fox of Cushman & Wakefield led the lease negotiations for the firm. Glen Weiss and Tom Costanzo presented the landlord, Vornado Realty Trust, in-house in the lease negotiations. The new facility totals 43 floors and 1.98 million square feet of office space. Other tenants include AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co. and Microsoft.
NEW YORK CITY — Boston Properties has entered into agreements with affiliates of Macklowe Properties to acquire a portfolio of New York City assets for a total of approximately $3.95 billion. The portfolio includes the 200,000-square-foot General Motors Building, the 292,000-square-foot 540 Madison Avenue facility, a 591,000-square-foot office tower at 125 West 55th St., and the 664,000-square-foot Two Grand Central Tower. The purchase price includes approximately $1.47 billion in cash, the issuance to one of the selling entities of $10 million of common units of limited partnership interest in Boston Properties Limited Partnership and the assumption of approximately $2.47 billion of fixed rate debt. Boston Properties plans to execute the acquisitions through one or more joint venture partnerships. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are acting as financial advisors to Boston Properties, and Lehman Brothers and Deutsche Bank are investing in the transactions and advising Boston Properties as well. Proskauer Rose LLP and Goodwin Procter LLP are providing legal and tax advice to the REIT. The acquisition of the General Motors Building is slated to close in June.
MARLBOROUGH, MASS. — R.W. Holmes Realty has completed the $7.15 million sale of a 60,477-square-foot office and laboratory building in Marlborough. Located at 33 Locke Dr., the facility is 95 percent leased to Sepracor, a leading research based pharmaceutical company. Garry Holmes of R.W. Holmes represented the seller, Northland Investment, and Bill Sullivan of R.W. Holmes represented the buyer, Janelon Trust. WRT Management will manage the day-to-day operations of the facility.
WILLOW GROVE, PA. — Diamond-Elite Realtors, a Coldwell Banker Commercial affiliate based in Bethlehem, Pa., have completed the $5.5 million sale of a 20-unit multifamily complex in Willow Grove. The garden style development is located at 409 Easton Rd. and contains approximately 93,000 square feet. Henry Jacquelin of Diamond-Elite represented the seller 409 Easton Road Associates, and Rick Cassel and Lou Petro of Diamond-Elite represented the buyer, Steve Izzi, in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — McSam Hotel Group has acquired 6 Water St. in Manhattan, New York City for $56 million. The 8,300-square-foot site fronts three streets and will allow for 125,000 buildable square feet. The buyer plans to develop a 30- to 40-story boutique hotel at the site, which is also known as 32-38 Pearl St. Peter Hauspurg, Alan Miller, Jeffrey Troy, David Johnson and Ronda Rogovin of Eastern Consolidated represented the seller, Water & Pearl Land LLC/Water & Pearl Partners LLC, and Miller and Johnson procured the buyer in the transaction.
MASSACHUSETTS — An affiliate of Harbor Group International has made a $4 million preferred equity investment with American Realty Capital to facilitate its acquisition of 18 Rockland Trust bank branches. The portfolio totals 121,057 square feet of properties located throughout suburban Massachusetts. The total sale price of the branches was not disclosed.