DOWNINGTOWN, PA. — BWE has arranged $45 million in first mortgage financing for Brandywine Square Shopping Center, a 607,999-square-foot retail center located roughly 40 miles outside Philadelphia in Downingtown. Regional grocer Wegmans anchors the center. Other tenants include BJ’s Wholesale, Dick’s Sporting Goods, DSW, PetSmart, Regal Cinema and Best Buy. Kevin Hicks of BWE originated the financing through a life insurance company on behalf of the borrower, Delaware-based development and management firm Allied Properties.
WESTPORT, CONN. — Matthews Real Estate Investment Services, a California-based brokerage firm, has negotiated the $10.6 million sale of a 17,358-square-foot mixed-use property in the coastal Connecticut city of Westport. The property consists of an 11,572-square-foot retail space leased to Urban Outfitters and the historic Sherwood House, a 5,786-square-foot building featuring a restaurant and office space. Joanna Manfro of Matthews represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Gregory Kim of Sequoia Property Group represented the buyer, a New York City-based 1031 exchange investor.
NEW YORK CITY — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $8.2 million sale of a 10-unit apartment building in Brooklyn. The five-story building at 29 Willow St. is located in the Brooklyn Heights area and was originally constructed in 1900. Shaun Riney and Michael Salvatico of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller and procured the buyer, both of which were private investors who requested anonymity, in the transaction.
HAMILTON, N.J. — Pickleball Kingdom will open a 40,500-square-foot, full-building lease at 1100 Negron Drive, an industrial flex property in the Central New Jersey community of Hamilton. The space will house 14 courts as well as conference rooms, meeting areas and a lounge. New Jersey-based Denholtz Properties owns the building, which was completed in 2023 and features a clear height of 26 feet. The opening is scheduled for the fall.
Crossroads Holdings Underway on $300M Mixed-Use Project in Southern Maine, Partners With Wilder Cos.
SCARBOROUGH, MAINE — Developer Crossroads Holdings LLC is underway on construction of Scarborough’s Town Center in southern Maine. Valued at $300 million, the project is located within The Downs, a 577-acre destination that is a redevelopment of a former horseracing complex. Plans call for 320,000 square feet of retail space, 60,000 square feet of medical office space, 240 residential units and a boutique hotel, as well as various open green spaces. Construction began last fall. The development team behind The Downs has partnered with Wilder Cos., a Boston-based development, management and leasing firm, in which Wilder will provide strategic retail and leasing services for the town center development. Wilder is also engaged with a local brokerage firm, The Boulos Co., to assist in securing local retail and restaurant interest.
NEW YORK CITY — Blackstone (NYSE: BX) has signed a 250,644-square-foot office headquarters lease expansion and extension at 345 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The private equity giant will soon occupy more than 1 million square feet across 28 floors at the 44-story, 1.9 million-square-foot building and has added an additional five years to its term. The extension will keep Blackstone, which originally took 70,000 square feet at 345 Park Avenue in 1988, in the building through 2034. Peter Riguardi, Joe Messina, Jessica Berkey, William McGarry, Hale King, Cynthia Wasserberger and Carlee Palmer of JLL, along with Jonathan Mechanic and Jen Yashar of Fried Frank, represented Blackstone in the lease negotiations. Tom Keating, Rob Steinman and Kevin Daly represented the landlord, Rudin, on an internal basis.
SOMERVILLE, N.J. — New Jersey-based investment firm TFE Properties has completed Kirby Village, a 174-unit multifamily project in Somerville, about 50 miles southwest of Manhattan. Kirby Village offers one- and two-bedroom units that range in size from 800 to 1,452 square feet. The townhome-style residences feature stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops and individual washers and dryers. Amenities include a pool, fitness center, dog park and a children’s play area. Rents start at roughly $2,400 per month for a one-bedroom apartment.
PLAINVILLE, CONN. — Regional brokerage firm Northeast Private Client Group (NEPCG) has arranged the sale of Castle Apartments, a three-building, 46-unit multifamily complex in Plainville, a southwestern suburb of Hartford. According to Apartments.com, the property was built in 1975 and exclusively offers two-bedroom units with an average size of 850 square feet. Taylor Perun and Brad Balletto of NEPCG brokered the deal. The buyer and seller were not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — The École, an independent French-American bilingual school, will open a 46,000-square-foot elementary and middle school at 123 E. 23rd St. in Midtown Manhattan. The school will occupy a portion of the ground floor and the entire second and third floors of the 12-story building and will also have its own entrance. Michael Berger of Colliers brokered the lease negotiations. Williams Equities owns the building. The school is expected to open in advance of the fall 2025 semester.
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Lee & Associates Second Quarter Report: Industrial, Office Market See Continued Challenges While Retail, Multifamily Trends Follow Region-Specific Patterns
In the first half of 2024, high interest rates led to decreased demand, higher vacancy rates, reduced construction starts and lower property sales in industrial and office, according to Lee & Associates’ 2024 Q2 North America Market Report. Meanwhile, retail saw minimal development and continued low vacancies. Retail rent growth was particularly strong in the South and Southwest. Finally, high demand for multifamily, coupled with a sudden influx of supply in the second quarter of the year, has created a market where outcomes are highly tied to region. Midwest and Northeast multifamily markets have remained stronger than their counterparts in the South and Southwest, while Western markets saw mixed growth. Lee & Associates has made their full market report available here (with complete breakdowns of cap rates by city, market rents, vacancy rates, square footage information and more). The summaries for the industrial, office, retail and multifamily sectors below provide detailed insight into the trends and trajectories likely through the end of 2024. Industrial Overview: Activity, Growth Checked by High Interest Rates Industrial market performance across North America continued to downshift in the first half of this year. Although net absorption remains positive, demand for industrial space has fallen to the lowest levels …