TORRINGTON, CONN. — Colliers has brokered the sale of 245 Alvord Park, a 37,731-square-foot medical office complex in Torrington, a western suburb of Hartford. Litchfield Hills Orthopedic Associates, an affiliate of Hartford Healthcare, anchors the property. An entity doing business as IJAN 2 CT Realty LLC sold the asset to a partnership between Boston-based Sendero Capital and alternative asset manager Angelo Gordon for $8.1 million. Phil Gagnon, Ian Hunt and John Cafasso of Colliers brokered the deal.
Following the financial markets crash 15 years ago, banks and other lenders began working with commercial real estate (CRE) borrowers who had run into trouble. Solutions included loan extensions, loan sales, recapitalizations and foreclosures. Today lenders are pulling out the playbook again. “We have seen a huge number of loan workout deals come across our desk,” says Jeff Salladin, a managing director with Dallas-based private debt fund Revere Capital. “Any lender that holds loans on their books is seeing the same thing.” Back in 2008, dodgy and highly leveraged residential and CRE loans — along with the emergence of exceedingly risky debt derivatives created by Wall Street — eventually crashed, causing the credit market to collapse. Today credit is still available, but the cost of it has spiked over the last 18 months. Consequently, many commercial properties owners have seen values plummet, making it difficult to find refinancing. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s (FDIC) imminent auction of Signature Bank’s $33 billion in commercial property loans and other assets is expected to attract bids as much as 40 percent below face value, according to The Wall Street Journal. That’s just the latest gloomy bellwether regarding CRE values and underscores the predicament …
NEW YORK CITY — Steve Cohen, owner of the New York Mets baseball team, will develop Metropolitan Park, an $8 billion sports-anchored entertainment district in Queens. The development will occupy the 50 acres surrounding the team’s ballpark, Citi Field. The land is currently vacant. Plans for the project include a food hall, an entertainment complex including a Hard Rock hotel, live music venue and gaming, 20 acres of open green space, five acres of community athletic fields and playgrounds, new connections to the waterfront, a renovated mass transit station and improved roads, bike paths and parking infrastructure. Hard Rock International will partner with Cohen for the development, and the project team includes SHoP Architects, landscape architect Field Operations and design and construction firm McKissack. Metropolitan Park is expected to create roughly 15,000 permanent and construction jobs, according to Hard Rock. A construction timeline was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Locally based firm Simone Development Cos. will undertake a 1.8 million-square-foot expansion of Hutchinson Metro Center, a mixed-use development located in the Morris Park neighborhood of The Bronx. Specific plans for the expansion are still being finalized, but the development can support additional life sciences, technology, healthcare and academic space, as well as hospitality, housing and retail uses. Upon completion, Hutchinson Metro Center will consist of more than 4 million square feet across 75 acres.
YONKERS, N.Y. — MediaPro North America, a provider of Spanish programming, in partnership with Great Point Media, has broken ground on a new film and entertainment production studio at 1500 N. Broadway in Yonkers, a northern suburb of New York City. The campus will feature three sound stages totaling 20,000 square feet, as well as post-production facilities and other amenities to support a range of media production and entertainment endeavors. First Citizens Bank provided construction financing for the project. Completion is slated for next fall.
NEWVILLE, PA. — Northmarq has negotiated the sale of Big Spring Terrace, a 159-unit manufactured housing community in Newville, about 140 miles west of Philadelphia. The property was originally constructed on a 94-acre site in 1975 and was roughly 94 percent occupied at the time of sale. Anthony Pino and Ari Azarbarzin of Northmarq represented the seller, Pennsylvania-based Big Springs Properties, in the transaction. The buyer and sales price were not disclosed.
UPPER DARBY, PA. — Dwight City Group, the investment arm of New York City-based lender Dwight Capital, has completed a multifamily adaptive reuse project in Upper Darby, a western suburb of Philadelphia. The project converted a 125,000-square-foot warehouse at 901 Quarry St. that was constructed in 1925 and had been dormant for three decades into an 84-unit apartment complex. The complex now features one- and two-bedroom units and amenities such as a playground and dog park. Rents start at roughly $1,500 per month for a one-bedroom apartment.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Norges Bank Investment Management has signed an agreement to acquire a 45 percent interest in two life sciences properties in Cambridge’s Kendall Square neighborhood, just across the Charles River from Boston. BXP (NYSE: BXP) was the seller. The transaction includes 290 Binney Street, a 16-story, 570,000-square-foot property currently under construction. It is fully preleased to AstraZeneca, which expects to take occupancy in April 2026. The other property is 300 Binney Street, a six-story facility undergoing redevelopment. The Broad Institute has preleased the 240,000-square-foot building and plans to take occupancy in January 2025. Norges acquired the interest for an initial payment of $212.9 million and has committed to a total project cost of $746.4 million. Upon completion, the total value of the two buildings is projected to be $1.6 billion. The assets are unencumbered by debt, and no financing was involved in the transaction. BXP will retain the remaining 55 percent interest in the assets and will manage the properties on behalf of the partnership. Cambridge is among the largest hub of life sciences properties in the United States. The home of both Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the city hosts a slew of major …
EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. — New Jersey-based developer Garden Communities has begun leasing Legacy Place, a 520-unit multifamily project located in the Northern New Jersey community of East Brunswick. The development features studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units across two buildings with garage parking and 18,000 square feet of retail space, all on a 25-acre site. Amenities include a pool, outdoor grilling and dining areas, a coworking lounge, fitness center, dog park and walking trails. Rents start at roughly $2,300 per month for a one-bedroom apartment.
BURLINGTON, N.J. — United Fulfillment Solutions Inc. has signed a 217,986-square-foot industrial lease in the Southern New Jersey community of Burlington. The e-commerce company will occupy the entirety of Building 1 at Rancocas 5 Industrial Park, which features a clear height of 36 feet, 42 loading docks, 183 car parking spaces and 28 trailer drops. Nate Demetsky, Dean Torosian and Matt Kemery of JLL represented the landlord, regional developer Endurance Real Estate Group, in the lease negotiations. Allen Ding of Visionaire Real Estate represented the tenant.