PITTSBURGH — Friedman Real Estate, a brokerage firm with five offices across the country, has negotiated the sale of a 150,000-square-foot retail property in Pittsburgh. The property, which is located within Washington Crown Center Mall and formerly housed a Macy’s department store, was fully occupied at the time of sale by M@C Discount, which specializes in reselling returned retail items. Steven Silverman of Friedman Real Estate represented the undisclosed buyer in the transaction. Additional terms of sale were not disclosed.
NASHUA, N.H. — The City of Nashua, located in southern New Hampshire, has opened a 53,340-square-foot performing arts center, art gallery and event center in its downtown area. Boston-based ICON Architecture designed the project, which involved the demolition of an existing building on the site and the maintenance of a second structure to house the new center. The four-story venue now features a 753-seat theater, a section of which has a retractable seating system that can create a general admissions or private banquet area, as well as a communal gallery and an outdoor terrace.
LONG BRANCH, N.J. — Locally based developer and general contractor Prime City has broken ground on SICA Lofts, a 31-unit multifamily project that will be located in the coastal New Jersey community of Long Branch. The site originally housed the home of the Lincoln Can Manufacturing Co. and later the Shore Institute of Contemporary Arts, from which the property derives its titular acronym. The project will feature one-bedroom units with an average size of 750 square feet and 2,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Manasquan Bank provided a $7.5 million, floating-rate construction loan for the project, which is scheduled for a third-quarter 2024 completion.
LAKE LUZERNE, N.Y. — Boutique brokerage firm Muroff Hospitality Group has arranged the sale of Hide-A-Way Waterfront Cottages, a 13-room property located in the upstate New York community of Lake Luzerne. The waterfront property sits on 3.8 acres and offers one- to three-bedroom cottages with full kitchens. Mitch Muroff of Muroff Hospitality Group represented the buyer and seller in the $1.8 million transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Deutsche Bank Wealth Management has provided a $77.4 million acquisition loan for The Collection at Mercedes House, a 162-unit multifamily complex in Manhattan. The property’s one-, two- and three-bedroom units occupy the 22nd through 32nd floors of the building at 540 W. 54th St., which is known as Mercedes House. Residents have access to The Mercedes Club, an 80,000-square-foot amenity center that houses a full-service health club, resident lounges and workspaces, a day spa, outdoor pool and a specialty grocery store. Gideon Gil, Lauren Kaufman and Dale Braverman of Cushman & Wakefield, along with Meridian Capital’s Rael Gervis and Elliott Kunstlinger, arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower, a partnership between Empire Capital Holdings and Namdar Realty Group.
SMYRNA, DEL. — Hunt Capital Partners has provided $4.3 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity for Frazier Apartments, a 54-unit affordable seniors housing complex in Smyrna, a northern suburb of Dover. Units at Frazier Apartments are reserved for residents age 62 and above who earn between 40 and 60 percent of the area median income. The borrower, Severn Development Co., will use part of the financing to fund capital improvements. TD Bank also provided an $8.6 million construction loan for that project. Completion is scheduled for January 2024.
UTICA, N.Y. — Boutique brokerage firm Muroff Hospitality Group has arranged the sale of a two-story, 40-room Econolodge hotel located just off Exit 31 of I-90 in the upstate New York community of Utica. The sales price was $1.5 million. Mitch Muroff of Muroff Hospitality Group represented the buyer and seller, both of which were limited liability companies, in the transaction.
ROCKY HILL, CONN. — Cosmetic surgery specialist Sono Bello has signed a 14,968-square-foot office lease at 175 Capital Blvd. in Rocky Hill, a southern suburb of Hartford. The building is located within the 506,500-square-foot Corporate Ridge development, which offers a fitness center, game room, outdoor gathering areas and a full-service cafeteria. Bob Kelly and Jon Putnam of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord, KS Partners LLC, in the lease negotiations. The representative of the tenant was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — CBRE has negotiated an 8,367-square-foot office lease at 61 W. 23rd St. in Manhattan’s Flatiron District. The seven-story building was originally constructed in 1887 and most recently renovated in 2021. Paul Amrich, Neil King, Alexander Golod and Meghan Allen of CBRE represented the landlord, Taconic Partners, in the lease negotiations. The representative of the tenant, The Action Network, a media company that covers the business of sports gambling, was not disclosed.
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Office Properties Income Trust Agrees to Acquire Diversified Healthcare Trust in All-Share Transaction
NEWTON, MASS. — Office Properties Income Trust (NASDAQ: OPI) has entered into a definitive merger agreement whereby the office REIT will acquire all the outstanding common shares of Diversified Healthcare Trust (NASDAQ: DHC), a REIT that owns properties in the medical office, life sciences and seniors housing sectors. The combined company will have approximately $12.4 billion of total gross assets under management, representing 539 properties across 40 states and Washington, D.C. The portfolio comprises about 264 seniors housing communities, 10 triple-net-leased wellness centers and 265 medical office, traditional office and life sciences buildings. About 42 percent of the portfolio is located in the Sun Belt. The RMR Group (NASDAQ: RMR), an alternative asset management firm based in Newton, manages both REITs and acquires properties on behalf of the entities. RMR also makes acquisitions on behalf of Service Properties Trust and Industrial Logistics Properties Trust. RMR Group will continue to manage the new company, which will be rebranded as Diversified Properties Trust and trade publicly on the Nasdaq Stock Market exchange. OPI’s executive team will lead the new company and will keep the firm’s corporate headquarters in Newton. The boards of trustees for both REITs unanimously approved the merger, which is …