TRUMBULL, CONN. — Avison Young has completed the interior build-out of Make-A-Wish Foundation’s 15,000-square-foot office space in Trumbull, located in Fairfield County. The space at 56 Commerce Drive spans three stories. The project included renovating the lobby, communal areas and amenity spaces, as well as installing new utilities and elevators and adding a new experience floor, observation decks and patios for outdoor events. Avison Young also represented Make-A-Wish in its site selection and lease negotiations for the space.
Surging payrolls, new household formations, growing barriers to homeownership and multifamily’s role as a hedge for inflation all helped fuel robust apartment fundamentals in 2021. With interest rates expected to rise in 2022, the question becomes: will the appetite for apartment investments remain strong for all types of investors and in which markets? Hilary Provinse, executive vice president and head of mortgage banking at Berkadia, says she sees many reasons to be enthusiastic about the opportunities in multifamily markets this year. “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will continue to set the standard for multifamily lending; however, strong life company, bank and debt fund appetites will compete heavily again in 2022. They will fill the needs not met by the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) or HUD.” When it comes to accelerating multifamily trends, Provinse sees an expansion in the scope of multifamily interest: “One of the trends we see accelerating (as a result of COVID) is increased investor demand in not only secondary markets, but even tertiary markets. This was a trend we had seen a decade ago, but now it’s on steroids.” “Because people can work from wherever now and because of more flexible work arrangements…we’ve seen this willingness to …
ATLANTA AND NEW YORK CITY — Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc. (BREIT) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Preferred Apartment Communities Inc. (PAC) for approximately $5.8 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, BREIT will acquire all outstanding shares of PAC’s common stock for $25 per share in an all-cash transaction. PAC’s portfolio includes 44 multifamily communities totaling approximately 12,000 units concentrated largely in Atlanta, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Charlotte and Nashville, as well as 54 grocery-anchored retail assets comprising roughly 6 million square feet in Atlanta, Orlando, Nashville and Raleigh. BREIT will also acquire PAC’s two Sun Belt office properties and 10 mezzanine/preferred equity investments collateralized by new or under-construction multifamily assets. “Investing using BREIT’s perpetual capital will enable us to be long-term owners of these vibrant communities,” says Jacob Werner, co-head of Americas acquisitions for BREIT. “The company’s grocery-anchored retail portfolio performance has also been strong and resilient, and we believe these types of necessity-oriented assets located in areas with growing populations are well positioned for continued growth.” Joel Murphy, PAC’s chairman and CEO, says the transaction is an excellent outcome for shareholders and the culmination of efforts over the past few years to simplify and …
By Clara Wineberg, principal and executive director, SCB Boston As we have all been forced to reexamine how we interact with and live in our homes during two years of a global pandemic, lessons learned for architects, developers and interior designers have been bountiful. In early 2020, those of us in the multifamily industry were wary about how we would make it all work; now, however, we realize the challenges we have faced in the last 24 months have provided immense opportunities to improve design of modern housing communities. In 2022 and beyond, multifamily design will continue to evolve to meet the changing definition of “home,” and how it connects us to our loved ones, communities and even ourselves. Everything From Home While home used to be just a place to hang one’s hat at the end of the day, in 2020, home took on a whole new meaning. It became not only the place we rest, but also our workplace, our children’s classroom, our fitness center and our entertainment venue. Our whole lives were — and to some extent still are — encapsulated within our homes. We expect this trend to continue moving into the future post-pandemic world. The …
NEW YORK CITY — New York City-based investment management firm Clarion Partners has provided a $415 million mezzanine loan for the refinancing of a national portfolio of 110 industrial buildings totaling 15.7 million square feet. The portfolio consists of properties in 15 markets, including Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix, Baltimore and Atlanta. At the time of the loan closing, the portfolio was approximately 93 percent leased to a roster of 300-plus tenants. The borrower was Blackstone.
PHILADELPHIA — JLL has arranged a $260 million loan for the refinancing of East Market, a mixed-use project that spans an entire city block in Philadelphia’s Center City neighborhood. East Market consists of two apartment buildings totaling 562 units, 120,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and a 100-year-old warehouse that has been redeveloped into creative office space. Chad Orcutt and Blaine Fleming of JLL arranged the loan through Pacific Life Insurance Co. on behalf of the borrower, a joint venture led by National Real Estate Advisors. The developer also plans to convert a traditional office building on the site into a boutique hotel and medical facility.
WESTPORT, CONN. — CBRE has brokered the $43 million sale of two waterfront office buildings totaling 94,647 square feet in Westport, located in Fairfield County. Jeffrey Dunne, Steven Bardsley, Jeremy Neuer, David Gavin and Stuart MacKenzie of CBRE represented the seller, a partnership between Baywater Properties and an investment fund advised by True North Management Group, in the transaction. The team also procured the buyer, The Feil Organization. Tenants at the buildings include Raymond James, Sterling Investment Partners and IXM Trading.
EGG HARBOR CITY, N.J. — New Jersey-based brokerage firm The Kislak Co. Inc. has negotiated the $7 million sale of a 5,585-square-foot retail property in Egg Harbor City, located in Atlantic County. The property is under construction and is preleased to convenience store operator Wawa for 20 years on a triple-net basis. Jason Pucci and Justin Lupo of Kislak represented the buyer, Kamson Corp., in the transaction. The seller was not disclosed.
NEWARK, N.J. — General contractor SJP Properties has completed a 30,000-square-foot office project in Newark that is a build-to-suit for KS Engineering. The new space includes a boardroom and reception area at the entry, huddle rooms, a café with a virtual golf and gaming area, a wellness room and a library/lounge. Design-build firm Ware Malcomb provided interior and exterior design services for the project.
NEW YORK CITY — JLL has arranged a $49 million loan for the acquisition of a two-acre industrial development site in Brooklyn. The borrower, a partnership between Turnbridge Equities and Dune Real Estate Partners LP, plans to develop an 80,000-square-foot facility at the site using a portion of the proceeds from this loan. The project will also include 92,000 square feet of covered and rooftop parking space. Christopher Peck and Peter Rotchford of JLL arranged the loan through Starwood Property Trust.