ALLENTOWN, PA. — Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital has arranged a $20 million loan for the renovation and construction of Cityplace North & South, a 204-unit apartment complex in the Lehigh Valley city of Allentown. The North Building is a conversion of a hotel into apartments that opened in early 2020, and the South Building is ground-up construction. An undisclosed life insurance company provided the loan. The borrower was also not disclosed.
CHERRY HILL, N.J. — Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) has welcomed several new tenants to Cherry Mill Mall in metro Philadelphia. Apparel brands Psycho Bunny and Levi’s have signed leases for 2,390 and 3,000 square feet with plans to open in mid-2023 and late 2022, respectively. Seafood restaurant Eddie V’s has also committed to 8,685 square feet and is targeting a spring 2023 opening. Laura Pomerantz of Cushman & Wakefield represented Levi’s in the lease negotiations. Steve Gartner and Drew Schaul of CBRE represented Psycho Bunny, and David Orkin, also with CBRE, represented Eddie V’s.
HOLMDEL, N.J. — LT Apparel, a manufacturer of children’s clothing, has opened a 13,086-square-foot office within Campus, a 72,000-square-foot flexible workspace located within the Bell Works mixed-use development in the Central New Jersey community of Holmdel. Jeff Garibaldi, Tara Keating and Lindsey Florio of The Garibaldi Group represented the landlord, Inspired by Somerset Development, in the lease negotiations. Global cloud communications firm Vonage has also committed to an undisclosed amount of space at Campus, which houses breakout rooms and conference facilities.
TRUMBULL, CONN. — New York City-based brokerage firm Rosewood Realty Group has negotiated the $101 million sale of The Royce at Trumbull, a 339-unit multifamily property located in southern Connecticut’s Fairfield County. AvalonBay Communities originally developed the property, which houses one-, two- and three-bedroom units, in 1997. Jonathan Brody of Rosewood Realty Group represented the seller, a partnership between Sym Investments and Skywood Properties, which acquired the asset in spring 2021 for $82 million. Brody also procured the buyer, Massachusetts-based Colony Hills Capital. The Royce at Trumbull was 99 percent occupied at the time of sale.
MIDDLETOWN, DEL. — Alcohol distributor Breakthru Beverage Group has opened a 282,500-square-foot distribution facility in Middletown, located in Delaware’s New Castle County. The facility features a clear height of 36 feet and a 29,350-square-foot, temperature-controlled room for cold storage, as well as 29,790 square feet of offices, training and break rooms. Lastly, the facility houses an experience center where clients can taste new products. MRP Industrial developed the project, with Ware Malcomb and Penntex Construction respectively serving as the architect and general contractor.
LAWRENCE, MASS. — Reed Community Partners has completed Pac10 Lofts, an affordable housing project that will be located in the northern Boston suburb of Lawrence. Of the 180 units, 18 are reserved for households earning 30 percent or less of the area median income (AMI); 112 earmarked for renters earning 60 percent or less of AMI; and 40 are workforce housing units for households earning up to 80 percent of AMI. The remaining 10 residences will be rented at market rates. MassHousing recently provided $40.8 million in permanent financing for the community, which the development team expects to be fully leased by the end of the year. Rogue Architecture PLLC designed the community, and LaRosa Construction Co. served as the general contractor.
CHERRY HILL, N.J. — Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital has arranged a $40 million loan for the permanent financing of a 192-unit apartment and townhome community located outside of Philadelphia in Cherry Hill. The newly built property offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units, and amenities such as a pool, rooftop terrace, fitness center, dog park and a clubhouse with a billiards room, lounge and bar area. An undisclosed life insurance company provided the loan. The borrower was Montgomery Group.
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of two hotels totaling 261 rooms in Middletown, located about 75 miles north of New York City in the Hudson Valley region. The Hampton Inn and Courtyard by Marriott sold for a combined price of $34 million. Andrew Kern and Jerry Swon of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a limited liability company, in the transaction and procured the locally based buyer. Both parties requested anonymity.
PARAMUS, N.J. — Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), a shopping center owner-operator based in France, has unveiled plans to redevelop Westfield Garden State Plaza, a 2.1 million-square-foot regional mall in the Northern New Jersey community of Paramus. According to Forbes, Westfield Garden State Plaza remains one of the best-performing regional malls in the country. But about 10 years ago, URW began planning a long-term redevelopment to distinguish the property from and compete with American Dream, Triple Five Group’s entertainment-heavy mega-mall that is located within the Meadowlands sports complex in nearby East Rutherford. To that end, URW executive vice president Geoff Mason says that the redevelopment is about transitioning the mall into a mixed-use destination where living, working and leisure all come together. The first phase of the redevelopment will center on the construction of 550 luxury apartments that will be integrated with the existing shopping and dining establishments via open green space. Phase I will also introduce a “main street’ outdoor district featuring restaurants and everyday convenience- and services-oriented retailers. Ownership also plans to upgrade the existing infrastructure that connects to public transit services. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2024, with the first residential units becoming available for occupancy in 2026. The …
Amazon recently reconfigured and consolidated its network of warehouses, and many other retailers followed suit. The result? The outlook for industrial real estate, particularly retail warehouses, is now more difficult to interpret. Many retail clients are repositioning their supply chains to help avoid slowdowns and a potential International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA) union strike on the West Coast. This change has merged with a corporate need to find additional options for shipping and transport (especially as prices for transportation and industrial rents rise). The demand for industrial space has increased rapidly in less “congested” areas. As economic uncertainty continues, there is a shift towards tertiary markets for industrial real estate. This change provides significant opportunities for industrial investors, says Steve Pastor, VP of global supply chain, and ports/rail logistics/consultant at NAI James E. Hanson, who serves as NAI Global Industrial Council Chair. Investors and developers may be able to take advantage of a pause in a highly competitive field, in tertiary markets that have been traditionally less expensive than major and core markets. Amazon’s Impact News of Amazon’s plans to scale back its acquisition of industrial space (and to sublease its existing property to other retailers) has given some users opportunities …