HARTFORD, CONN. — Lument has provided a $26 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of a 591-unit workforce housing portfolio in Hartford. All units are restricted to renters earning 60 percent or less of the area median income (AMI). Josh Messier of Lument originated the financing, which carried a 10-year term that includes five years of interest-only payments and a 30-year amortization schedule. The borrower was not disclosed. The portfolio was approximately 98 percent occupied at the time of sale.
NEW YORK CITY — Berenberg Capital Markets LLC has signed deals to renew and expand its office headquarters space at 1251 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan. The company has renewed its 31,700-square-foot lease for the entire 53rd floor and will expand by 30,700 square feet to occupy the entire 52nd floor. Mitchell Konsker, Alexander Chudnoff and Benjamin Bass of JLL represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. David Falk and Peter Shimkin of Newmark represented the landlord, Mitsui Fudosan America. The 2.4 million-square-foot building was originally constructed in 1971.
UPPER MOUNT BETHEL, PA. — Developer River Pointe Logistics and CBRE have revealed updated plans for River Pointe Commerce Park, a 725-acre industrial project located in the Lehigh Valley city of Upper Mount Bethel. The development, which is located 1.5 miles from Interstate 80, will now consist of 15 buildings totaling approximately 6 million square feet. The first, 420,000-square-foot building is expected to deliver in 2022 and will feature a clear height of 45 feet, 42 docks and two drive-in doors. Jake Terkanian and Sean Bleiler of CBRE are the leasing agents for the project.
DAYTON, N.J. — CenterPoint Properties, a Chicago-based investment firm, has acquired a 274,430-square-foot distribution center in Dayton, about 45 miles south of New York City. The building is situated on a 27-acre site that includes 10 acres for parking and outdoor storage. In addition, the property, which is leased long-term to a global distribution company, features a clear height of 34 feet and is configured to accommodate parking for 300 trailers and 400 cars. The seller was not disclosed. Marc Duval, Jordan Avanzato and Jose Cruz of JLL brokered the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — Electra America Hospitality Group, a joint venture between Florida-based private equity firm Electra Capital and hospitality operator AKA, has acquired the Roger New York hotel in Manhattan’s NoMad neighborhood. The 194-room boutique hotel sold for $19 million, or roughly $98,000 per room. The new ownership will invest $22 million in capital improvements and reopen the hotel in mid-2022 under the AKA brand. The seller was not disclosed.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Black Bear Capital Partners (BBCP) has arranged a $24 million CMBS permanent loan for a 160,000-square-foot office building in White Plains, located north of New York City. Morgan Stanley provided the loan, which featured a fixed interest rate of 3.85 percent for 10 years with full-term, interest-only payments. The borrower, Caspi Development, has invested almost $3 million in capital improvements to the building over the last three years. Bryan Manz, Emil DePasquale and George Pektor of BBCP arranged the financing.
EATONTOWN, N.J. — New Jersey-based brokerage firm R.J. Brunelli & Co. LLC has negotiated a 45,600-square-foot healthcare lease at Monmouth Plaza in the Central New Jersey borough of Eatontown. The tenant, Hackensack Meridian Health, plans to open a new outpatient and urgent care facility at the site in the second quarter of next year. Richard Brunelli of R.J. Brunelli & Co. represented the owner, Monmouth Plaza Enterprises LLC, in the lease negotiations. Danielle Brunelli of R.J. Brunelli & Co. procured the tenant, which was represented in negotiations by Jeffrey Babikian of CBRE.
SOMERVILLE, MASS. — US2, a joint venture between Magellan Development, RAS Development LLC, Cypress Equity Investments and USAA Real Estate, has broken ground on a $2 billion mixed-use project known as USQ in Somerville, just northwest of Boston. The 15-acre, transit-oriented development is situated in the city’s historic Union Square neighborhood at the southeast corner of Somerville Avenue and Prospect Street. An official groundbreaking ceremony took place this morning. Totaling 2.4 million square feet, USQ has been in the making for decades, according to the development team. Plans call for 1.2 million square feet of office and life sciences space, 1,000 apartment units and 140,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. There will also be 3.6 acres of public space encompassing 11 new parks and two new Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) stations. The first office building, 10 Prospect Street, is slated for completion in the fourth quarter of 2022. Rising seven stories and spanning 194,000 rentable square feet, the LEED Gold building will include an outdoor terrace and onsite parking. Leasing is currently underway. In the Somerville community, there are 18,000 residents who work in the scientific, technology or healthcare industries, according to the project website. Of the current …
There are multitudes of ways for property owners to reduce their tax burdens, as well as missteps that can derail a tax strategy. With that in mind, taxpayers should beware of trying to prove a low value for a tax appeal while simultaneously claiming a higher value in another proceeding. And here is how it can happen. Protesting a High Assessment Most real estate taxes in the Northeast — including those in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts — have an “ad valorem” or “value-based” assessment method. Thus, the greater a property is worth, the higher its real estate tax burden. A property tax bill is calculated by multiplying the property assessment by the tax rate. The assessment or taxable value is determined by the local assessor or board of assessors and is typically a percentage of market value. This percentage varies among states and even municipalities. In New York, it is based on a comprehensive analysis of sales. The percentage is released annually by the state’s Office of Real Property Tax Services and is different for each municipality. For example, Connecticut sets its percentage by statute. In Pennsylvania, it is set by the state’s Tax Equalization Board. But regardless …
NEW JERSEY — National brokerage firm SVN has negotiated the sale of a portfolio of self-storage facilities located throughout New Jersey that consists of 3,147 units and 393,400 net rentable square feet. The portfolio comprises five stabilized facilities that were originally built in the mid-1980s and two expansion projects. Nick Malagisi and Hans Hardisty of SVN brokered the deal. The buyer and seller were not disclosed.