NEW YORK CITY — Radancy, a staffing agency that serves the tech sector, has signed a 15,622-square-foot office lease at One Battery Park Plaza, a 35-story office tower in Lower Manhattan. Radancy plans to relocate to the 870,000-square-foot building from its current office at 125 Broad St. this summer. Gerry Miovski, Chris Mansfield and Masha Dudelzak of CBRE represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Kevin Daly represented the landlord, Rudin Management Co., on an internal basis.
WILLOW STREET, PA. — Black Bear Capital Partners has arranged an $11 million acquisition loan for The Villas at Willow Run, a 72-unit multifamily asset in Willow Street, located roughly midway between Philadelphia and Harrisburg. The 12-building property was completed in 2019. Emil DePasquale, Brandon Harris and Phil Bowman of Black Bear Capital Partners arranged the loan, which carried a 3.74 percent fixed interest rate and 10 years of interest-only payments, through Morgan Stanley. The borrower was Laub Realty, an owner-operator with more than 2,000 multifamily units and 1 million square feet of commercial space in its portfolio.
SOMERSET, N.J. — CustomPictureFrames.com, a manufacturer of picture and other framing solutions, has acquired a 45,300-square-foot industrial building at 6 Shirley Ave. in Somerset, located in Northern New Jersey. Bill Waxman and Christopher Griffith of CBRE represented the buyer, which will relocate from nearby South River, in its site selection and negotiations. Bussel Realty Corp. represented the seller, Emby Hosiery Corp.
In the past year, COVID-19 has impacted how and where people work, and the future of the U.S. office workplace is a major unknown. Landlords are grappling with how to maximize their physical work spaces as many employees continue to work from home full-time or at least a few days per week. This shift is leading some business owners to look for alternative forms of workplaces. ƎDEN, a flexible workplace and meeting space provider, allows for users to rent out space to fulfill their everyday working needs, including in-person meetings. ƎDEN users can download the brand’s app and then reserve an array of workplaces: work lounges, private offices and conference rooms, among other offerings. Standard rates for renting out the spaces starts at $99 a month per person, according to the firm’s website. ƎDEN currently operates from several different markets, but most locations are concentrated in the New York area. These include a location in Queens at Parker Towers and another in Brooklyn at Box Factory. The firm also has a location in Northern Virginia at Tysons Corner and three upcoming locations in Detroit. Brandon Singer, CEO of MONA and ƎDEN’s commercial real estate advisor and broker, says ƎDEN utilizes …
PHILADELPHIA — NAI Mertz has negotiated a 200,000-square-foot industrial lease in the Port Richmond neighborhood of northeast Philadelphia. The building at 225 Castor Ave. features clear heights of 15 and 16 feet, 14 loading docks and 1,512 square feet of office space. Jonathan Klear and Fred Meyer of NAI Mertz represented the landlord in the lease negotiations. The tenant is Dependable Distribution Services Inc., the largest cocoa bean storage company in North America that also recently signed a 71,445-square-foot lease in nearby Camden, New Jersey.
BOSTON — Bristol Myers Squibb has signed a 113,000-square-foot life sciences lease expansion at 250 Water St. at Cambridge Crossing, a 43-acre mixed-use project at the intersection of Cambridge, Somerville and Boston. The global pharmaceutical company is adding the remaining available space to its initial lease, which was announced in August of last year. Developer DivcoWest recently topped off the 480,000-square-foot building and expects to deliver it in 2022.
ATLANTIC CITY — Standard Communities has purchased Baltic Plaza Apartments, a 169-unit affordable seniors housing property in Atlantic City. The new ownership plans to invest about $10 million in capital improvements to the property, which was originally built in 1982. Standard Communities completed this transaction in partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development and the New Jersey Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency. The transaction was financed with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits arranged in partnership with PNC Bank, with additional financing provided by Citibank.
CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. — Berkadia has provided a $42.9 million Freddie Mac loan for the refinancing of Hancock Estates, a garden-style apartment community located in the western Boston suburb of Chestnut Hill. The property totals 88 units, according to Apartments.com. Hancock Estates offers one- and two-bedroom floor plans and amenities such as a community garden, resident lounge, fitness center and outdoor picnic areas. Robert Lipson of Berkadia originated the 15-year loan on behalf of the borrower, Massachusetts-based Chestnut Hill Realty.
NEW YORK CITY — Ariel Property Advisors has arranged a $6.9 million loan for the refinancing of a 20-unit portfolio of multifamily and retail properties in Brooklyn and Queens. Dime Community Bank provided the loan, which carried a 3.65 percent interest rate with $3 million in cash-out proceeds. Matt Dzbanek and Matt Swerdlow of Ariel Property Advisors arranged the financing on behalf of the undisclosed borrower. The names and addresses of the properties were also not disclosed.
The past few years have seen a surge in interest in single-family rental (SFR) and build-for-rent (BFR) spaces in commercial real estate. Traditionally the domain of small- and medium-sized investors, the SFR/BFR space has begun to attract institutional investors. BFR, in particular, can often offer higher occupancy levels and rents while promising lower capital and operating costs than traditional multifamily housing. Keaton Merrell, managing director, Capital Markets, Walker & Dunlop, spoke to REBusinessOnline about debt and equity in BFR, as well what to know when it comes to agency involvement. First, Merrell briefly clarifies the terminology: “Oftentimes, people use SFR and BFR interchangeably. They are two totally separate asset classes and are looked at differently by capital. SFR is defined as a cluster of homes in various geographies that are pooled together for investment purposes. BFR is purpose-built housing within contiguous rental communities, much like traditional multifamily properties.” For a more in-depth look at the SFR and BFR in general, read more on the asset class here. REBusinessOnline: What is the current state of debt and equity capital in the market when it comes to BFR? Merrell: I will start with equity and then move on to debt. The equity that is coming into the …
