MALVERN, PA. — Avison Young has brokered the sale of a 106,000-square-foot office building located at 70 Valley Stream Parkway in Malvern, located northwest of Philadelphia. The building formerly served as the headquarters of digital services and printing firm Ricoh USA. Scott Williams and Ryan FitzPatrick of Avison Young represented the seller, Star 79VS Owner LLC, in the transaction. The buyer, Commonwealth Charter Academy, purchased the asset for $15.3 million.
WATERTOWN, MASS. — Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has negotiated two commercial leases totaling 46,966 square feet at Riverworks at Aetna Mills in Watertown, a western suburb of Boston. In the first deal, industrial 3-D printer manufacturer Markforged signed a 36,291-square-foot renewal. In the second transaction, pharmaceutical intelligence provider InCrowd signed a 10,675-square-foot renewal. Mark Roth, Brianna Piacitelli, Brendan Daly and Matthew Malatesta represented the landlord, Paradigm Properties, in the lease negotiations. Chris Lawrence of JLL represented Markforged, and Brooke Blue of T3 Advisors represented InCrowd.
FREEHOLD, N.J. — UMH Properties Inc. (NYSE: UMH), a New Jersey-based REIT, has acquired a manufactured housing community in New York for $4.5 million. The 21-acre property offers 163 developed home sites, about 70 percent of which are occupied. The seller was not disclosed. UMH Properties owns and operates 124 manufactured housing communities totaling roughly 23,400 developed home sites across eight states.
WILKES-BARRE, PA. — CHC Hotel Capital has arranged a $10.5 million construction loan for a Home2 Suites by Hilton property in Wilkes-Barre, located south of Scranton. The property will feature 107 rooms and is expected to be complete in late spring of next year. The loan was structured with a 30-month term and a 75 percent loan-to-value ratio. The borrower and lender were not disclosed.
SOMERVILLE, MASS. — A development team of DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners and Leggat McCall Properties has topped out a 290,000-square-foot life sciences project at 100 South St. in Somerville, located on the northern outskirts of Boston. The project is part of the Boynton Yards development and will house lab and retail space as well as a four-story underground parking garage. Architecture firms SGA and Hashim Sarkis Studios designed the project, and Shawmut Design & Construction served as the general contractor. Construction began in June 2019 and is expected to be complete next summer.
READING, PA. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of The Madison Building, a 113,300-square-foot office property in Reading. Originally built in 1927, the property is situated on 1.1 acres and rises 12 stories. Craig Dunkle, Jackson Day and Mher Vartanian of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a limited liability company, in the transaction. The trio also procured the buyer, an out-of-state developer that will convert the building into a Class A apartment complex. The Madison Building was 97 percent vacant at the time of sale.
CHERRY HILL, N.J. — JLL has secured two office leases totaling 63,089 square feet at Woodcrest Corporate Center in Cherry Hill, a suburb of Philadelphia. Digital platform provider Conduent Business Services LLC renewed its 30,887-square-foot lease, and Penn Interactive Ventures, an operator of mobile gambling apps, signed a lease for 32,212 square feet. Dan Close and Rick Widerman represented the landlord, Crown Properties, in both sets of negotiations.
YORK COUNTY, MAINE — A subsidiary of New York-based Power REIT has acquired a three-acre site in York County that houses a 32,800-square-foot cannabis cultivation facility that is under construction. Locally based cannabis grower Sweet Dirt is the operator of the greenhouse, which is expected to be complete by the end of the year. The site also houses a 2,800-square-foot distribution building. The seller was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Venture Capital Properties has negotiated a 24,000-square-foot lease at a vacant parcel that formerly housed a warehouse at 5200 1st Ave. in Brooklyn. The tenant, valet parking service Park Pro Systems, will use the property to store its vehicles but will not develop any portion of the site. Jacob Stavsky of Venture Capital Properties represented both Park Pro Systems and landlord John Luhrs in the off-market deal.
WALTHAM, MASS. — Defense contractor Raytheon (NYSE: RTX) will cut approximately 15,000 jobs, primarily in its aviation departments, as a result of depressed demand for commercial air travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to multiple reports. The Massachusetts-based firm, which employs about 200,000 people nationwide, made the announcement during an earnings call last week, according to reports from multiple new outlets including CNN and Forbes. The company’s stock price opened at $61.58 per share on Tuesday, Sept. 22, down from $84.59 per share a year ago.
