NEW YORK CITY — SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) and its joint venture partners have entered into a contract to sell 410 Tenth Avenue, a 20-story, 636,000-square-foot office tower near Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s west side, for $952.5 million. The transaction marks the largest commercial property sale in the U.S. since March, according to SL Green. Amazon and First Republic Bank anchor the property, which is currently undergoing a redevelopment. Amazon signed its 335,408-square-foot lease in December. The buyer was undisclosed. SL Green is the majority owner of the building, with a 70.9 percent stake. As part of the sale, the sellers will retain a 5 percent interest through completion of the redevelopment, which is slated for the third quarter of 2021. The identities of the minority owners were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter. Brett Herschenfeld, managing director of SL Green, says that the sale is an example of acquiring an undervalued asset, redeveloping it to Class A standards and re-leasing it to high-quality tenants. “While the asset was always intended to be held as a long-term investment, the sale will allow the company to achieve extraordinary profits, substantially reduce consolidated indebtedness …
Northeast
SHIPPENSBURG, PA. — Lowe’s Home Centers LLC has signed a 1.1 million-square-foot industrial lease in Shippensburg, located in between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia in the southern-central region of the state. The home improvement retailer will occupy warehouse and distribution space at Shippensburg 81 Logistics Center, a newly developed property situated on a 100-acre site along Interstate 81. Building features include 36-foot clear heights, 189 dock doors, 185-foot truck court depths, 250 car parking spaces, 631 trailer parking spaces and an ESFR sprinkler system. Mike Hess and David Remington of CBRE represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Mark Chubb and Mike Zerbe of Colliers International represented the landlord, Philadelphia-based Equus Capital Partners.
CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. — An affiliate of Milwaukee-based Phoenix Investors has acquired a 660,000-square-foot industrial property in Central Falls. The 12-acre property was originally built as a textile mill in 1900 and most recently served as a manufacturing plant for the seller, LEDVANCE, a provider of lighting fixtures. The new ownership will implement a capital improvement program that will include demolition of portions of the plant and expects to begin leasing space in late 2021.
EAST WINDSOR, N.J. — Denver-based Black Creek Group will develop Innovation Park, a two-building, 574,169-square-foot industrial park that will be located in the Trenton suburb of East Windsor. Building A will span 406,669 square feet and will feature 40-foot clear heights, 50 dock doors, 67 trailer spaces and 317 car parking stalls. Building B will total 167,500 square feet and will feature 36-foot clear heights, 30 dock doors and 161 car parking stalls. Preliminary site work is underway, and construction is expected to continue through January 2022. Peak Construction Corp. is teaming with Trammell Crow as the development manager. The development team also includes KSS Architects and civil engineering firm Maser Consulting.
WALTHAM, MASS. — General contractor Gilbane Building Co. has topped out 225 Wyman Street, a 500,000-square-foot life sciences project in the western Boston suburb of Waltham. Designed by Gensler, the property will offer space for both laboratory/research and development users as well as traditional office users. Amenities will include green space with walking trails, a three-acre courtyard, fitness center, conference center, dining facility and a 1,500-space covered parking garage with electric vehicle charging stations. Hobbs Brook Management LLC is the developer of the project, which is expected to be complete in March 2022.
WILBRAHAM, MASS. — FIC Restaurants Inc., which operates the Friendly’s brand, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and entered in an agreement to sell all of its assets to Amici Partners Group LLC. Nearly all of Friendly’s 130 corporate-owned and franchised restaurant locations, known for burgers, sandwiches and ice cream, are expected to remain open subject to COVID-19 limitations. Friendly’s stated that it has sufficient cash on hand to continue operations, meet its obligations to employees, franchisees and vendors. Upon the sale closing, Amici expects to retain most employees at Friendly’s corporate-owned restaurant locations. Amici is an affiliate of BRIX Holdings, an owner-operator whose brands include Red Mango Yogurt Café Smoothie & Juice Bar, Smoothie Factory Juice Bar, RedBrick Pizza Kitchen Café and Souper Salad.
PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as of Sunday, Nov. 1. PREIT (NYSE: PEI), which is based in Philadelphia, owns and operates 22.5 million square feet of retail space including 19 mall properties in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, Michigan, North Carolina and South Carolina. PREIT has reached a Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) with its bank lenders, under which an additional $150 million will be committed to recapitalize the business and extend its debt maturities. The announcement coincides with the Chapter 11 filing of Tennessee-based CBL & Associates (NYSE: CBL), which owns and manages a portfolio of 107 properties totaling 66.7 million square feet across 26 states, including 65 enclosed, outlet and open-air retail centers and eight properties managed for third parties. “Today’s announcement has no impact on our operations — our employees, tenants, vendors and the communities we serve — and we remain committed to continuing to deliver top-tier experiences and improving our portfolio,” says Joseph Coradino, CEO of PREIT. “With the overwhelming support of our lenders, we look forward to quickly emerging from this process as a financially stronger company.” DLA Piper LLP and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz are …
PARSIPPANY, N.J. — A partnership between Harbor Group International (HGI) and Turnbridge Equities has sold a 550,000-square-foot warehouse located at 100 Jefferson Road in the Northern New Jersey city of Parsippany for $85.2 million. The building’s primary tenants are electronics manufacturer PNY Technologies and dietary supplement provider Vitaquest. The partnership acquired the property from PNY Technologies in 2018 in a $60.3 million sale-leaseback deal and implemented a value-add program that brought the occupancy rate from 28 percent to its current mark of 64 percent. The buyer was not disclosed.
NEW HAVEN, CONN. — CBRE has arranged the sale of New Haven Plaza, a 153,000-square-foot office complex located less than a mile from Yale University in New Haven, for $6.8 million. David Hansen and Matthew O’Hare of CBRE represented the seller, New Haven Plaza LLC, which acquired the site in 1972 and developed a third building for New Haven Adult Education in 1990, in the transaction. The buyer was SP Capital LLC.
LEXINGTON, MASS. — DiMella Shaffer, a Boston-based architecture and design firm, has completed its second expansion project for the 26-acre Brookhaven at Lexington seniors housing community located north of Boston. The project featured renovations to all common areas, and expansion and improvements to the assisted care and long-term care facility. A four-story wing that houses new amenities has also been added. Brookhaven Senior Living owns the property.