MILFORD, CONN. — Connecticut-based private equity firm Stone Harbour Capital has acquired a 162,000-square-foot office building in the coastal Connecticut city of Milford. Built on 12 acres in 1988, the four-story property was formerly known as Merritt Crossing. Stone Harbour will rebrand the building as Great River Corporate Center and introduce a value-add program that will deliver an upgraded café, coffee bar, fitness center, coworking spaces and conference center, as well as dining and recreation areas. Renovations are set to start this month with completion slated for summer 2020. The seller was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Berkadia has arranged a $32 million senior loan with a mezzanine loan component for a 60-unit residential project at 433 W. 53rd St. in Midtown Manhattan. Proceeds will be used to stabilize the community, construction of which was recently completed. Keysite Capital Partners provided the loan to the borrower, Emmut Properties. Chinmay Bhatt, Noam Franklin and Cody Kirkpatrick of Berkadia handled the transaction.
ISELIN, N.J. — Global banking organization BNP Paribas has signed a 53,186-square-foot office lease extension at Woodbridge Corporate Plaza, a 630,000-square-foot office complex in the central New Jersey city of Iselin. Owner KBS recently renovated Woodbridge Corporate Plaza, a six-building development that offers a 6,000-square-foot fitness center, full-service café and shuttle service to nearby public transit lines. Jamie Drummond and Andrew Perotti of Newmark Knight Frank represented KBS in the lease negotiations.
With a pressing demand for new housing in the Boston area and communities struggling to provide affordable options to mitigate the effect of rising prices, the barriers to providing new affordable multifamily properties remain significant. Here in the Boston region, the scale of the problem is immense. Boston’s Metropolitan Area Planning Council recently declared a need for 185,000 new units of housing over next 10 or so years in the 15 cities and towns that comprise the inner core of the metro area — just to keep up with expected growth. Some of the integral variables and processes associated with multifamily development, like land acquisition and construction costs, can be tangibly quantified. But harder to define is the often unpredictable process of securing public approvals, wherein a development team must navigate the sometimes contentious ground between neighborhood groups and regulatory agencies. Locally Scaled Solutions In 2018, Related Beal completed The Beverly, a 239-unit, income-restricted project in downtown Boston, capturing headlines that heralded this significant model for addressing housing affordability in the region. Landmark projects like The Beverly represent great strides toward addressing the housing affordability crisis and have helped raise the awareness of efforts to develop real solutions to the …
James P. Flynn, CEO of New York-headquartered Hunt Real Estate Capital, believes 2020 will continue to provide a strong environment for multifamily lending and transactions. Though this may be good news for borrowers, it does mean competition in the market will also remain strong. Flynn addresses these points and elaborates on ORIX USA’s acquisition of the Hunt Companies’ commercial real estate financing subsidiary in the Q&A below. Finance Insight: What commercial property sector will experience the most activity in 2020, and why? Flynn: Multifamily should continue to be the most active commercial real estate sector in terms of financing activity. The MBA forecasts that multifamily lending will top $395 billion in 2020, a 9 percent increase over 2019 activity. That figure represents nearly 60 percent of the total commercial real estate activity forecast for 2020. With the Fed signaling no change to borrower costs for the year, the consensus seems to be a continued period of interest rates near historic lows. Multifamily owners and operators will continue to take advantage of this environment to rehabilitate, refinance and refine their portfolios. Of course, the other side of the equation is the growth in multifamily demand drivers. These drivers have remained strong, …
BOSTON — Newmark Knight Frank has arranged the $128 million sale of 535-545 Boylston Street, a 184,643-square-foot office building located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. At the time of sale, the building was 98 percent leased to 38 tenants. The property offers access to Copley Square and the Raffles Hotel & Residences project that is currently in development. Edward Maher, Matthew Pullen, James Tribble and Samantha Hallowell represented the seller, Manulife Investment Management. A joint venture between Bahrain-based Investcorp and New York-based Brickman was the buyer.
MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. — Capitol Seniors Housing has opened Arbor Terrace Mount Laurel, an 88-unit seniors housing community located on the eastern outskirts of Philadelphia. The 75,000-square-foot community offers assisted living and memory care services and amenities such as a bistro, theater room, art studio, technology lounge and fitness center. Meyer Senior Living Studio designed the community.
AMITYVILLE, N.Y. — Greystone has provided a $71.3 million HUD-insured loan for the refinancing of Massapequa Center Rehabilitation & Nursing, a 320-bed skilled nursing facility in the Long Island village of Amityville. The loan enables the borrower to exit initial bridge financing used to acquire the property in November 2017 and to continue with renovations. The financing carries a fixed interest rate, 30-year term and a 30-year amortization schedule. Originally constructed in 1974, Massapequa Center has undergone $8.5 million in facility upgrades, including the installation of private suites with private showers, the addition of a new commercial kitchen, the creation of a large rehabilitation and wellness center and comprehensive renovations to the entrance lobby, nurse stations and geriatric units. Fred Levine of Greystone originated the transaction.
MARLTON, N.J. — Flexible workspace provider Serendipity Labs will open a 23,000-square-foot coworking office space in Marlton, an eastern suburb of Philadelphia. The space will occupy the entire third floor at 50 Lake Center Executive Park, a 76,359-square-foot office building owned by Twenty Lake Holdings. The space is slated to open in the third quarter.
NEEDHAM AND NEWTON, MASS. — Avison Young Commercial Real Estate has brokered the $7 million sale of two retail properties in Needham and Newton, two western suburbs of Boston. The property in Needham, a 15,609-square-foot retail center located at 238 Highland Ave., is leased to Needham Montessori School, Mandarin Cuisine Restaurant and Needham Nail & Spa. The property in Newton, a 3,588-square-foot building located at 106 Needham St., is leased to fitness equipment distributor Gym Source. Brandon Dickinson of Avison Young represented the seller, Terrazzino Investment Trust, in the transaction. The buyer was not disclosed.