YARDLEY, PENN. — Rubenstein Partners L.P. is planning an amenity overhaul project at Makefield Crossing, a four-building office complex in Yardley, a southwestern suburb of Trenton. Rubenstein plans to upgrade the fitness center, conference center, full-service café and tenant lounge, and will also replace a portion of the parking lot with green space. In the past 12 months, several new tenants have signed office leases at Makefield Crossing, including Biohaven Pharmaceuticals (21,082 square feet) and Cello Health (21,690 square feet). Further details of the project, including the project cost and construction schedule, were not disclosed. Rubenstein owns three of the complex’s four buildings totaling 276,533 square feet of Class A space
NEW YORK CITY — Ariel Property Advisors has brokered the $2.8 million sale of a four-story, 240-space parking facility in the Fordham Heights neighborhood of The Bronx. Located at 305 East 182nd Street, the property is zoned for 35,000 buildable square feet of commercial space and 17,000 buildable square feet of residential space. Jason Gold, Marko Agbaba and Michael Tortorici of Ariel represented the seller and procured the buyer, both parties were undisclosed.
BOSTON — Starwood Real Estate Income Trust Inc. has acquired the leasehold interest in 60 State Street in downtown Boston. Local city records indicate a sales price of $614 million. The 38-story office and retail tower spans 911,394 square feet. The tower’s major tenants include law firm WilmerHale, asset manager Amundi Pioneer, advertising technology solutions provider Criteo, and asset manager BlackRock. A three-level Samuel Adams Tap Room, which opened earlier this year, anchors the retail portion. The building also features the State Room event space on floors 33 and 34 and a 240-space parking garage. Institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Oxford Properties Group sold the asset. Robert Griffin, Edward Maher, Matthew Pullen, Samantha Hallowell, Debra Gould and Gilbert Dailey of Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) oversaw the transaction, which marks the largest sales price recorded for an office asset year-to-date in Boston’s central business district, according to NKF. Starwood Real Estate Income Trust is a nontraded REIT managed by Starwood Capital Group, a global private investment firm. — Kristin Hiller
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health plans to immediately hire 50,000 full-time, part-time and temporary employees across the country in response to healthcare needs generated by the coronavirus outbreak. Roles include store associates, home delivery drivers, distribution center employees and customer service professionals. The Rhode Island-based pharmacy and retail giant operates approximately 6,200 stores across 43 states. The company has also temporarily waived charges for home delivery of prescription medications and will award monetary bonuses to pharmacists and other employees that are required to work.
NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, PENNSYLVANIA, MASSACHUSETTS — An Oxford Economics study for the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has found that 44 percent of hotel employees in every state have lost or are projected to lose their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. AHLA reports that hotel occupancy rates in some markets are below 20 percent following restrictions of air-travel and business shutdowns in many states, including New York. Of the state’s 112,897 direct hotel operations jobs, 49,674 have been lost or are projected to be lost in the coming weeks. Hotel job loss has also affected other major markets in the Northeast including New Jersey (52,490 jobs, 23,096 lost); Pennsylvania (65,229 jobs, 28,701 lost); and Massachusetts (40,562 jobs, 17,847 lost).
ALBANY, N.Y. — The landlord of Stuyvesant Plaza, a 240,000-square-foot retail center in Albany, has waived retail and restaurant tenant rent payments for a two-week period in response to sales losses during New York’s business shutdown. The policy applies to 60 businesses, including CVS Pharmacy, Starbucks, TGI Friday’s and dozens of other retail and restaurant tenants. The Swyer Cos. owns the property.
METUCHEN, N.J. — JLL has arranged the $29.6 million sale of The Hub at Metuchen, a Class A residential and retail property located southwest of New York City. Located at 656-660 Middlesex Ave., the property includes 79 apartment units and 11,203 square feet of retail space. Residential amenities include a fitness center and a resident lounge. Jose Cruz, Steve Simonelli and Michael Oliver led a JLL team that represented the seller, Renaissance Properties. A private buyer purchased the asset.
NORWELL, MASS. — Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has brokered the sale of 42 Longwater Drive, a 104,000-square-foot office building in Norwell, located approximately 25 miles southeast of Boston. The property is situated within the 1 million-square-foot Assinippi Park office complex and is located in close proximity to several retail destinations, including Derby Street Shops, Merchant’s Row and the newly redeveloped Hanover Mall. Edward Maher, Matthew Pullen and Samantha Hallowell led an NKF team that represented the seller, The RMR Group. The buyer, waste management company Clean Harbors, has used the building as its headquarters since 2005. The sales price was undisclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday, March 20, ordered all nonessential business in the state to temporarily close and called for all residents to stay home in order to prevent further spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Cuomo also ordered a 90-day moratorium on all residential and commercial evictions. The restrictions went into effect Sunday evening. Essential services including hospitals, grocery stores, pharmacies and public transit systems will remain open. Businesses that do not comply will face civil fines. As of Sunday, The Wall Street Journal tracked approximately 12,400 confirmed cases of the virus in New York and 76 deaths.
PHILADELPHIA — Hospitality owner Cambridge Landmark has completed a $30 million renovation of its 760-room Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown hotel in the Center City area of Philadelphia. The project upgraded the hotel’s guestrooms and 2,071-square-foot fitness center, which now features four Peloton bikes, among other new fitness equipment. The renovation also delivered a new 60,000-square-foot event space with two dining options.