PEABODY, MASS. — Colliers International has negotiated a 62,000-square-foot industrial lease in Peabody, a suburb of Boston. Needham-based contractor Bowdoin Construction will convert the warehouse property into a printing facility for the new tenant, Spire Printing. Greg Klemmer, Tim Brodigan, Tim Allen and Dan Driscoll of Colliers represented the landlord, Boston-based Novaya Ventures, in the lease negotiations. John Cremmen of Boston-based Denenberg Realty Advisors represented Spire, which will move into the property in late summer 2019.
NorthMarq Arranges $7.5M Loan for Refinancing of Seniors Housing Community in Mount Vernon, New York
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. — NorthMarq has arranged a $7.5 million loan for the refinancing of Lohman Village, a 31-unit seniors housing community in Mount Vernon, a northern suburb of New York City. The loan features a fixed interest rate with a seven-year term on a 30-year amortization schedule. Robert Ranieri of NorthMarq arranged the loan through PCSB Bank. The borrower was New York-based seniors housing owner Wartburg.
ROCHELLE PARK, N.J. — Avenue Stores LLC will close all 222 of its Avenue stores across 33 states after failing to procure a buyer for the plus-size women’s clothing chain. It was not made immediately clear if the retailer will continue to operate its e-commerce platform. Philadelphia-based Versa Capital Management acquired Avenue Stores LLC in bankruptcy in 2012 when the retailer operated 433 stores. Avenue will hold liquidation sales in all of its stores, offering 30 to 50 percent off clothes, accessories and even store fixtures. Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers have been hired to oversee the inventory sales. Footwear News reported that Rochelle Park, N.J.-based Avenue Stores LLC filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) with the New Jersey Department of Labor in early August. WARN requires employers to provide 60 days’ notice in advance of mass layoffs. According to Coresight Research, there has already been 29 percent more store closures in 2019 than in all of 2018. The Avenue store closing announcement comes on the heels of Barneys New York filing for bankruptcy in early August. Additionally, in July, GNC and Charming Charlie announced they would close hundreds of stores. Versa Capital, a Philadelphia-based private equity …
NEW YORK CITY — A partnership between two New York-based developers, Related Cos. and The Hudson Cos., has topped out Riverwalk Park, 340-unit affordable housing project on Roosevelt Island. Designed by Handel Architects, Riverwalk Park will house a mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments in a single building. Sixty percent of Riverwalk Park’s units will be permanently affordable, with the remaining 40 percent affordable for 40 years. Construction is slated for completion in 2021.
BOSTON — Boston Properties has opened a 272-room hotel at The Hub on Causeway, a 2 million-square-foot mixed use development in Boston. Dutch brand citizenM will operate the hotel. The Hub houses direct connections to several entertainment and retail destinations in Boston, including the North Station transit line and TD Garden sports arena. California-based architecture firm Gensler designed the hotel, citizenM’s first property in the United States outside of New York.
NEW YORK CITY — A partnership between two New York-based developers, Delshah Capital and OTL Enterprises, has broken ground on a 166,976-square-foot mixed-use project in Brooklyn. The property will offer 180 units of multifamily housing, 25 percent of which will be affordable housing. Healthcare and drug treatment provider START Treatment & Recovery Centers will occupy 15,000 square feet of office space within the tower, which will also house 2,000 square feet of retail space. Construction is slated for completion in 2021.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Money360, a California-based direct lender, has provided a $13.2 million bridge loan to refinance a multifamily property in Rochester, a city located about 70 miles east of Buffalo. The property includes ground-floor retail space. The non-recourse, three-year loan features a fixed interest rate with an interest-only amortization schedule. Ken Wood of Money360 originated the loan.
NEWARK, N.J. — NorthMarq has arranged $8 million in financing for 31 Clinton Street, a 12-story office building in Newark. The public defender’s office of the State of New Jersey occupies the property. The non-recourse loan carries a 15-year term and a fixed interest rate of 3.72 percent. The loan proceeds will be used for renovations including a new elevator, new roof, new HVAC control system and facade repairs. Charles Cotsalas of NorthMarq arranged the loan. The lender and borrower were undisclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — WeWork’s parent company, The We Co., has filed for its initial public offering. The coworking giant has not yet provided details on the number of shares it will offer or the expected pricing. We’s public filing would enable the company to debut as early as September. We has been valued as high as $47 billion in the private markets, according to The Wall Street Journal. We’s total revenue increased $771.6 million in the first six months of 2019 to $1.5 billion, primarily driven by an increase in membership and service revenue, according to the company’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. On the flip side, We posted a net loss of $689.7 million for the first six months of the year. Total revenue in 2018 was $1.8 billion, but total losses were $1.6 billion. In the filing, We stated that average revenue per WeWork membership has experienced a decline, citing continued expansion into new global markets with different pricing structures and discounts to encourage longer contract terms. In 2010, WeWork opened its first location at 154 Grand St. in New York City. In the early years, WeWork members consisted of mostly freelancers, start-ups and small …
On June 14th, the New York State legislature passed a series of stringent rent regulation reforms. The laws damaged property owners’ means of making money by strengthening tenant protections, capping rent increases and keeping units permanently stabilized. A quick Google search will explain the specifics regarding IAIs, J51s, eviction, buyouts, vacancy bonus and decontrol. In short, landlords will face rising taxes, higher water and sewer bills and elevated construction costs with no mechanism to raise rents to outpace or even match these expenses. Gloom was in the air until an auspicious turn of events occurred on June 21st, just one week after the new rent laws passed. A Pennsylvania woman won a momentous victory in the U.S. Supreme Court that opened the doors for property owners to go directly to federal court without going to state court first. The timing was nothing short of incredible. Essentially, the decision paves the way for New York City landlords to get a fast-track hearing by the Supreme Court, which may view the these new rent laws as going too far and violating owners’ constitutional rights. In weeks to follow, property owners spoke with each other and with major law firms to get a …