NEW YORK CITY — Berkadia has provided a $104.2 million HUD loan for the refinancing of Workmen’s Circle Multicare Center, a skilled nursing facility in The Bronx. In addition to skilled nursing care, the property offers mental health services, palliative care and social services. Gemma Geldmacher and Richard Price of Berkadia negotiated the transaction through HUD’s 232/223(f) program, which specifically targets residential care facilities. The loan, which was provided for Woodbury, New York-based Cassena Care, was structured with a fixed interest rate and a 20-year, fully amortizing schedule.
WARD HILL, MASS. — Cedar’s Foods, a supplier of Mediterranean foods, will soon open a $100 million, 125,000-square-foot production facility in Ward Hill, located near the New Hampshire border. The facility has been under construction for the past year and is scheduled to open in August in a move that will bring 125 new jobs to the area. Cedar’s also operates two other production facilities in the area totaling 174,000 square feet, as well as a 75,000-square-foot dry storage facility. With the completion of this project, the company’s regional footprint will total roughly 375,000 square feet.
QUINCY, MASS. — WinnCompanies and NeighborWorks Housing Solutions have completed construction of The Watson, a 140-unit affordable housing project in the southern Boston suburb of Quincy. Project costs were approximately $44 million. The Watson features 86 apartments available to residents earning 110 percent or less than the area median income (AMI). Twenty eight residences will be rented to households earning 50 percent or less of AMI, and 26 units are reserved for market-rate housing. The Watson was developed at the site of a former shipyard and is close to being fully preleased.
Industrial properties have experienced unprecedented growth in demand over the past several years as both new and old companies seek to find space. This shift has benefited industrial assets in many metros across the country, although investors may unintentionally limit their focus to the markets with the most outsized gains. Smaller cities can provide equally compelling investment opportunities due to some unique advantages. Multiple factors combine to create such a scenario in Pittsburgh. The city is home to several prominent educational institutions, healthcare providers and technology companies that are fueling job growth, thus dropping the unemployment rate to its lowest in two decades. Opportunities in these high-wage industries are bolstering the metro’s median household income and improving retail sales. Consumer spending is projected to jump 4.4 percent in 2019, about 100 basis points more than last year. As shopping activity expands, the need for distribution centers is becoming more acute. Together with an established manufacturing sector, both sources of demand are supporting the absorption of industrial space. More tenants moving in are enabling properties to perform at a greater level. The metro’s vacancy rate has declined 400 basis points since 2009 and is now under 6 percent. Availability is lowest …
WOODBRIDGE, N.J. — A joint venture between Prism Capital Partners and Northwestern Mutual Insurance Co. has acquired land in Woodbridge, located south of Newark, for the development of a 232-unit apartment project. The transit-served community will also include 12,000 square feet of retail space. Construction will begin in July with the demolition of the former Lucas Chevrolet dealership that is located on the site. Andrew Merin, David Bernhaut, Gary Gabriel, Brian Whitmer, Kyle Schmidt and Ryan Dowd of Cushman & Wakefield represented the joint venture in the land sale. Northwestern is also providing construction financing for the project, which has a construction schedule of about 20 to 24 months.
BAYONNE, N.J. — Woodmont Properties, a development firm based in Fairfield, New Jersey, has opened Woodmont Bay Club, a 220-unit apartment community in Bayonne, located across from Brooklyn. The waterfront property offers studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The apartments feature quartz countertops, 9-foot ceilings and private balconies. Amenities include a pool, outdoor grilling area, fitness center, business center, game room, pet spa, golf simulator and a sky lounge. Residents can also enjoy access to a waterfront walkway and a network of nature trails.
NEW YORK CITY — Flatiron Health, a healthcare technology firm that specializes in cancer research, has signed a 252,452-square-foot office lease renewal and expansion at One SoHo Square. The newly renovated, 15-story office building is located in Manhattan. In addition to renewing the 130,384 square feet it currently leases, the firm will take an additional 122,068 square feet, bringing its total footprint to nine full floors. Zev Holzman, Brad Wolk and Herman Dodson of Savills Inc. represented Flatiron Health in the lease negotiations, along with Roswell Hobbs, the tenant’s head of real estate. Brent Ozarowski, David Malawer, Andy Peretz and Brian Waterman of Newmark Knight Frank represented the landlord, Imperium Capital.
FRAMINGHAM, MASS. — CBRE has brokered the $20.4 million sale of a 153,000-square-foot office and laboratory property located within Framingham Technology Park on the western outskirts of Boston. Zell Partnership represented the seller, biotech firm Sanofi Genzyme, which will continue to operate out of the property until it takes occupancy of a new build-to-suit space at Cambridge Crossing. That property is under construction, and Sanofi Genzyme expects to move in by late 2021 or early 2022. Steve Purpura, Chris Skeffington and Roy Sandeman of CBRE represented the buyer, King Street Properties, which plans to redevelop the property into a multi-tenanted R&D lab facility after Sanofi moves out.
WALTHAM, MASS. — ElevateBio, a biotech firm that specializes in gene therapy and development, will open a 108,000-square-foot office and lab space in Waltham, a western suburb of Boston. The facility will be located at 200 Smith Street in a former U.S. Post Office facility that was recently transformed into a 430,000-square-foot life sciences building. Anchor Line Partners LLC and Northwood Investors led the redevelopment project. ElevateBio’s new facility is expected to open in May 2020.
PHILADELPHIA — Southern Land Co., a Nashville-based developer, has broken ground on The Laurel, a 48-story condominium tower in Philadelphia. Located in the Rittenhouse Square area, the property will be the tallest all-residential building in the city upon completion. The first units are expected to be available for occupancy in 2021. Solomon Cordwell Buenz is the architect for the project, which will also house 44,000 square feet of retail space. Residents will have access to amenities such as an indoor pool and hot tub, fitness center with a sauna and yoga studio, a bar and catering kitchen and a conference room. Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies provided construction financing totaling $295 million, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal, for the project.