WARREN AND SOMERSET, N.J. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged a $41 million acquisition loan for a 768,244-square-foot industrial portfolio in Warren and Somerset. The seven-property portfolio is comprised of three industrial buildings, two flex buildings and two office buildings. The properties include 7 Powder Horn Drive, 30 Technology Drive, 40 Technology Drive and 45 Technology Drive in Warren as well as 1 Riverview Drive, 50 Randolph Road and 100 Randolph Road in Somerset. John Alascio, Sridhar Vankayala and Zachary Kraft of Cushman & Wakefield represented the borrower, Ivy Realty, in the transaction. BBVA Compass provided the loan.
Northeast
NEW YORK CITY — JLL has arranged a $22.7 million loan to convert a 13-story multifamily building into condominiums. The building is located at 42-14 Crescent St. in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens. The property, which is called The Independent, currently consists of 32,102 square feet of residential space across 48 units. The property was completed in 2016 and is currently fully leased. JLL represented the borrower, Meadow Partners LLC, in the transaction. The lender was Sterling National Bank. Meadow Partners plans to begin sales of units at the property in March 2019.
LEXINGTON, MASS. — CBRE has brokered the sale of a 78,717-square-foot office building in Lexington for an undisclosed price. Located at 131 Hartwell Ave., the three-story building is located on more than five acres in the heart of the Route 128 Technology Corridor in Lexington. The property was renovated in 2014 and is currently 80 percent leased to six tenants. Roy Sandeman, Chris Skeffington and Jason Levendusky of CBRE represented the seller, Griffith Properties, in the transaction. The buyer was Azad Legacy Partners.
Capital Funding Provides $16.1M HUD Refinancing for Skilled Nursing Facility in Pennsylvania
by David Cohen
HATBORO, PA. — Capital Funding, a Baltimore-based lender, has provided a $16.1 million loan for Luther Woods Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Hatboro, a small borough 15 miles north of Philadelphia. The HUD loan refinances existing debt on the 140-bed skilled nursing facility. The borrower was not disclosed. Capital Funding was the sole lender for the deal. Craig Casagrande, director of real estate finance, originated the mortgage.
SOMERVILLE, N.J. — Marcus & Millichap has negotiated the $1.3 million sale of a mixed-use building in Somerville. Located at 6 W. Main St., the 5,100-square-foot property consists of six apartments and one ground-floor retail space. The property is currently fully occupied. Alan Cafiero, Ben Sgambati and Brent Hyldahl of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a limited liability company, in the transaction. The buyer was a personal trust.
Boston’s metro west office market continued to move along at a steady clip in 2018. Many of the trends seen in the west market have been consistent over the past few years. One of the most prominent trends is that tenants continue to prefer high-quality properties. Class A product has benefited from the demand, resulting in a limited supply of Class A large blocks. In contrast, commodity space is still lagging from a demand standpoint. Additionally, many landlords have been performing gut renovations on older properties and have been reaping the rewards of their investments. The west market has also benefited from tenants migrating from Cambridge and life science demand, which are two closely related trends. Cambridge, particularly Kendall Square, is well known as the national hub of the life science industry. With that pedigree, pricing there has grown tremendously, and available space is scarce. As such, many life science occupiers are looking west to fulfill their needs, and the Cambridge market conditions have pushed other non-life science occupiers west as well. A proximity to the inner urban core makes towns like Watertown and Waltham particularly attractive. The above trends are not new, but one is. New economy tenants, who …
Fueled by low interest rates, an abundance of available debt capital, and superb fundamentals, the demand for multifamily assets in the U.S. has exploded over the past few years. This increased demand has led to fierce competition between capital in the multifamily sector, and consequently, a dramatic compression of going-in cash yields. With rents in “top-tier” cities at peak levels, these markets look prohibitively expensive. As a result, foreign capital is beginning to explore new markets to find more attractive yields. Long considered a second-tier U.S. city by global capital, Philadelphia has historically been overlooked in favor of cities such as New York City, Washington D.C., Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. When evaluating Philadelphia in comparison to other major metropolitan regions, the slow and steady growth of the Philadelphia MSA did not differentiate it enough to attract the foreign investor. Instead, those capital sources targeted cities with higher population growth, job growth, and rent growth. In good times, that calculation paid off with higher yields and greater appreciation. However, today most investors conclude that we are in the late stages of this real estate bull market. Yet, they still have capital which needs to be deployed. Those divergent factors …
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Vie Management, Middle Eastern Investor Acquire 2,059-Bed Student Housing Portfolio in Six States for $134.6M
by David Cohen
MIAMI— A joint venture between Miami-based Vie Management and a Middle Eastern asset manager have acquired a six-property student housing portfolio totaling 911 units and 2,059 beds. The purchase price was $134.6 million. The properties are located in six states and include: University Downs Apartments and Condos, a 222-unit property serving the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. University View, a 55-unit property serving Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. Hillcrest Oakwood Apartments, a 224-unit property serving Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan. Colonie Apartments, a 184-unit property serving the University at Buffalo in Amherst, New York. Southgate Apartments, a 151-unit property serving Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania. Ella Lofts, a 75-unit property serving Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. “These acquisitions are new canvases to us,” says Ari Rosenblum, CEO of Vie. “[The are] places to create experiential living environments where students can watch live music, study at a coffee shop, or work out at the best gym in town all within the confines of the community in which they live.” Claudio Sgobba of HFF represented the buyers in securing a $75.3 million loan in connection with the acquisition. The financing features a 10-year term, …
NEW YORK STATE — Jacobson Properties has brokered the $45 million sale of the New York State Medical Office Portfolio, five properties located in the Capital Region and Hudson Valley of New York State. The 209,382-square-foot portfolio is anchored by St. Peter’s Hospital, Ellis Hospital, Seton Health System and Westchester Medical Center Health Network. Lisa Menin of Jacobson Properties and Leo Jones of Cushman & Wakefield/Pyramid Brokerage Co. represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The buyer was a national private equity healthcare investor.
NEW YORK CITY — CapStack Partners has arranged a $19 million loan to refinance The Ravel Hotel in Long Island City. Located at 8-08 Queens Plaza, the 113-room hotel also includes 17,000 square feet of event space, a redesigned rooftop restaurant, pool club and outdoor beer garden. CapStack’s investment banking group worked on behalf of the undisclosed borrower to secure the 10-year, fixed-rate loan through an undisclosed lender. Loan proceeds were used to refinance construction costs