NEW YORK CITY — Leviathan Capital has secured a $1.4 million loan to refinance a two-story, 3,750-square-foot mixed-use building in the Bushwick neighborhood in Brooklyn. Yaron Cohen of Leviathan Capital secured a five-year loan with a fixed rate of 4.375 percent for the undisclosed borrower. The lender was a local community bank. Terms of the financing also included a 30-year amortization schedule.
Although one of New England’s smallest geographical submarkets, spanning only 7.1 square miles, Cambridge packs a serious one-two punch between its thriving office and life science sectors. Routinely ranked as one the nation’s most densely populated cities, universities, research institutes and private corporations employ many of the 110,000 residents of Cambridge. Not surprisingly, 44 percent of those residents are highly educated millennials between the ages of 18 and 35, according to the most recent U.S. Census and American Community Survey. Those millennials form the unparalleled labor pool that has employers clamoring for talent. Hosting more than 230 life science and high-tech companies, research from CBRE suggests that Cambridge contains upwards of 700 start-ups, many of which are pioneered by entrepreneurial professionals spinning out from larger institutions. Known as the city of squares, Cambridge is divided into three distinct submarkets, each with their own distinctive flavor — East Cambridge, anchored by MIT and Kendall Square; Mid Cambridge, home to Harvard University and West Cambridge/Fresh Pond area. Collectively the city contains roughly 11.2 million and 14.6 million square feet of commercial office and life science space, respectively. Low Vacancy, High Rents Cambridge finished 2018 maintaining incredibly low office and life science vacancy …
Chad Thomas Hagwood, senior managing director and regional manager for the Southeast at Hunt Real Estate Capital, closes loans across the nation and sees opportunities in multiple sectors in 2019. While multifamily is still a standout, his scope extends beyond the industry buzzwords common today. Do you think refinancing activity will be as robust as it’s been in the recent past? Hagwood: There is no doubt refinancing will remain very active in 2019. Treasury yields have subsided from north of 3 percent and spreads are still extremely attractive. Many owners intend to hold their properties as opposed to selling. They realize they will have to pay top dollar to find a replacement property, or shell out a portion of their gains to Uncle Sam. It makes a great deal of sense to refinance and cash out versus sell, in many circumstances. What has been Hunt’s most popular loan product as of late? Hagwood: Both the 10- and 12-year fixed-rate conventional products with maximum IO [interest only] have been extremely popular with Hunt’s customers. In my opinion, the level of fixed-rate conventional business will continue to grow well into 2019 and beyond here at Hunt. The fixed-rate offering — compared with adjustable and floating …
NEW HAVEN, CONN. — PAG Investments has acquired Orange Plaza, a 58,210-square-foot retail center in the New Haven community of Orange. The sales price was undisclosed. Built in 2001, Orange Plaza is fully leased to Best Buy and PetSmart. The center is shadow anchored by a retail center that includes a Target, Starbucks, CVS Pharmacy and Pizza Hut. The center is located at 3 Boston Post Road, which is approximately four miles from downtown New Haven. Michael Klein and Rob Hinckley of HFF secured acquisition financing for PAG Investments through lender Putnam Bank.
NEW YORK CITY — Avison Young has negotiated the $8.9 million sale of 356 Bowery, a 6,500-square-foot, mixed-use building in the NoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. The five-story residential and retail property is currently vacant. James Nelson and Brandon Polakoff of Avison Young represented the seller, Ultimate Realty LLC, in the transaction. The buyer was undisclosed.
PROVINCETOWN, MASS. — HFF has arranged an $11.7 million acquisition loan for the 129-room Harbor Hotel Provincetown in Massachusetts. Located at 698 Commercial St., the three-building seasonal boutique hotel includes an outdoor pool, patio, fire pit, cabana bar and pet-friendly rooms as well as an onsite lounge and restaurant. The hotel is less than two miles from the ferry port, which delivers tourists from Boston. Provincetown attracts more than 60,000 tourists each summer. Greg LaBine and Martha Nay of HFF secured a seven-year, fixed-rate acquisition loan on behalf of the borrower, subsidiary entities of funds managed by Linchris Hotel Corp. The lender was HarborOne Bank.
BOSTON — KS Partners LLC has acquired 15 Court Square, an 11-story office building with ground-floor retail space in downtown Boston. The sales price was undisclosed. The 82,000-square-foot property, which is also known as 15 Pi Alley, includes an on-site tailor, 24-hour maintenance and an ATM. At the time of sale, 15 Court Square was 98 percent leased. KS Partners acquired the building from Brickpoint Properties, which had owned the property since 1978. KS Partners plans to fully renovate the lobby and common areas of the property and add amenities such as a lounge, conference room, fitness center and bike room.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — KeyBank has provided a $5.4 million construction loan and $6.7 million in 9 percent tax credit equity for the construction of Elim Townhomes in Buffalo. The two-acre property will feature 30 townhome units, available to households earning 50 percent of the area median income. Additionally, six of the 30 units will be set aside for individuals and families with physical, hearing or vision impairments. The borrower was Belmont Housing Resources. Terms of the financing were not disclosed. Other investments in Elim Townhomes included $3.1 million in permanent financing from the New York State Housing Trust Fund and a $900,000 permanent, long-term HOME loan from the City of Buffalo.
CHICAGO — Net absorption in office markets across the United States exceeded new construction in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to Cushman & Wakefield. This enabled the national office vacancy rate to drop to 13.2 percent. Nationwide absorption during the fourth quarter totaled 20 million square feet and marked the 33rd consecutive quarter of positive absorption since 2010. The total volume of space under construction increased slightly to 114.2 million square feet in the fourth quarter, up from 113.2 million in the third quarter. A total of 13.7 million square feet of new office projects delivered in the fourth quarter, bringing the total for 2018 deliveries to 52.7 million square feet, the second-highest amount of new space completed since 2010. Relative to inventory, the markets with the highest construction figures are San Mateo, Calif.; Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; Seattle; and Midtown Manhattan. On the west side Office markets in the Western United States performed the strongest in 2018 and accounted for 22.6 million square feet of net absorption, the highest volume since 2015. The lowest vacancy rates were seen in tech-driven markets like Seattle (6.2 percent vacancy) and San Francisco (6.4 percent). According to Cushman & Wakefield, the western …
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. — NorthMarq has arranged a $4 million loan to refinance an 82,835-square-foot industrial facility in Hauppauge. The property is located at 90 Nicon Court. NorthMarq arranged the 10-year, permanent loan for the borrower, 90 Nicon Realty LLC, through lender Lincoln Financial Group. The non-recourse loan features a fixed interest rate of 4.33 percent and a 25-year amortization schedule. The building is currently fully occupied by W.B. Mason.