NEW YORK CITY — The Moinian Group has begun work on the foundation of 3 Hudson Boulevard, a 66-story office tower located in the Hudson Yards District. Designed by FXFOWLE Architects and slated for completion in 2021, the 2 million-square-foot tower will feature 48,000-square-foot floor plates on the podium level, 30,000-square-foot to 35,000-square-foot, column-free floor plates on the tower office floors, 10-foot finished ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows. The amenity-rich building also anchors Hudson Boulevard Park, a public green space featuring fountains, green space, public seating and event space. The foundation is slated for completion by late 2017. A portion of the foundation is already underway as part of the MTA’s current infrastructure work for the second entrance to the 34th Street Station on the new No. 7 subway extension.
BILLERICA, MASS. — EMD Serono, the biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA, has selected JLL Construction for its $12 million expansion project in Billerica. The new 30,000-square-foot building will expand the existing research and development complex. Additionally, the facility will accommodate 120 new and current employees who will focus on accelerating innovation in R&D, particularly on oncology, immune-oncology and immunology. JLL Construction broke ground for the project in early May and construction is slated to begin in late spring 2016.
NEW YORK CITY — Madison Realty Capital has closed Madison Realty Capital Debt Fund III, the firm’s third institutional real estate debt investment vehicle. The discretionary private equity fund raised a total of $695 million in capital commitments, exceeding its original goal of $600 million. Capital was sourced from a diverse group of investors, including public pension funds, corporate pension funds, foundations and endowments, family offices and wealth managers. The fund originates commercial mortgage loans, mezzanine loans and preferred equity interests and acquires non-performing mortgages.
ALLENTOWN, PA. — City Center Investment Corp. is developing a 12-story Class A office building at Sixth and Hamilton streets at City Center Lehigh Valley in downtown Allentown. Named Tower 6, the 145,000-square-foot building is slated to open in early 2018. Constructed of glass and steel, the tower will feature upscale retail space on the first floor and 360-degree views from floors six through 12. City Center Lehigh Valley, a mixed-use development transforming downtown Allentown, is currently home to three Class A office buildings offering cutting-edge, efficient environmental control systems, customized access-control systems and a professional property management team.
MONTVALE, N.J. — American Equity Partners has acquired an office building located at 50 Chestnut Ridge Road in Montvale for an undisclosed price. Based upon a pending deed-in-lieu of foreclosure in July 2014, NAI James E. Hanson took over the leasing and property management of the 104,854-square-foot building. Situated on 11.1 acres, the property was renovated in 2005 and features 465 parking spaces. Andrew Somple and Greg James of NAI Hanson represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — EmblemHealth has signed a 20-year lease for a build-to-suit office building at 101 Pennsylvania Ave. in the East New York section of Brooklyn. Atlantic 2644 LLC, the building owner, broke ground on the project for the nonprofit health plan in January. When completed in third quarter 2017, the new building will feature 75,000 square feet of medical office space and 90,000 square feet of structured parking. Designed by Array Architects, the seven-story building will feature a lobby and ambulatory care treatment facilities on the ground floor, parking for 153 cars on the second through fourth floors and medical office space on the fifth through seventh floors.
DALLAS — Ready Capital Structured Finance has secured a $10.5 million loan for the refinance and stabilization of an office portfolio located at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Grapevine. The properties were recently acquired under a long-term ground lease from the DFW Airport Authority. The portfolio includes two office buildings totaling 188,600 square feet on 17.5 acres. The first is the DFW Business Center (north and south towers), two class B, four-story office buildings totaling 115,440 square feet with a 950-space garage deck located between the north and southbound lanes near Terminal B. The second is the airport’s 73,155-square-foot, two-story former executive office building located on 14.3 acres at 3200 E. Airfield Drive. The buildings had previously been used to accommodate the airport’s business operations and executive offices. Exterior renovations are planned for both properties, including improved landscaping and upgraded common areas. The non-recourse, three-year loan features release provisions and flexible pre-payment options with a one-year extension option.
ADDISON, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of The Forum at Beltline, a three-building, 205,771-square-foot office complex in Addison. Hebert Lawrence and Michael Lawrence of the firm’s Newport Beach, Calif., office represented the seller, a Delaware-based limited liability company. The complex is located in the far north Dallas office submarket at 4002, 4004 and 4006 Belt Line Road. The location, on the southwest corner of Belt Line and Surveyor roads, is known as Addison’s “restaurant row.” The buildings are 1.5 miles west of the Dallas North Tollway, 2.4 miles north of I-635 and four miles south of the George Bush Turnpike. A Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) bus stop and many restaurants are nearby. Built in 1983, The Forum at Beltline was 94 percent leased at the time of the sale.
IRVINE, CALIF. — J+R Group has purchased a 191,849-square-foot office building in Irvine for $66 million. The Class A building is located at 1901 Main St. The building is fully leased to three tenants. It was built in 2001, immediately adjacent to John Wayne Airport and Interstate 405. JLL’s Joe Bevan represented J+R Group, and the firm was retained to handle the building’s property management as well. Jeff Cole and Ed Hernandez of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Piedmont Office Realty Trust, in this transaction.
LOS ANGELES — Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. has purchased Apollo at Rosecrans, a 546,833-square-foot creative office campus in the Los Angeles submarket of El Segundo, for an undisclosed sum. The four-building, 13-acre campus is located at 2150, 2120, 2121 and 2175 Park Place, along the Rosecrans Corridor, a hotspot for tech and creative companies. Apollo at Rosecrans is 98 percent leased. Amenities include concrete floors, African Mahogany accent panels, LED strip accent lights, a basketball court, dog park, biking and walking trails, shower facilities and an outdoor fireplace. NGKF’s Kevin Shannon and CBRE represented the sellers, Invesco Real Estate and Second Street Ventures, in this transaction.