AUSTIN, TEXAS — Falcon Realty Advisors, a Dallas-based commercial real estate company that represents retail, restaurant and entertainment tenants, has expanded into central Texas with the opening of an office in Austin. The Austin office will serve as an extension of Falcon’s Dallas headquarters by continuing operations within its tenant representation services and the development of its build-to-suit platform. The Austin branch will also be actively recruiting brokers and new team members. Travis Heinrichs, who joined Falcon in 2013 and most recently served as director of investments, will be heading the new branch as director. The firm’s portfolio consists of Austin-based Whole Foods Market and other retailers throughout the state including Petco, Mattress Firm, Robbins Brothers and iPic Theaters. Falcon is a member of Realty Resources, a member-owned retail real estate brokerage group that combines firms from more than 25 cities around the country into one network.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded Capitol Towers, a Class A office campus in Charlotte’s SouthPark submarket, LEED Gold certification. The office park is owned by Lincoln Harris, an affiliate of Lincoln Property Co. Phase I of Capitol Towers, which features the 236,250-square-foot South Office Tower, a parking deck and 25,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, was opened recently. Phase II, which will feature the 236,250-square-foot North Office Tower, is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2017. Sustainability and energy efficient features at Capitol Towers range from an on-site parking deck that provides preferred parking for low emission vehicles to an HVAC system designed to measure and filter air before entering the building.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — WinnDevelopment and GDD Properties, in a public-private partnership with New York State, have broken ground on the $200 million redevelopment of The Sibley Building, located at the intersection of East Avenue and East Main Street in downtown Rochester. The Sibley Building opened in 1868 as the city’s first department store, and earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The property will be rebranded as Sibley Square, with the name, logo and signage to be changed in the coming weeks. The phased redevelopment will begin with the $100 million construction of 96 modern apartments on the ninth through 12th floors of the building. Phase I will also include the addition of boutique retail, local artisan foodservice tenants, office space and active senior living apartments, as well as a complete rehabilitation of the façade and windows of the property. The residential components of the building will be named The Lofts at Sibley and The Residences at Sibley. Leases for active adult units at The Residences will be available by the end of this year. Redevelopment of the top floor of the building, once home to the Tea Room of the Sibley Department Store, is …
A new report from George Washington University finds that metropolitan areas in the United States are shifting toward developing more walkable areas, reversing a trend that dates back more than half a century. Christopher Leinberger and Michael Rodriguez of The George Washington University School of Business wrote the report, titled “Foot Traffic Ahead, Ranking Walkable Urbanism in America’s Largest Metros.” “The end of sprawl is in sight,” the authors write. “The nation’s largest metropolitan areas are focusing on building walkable urban development.” For what may be the first time in 60 years, the report finds that walkable urban places (WalkUPs) in all 30 of the largest metros are gaining market share over their drivable suburban competition, which is often accessible only by car. This has been coupled in recent years by substantially higher rental premiums in the office and retail sectors. The 30 metro areas measured include 46 percent of the nation’s population (145 million of 314 million) and 54 percent of the national GDP. They were measured based on the current percentage of occupied walkable urban office, retail and multifamily rental square feet in their WalkUPs. The top walkable metro areas are as follows: The study found that walkable …
CHICAGO — McDonald’s will relocate its corporate headquarters from Oak Brook to downtown Chicago by the spring of 2018. The fast food giant has signed a lease at 1045 W. Randolph St. in the West Loop neighborhood. McDonald’s was headquartered in Chicago from 1955 to 1971. The new location will provide offices, as well as house Hamburger University, one of seven worldwide training centers. According to Crain’s Chicago, McDonald’s will likely lease over 300,000 square feet at the building, which formerly served as Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Studios. McDonald’s currently operates over 36,000 locations in over 100 countries.
NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J. — Bergman Real Estate Group has completed the sale of its four-story office building located at 121 Chanlon Road in New Providence. A private entity acquired the property for an undisclosed sum. Situated on 6.5 acres, the 112,260-square-foot office building is 85 percent leased by a variety of companies in industries such as publishing, technology and healthcare. David Bernhaut, Andrew Merin, Gary Gabriel, Brian Whitmer, Andrew Schwartz and Frank DiTommaso of Cushman & Wakefield’s Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group brokered the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of net-leased property located at 310 E. Houston St. in Brooklyn as part of a 1031 exchange. An undisclosed New York-based purchaser acquired the 4,753-square-foot property, which is 15-year absolute net-leased to Manhattan AltSchool, for $6 million. Arthur Kaplan and Lisa Sickinger of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a developer. Barbara Dansker and Matt Fotis, also of Marcus & Millichap arranged the sale of property that was relinquished by the buyer.
TUCSON, ARIZ. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $1.97 million sale of SurgCenter of Tucson, a 6,300-square-foot, net-leased property in Tucson. Jamie Medress, Mark Ruble and Chris Lind of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, an undisclosed developer, in the sale of the property to an undisclosed limited liability company.
ATLANTA — GE Digital, a division of Boston-based General Electric, plans to establish its first global Digital Operations Center in Midtown Atlanta. The $3 million project is expected to create 250 jobs, including positions in system administration and engineering, full-stack operations and engineering and service desk operations. Ashley Morris of the Georgia Department of Economic Development represented the Global Commerce division in partnership with InvestAtlanta, the Metro Atlanta Chamber and Georgia Power. GE plans to open similar hubs in Miami and Providence, R.I., that will support the company’s global infrastructure operations.
NEW YORK CITY — French billionaire Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière has purchased a 100,000-square-foot office and retail building in Manhattan for $525 million. The building is located at 693 Fifth Ave. in Midtown’s Plaza District. The 20-story property’s retail component houses the flagship store of international luxury brand Valentino. It includes four full levels of retail space with 50 feet of Fifth Avenue frontage. Notable office tenants include Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Louis Licari and Phillips Auctioneers. Thor Equities acquired the building in 2010 from Japanese department store Takashimaya for $142 million. Thor then restructured the interior to create a multi-level retail space, which Valentino occupied in 2013. The renovation included a modern floor-to-ceiling window façade from the ground level through the eighth floor. Thor also worked with designer David Chipperfield to create a new building lobby. Thor Equities owns a number of other properties on Fifth Avenue including 685 Fifth Ave., the future home of the new Coach global flagship store. “We continue to believe strongly in the retail and office market on Fifth Avenue and throughout New York City,” says Joe Sitt, Thor’s CEO. “However, after successfully implementing our business plan of improving this prime retail and office location …