CHICAGO — R2 Cos. has purchased Morton Salt Inc.’s iconic property on Elston Avenue with plans to redevelop the former packaging and warehousing operation into a mixed-use development. R2 purchased the 4.2-acre site for $15 million, according to local media reports. As part of the agreement, Morton Salt will retain its branded rooftop and relocate the company’s research and development center to the site from its current location in Elgin, Ill. The center will anchor the office portion of the development with 20,000 square feet. Morton Salt selected R2 in 2016 to re-imagine the riverfront site from heavy industrial use to commercial and retail use. Morton Salt is headquartered in Chicago.
NEW YORK CITY — Extell Development Co. closed on a $1.1 billion construction loan for Central Park Tower on Dec. 29, 2017. The financing package comprised a $900 million senior construction loan syndication led by J.P. Morgan and a $235 million preferred equity loan from a hedge fund. Situated on 57th Street, the 1,550-foot Central Park Tower will be the tallest residential building in the world. Designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, the building will feature 179 residences, stratospheric views and a full-service amenity package, as well as a seven-story, 300,000-square-foot Nordstrom department store. Extell is co-developing Central Park Tower with SMI USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Shanghai Municipal Investment.
STAMFORD, CONN. — Building and Land Technology (BLT) is developing Harbor Landing, the redevelopment and rebranding of Stamford Landing and Davenport Landing in Stamford. The project will connect the Stamford Landing office complex and the Davenport Landing boatyard and residential properties. The newly connected waterfront property will be a combination of the former Stamford Landing, a 200,000-square-foot waterfront office complex, and the former Davenport Landing, featuring 218 residential rental units, two restaurants, a full-service boatyard operated by The Hinckley Co., a boardwalk and a marina with more than 120 available slips. The residential portion of the property is slated to begin leasing early this year. On-site amenities at the property include security, a shuttle to the train, a fitness center with yoga studio, marina slips, and two restaurants, Crab Shell and Prime. BLT has retained RHYS as leasing agent for the property.
NEW YORK CITY — TerraCRG has arranged the sale of a development site located at 52-56 Ainslie St. in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. An undisclosed buyer acquired the 4,950-square-foot site for $5.1 million. The site offers mixed zoning, allowing for a development project ranging in size from 13,365 square feet to 17,820 square feet depending on use. Ofer Cohen, Dan Marks, Matt Trotter, Peter Matheos and David Algarin of TerraCRG brokered the transaction. The name of the seller was not released.
CHICAGO — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 6,100-square-foot mixed-use building in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood for $3.4 million. The property, located at 3452 N. Southport Ave., features three apartment units and one retail tenant on the ground floor. Hanna Andersson, a children’s retailer, occupies the ground-floor space. Kyle Stengle of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a local developer. An international private investor purchased the asset.
DALLAS — Trammell Crow Co. and joint venture partner MetLife have signed international law firm Winston & Strawn LLP to a 56,000-square-foot lease at Park District in Uptown Dallas. Situated adjacent to Klyde Warren Park, Park District is a 916,000-square-foot mixed-use project that features a 20-story office tower and 34-story residential tower, both of which include ground-floor retail space. PwC is the anchor tenant of the office tower, dubbed PwC Tower at Park District. Upon completion the building will feature four levels of below-grade parking, an executive lounge, fitness facility, collaborative workspaces, on-site restaurants, outdoor amenity spaces and on-site banking and valet. HKS is the project architect and the development team is seeking LEED Gold-certification for the office tower. Dennis Barnes, Clay Gilbert and Shannon Brown with CBRE’s Dallas office represented Trammell Crow and MetLife in the lease transaction. Phil Puckett, Harlan Davis and Neal Puckett, also with CBRE’s Dallas office, and Nancy Pacher of CBRE’s Chicago office, represented Winston & Strawn, which will occupy floors eight and nine of the 500,000-square-foot tower in the second quarter.
HUMBLE, TEXAS — Archway Properties plans to develop Park Air 59, a 111-acre mixed-use project located along U.S. Highway 59 in Humble, roughly 20 miles northeast of Houston near George Bush International Airport. The project’s first build-to-suit is currently under construction on a 4.2-acre tract at the junction of U.S. Highway 59 and Will Clayton Parkway. Archway is developing a 65,000-square-foot, three-story medical office building for Vital Heart & Vein, a cardiology practice based in Houston. The clinic is set to open this summer. Austin Alvis of Houston-based NewQuest Properties and Preston Cunningham of Cunningham Ventures are marketing Park Air 59 and co-brokered the land sale to the cardiology group. Jeries Ganim of Commercial Regional Properties of Texas LLC represented the cardiology group in its site acquisition. Houston-based Archway has assembled the acreage over the last several years for Park Air 59, which upon completion will include medical, retail, restaurants, industrial and additional service-based tenants.
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — Topgolf has opened at MidCity, a $350 million mixed-use redevelopment under construction at the intersection of University Drive and Research Park Boulevard in Huntsville. The global sports entertainment company is the first tenant to open at the 140-acre project — a redevelopment of the former Madison Square Mall. Alabama-based RCP Cos. is developing the project. The 53,000-square-foot, three-level Topgolf facility features 72 climate-controlled hitting bays that can host up to six players at a time, in addition to private event space. The project is also home to The Camp at MidCity, an outdoor entertainment venue that debuted its annual, three-day music festival in summer 2017. In addition, plans for MidCity include 345,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and restaurants, 200,000 square feet of technical and creative office space, 500 hotel rooms and 900 multifamily units.
BOSTON — Natixis has arranged a $480 million construction loan for Cottonwood Management to develop 3.5 acres in Boston Seaport Square in Boston. The loan will finance a 717-unit residential facility, two condominium towers and one luxury rental tower, as well as a two-story, 125,000-square-foot retail base podium centered around a public courtyard. The overall project is an 819,000-square-foot mixed-use space on Boston’s waterfront. The property’s residential units will feature luxury finishes including quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, gas fireplaces, floor-to-ceiling windows and in-unit laundry, custom Italian cabinetry and porcelain tile. Common amenities will include a wine room, a lounge, outdoor and indoor swimming pools, a spa treatment room, a half basketball court, an innovation center, a children’s playroom, a pet spa and lobbies.
NEW YORK CITY — Madison Realty Capital (MRC) has provided a $53.5 million acquisition and construction financing package collateralized by a partially constructed mixed-use development at 208 Delancey Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The borrower, New Empire Real Estate Development, plans to construct an approved 85,000-square-foot, 69-unit residential condominium building and a 10,201-square-foot community facility on the site. MRC funded an initial $15 million at closing to the borrower and has committed to fund an additional $38.5 million to complete construction of the project. The $53.5 million financing package represents approximately 70 percent of the total project cost. The property includes a gross area of 84,579 square feet and a net sellable area of 62,529 square feet. The seller began construction on the site in 2011 and completed excavation, foundation and superstructure work through the fourth floor, but received a stop work order midway through the project. With the MRC financing, the buyer was able to acquire the distressed property and intends to demolish the existing structure, repair any structural deficiencies and begin work on the revised new building plans.