BOSTON — Shorenstein Properties LLC has acquired Center Plaza, a transit-oriented, mixed-use property totaling 717,128 square feet in Boston. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Developed by Beacon Capital in phases in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the property includes three nine-story buildings featuring 620,000 square of office space, 77,000 square feet of retail, 19,000 square feet of storage space and a 575-car garage. Shorenstein completed the acquisition of Center Plaza on behalf of its 10th fund, Shorenstein Realty Investors Ten LP, which it formed in 2010 with $1.2 billion of committed capital.
BETHLEHEM, PA. — NAI James E. Hanson has arranged the $19 million sale of 47 acres in Bethlehem, located about nine miles east of Allentown. The buyer, a joint-venture partnership of KRE Group and The Silverman Group, plans to build Madison Farms, a large-scale, mixed-use residential and retail project on the property. The first phase of the development will feature 294 apartments and 123,000 square feet of retail space. ShopRite grocery store will anchor the retail portion of the project, which is expected to open by the first quarter of 2015. Upon completion, Madison Farms will feature 837 residences that will include a mix of apartments, single-family homes and townhomes. John Schilp, senior vice president, and Sig Schorr, vice president of NAI Hanson, represented the buyer and the seller in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Madison Realty Capital has closed a $38 million first-mortgage bridge loan for the acquisition of the former St. John's Queens Hospital building at 90-02 Queens Boulevard in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens. The borrower plans to use the funds to redevelop the 266,322-square-foot medical facility, which has been closed since its operator went bankrupt in 2009. The new ownership, a group of mostly foreign investors led by developer Steve Wu, will repurpose the building, creating a mixed-use project that will include 144 residential units and 118,213 square feet of commercial and community space. The buyer also acquired the four-story, 89,601-square-foot parking garage located behind the hospital building, which features 290 parking spaces.
NEW YORK CITY — Eastern Consolidated has arranged the sale of 1128 Third Avenue in Manhattan for $9.5 million. Starbucks Coffee occupies the ground floor and anchors the 5,309-square-foot Upper East Side property. The four-story, mixed-use building includes one retail store, one commercial floor and two residential units. Adelaide Polsinelli, senior director and head of Eastern’s retail sales group, arranged the transaction on behalf of the seller, Chicago-based real estate investment firm L3 Capital LLC. Attorneys Joel Rubin and Joshua Kurtz of Seyfarth Shaw LLP also represented the seller. Ronda Rogovin, principal and senior director with Eastern Consolidated, represented the buyer, a local investor. Attorneys Anthony Cornicello of Cornicello, Tendler & Baumel-Cornicello LLP also represented the buyer.
BOSTON — Related Beal Real Estate Recovery Fund has acquired The Block on Congress, a five-building, 343,000-square-foot portfolio in Boston, from Fidelity Investments. The company did not disclose terms of the deal, however the Boston Herald reported that Related Beal paid $59.2 million for the property. The office and retail portfolio sits on more than one acre and is located at 82 Devonshire St., 35 Congress St., 68 Devonshire St., 19 Congress St., 15 Congress St., and 54 Devonshire St. Related Beal will lead the repositioning efforts and serve as property manager of The Block. CBRE/New England was tapped last spring to sell the complex on behalf of Fidelity. The CBRE capital markets sales team was led by Chris Angelone, Andy Hoar and Carlos Febres-Mazzei. Jeremy Grossman of CBRE is spearheading the retail leasing efforts for Related Beal.
NEW YORK CITY — Waterbridge Capital has purchased three properties totaling 210,220 square feet, located at the southeast corner of 125th Street and Park Avenue in East Harlem, for $36.8 million. Located at 1815 Park Ave., 1801 Park Ave. and 110 E. 125th St., the properties are currently used as a hotel, a parking lot and retail space. Waterbridge Capital plans to redevelop the properties to create a mega retail center fronting Park Avenue and 125th Street with a high-rise residential condominium building on Park Avenue and 124th Street. Lenny Sporn, Ariel Tavivian and Yair Tavivian of Douglas Elliman’s Tavivian Sporn Team represented the buyer and the seller in the transaction.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Hines and the TFI US Real Estate Fund, developers of the 10-acre CityCenterDC mixed-use development, have re-opened 10th and I streets in Washington, D.C., which is the first time the thoroughfares have been accessible to the public in more than 30 years. The developers also welcomed the first residents to their homes at The Apartments at CityCenter and The Residences at CityCenter. Additionally, the development’s new parking garage for residents and visitors, which features an automated parking guidance system and 700 parking spaces, is now open. In 2014, new stores and restaurants are expected to open at CityCenterDC, in addition to the new office buildings that are expected to wrap up construction. Office tenants will include Covington & Burling, the American Hospital Association, Qatari Foundation International and Hines’ Washington, D.C., office.
TINLEY PARK, ILL. — MACK Cos. has purchased two shopping centers and an office building in Tinley Park, located about 30 miles south of Chicago. Gateway Plaza, located at 6800 Oak Park Ave., is a 7,500-square-foot shopping center with a mix of retail, office and commercial space. Interior renovations have begun, with plans for exterior renovations slated for the spring of 2014. Located 10 blocks north of Gateway Plaza at 6787 159th St., High Pointe Plaza is an 11,953-square-foot shopping center. Betscher Cleaners and Indy Mac Holdings LLC currently occupy 5,361 square feet at High Pointe. Centennial is an 8,000-square-foot facility that will become office space for approximately 40 MACK employees from the firm’s executive management, operations, accounting and sales and marketing divisions. Move-in is scheduled for early 2014. MACK will provide property management services for all three buildings.
FRANKLIN, TENN. — Spectrum | Emery has topped off the first office tower in Franklin Park, a mixed-use corporate complex in the Cool Springs area of Franklin. The building, known as One Franklin Park, is a 10-story, 272,720-square-foot, Class A office tower that is expected to open in September 2014. Franklin Park is a 72-acre development that will feature five Class A office towers, a 350-unit multifamily community and more than 12 acres of greenspace. The $10 million greenspace will feature an outdoor amphitheater, waterways, ponds, walking paths and open fields. One Franklin Park will feature a covered parking garage with covered walkways leading to the entrance of the building. The project team for One Franklin Park includes general contractor Bell and Associates, based in Brentwood, Tenn., and architect Duda Paine, based in Durham, N.C.
NEW YORK CITY — Houlihan-Parnes Realtors LLC has arranged a $20 million loan for the refinancing of 1775 Grand Concourse, a 300,000-square-foot mixed-use building in the Bronx. The mortgage covers a commercial condominium interest in the building that shares ownership with Verizon Wireless, which owns two floors. The remaining six floors have been converted to an indoor parking garage and retail and office space. Current tenants include Con Edison, Special Citizens Futures Unlimited, Inovalon SME Inc., Safe Horizon, The Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center, Public Health Solutions and Abbott House. Sam Jemal of JJ Operating Inc. and members of his family together with members of Houlihan-Parnes Realtors LLC, own the property. The property was acquired in February 2012 from Verizon. Kelly Houlihan Buckley and James Houlihan of Houlihan-Parnes Realtors arranged the financing.