PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia-based D3 Real Estate Development, in a partnership with Baltimore-based Seawall Development Co., held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $35 million Oxford Mills – The Center for Educational Excellence today. Oxford Mills is a 160,000-square-foot, mixed-use redevelopment designed specifically to support Philadelphia’s education community. The project will convert a historically certified factory complex bordering both the Northern Liberties and Fishtown neighborhoods into a modern educational hub. Oxford Mills will include 114 one- and two-bedroom apartments, complimentary shared resource/copy centers, fitness center and free on-siteparking. The residences will be available for occupancy in summer 2014. Theproject also features 40,000 square feet of office space created to supporteducational nonprofits and is anchored by Teach for America’s regional headquarters. The commercial space will be available for occupancy beginning April 2014.
SAN FRANCISCO — A fully entitled, Class A+ office and luxury condominium development site in Downtown San Francisco has sold to Jay Paul Company for an undisclosed sum. The .35-acre site is located at 181 Fremont Street in the city’s South Financial District. The proposed 54-story property will feature 684,000 square feet of luxury residential condominiums atop office space. It will target LEED-Gold certification. The seller, a joint venture between SKS Investments and an institutional investor, was represented by HFF’s Gerry Rohm, Michael Leggett, Holden Lim, Dave Karol and Mark Damiani.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — EagleBridge Capital has arranged a $2.4 million loan for the construction and mortgage financing of 70 Ken-West, located at 70 Kennedy Plaza in downtown Providence. 70 Ken-West is a recently renovated six-story retail and multifamily building. CVS/pharmacy leases the ground floor and basement. The upper five stories of the property will include 17 apartments, 10 of which are completed. Ted Sidel and Brian Sheehan of EagleBridge arranged the mortgage financing. A Massachusetts-based financial institution provided the loan.
NEW YORK CITY — Investor Ira Lifshutz has acquired a 4,422-square-foot mixed-use loft building at 57 Grand St., located between West Broadway and Wooster Street, for $4.7 million, or $1,063 per square foot. The four-story building includes the ground-floor bar Toad Hall, which has been at the building for more than 20 years. The seller had owned the building for more than 30 years. Robert Burton of Massey Knakal handled the transaction.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Crescent Communities has broken ground on the $33.6 million Alexander Village, a 63-acre mixed-use development in Charlotte's University Research Park. Phase I will include the construction of Crescent Alexander Village, a 320-unit apartment community on Senator Royall Drive, just south of Mallard Creek Church Road. Plans for Alexander Village also include a hotel, up to 75,000 square feet of retail and 250,000 square feet of office. Crescent expects to begin preleasing the apartments this fall and have the first units available for occupancy in early 2014.
NEW YORK CITY — Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC has originated $35 million in financing for The Chocolate Factory, a mixed-use property located in the Wallabout neighborhood of Brooklyn. The borrower, The Chocolate Factory LLC, will use the loan to refinance its mixed-use facility. The seven-year loan features a 73 percent loan-to-value ratio. The Chocolate Factory, located at 275 Park Ave., was built in 1890 and served as a fully operational chocolate factory until 1967. Yuri Kletsman of Berkadia worked with the borrower to arrange the fixed-rate financing. Kletsman also worked with lender Freddie Mac to arrange the loan.
INDIANAPOLIS — Hendricks Commercial Properties has begun construction on a $30 million, mixed-use development dubbed Ironworks at Keystone. The project is located at the southwest corner of Keystone Avenue and East 86th Street, the site of the former Woodfield Centre strip mall. The five-story building will feature 36,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space, 120 apartments and an underground parking structure. The development is expected to open in spring 2014.
CHICAGO — Water Tower Realty has hired @properties Commercial to lease 26,000 square feet of retail space and 8,000 square feet of office space in the historic Marshall Field & Co. building in downtown Oak Park. The building was built in 1929 as a miniature replica of Marshall Field’s landmark State Street store. Field’s occupied the property until 1986. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Most recently, the retail space was leased to Borders bookstore, which closed in 2011. Dan Stratis and Larry Cohn of @properties Commercial are the leasing agents for the 91,451-square-foot building located at 1144 Lake St.
HOUSTON — Houston-based Midway, a real estate investment and development firm, has revealed the new name for the former Houston Pavilions mixed-use development: GreenStreet. The 568,294-square-foot property, located at 1201 Fannin St., will also undergo construction to add a linear urban park that spans three blocks. The development will feature a central courtyard between Fannin and San Jacinto streets, outdoor patios, water features, new signage and scaled lighting. Construction is slated to begin in mid April and last approximately six to nine months. The project will remain open and operational during construction. The Class A development features a House of Blues, the 11-story regional headquarters for NRG Energy Inc., Forever 21, III Forks, McCormick & Schmick's and Lucky Strike.
YORK COUNTY, VA. — Commonwealth Green has acquired 50 acres near the Kiln Creek subdivision on Commonwealth Green Boulevard in York County for $6.4 million. The buyer plans to develop a mixed-use project on the site named Commonwealth Green, which will include 334 upscale apartments, 94 townhomes and 40,000 square feet of retail. Chris Rouzie and Ken Penrose of Cushman & Wakefield |Thalhimer represented the seller, JLK Family LLC, in the transaction.