WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Black Bear Capital Partners (BBCP) has arranged a $24 million CMBS permanent loan for a 160,000-square-foot office building in White Plains, located north of New York City. Morgan Stanley provided the loan, which featured a fixed interest rate of 3.85 percent for 10 years with full-term, interest-only payments. The borrower, Caspi Development, has invested almost $3 million in capital improvements to the building over the last three years. Bryan Manz, Emil DePasquale and George Pektor of BBCP arranged the financing.
LOS ANGELES — Ready Capital has closed $23.5 million in refinancing for the renovation and lease-up of a nine-property retail and office portfolio located in the Frogtown, Echo Park and Glassell Park neighborhoods of Los Angeles. The undisclosed sponsor plans to complete capital improvements on each of the nine properties, increasing the rentable square footage and leasing up each asset. Ready Capital closed the non-recourse, interest-only, floating-rate loan, which features a 36-month term, two extension options, flexible prepayment and facilities to provide funding for capital expenditures, tenant leasing costs and interest and carry shortfalls.
ATLANTA — Mark Toro, who formerly led North American Properties’ (NAP) Atlanta division, is launching Toro Development Co. This company will be aimed at acquiring outdated sites such as dead malls and transforming them into better mixed-use properties. The firm is not just focused on enclosed malls, but also suburban office parks, shopping centers and industrial sites. John Kelley, Richard Munger and Vicky Boyce are joining Toro’s development team as partners. The trio all played a role in ground-up and redevelopment projects at NAP, including Avalon, Atlantic Station, Colony Square and Edge on the Beltline. Kelley will be in charge of commercial development, while Munger will oversee residential development. Lastly, Boyce, who first started working with Toro in 2001, will serve as chief financial officer for the new company. Toro Development Co.’s investment partners include Four Stones Real Estate, an Andrew Cathy Enterprise that was founded by Cathy in January 2020, and Lubert-Adler Real Estate Funds.
TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN), a medicine manufacturer known for its COVID-19 antibody cocktail, plans to invest $1.8 billion over the next six years to support the expansion of its life sciences headquarters in Tarrytown, about 25 miles north of Manhattan. Located in Westchester County on the east bank of the Hudson River, the project will expand Regeneron’s research, preclinical manufacturing and support facilities, while creating an estimated 1,000 new full-time jobs. “The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of continued and long-term investment in the biopharmaceutical industry, and Regeneron is proud to pursue life-changing science and technology from our labs and manufacturing facilities in New York State,” says Leonard Schleifer, president and CEO of Regeneron. The project is expected to encompass up to eight research and development buildings, three parking garages and a central utility plant totaling approximately 900,000 square feet. Regeneron has indicated that road infrastructure improvements will be necessary to support the new buildings, which will come on line in two phases. Construction planning will begin this summer and project construction is scheduled for completion in 2027. No members of the project team were disclosed. The life sciences firm chose to expand in Tarrytown following site …
SPRING, TEXAS — Common Desk, a Dallas-based provider of coworking and flexible workspace solutions, has opened a 26,750-square-foot space at City Place, a mixed-use development located in the northern Houston suburb of Spring. Chrissy Wilson and Matt Pruitt of JLL, along with internal agents Phillip Moore and Dennis Tarro of Patrinely Group, represented the landlord in the lease negotiations. Patrinely Group owns the building in partnership with USAA Real Estate. Common Desk also recently opened a 25,000-square-foot space at HALL Park in Frisco.
BOSTON — The HYM Investment Group, a locally based developer, has topped off One Congress, a 1 million-square-foot office project in downtown Boston. The 600-foot tower is part of the Bulfinch Crossing redevelopment, which is owned by Carr Properties and National Real Estate Advisors LLC. One Congress will house the future headquarters of financial services firm State Street Corp., which has committed to 510,000 square feet as the anchor tenant. Amenities will include a 30,000-square-foot outdoor garden on the 11th floor and more than 30,000 square feet of fitness and wellness-based amenity space, as well as multiple food and beverage offerings. Pelli Clarke Pelli and CBT Architects handled design of the building. Gachot Studio is serving as the interior design firm, and John Moriarty & Associates is the construction manager. Construction began in June 2019 and is expected to be complete in January 2023.
NATICK, MASS. — Kula Bio, a provider of fertilizer for the agriculture industry, will open a 7,500-square-foot headquarters facility in the western Boston suburb of Natick. The company has tapped Massachusetts-based Dacon Corp. to lead the retrofit of an existing 14,350-square-foot building, with plans to immediately occupy 7,500 square feet and leave 6,850 square feet for future expansion. Completion of the retrofit is scheduled for October. About 30 people will work in the new facility.
FAYETTEVILLE, GA. — Roam, a coworking operator, will open a new location in September inside the Two-Ten office building within Town at Trillith in Fayetteville. The mixed-use project is located adjacent to Trilith Studios, a 1,000-acre movie studio formerly known as Pinewood Atlanta Studios that has produced movies such as Avengers: Endgame and Ant-Man. The Town at Trilith space will be Roam’s seventh and newest location, and it will include offices and desks for rent, as well as meeting spaces designed to accommodate varying group sizes. The space will also include a boardroom with seating for up to 16 individuals, four large training rooms that can accommodate groups of up to 60, a screening room and a podcast room. Roam offers a variety of membership options, including two and three-month terms, flexible month-to-month agreements and daily passes. Tenants at Town at Trillith that have already opened include Amici Italian Café, The Piedmont Wellness Center, Honeysuckle Gelato, Green p.s., Amici Café, Barleygarden Kitchen and Craft Bar and Hop City. Trilith has announced other retailers including Leyland Blue, Trilith Food Hall, Native Collective, The Skin Society, Sugarcoat, Premiere Hair Studio, Woodstone Bakery & Café, Braise, Archer Paper Goods, The Funky Shack and …
OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — CreativeOne is the newest tenant to join the Aspiria office campus in Overland Park. The financial services company will relocate to 25,000 square feet at the former Sprint campus. CreativeOne expects to take occupancy of its new space in January 2022. Bryan Johnson of Colliers International handled the lease transaction on behalf of the tenant. Amenities at Aspiria include a 68,000-square-foot fitness center, multiple dining rooms, conference centers, outdoor spaces and comprehensive security. Owner Occidental Management plans to develop the surrounding 60 acres with more than 1 million square feet of additional office space, 380,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, a 120-room hotel and 600 multifamily units.
NEW YORK CITY — Locally based investment firm Severn Realty Partners has sold 576 Fifth Avenue, a 78,564-square-foot office and retail building in Midtown Manhattan, for $101 million. The building is located adjacent to Rockefeller Center in the Diamond District and consists of three levels of retail space totaling 6,247 square feet and 10 floors of office space. Paul Massey, Zach Redding, Dylan Kane, Daniel O’Mahony and Christian Kane of B6 Real Estate Advisors represented Severn Realty Partners in the transaction. Daniel Chun and Adelaide Polsinelli of Compass, along with Sharon Kim Robinson of Silver & Oak Realty, represented the buyer, a Delaware-based limited liability company.