LOS ANGELES — Gaw Capital USA, a Hong Kong- and Los Angeles-based real estate private equity firm, and DJM, a San Jose- and Los Angeles-based private equity real estate developer, have released plans for transforming the shopping center at Hollywood & Highland into Ovation Hollywood. Upon completion in late 2021, Ovation Hollywood will be a mixed-use project offering 135,000 square feet of retail space, two floors of nearly 100,000 square feet of creative office space, 85,000 square feet of restaurant space, 65,000 square feet of entertainment space and 40,000 square feet of event space. Gensler is providing design and architectural services to update the property’s physical appearance, including a simplified façade and color scheme, new concept for the tower, an easier to navigate layout, updated landscape design, new art pieces and enhanced outdoor space. In addition to physical upgrades, the project team is focusing on refreshing the property’s tenant mix. Renovations are slated to begin later this year, with completion scheduled for late 2021.
Office
New York Life Provides $38.3M Refinancing Loan for Office Building in Fort Lauderdale
by Alex Tostado
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — New York Life Real Estate Investors has provided a $38.3 million refinancing loan for 261 North University Drive, a 172,959-square-foot office building in Fort Lauderdale. The borrower, Encore Capital Management, recently completed a $15 million renovation of the property, including redesigning the lobby, modernizing the elevators, adding new bathrooms and overseeing new tenant buildouts. The asset is situated eight miles west of downtown Fort Lauderdale. Furthermore, the property will be part of a mixed-use development that is set to feature 760 multifamily units, 150,000 square feet of retail space and 400 hotel rooms delivering in two phases by 2022. Kevin O’Grady of Concord Summit Capital and Eric McGlynn of Walker & Dunlop arranged the loan on behalf of Fort Lauderdale-based Encore, and Ryan Doyle and John Lippmann of New York Life originated the loan.
NEW YORK CITY — Mother, a creative advertising agency with offices in London, Shanghai and South America, has signed a 61,000-square-foot office lease in the Gowanus area of Brooklyn for its new headquarters in New York City. The company signed a 15-year lease to occupy space at Roulston House, a redeveloped office building that originally served as a warehouse for Roulston, a grocery chain founded in the 1880s. Michael Schoen, Marc Schoen and Harrison Katzman of The Schoen Group, a division of New York City-based Savitt Partners, represented Mother in the lease negotiations. Joseph Hamway and Josh Sloan represented the landlord, ICP Realty, on an internal basis.
PORTLAND, MAINE — Locally based brokerage firm Cardente Real Estate has negotiated a 5,618-square-foot office lease at 11 Baxter Blvd. in Portland. Matthew Cardente of Cardente Real Estate represented the landlord, the William C. Rowell Family LP, in the lease negotiations. Derek Miller of The Boulos Company represented the tenant, behavioral healthcare provider LifeStance.
CHICAGO — Skender has completed interior construction of the 75,000-square-foot Chicago office of Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR), an owner, developer and manager of apartments. Equity occupies two floors at Two North Riverside and has private access to the building’s roof terrace, which Skender built out as part of the project. The renovated office space features a new atrium with connecting staircase; a mix of open workstations and private offices, conference rooms and board rooms; and new bathrooms. Skender collaborated with architect Partners by Design, owner’s representative JLL and engineering consultant ESD.
EDINA, MINN. — Nerdery has signed a 65,000-square-foot office lease at 7700 France Ave. in Edina, just south of Minneapolis. Nerdery is a digital business consulting firm focused on product and service development. Jim Damiani, Ryan Bohrer, Andrew Commers and Maura Carland of Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) represented the tenant in the lease transaction. Bloomington, Minn.-based Frauenshuh owns the property. Nerdery is slated to relocate from Bloomington to its built-out space in Edina in September. Minneapolis-based Studio KKChong designed the new office, which features an internal staircase, reception area with coffee bar and a rooftop patio. Nerdery’s lease is the largest office lease year to date in the Minneapolis market, according to NKF.
DUNWOODY, GA. — Dallas-based developer Trammell Crow Co. has completed Twelve24, a 345,000-square-foot office building located at 1224 Hammond Drive in Dunwoody, a suburb of Atlanta in the metro’s Central Perimeter submarket. The 16-story building features a skybridge with direct access to the Dunwoody MARTA Station. Twelve24 is also located adjacent to Perimeter Mall and in close proximity to Interstate 285 and State Route 400. In addition, Twelve24 houses 11,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, 7,500 square feet of which is preleased to Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant. Insight Global, a national staffing and services company, has leased approximately 72 percent of the office space as the anchor tenant. The building offers an amenity floor with a fully staffed, 10,000-square-foot fitness center, an indoor conference center, tenant lounge and a café. Outdoor amenities include a yoga lawn, multiple lounge areas and a covered outdoor conference center. According to a second-quarter report on the Atlanta office market from Colliers International, the Central Perimeter submarket has a direct vacancy rate of 14.7 percent and has seen more than 1 million square feet of positive absorption year-to-date. Trammell Crow is also working with Concord Hospitality Group to develop a 177-room Hyatt Place …
Flagship Healthcare Trust Acquires 55,912 SF Medical Office Building in Hickory, North Carolina
by Alex Tostado
HICKORY, N.C. — Flagship Healthcare Trust Inc. has acquired Tate Medical Commons IV, a 55,912-square-foot medical office building in Hickory. The Charlotte-based REIT will also manage the property, which was fully leased at the time of sale to tenants including Catawba Valley Medical Center and Catawba Women’s Center. The asset is situated at 1501 Tate Blvd. SE, next to Tate Medical Commons. First Horizon Bank provided acquisition financing on behalf of the buyer. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.
AURORA, COLO. — Subaru of America has signed a long-term lease with Majestic Realty Co. for a 550,000-square-foot build-to-suit facility at Majestic Commercenter in Aurora. Located at the intersection of Interstate 70 and Tower Road, the master-planned park encompasses 1,600 acres. Subaru will relocate from a smaller existing location and expand into the new regional office, parts distribution and technical training center for its retail service technicians. Groundbreaking is scheduled for late 2020, with completion of Subaru’s full buildout and occupancy in late 2021. Constructed by Commerce Construction, Building 16 will feature 36-foot clear heights, 70-foot speed bays, 115 dock doors and signage fronting I-70. In addition to the Subaru development, Majestic Realty is developing a 32-acre retail complex at the park’s entrance. The retail component will offer space for up to 15 tenants, including at least one hotel. Earlier this year, Amazon signed a long-term lease agreement to occupy Building 15, a 702,000-square-foot facility, and Shamrock Foods purchased land at the park resulting in a 1.3 million-square-foot complex now under construction. Upon completion of these projects, Majestic Commercenter will feature more than 9 million square feet, valued at approximately $500 million.
RIVERSIDE, CALIF. — Orange County, Calif.-based Dornin Investment Group has completed the disposition of an office building located in Riverside. A Chicago-based institutional buyer acquired the asset for $16 million, or $361 per square foot. CBRE’s Anthony DeLorenzo, Sammy Cemo, Gary Stache, Doug Mack and Bryan Johnson represented both the seller and the buyer in the deal. Located at 3480 Vine St. in the Inland Empire, the 44,354-square-foot office building was originally built in 2004 and features prominent freeway frontage. At the time of sale, the property was fully occupied by three tenants: the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), Fidelity National Title and the County of Riverside.