ALEXANDRIA, VA. — A partnership between developer JBG Smith (NYSE: JBGS) and Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) has unveiled plans to build a mixed-use entertainment district totaling approximately 9 million square feet in Alexandria, just south of Washington, D.C. Anchoring the project will be a new arena for the NHL’s Washington Capitals and NBA’s Washington Wizards within National Landing, an area encompassing the interconnected neighborhoods of Potomac Yard, Crystal City and Pentagon City. Additionally, plans call for a global corporate headquarters for MSE, a Monumental Sports Network media studio, a Wizards practice facility, a performing arts venue and an e-sports facility. The development will be situated adjacent to the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, the recently delivered Potomac Yard-VT Metro station and approximately 8.1 million square feet of future development opportunities. Project costs are estimated at $2 billion, according to The Washington Post. The project, which is pending legislative approval and completion of documents, is slated for completion by the end of 2028. The Capitals and the Wizards would relocate to Virginia beginning in 2028, should the proposal become finalized. The Capitals and the Wizards currently play at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. MSE says it is exploring the …
Property Type
By Nicole Schmidt, managing partner, Oberon Securities Whether it’s traditional bank loans, private equity or securitized financings, it’s clear that a large number of commercial property owners are facing serious credit issues. Many office tenants continued making rent payments even through COVID-19, and the work from home trend has now left them with excess space. But as leases expire, they are downsizing their physical footprints, leaving landlords with significant vacancies amid very soft demand. According to a November 2023 article in The Wall Street Journal, “Only one out of every three securitized office mortgages that expired during the first nine months of 2023 was paid off by the end of September, according to Moody’s Analytics. That is the smallest share for the first nine months of any year since at least 2008 and well below the nadir reached in 2009, when 47 percent of these loans got paid off.” Add to that the impact of WeWork’s recent bankruptcy filing and projected high office vacancy rates in New York City and other major markets — plus higher interest rates — and the inevitable result is lower valuations that don’t support existing levels of debt on many properties. Higher vacancy rates, higher …
University of Florida, Partners to Develop 1.2 MSF Expansion for Gainesville Innovation District
by John Nelson
GAINESVILLE, FLA. — The University of Florida has partnered with Concept Cos. and Trimark Properties for a 1.2 million-square-foot expansion of its Gainesville Innovation District. The development will be situated on a 13-acre tract located two blocks from the university and two blocks from downtown Gainesville. Th project will complement the existing UF Innovate | The Hub, which features offices, laboratories, retail, restaurants and housing. The partnership envisions the new addition will comprise a mixed-use environment with life sciences and office space for sectors including biotech, advanced manufacturing, agriculture and healthcare, in addition to apartments, shops, restaurants and parking garages. The total build-out will span six phases, with construction slated to begin in late 2024. The site was formerly home to the Alachua General Hospital, which was closed in 2009.
HIC Land Buys 2,600 Acres in Hardeeville, South Carolina for Future Master-Planned Community
by John Nelson
HARDEEVILLE, S.C. — HIC Land has acquired 2,600 acres in Hardeeville, a city within the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton metropolitan area, for $36 million. The land had been in the Morgan family for over 100 years before it sold to the the Charleston-based company. HIC Land, along with homebuilding partner D.R. Horton, plans to develop a master-planned community on the tract that will include homes, commercial spaces, amenities, parks, nature trails and sidewalks. The projected 20-year development is expected to break ground in 2024. As part of the transaction, HIC Land and D.R. Horton will improve the area’s infrastructure, including roads and utilities.
MIDWAY, GA. — Caddell Construction, on behalf of Flint Development, has broken ground on three Class A distribution centers within Dorchester Commerce Park, an industrial park in the metro Savannah city of Midway. The speculative project totals 2.1 million square feet and is expected to deliver by spring 2025. The development will offer immediate access to I-95 and a 33-mile drive to Port of Savannah. The project team includes Davidson Architecture + Engineering and CBRE. The project will comprise a 1.2 million-square-foot building, a 594,522-square-foot cross-dock facility and a 276,062-square-foot facility, which is expected to open in April. Caddell Construction will establish an onsite batching plant to manufacture its own concrete for the development.
ATLANTA — Granite Properties has signed five leases between September and November at three of its Atlanta office buildings for a total of 198,000 square feet. The deals included three leases at 100 City View in the Cumberland/Galleria submarket for Murata Electronics North America (50,019 square feet), Insurica (4,097 square feet) and Prairie Capital Advisors (3,598 square feet). Jennifer Koontz, Frances Land Klee, Sam Neel of Pope & Land represented Granite in the lease negotiations at 100 City View. The other two deals included Womble Bond Dickinson’s 27,733-square-foot lease at Midtown Union and an expansion for Amwins at 3630 Peachtree in Buckhead, going from 94,000 square feet to nearly 114,000 square feet. Brooke Dewey and Adam Viente of JLL represented Granite in the Womble Bond Dickinson lease, and Greg Frankum, Matt Spickard and Ansley Chenault of Transwestern represented the firm in the Amwins lease. Tenant representatives for the five deals included Mass Realty, CoRErep, Newmark, CBRE and Ackerman & Co.
Marcus & Millichap Brokers $4.2M Sale of Windy Hill West Retail Center in Marietta, Georgia
by John Nelson
MARIETTA, GA. — Zach Taylor and Eric Abbott of Marcus & Millichap’s Atlanta office have brokered the $4.2 million sale of Windy Hill West, a retail center located at 1995 Windy Hill Road in Marietta, a northern suburb of Atlanta. A private investor based in Atlanta purchased the center. The buyer and seller were not disclosed. Windy Hill West is situated near Dobbins Air Force Base, Cumberland Mall, The Battery and Truist Park, home ballpark of the Atlanta Braves. “This deal closed all-cash above our list price to a private investor local to Atlanta,” says Taylor, senior managing director of investments at Marcus & Millichap. “Demand for quality unanchored retail centers remains at an all-time high, albeit in a challenging capital markets environment.”
GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS — A partnership between Constellation Real Estate Partners and Northwestern Mutual has acquired 10 acres in Grand Prairie, located roughly midway between Dallas and Fort Worth, for the development of a 200,439-square-foot industrial project. Designed by Pross Design Group, Constellation Commerce 360 will comprise two buildings totaling 95,760 and 104,733 square feet. Building features will include 32-foot clear heights, ESFR sprinkler systems, LED lighting and the capacity to accommodate a single or multiple users across both buildings. David Eseke and Clay Balch of Cushman & Wakefield represented Constellation Real Estate Partners in the acquisition of the land and have also been retained as leasing agents. Construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of next year and to last about 12 months.
INDIANAPOLIS — NexCore Group has unveiled plans to develop Waterway Labs at 16 Tech in Indianapolis. Cushman & Wakefield will provide leasing services for the $60 million development. NexCore expects to break ground in 2024 on the 100,000-square-foot life sciences building. The project will be situated within the 16 Tech Innovation District, which is a 50-acre destination for entrepreneurship and innovation that is located adjacent to the future campuses of Indiana University Indianapolis and Purdue University in Indianapolis. The five-story development will include two types of space as part of NexCore’s HATCHspaces operating platform: HATCHlabs and HATCHx. HATCHlabs will include four levels with 22,000-square-foot floorplates. The HATCHx floor will offer eight turnkey lab suites of 2,000 square feet as well as 10 offices in a coworking environment. Jon Owens and Joshua Graham of Cushman & Wakefield will handle leasing for Waterway Labs.
DENTON, TEXAS — BWE, the commercial mortgage banking firm formerly known as Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital, has provided a $14.4 million, HUD-insured construction loan for Westview Heights, a 132-unit affordable housing project in the North Texas city of Denton. Westview Heights will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom units across three buildings that be reserved for households earning between 30 and 60 percent of the area median income, with 22 units being rented at market rates. Amenities will include a pool, fitness center, business center, laundry facilities and outdoor grilling and dining stations. Jon Killough of BWE originated the loan, which is structured with a fixed interest rate and interest-only payments for the duration of construction, through HUD’s 221(d)(4) program. The borrower was Generation Housing Partners. The capital stack also includes Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity that was provided by the Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs.