INDIANAPOLIS — Cronheim Hotel Capital has provided a $30 million loan to finance the recently converted 128-room Aloft Indianapolis Downtown hotel. The borrower, Everwood Hospitality Partners, converted the historic Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. office building into the hotel. Beau Williams of Cronheim originated the loan. The asset is within walking distance of the Indiana Convention Center, Lucas Oil Stadium, Gainbridge Field and Monument Circle.
CHICAGO — Greenstone Partners has brokered the sale of 821 W. Eastman, a 23,150-square-foot multi-tenant property in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. The British International School of Chicago anchors the building, occupying 65 percent of the rentable square footage with 17 years remaining on its lease. Other tenants include Bright Horizons, a provider of early education that has occupied the space since 2007, and Hill Family Pet Care, which offers daycare, boarding, grooming and training services. Danny Spitz of Greenstone represented the seller and procured the buyer, a partnership between Honore Properties and Peerless Development.
TROY, MICH. — L. Mason Capitani/CORFAC International has negotiated the sale of a 70,000-square-foot office building in Troy for an undisclosed price. The three-story property is located at 950 Stephenson Highway with convenient access to I-75. Amenities include ample parking, onsite property management, day porter service, shared conference rooms, a shared common area kitchen and an auditorium on the first floor. Robert Gojcaj of L. Mason Capitani represented the buyer, which plans to undertake cosmetic improvements.
MINNEAPOLIS — Meyer Borgman Johnson has signed a long-term office lease to occupy the 20th floor of RSM Plaza in Minneapolis. The multi-specialty structural design practice plans to move its corporate headquarters into the 12,277-square-foot space on June 1. Trinette Wacker and Reed Christianson of Transwestern Real Estate Services represented the owner, Golub & Co. Jeffrey LaFavre and Zach Synstegaard of IAG Commercial represented the tenant, which maintains seven offices across the U.S. and is relocating from 510 Marquette Ave. RSM Plaza, a 416,000-square-foot office tower, underwent a $10 million renovation in 2018 that revitalized the lobby and added amenities such has The Perch Lounge, The Pocket Park and conferencing and collaborative meeting spaces. The property is home to 801 Chophouse and 8th Street Grill & Taphouse.
SANDUSKY, MICH. — Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. (MMCC) has arranged a $3.3 million loan for the refinancing of a multifamily portfolio comprised of 112 units across four properties in Michigan’s “Thumb Region.” Luke Lamoreaux of MMCC arranged the loan with a Michigan-based bank on behalf of the private borrower. The three-year loan featured a 6.9 percent interest rate with 12 months of interest-only payments followed by a 25-year amortization. The portfolio features a mix of studio to three-bedroom units and is located near the Lake Huron shoreline.
CLARK, N.J. — French cosmetics company L’Oréal Groupe has announced the completion of its new North America Research & Innovation (R&I) Center located in Clark, roughly 13 miles outside Newark, N.J. The $160 million, 250,000-square-foot scientific research center is L’Oréal’s largest outside of France and will complement existing L’Oréal R&I hubs in Brazil, South Africa, India, China and Japan. “New Jersey has served as our scientific hub here in the United States for over six decades, and we are excited to expand our footprint in the state and bring all our scientific teams together in a beautiful and modern new research facility,” says David Greenberg, president and CEO of L’Oréal USA. The North America R&I Center broke ground in 2022 and comprises a 26,000-square-foot modular laboratory, a consumer center for product testing and co-creation (which accommodates up to 400 patrons) and an onsite mini factory to scale final formulations before full-scale productions. Sustainability attributes of the center include 10,000 solar panels, which meet 70 percent of the facility’s energy needs, an eco-retention pond for stormwater management and employee-led gardening and composting initiatives that create a green workspace. According to company representatives, the North America R&I Center will play a “pivotal …
By Joe Lutz, managing director at Leon Multifamily Group Market uncertainty has many real estate investors hesitating. Rising costs, high interest rates and shifting supply demand dynamics add to the caution. Yet Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) remains a powerhouse in multifamily development, driven by strong demand and solid market fundamentals. For those willing to act, the opportunities are hard to ignore. Investor caution is evident, with a “stay alive through ’25” mentality reflecting economic pressures. Transaction volumes have dropped to historic lows. Newmark Capital Research (NCR) reports that 2023 and 2024 saw the weakest activity since 2013, with sales down 30 percent compared to the pre-COVID era. For the first time since 2008, 2023 ended without the usual year-end sales uptick, and 2024 data suggests a similar trend. While some feared a market collapse, conditions haven’t reached Great Financial Crisis levels. The multifamily sector faces supply imbalances and growing debt pressures. Construction starts hit their lowest levels since 2013, while completions exceeded new starts by over 200,000 units — a gap unseen since the 1970s, according to data from NCR. The surge in 2023 completions resulted from post-COVID low-interest-rate incentives, but now concerns over vacancies, concessions and stagnant rent growth linger. …
By Andy Gutman, Farbman Group Detroit’s office market, like many other large cities across the Midwest, has experienced many shifts — specifically in the office sector. Despite the challenges Detroit has seen over the past few years, the city has also shown great resilience. As companies continue to reconsider and revise their office needs, and workspaces evolve, Detroit is well positioned to capitalize on office occupancy in 2025 thanks to its historical assets, as well as opportunities in the city that are ripe for redevelopment. Tech, transportation and tenacity One of the city’s strengths in the office sector is its potential to rebound faster than many other Midwest cities. Unlike other markets that are overbuilt with more pain coming in the form of downsizing, such as Chicago, Detroit has avoided oversupply and isn’t overburdened with soaring vacancy rates. The city’s office market vacancy rate has slowly declined over the last several quarters — a positive sign for the local market. Detroit has also benefitted from steady and incremental growth, particularly by incubation, innovation and technology-focused tenants. It’s these types of tenants who have assisted in revitalizing the city’s urban core. The market is also characterized by a higher proportion of …
HOUSTON — ACMI Properties, the development arm of the American Center for Manufacturing & Innovation, will develop Exploration Park, a 1.5 million-square-foot build-to-suit industrial park in southeast Houston. The site spans 207 acres on NASA’s Johnson Space Center campus. Plans for Exploration Park currently call for as many as 22 buildings ranging in size from 15,000 to 500,000 square feet with 24- to 30-foot clear heights and rear- or side-load configurations. Construction is expected to begin in the second quarter and to be complete late 2026. JLL has been tapped as the leasing agent.
NEW CANEY, TEXAS — The East Montgomery County Improvement District (EMCID) is underway on construction of a 210,000-square-foot convention center within the Valley Ranch master-planned development in New Caney, a northeastern suburb of Houston. The facility will feature a 55,000-square-foot ballroom/exhibit hall, nearly 20,000 square feet of meeting space and approximately 25,000 square feet of pre-function and lobby space and outdoor courtyards. Plans also call for an attached 813-space parking garage and connection to a full-service hotel. Completion is slated for fall 2026. Signorelli Co. is the master developer of Valley Ranch and previously owned the land on which the facility will be located.