PASADENA, CALIF. — Locally based financial intermediary PSRS has arranged a $7 million loan for the refinancing of The Superior Building, a 43,916-square-foot historic retail property in Pasadena. Built in 1896 and renovated in 1990, The Superior Building features ground-floor retail space and office suites on the upper two floors. Michael Tanner and Tony Messiah of PSRS arranged the financing for the borrower, Edgewood Realty Partners. The direct lender was not disclosed.
LOS ANGELES — Community Preservation Partners (CPP) has acquired Canoga Park Apartments, a 14-unit affordable housing complex in Los Angeles, for $6 million. Built in 1983, the three-story building features 12 two-bedroom units and two three-bedroom apartments that are reserved for households earning 60 percent or less of the area median income. CPP’s total development investment is approximately $11.3 million, which includes the purchase price and an estimated per-unit renovation cost of $142,000. Renovations will includes replacement of HVAC systems, water heaters, lighting, appliances, interior and exterior paint, countertops, cabinetry, flooring and seismic upgrades, along with ADA-compliance upgrades throughout the property. Renovations are slated for completion by December. Partners on the project include the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, which issued 9 percent Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and CA State Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. WNC & Associates will be providing the tax credits.
ST. LOUIS — Washington University School of Medicine has opened the new Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Research Building, an 11-story academic building located at 4370 Duncan Ave. in St. Louis. The project represents an investment of $616 million, according to the general contractor, locally based McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. Considered one of the largest neuroscience research buildings in the world, the facility will help accelerate research in areas that include Alzheimer’s disease and brain tumors. The project team, including architectural firms CannonDesign and Perkins+Will, designed the facility to achieve LEED Gold certification. Situated on the eastern edge of campus, the 609,000-square-foot building accommodates 1,000 faculty and staff, including 95 research teams. Additional space could be built out in the future to accommodate another 350 faculty and staff, including about 145 research teams. The building includes an 1,846-space parking structure with bicycle racks and electric vehicle charging stations, as well as an elevated pedestrian connection that links the research building to an existing parking garage. The facility is named after Jeffrey Fort, a philanthropist and longtime donor to the university. The name was revealed at a ceremony held in January. McCarthy and the university broke ground on the research building in …
By Gib Laite, Esq. of Williams Mullen Multifamily investors are accustomed to paying property taxes based on an assessor’s opinion of their asset’s income-based market value. But for the growing number of developers and investors assembling communities of single-family homes and townhomes for rent, tax assessment is more complex and potentially troublesome. The difficulty for these taxpayers is that most assessors shun the income approach to valuing single-family rental properties. In the following paragraphs, we examine the roots of this common assessor stance, and explore strategies that may help taxpayers argue for a more predictable, apartment-like treatment for their single-family rental communities. Similar, but different Multifamily construction has delivered a tremendous volume of apartment properties over the past decade. Once stabilized, these assets have been relatively simple to value by relying on market rents, occupancy, expenses, and cap rates. On the heels of this apartment construction, the nation is seeing a proliferation of investor-backed, single-family construction and acquisitions of large blocks of homes and townhouses for use as rental properties. This may take the form of constructing a multitude of homes or townhomes in a single development. Alternatively, it may involve the acquisition of many existing homes or townhomes in …
— By Gary Baragona, Vice President of Research, Kidder Mathews — Home to an eclectic mix of local retailers, award-winning restaurants and the world’s most prestigious brands, Los Angeles has long been one of the most dynamic retail markets in the country. However, sector dynamics significantly shifted during the pandemic as retailers began to rely heavily on their online sales to stay in business and remain profitable. While consumer preferences further evolved in 2022 and 2023, there has been a noticeable slowdown in consumer spending, largely due to ongoing economic challenges, reduced buying power, decreased savings and increased credit card debt. On the surface, overall market fundamentals within the commercial real estate retail sector appear to be relatively stable. Some key indicators illustrate market resiliency, but other trends demonstrate the recent struggles felt by the retail sector and the challenges that may lie ahead. For example, total leasing activity across the Los Angeles region was down 15 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year, and down 25 percent compared to pre-COVID averages. The total vacancy rate across Los Angeles increased to 5.3 percent during the first quarter of 2024 and has consistently hovered between 5 percent and 5.3 percent …
TAMPA, FLA. — Index Investment Group has sold The Pointe on Westshore, a 444-unit multifamily community in Tampa. An entity controlled by Tampa-based American Landmark Apartments acquired the property for an undisclosed price. Situated on 23 acres, the community comprises apartments in one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans. Amenities at the property, which was completed in 2022, include a swimming pool, private cabana chairs, grilling stations, a pet spa, two rooftop decks, a fitness center, clubhouse with a business center, conference rooms and lounge areas. The Pointe on Westshore was 92 percent occupied at the time of sale. Casey Babb, Shawn Rupp, Luiz Baez, Bastian Schauer and Will Mathews of Colliers represented the seller in the transaction. American Landmark was self-represented.
RICHMOND, VA. — Baltimore-based Continental Realty Corp. (CRC) has acquired Gayton Crossing, a 160,830-square-foot retail center located at 9782 Gayton Road. in Richmond. Tenants at the property, which was developed in 1981, include Bank of America, Gold’s Gym, Goldfish Swim School, Jos. A. Bank, KidStrong, Starbucks Coffee, Virginia ABC and The UPS Store. Kroger shadow-anchors the center, which is situated on a 15.6-acre site within 15 miles of the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University. CRC purchased the property with funds from the Continental Realty Opportunistic Retail Fund I LP, a closed-end fund. Jordan Lex, Dean Sands and Danny Naughton of JLL represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The sales price was also not disclosed.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Landmark Properties has acquired Pointe on Rio, a 321-bed student housing property located at 1901 Rio Grande St. near the University of Texas in Austin. The midrise building, which will be rebranded as Tradition on Rio, was constructed in 2014. The community offers units in studio through five-bedroom configurations with hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances and in-unit washers and dryers. Amenities include a pool, resident lounge, gaming area, fitness center and conference and study spaces. At the time of sale, the community was 94 percent preleased for the 2024-2025 academic year.
SAN ANTONIO — Northmarq has brokered the sale of Regatta Apartment Homes, a 200-unit multifamily complex in San Antonio’s Northern Hills neighborhood. Built in 1982, the property offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans and amenities such as a pool, tennis court, clubhouse and walking trails. Zar Haro, Moses Siller, Bryan VanCura, Phil Grafe, Brian Booth, Rudy Dodier and Kevin Garza of Northmarq represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The buyer, an affiliate of CREE Capital, assumed the seller’s loan.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — General contractor Whiting-Turner has begun construction on the West Infill project at the Barbara Jordan Terminal at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The project will add 75,000 square feet of space across four levels, encompassing areas such as baggage handling, apron space, the concourse and a new mezzanine level. Additionally, the project team will undertake enhancements to mechanical, electrical and IT systems to minimize wait times and maximize efficiency for the 57,000 travelers who pass through the airport on a daily basis. Gensler is the project architect. Completion is slated for spring 2026.
