NEWARK, N.J. — HAX, a tech concept backed by global venture capital firm SOSV that serves as an incubator for startup companies, has opened its 35,000-square-foot headquarters facility in Newark. The facility includes space for chemical, mechanical and electrical engineering labs, as well as 3D printing, manual metal fabrication, computer numerical control machining and laser cutting. More than 30 companies will operate from within the facility.
WICHITA, KAN. — The Annex Group is underway on the development of Union at Purple Heart Trail, a $61 million affordable housing community in Wichita. The property will offer 240 units for households whose income level is at or below 60 percent of the area median income. Completion is slated for early 2026. The project will encompass two four-story buildings surrounded by landscaping and open space. Amenities will include a community center with fitness center, media center, business center, outdoor gazebo, playground, dog park, walking path and picnic areas. Project partners include: HDJ as the architect; Baughman for civil engineering, surveying and planning; Summit LIHTC Consulting; the City of Wichita, which provided incentives and $45.4 million in tax-exempt bonds; and Kansas Housing Resources Corp., which issued the tax credit award. Aegon Asset Management provided $26.8 million in federal tax credit equity and $18.4 million in state tax credit equity, and Bank of America provided $45.5 million in construction financing. Merchants Capital provided $14.4 million for the project.
CANTON, MICH. — First National Realty Partners has completed the lease-up of Premier Center in Canton, a western suburb of Detroit. The latest lease was with Michaels, which opened a 17,514-square-foot store in March. Additional tenants include Kroger, Home Depot, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Five Below, Ruby Tuesday, Great Clips and The UPS Store.
VALPARAISO, IND. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the receivership sale of a 43,450-square-foot medical office building in Valparaiso, a city in northwest Indiana. Located at 1425 Glendale Ave., the building is about 75 percent completed. Litigation with a neighboring owner tied up the property in the legal system for an extended period, during which interest rates climbed 525 basis points, says Julia Evinger of Marcus & Millichap. Evinger marketed the property for sale on behalf of the court appointed receiver. The new owner plans to complete and lease the building to medical office tenants.
ELGIN, ILL. — Lee & Associates has negotiated a 15,520-square-foot industrial lease for Soosan USA, a wholly owned North American subsidiary of Soosan Heavy Industries. The property is located at 1390 Gateway Drive in Elgin. Soosan designs, manufactures and supplies hydraulic breakers, compactors and crawler drills to 70 different countries. John Sharpe and Rick Anesi of Lee & Associates represented the tenant. Matt Garland of Cawley Chicago represented the owner, Clear Height Properties.
HEBRON, ILL. — Entre Commercial Realty has brokered the sale of a 12,013-square-foot industrial facility in Hebron, a city in northeast Illinois. The sales price was undisclosed. The property features additional land suitable for outdoor storage or future expansion. The facility once served as the headquarters of KBI Custom Case, a manufacturer specializing in casework for the commercial sector. Elisabeth Lazzara and Kevin Kaplan of Entre represented the seller, while Kevin Kaplan of Entre represented the buyer, CTS Group of Cos. The trucking and logistics company plans to utilize the space as its new headquarters.
NEW YORK CITY — New York City-based developer TF Cornerstone is nearing completion on 2-20 and 2-21 Malt Drive, a 1.4 million-square-foot apartment complex in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens. At full build-out, the project will deliver 1,386 apartments across two buildings, as well as retail space and a public park. 2-20 and 2-21 Malt Drive are situated on Malt Drive, a new city street that was named as a nod to the site’s history as a sugar cane processing facility that later became a beer distribution center. The project is located within the 30-acre Hunter’s Point South mixed-use development. The South building at 2-20 Malt Drive will rise 33 stories and feature 575 units. The adjacent North building will comprise 811 apartments across two towers at 2-21 Malt Drive. Thirty percent of units at both buildings will be set aside as affordable housing, which will be leased at 130 percent of the area median income. The buildings were designed by SLCE Architects. Planned amenities include on-site parking, bicycle storage, co-working space, children’s playrooms, lounges, fitness centers, shared laundry rooms as well as in-unit washers & dryers, roof decks with BBQ grills, sundecks and courtyards. 2-20 Malt Drive will also …
— By Kirsten Grado, Toss Vallentine and Wing Lee of JLL — The resilience of the South Bay/Silicon Valley economy has been tested with the dramatic change in hybrid work formats that enabled employees to work from anywhere. While office vacancy has hit near record levels over the past year, signs of strengthening fundamentals are pointing to a bottoming of the market and a period of opportunity for companies and investors with long-term views. So, what is marking the signs of optimism? Leasing activity has continued to improve as companies in technology, professional services, financial services/consulting and other sectors leased 865,000 square feet across 61 transactions in the first quarter of 2024. The largest leases were PwC agreeing to move from downtown San Jose into 141,000 square feet within the top three floors of One Santana West, as well as a confidential tech firm leasing 162,000 square feet at Coleman Highline, also in San Jose. Other notable leases were TDK InvenSense renewing its 82,000-square-foot space in San Jose, as well as KMPG and the 49ers organization each taking about 50,000 square feet of space in new leases in Santa Clara. Premier space remains in high demand as companies look to …
HOUSTON — A joint venture between the principals of Westmont Hospitality Group, STOA Architects and DC Partners has delivered Torrey Chase Apartments, a 280-unit affordable housing project in North Houston. The property consists of five buildings that house one- and two-bedroom units that are reserved for households earning 60 percent or less of the area median income. Amenities include a pool, outdoor grilling and dining stations, a dog park and a children’s play area. Frank & Hill Architects designed Torrey Chase, which was 75 percent preleased as of the grand opening ceremony in April.
REFUGIO, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Affordable Mini Storage, a 126-unit self-storage facility in Refugio, about 40 miles north of Corpus Christi. The site spans 2.5 acres at 908 Bayou Road and can support additional expansion. The facility was built in 2014 and offers 14,700 net rentable square feet. Jon Danklefs of Marcus & Millichap represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction and procured the buyer, Kingcrest Communities.