PHILADELPHIA — A partnership between two locally based firms, Odin Properties and RAM Development, has broken ground on Front Street Lofts, a 31-unit multifamily project in Philadelphia’s Norris Square neighborhood. The six-story building will house studio, one- and two-bedroom units as well as ground-floor commercial space. Completion is slated for fall 2024.
CHICAGO — Dimension Inx, a biomaterials platform company that develops therapeutic products to restore tissue and organ function, has signed a 6,410-square-foot life sciences lease at Fulton Labs in Chicago. Owned by Trammell Crow Co. (TCC) and located in the city’s Fulton Market district, the campus spans two buildings and 725,000 square feet. Dimension Inx will occupy a science-ready lab suite at 1375 W. Fulton. The company currently operates out of two locations, one being at Illinois Tech’s University Technology Park and the other at Portal Innovations, which is part of Fulton Labs. Dimension Inx will move into its new headquarters space in March and will still maintain its presence at Portal Innovations. TCC’s science-ready lab suites are private labs available for immediate occupancy that range in size from 3,000 to 7,000 square feet. Tenants have access to building technology and amenities, including a shared lab equipment room, as well as flexible lease terms. Jonathan Metzl and Jack Keenan of Cushman & Wakefield represented Dimension Inx. CBRE handles the leasing and marketing for Fulton Labs.
FAIRFIELD, N.J. — Brave Wings Therapy has signed a 12,954-square-foot medical office lease in the Northern New Jersey community of Fairfield. The pediatric speech therapy services provider has committed to Airport Executive Center, a four-story, 88,000-square-foot building that is owned by Bergman Real Estate Group. Andrew Kirshenbaum of NAI James E. Hanson represented Brave Wings Therapy in the lease negotiations.
WAUSEON, OHIO — Franklin Street has arranged the sale of a 100-unit self-storage facility in Wauseon, about 30 miles west of Toledo. The sales price was undisclosed. Built in phases between 1989 and 1994, the value-add property features 10 parking spaces and newly installed security cameras. The transaction includes 0.3 acres of developable land for potential expansion. David Perlleshi and Frank DeSalvo of Franklin Street represented the seller, HZ Capital Partners LLC. Missouri-based On Track Storage, which currently operates facilities in Missouri and Kansas, was the buyer.
KENILWORTH, N.J. — Biopharmaceutical giant Merck (NYSE: MRK) has agreed to sell its 108-acre office and research campus in Kenilworth to a joint venture between private investment firms Onyx Equities and Machine Investment Group. The price was not disclosed. The life sciences campus, formerly Merck’s headquarters, features 1.4 million square feet of laboratory space, 500,000 square feet of Class A office space, 30 acres of developable land, a 25-megawatt cogeneration plant, three cafeterias, a fitness center, auditoriums, conference centers, outdoor amenity areas and more than 3,200 surface and structured parking spaces. The property sits off Garden State Parkway and is located near to Route 78, the Route 22 retail corridor, the New Jersey Turnpike, Newark Liberty International Airport and the Port Newark Elizabeth Marine Terminal. Kenilworth is located just across the Arthur Kill waterway that separates New Jersey from Staten Island. The buyers plan to market and lease out the site’s laboratories and support facilities to biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and technology companies. Merck will vacate the property in phases over the next several years while expansion progresses on the firm’s new headquarters in nearby Rahway. “New Jersey receives two forms of good news today as one of the pillars of our business community …
It is hard to imagine that anyone could be insulated from the strife currently pervading the economic landscape. Likewise, the rise of e-commerce has for years been permeating everyday life and discussions of commercial real estate. One might think that these two factors in combination would spell depressed retailer expectations. But the opposite turns out to be true: Nearly 70 percent of retail store managers say they are bullish on the current state of retail and its future going into 2023. That’s according to the most recent Outlook Retail Sentiment Survey by Levin Management Corp. (LMC), an owner of 120 shopping centers. Survey respondents are store managers from LMC’s over 1,100 individual tenants. Undeniable obstacles With inflation reaching a 40-year high in June, and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) registering a 9.1 percent increase, a full 80 percent of survey respondents say that they have had to raise prices, with 34.7 percent anticipating further increases. Inflation has now cooled somewhat, with the CPI clocking in at 6.4 percent in January of this year. Nevertheless, it is a factor that continues to put strain on consumers and retailers alike. Considering this, in conjunction with supply chain issues, low supply of labor …
— By Andrew Cheney, Principal, Lee & Associates — The metro Phoenix office market continues a slow recovery as it battles the nation’s highest rates of both sublease growth and inflation. Starting off the fourth quarter at only 532,000 square feet (year-to-date), net absorption in Greater Phoenix remained well off the 20-year average mark of 1.6 million square feet. Direct office vacancy stands at a seemingly high figure of 17.6 percent. However, this is in line with the 20-year average of 18 percent. Currently, there are six key trends impacting Phoenix’s office market. Small tenants are back in the office. I imagine most brokers will report that the highest concentration of active, touring prospects are in the market for less than 10,000 square feet. These company sizes want to be in the office in metro Phoenix, and not just a few days a week. High-quality spec suites rule. Landlords recognize that smaller tenants are driving leasing activity — and that these small tenants will not wait for a build-out. Instead of holding one or two spec suites in inventory at any one time, landlords are building out large batches of five to seven spec suites at a time. And they’re spending money to build …
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Convexity Properties has broken ground on 5 City Blvd, a 15-story office tower within the ONEC1TY master-planned development in Nashville. The 300,000-square-foot building will be situated at the intersection of City and Charlotte avenues, roughly two miles outside of Nashville’s Central Business District and near I-40 and I-440. In addition to upscale offices, 5 City Blvd will feature 17,000 square feet of ground-level retail space, 900 parking spaces, electric vehicle charging stations and fiber optic connectivity. The design-build team includes architect Goettsch Partners and general contractor JE Dunn. Goldman Sachs provided an undisclosed amount of construction for the project. Convexity has tapped Frank Thomasson and Byran Fort of CBRE to lease 5 City Blvd, which is set for a fourth-quarter 2024 delivery.
MIAMI — Berkadia has arranged a $113 million loan to refinance Gateway at Wynwood, a 220,000-square-foot office building located at 2616 N. Miami Ave. in Miami that opened last year. Charles Foschini, Christopher Apone and Robert Iudice of Berkadia’s South Florida office arranged the loan through A10 Capital on behalf of the borrower and developer, New York-based Rose & Berg Realty Group LP. The three-year loan features two one-year extension options. Berkadia also secured the original construction loan for the project in early 2020 through lender 3650 REIT. Designed by Kobi Karp, Gateway at Wynwood features a private rooftop terrace, 512 onsite parking spaces and 24,000 square feet of ground-level retail space. Existing office tenants include BoConcept, OpenStore and Veru, among others.
ANNAPOLIS, MD. — SJC Ventures has announced 11 new tenants joining Beacon Square, a mixed-use development underway in Annapolis. New tenants signing leases include Arhaus, Circa Lighting, Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, Mighty Quinn’s BBQ, Meg Fox Aesthetics, GNC, Aspen Dental, Inspire Nails, Cold Stone Creamery, Eggspectation and Jersey Mikes. The first openings are projected for late 2024. Additionally, Beacon Square will be anchored by a 43,000-square-foot grocery tenant that has not yet been announced. Atlanta-based SJC Ventures has tapped Ray Schupp, Suzanne Katz and Bryan Davis of H&R Retail to lease Beacon Square. In addition to the 52,000 square feet of shops and restaurants, Beacon Square will feature office space and 508 multifamily units. SJC Ventures and partner AvalonBay Communities purchased the land in early 2022 and began construction last August.