FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Carolina Beverage Group, which provides manufacturing, packaging and distribution services for the beverage industry, has signed a 493,920-square-foot industrial lease expansion at AllianceTexas in North Fort Worth. The tenant has occupied space at AllianceTexas for nearly a decade and now has a total footprint of 695,124 square feet. Carolina Beverage Group’s new space features 36-foot clear heights, 135-foot truck court depths and ample trailer parking.
HOUSTON —Florida-based investment firm Stoneweg US has acquired Ashford, a 312-unit apartment community in Houston’s Energy Corridor. According to Apartments.com, the property was built in 2017 and features studio, one- and two-bedroom units that range in size from 553 to 1,326 square feet. Amenities include a pool, fitness center, outdoor grilling and dining stations and a dog park. The seller and sales price were not disclosed. Stoneweg US has tapped RPM Living to manage the property and oversee a value-add program.
EL PASO, TEXAS — Greysteel has brokered the sale of Athens Gate, a 233-unit apartment complex in El Paso. The property offers one- and two-bedroom units that range in size from 404 to 746 square feet. According to Apartments.com, amenities include a pool, playground, volleyball court and outdoor grilling stations. Jack Stone of Greysteel represented the seller, a locally based developer, in the transaction. The buyer and sales price were not disclosed.
DESOTO, TEXAS — JLL has negotiated the sale of Methodist Transitional Care Center, along-term care facility in the southern Dallas suburb of DeSoto. The 100-bed property was built in 2020 and encompasses 66 units. Charles Bissell and Evan Kovac of JLL represented the seller and developer, Madison Marquette, in the transaction. Illinois-based LFI Real Estate purchased the asset for an undisclosed price.
NEW YORK CITY — A joint venture between two New York City-based firms, DRA Advisors and KPR Centers, has sold 16 grocery-anchored shopping centers totaling roughly 1.5 million square feet that are located throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region. The sale occurred in conjunction with the joint venture’s acquisition of 33 grocery-anchored shopping centers throughout the region from Cedar Realty Trust for $879 million. The centers were sold to Baltimore-based Klein Enterprises, Kimco Realty Trust and an affiliate of KPR Centers for undisclosed amounts. Chris Angelone of JLL represented the seller in this transaction. The joint venture intends to hold and manage the remaining centers acquired from Cedar Realty Trust, which currently have a collective occupancy rate of 93 percent.
PHILADELPHIA — Locally based brokerage firm Rittenhouse Realty Advisors has arranged the $87 million sale of Hamilton Court, a 295-bed student housing community located near the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Amenities include a pool, fitness center, outdoor grilling and dining areas and onsite laundry facilities. Hamilton Court also houses 21,400 square feet of retail space. Rittenhouse represented the seller, Post Brothers, which acquired the 103-unit property in 2015 and implemented a $21 million capital improvement program.
PASSAIC, N.J. — Atlanta-based IDI Logistics has signed a 111,111-square-foot, full-building industrial lease with an undisclosed home improvement retailer at 26 Jefferson St. in the Northern New Jersey community of Passaic. The facility sits on 7.5 acres and features a clear height of 40 feet, 27 docks, two drive-in doors and parking for 61 cars and eight trailers. David Knee and Chris Hile of JLL represented IDI Logistics in the lease negotiations.
WALTHAM, MASS. — General contractor Vantage Builders has delivered a 100,000-square-foot cannabis cultivation facility in the western Boston suburb of Waltham for wholesale provider Greencare Collective. The facility features vegetation rooms; six 9,500-square-foot grow rooms; cultivation process rooms for drying, trimming, curing and packaging; vault storage; and a commercial kitchen for the creation of cannabis edibles. The second floor has office space, and a 2,000-square-foot dispensary located in the front of the building is scheduled to open this summer. The project team included BKA Architects, BLW Engineers (MEP), McClure Engineering (civil) and Trinity Engineering (structural).
SOUTHBRIDGE, MASS. — Arch Communities and developer WinnCos. have completed a $25.7 million residential adaptive reuse project in Southbridge, located in the southern central part of the state. The project converted the 90,000-square-foot former Mary E. Wells High School building into a 62-unit affordable housing complex for seniors age 55 and older. Of the 62 apartments, 56 are reserved for households earning 60 percent or less of the area median income (AMI), including eight apartments reserved for residents at or below 30 percent of AMI. Six units have been customized for handicapped and sensory-impaired households. The 106-year-old building had been vacant for eight years before construction began in 2020.
By Chad Iafrate, Executive Director, and Phil Lyons, Managing Director, Cushman & Wakefield Retail leasing and investment sales transaction volumes continue to increase in 2022. This growth trend began to surge in the second part of 2021 following the pandemic recovery. Retail vacancy rates in San Diego County have decreased quarter over quarter to 5.9 percent, with vacancy lowest among power centers and strip centers. Asking rental rates, meanwhile, have increased across the county. This is primarily driven by significant rent growth at lifestyle centers (+5 percent from the previous quarter) and neighborhood centers (+2.8 percent). All major retail use categories seem to be back in expansion mode after four consecutive quarters of positive absorption. Pent-up consumer demand, stimulus and liquidity have all helped fuel growth plans in the retail sector with tenants continuing to try to make up for the lost year during the 2020 pandemic-related lockdowns. Suburban shopping centers have been the beneficiary of the work-from-home model as employees who would typically frequent retailers near their offices have pivoted to restaurants and shops closer to their residences. Investor confidence in retail centers also continues to increase, most notably from rising REIT activity and exchange buyers. Local retail investment …
