ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Provident Bank has provided a $7.5 million loan for the refinancing of Renaissance Plaza, a 76,000-square-foot, grocery-anchored shopping center in Atlantic City. Tenants include Family Dollar, CVS and H&R Block. Daniel Fromm led a Newmark team that placed the debt with Provident Bank on behalf of the borrower, New York City-based investment firm Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. The loan carried a seven-year term and a fixed interest rate.
WALTHAM, MASS. — Alcresta Therapeutics, which develops enzyme-based treatments for rare diseases, has signed a 14,441-square-foot life sciences lease at 130 Turner Street, a 270,000-square-foot facility located in the western Boston suburb of Waltham. Matt Malatesta, Mike Frisoli, Tyler McGrail, Margaret Fee and Eric Jeremiah of Newmark represented the landlord, Jumbo Capital, in the lease negotiations. Ned Halloran and Connor Hayes of Hunneman represented the tenant
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Babies ‘R’ Us will open a 10,000-square-foot flagship store at American Dream, an entertainment destination located in the Northern New Jersey community of East Rutherford. The parent company of Babies ‘R’ Us, New York City-based WHP Global, purchased a controlling stake in Tru Kids Inc., which also owned Toys ‘R’ Us, in March 2021 and announced plans to reopen certain stores. As such, the American Dream store effectively represents the flagship location for the retailer as WHP Global works to re-establish its physical footprint. The opening is scheduled for this summer.
BOSTON — The Chiofaro Co., a locally based investment and development firm, has unveiled plans for the $100 million transformation of International Place, a 1.8 million-square-foot office complex in downtown Boston. Built in phases between 1987 and 1992, International Place consists of a 46-story tower and a 35-story building that are connected by a public courtyard. The complex is home to more than 90 tenants, many of which are in the legal, financial services and tech sectors. Global architecture firm Gensler is leading the design of the project, the centerpiece of which will be a 16,000-square-foot amenity center that will be known as The Aries Club. This center will house a tenant lounge, flexible workspaces, conferencing facilities, podcast rooms, mothers’ rooms, a bar and a 3,000-square-foot outdoor terrace. Chiofaro will contract a third-party hospitality management group to run The Aries Club. The capital improvement program also calls for the renovation of the entrance of One International Place with upgraded lighting and protective glass canopies to imbue the building with more hospitality-like curb appeal. Ownership will also modernize the retail storefronts at One International Place. At Two International Place, Chiofaro is planning a similar renovation of the entrance to elevate lighting, …
Across the country, investors are facing some difficult hurdles. Rising interest rates, impending economic recession and rising construction costs are making it increasingly difficult for proposed deals to penicl out for investors. These issues, coupled with a swath of non-performing loans that are nearing maturity, have been the first indications we have seen of a bear market in the real estate world, and there are no signs of improvement in the near future. In times of uncertainty, we often see investors adhere to a conservative approach to investment, which normally means increased focus on core markets and assets. One area of focus in which investors have remained bullish is Washington, D.C.’s multifamily market as it continues to thrive, despite turmoil in the larger U.S. economy. Developers broke ground on new multifamily product in excess of 4,000 units for the fourth consecutive quarter, a first for the D.C. market. Multifamily sales volume has not quite matched the bull market of 2021; however, sales in 2022 still outpace most years in the metro’s history. Whether it’s construction on ground-up development of multifamily product, or the purchase of existing multifamily product, the D.C market has not shown any signs of slowing down. For …
ATLANTA — San Francisco-based Spear Street Capital has purchased three office buildings in Atlanta for $247.5 million. Situated within the Perimeter Summit development, the properties are located at 1001, 2002 and 4004 Summit Blvd. Perimeter Summit was leased to 12 tenants at the time of sale and features amenities including fitness centers, conferencing centers, common area workspaces, underground parking and jogging trails and green space. Richard Reid, Ed Coco, Ryan Clutter, Ralph Smalley and Huston Green of JLL Capital Markets represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.
TAMPA, FLA. — Bromley Cos. and Highwoods Properties have broken ground on Midtown East, an 18-floor office tower located within the duo’s Midtown Tampa mixed-use development. Comprising 430,000 square feet, the project is designed by architectural firm Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio and Brasfield & Gorrie is serving as general contractor. Scheduled for completion in 2025, the tower will be the anchor building within Midtown Tampa. The development’s existing office space is currently over 98 percent leased. Bromley and Highwoods will jointly own 134,000 square feet of the finished building, with the remaining space serving as the headquarters for Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas.
COLUMBIA, MD. — JLL Capital Markets has arranged separate refinancings totaling $193 million for two properties located in downtown Columbia. Jamie Leachman and Drake Greer of JLL secured the financing on behalf of the borrower, The Howard Hughes Corp. An undisclosed lender provided a $76 million, three-year, fixed-rate loan for the first property, a 317,189-square-foot office building located at 6100 Merriweather Drive. JLL also arranged a $117 million, five-year, fixed-rate loan for Juniper, an apartment community built in 2020 that also features 55,693 square feet of street-level retail space. Both properties are positioned within the mixed-use Merriweather District, and both loans were used to take out existing construction financing.
HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. — Affiliates of Apollo and GeneSuites are underway on the construction of Catalyst BioCampus, a 446,000-square-foot biomanufacturing development in Holly Springs, roughly 20 miles southwest of Raleigh. The development, which is scheduled for completion early this year, will be pre-equipped with mechanical, electrical and building infrastructure designed in accordance with Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) specific to biomanufacturing facilities. This design, branded High Performance Shell by GeneSuites, will support the acceleration of speed-to-market for biopharmaceutical companies by approximately nine to 15 months, according to CBRE|Raleigh. Lee Cllyburn John Hogan III of CBRE|Raleigh are handling leasing at the development.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Locally based developer LV Collective will construct a 48-story multifamily tower in Austin’s Rainey Street District that will be known as Paseo. Paseo will offer 557 units in one-, two- and three-bedroom formats, with residential amenities across multiple floors and several food-and-beverage concepts on the ground floor. Approximately 20 percent of the residences will be reserved as affordable housing. JE Dunn Construction is the general contractor for the project, and Pappageorge Haymes Partners is the architect. UMB Bank is providing construction financing. Construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter and to be complete in late 2025.