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 …
LA QUINTA, CALIF. — SRS Real Estate Partners has arranged the sale of a 154,383-square-foot portion of One Eleven La Quinta Center, a community retail center located at 78959 CA-11 in La Quinta. A Coachella Valley-based private family office sold the asset to Anaheim-based Milan Capital Management for $35 million. Chris Tramontano and John Redfield of SRS’ Investment Properties Group represented the seller, while the buyer was self-represented in the deal. Terrison Quinn and Casey Mahony of SRS Real Estate Partners are the exclusive leasing agents for the property. Tenants include Ross Dress for Less, Staples, Petco and Big 5 Sporting Goods. The property was 79 percent occupied at the close of escrow. The center is shadow anchored by Stater Bros, Hobby Lobby and Kohl’s. Built in phases between 1992 and 2002, One Eleven La Quinta Center totals 852,465 square feet and is situated on 19.7 acres. This transaction marks the first sale of a portion of the center since development.
PACKWOOD, EATONVILLE AND ASHFORD, WASH. — Crystal Investment Property (CIP) has arranged the sale of a four-hotel portfolio in Washington. Terms of the transaction, including the names of the seller and buyer and the acquisition price, were not released. The portfolio includes Cowlitz River Lodge and Crest Trail Lodge in Packwood, Mill Village Motel in Eatonville and Nisqually Lodge in Ashford. All four properties are independent, mid-scale hotels each with 25 to 32 rooms. Cowlitz River Lodge, Nisqually Lodge and Crest Trail Lodge feature large lounges, stonework fireplaces and various guest amenities throughout the properties. Mill Village Motel is the only exterior-corridor property and offers a business center, guest library and meeting/event space. CIP President Joseph Kennedy and team handled the transaction.
PHOENIX — The Koll Co. has purchased a two-building industrial portfolio, totaling 65,594 square feet in southwest Phoenix. JFN Mechanical sold the properties for $13.7 in an off-market transaction. The portfolio consists of a 32,608-square-foot building, delivered first-quarter 2022, at 4587 W. McDowell Road that is fully leased to Phoenix WinSupply, and a 32,986-square-foot facility at 5127 W. Roosevelt St. that JFN will continue to occupy through the sale-leaseback agreement. JFN Mechanical is a plumbing contractor that works exclusively on student housing, multifamily, seniors housing and hospitality construction projects. The property at 4587 W. McDowell Road features 24-foor clear heights, 1,200 square feet of office space, dock and grade doors, evaporative cooling systems, LED lighting, ESFR sprinklers and a fully secured truck court. The facility at 5127 Roosevelt St. features 24-foot clear heights, 3,000 square feet of office space, dock and grade doors, evaporative cooling systems, LED lighting, ESFR sprinklers and a fully secure truck court. Phil Haenel and Will Strong of Cushman & Wakefield represented both parties in the portfolio sale and leaseback.
DALLAS — Dallas-based NewcrestImage has agreed to purchase four La Quinta by Wyndham-branded hotels, totaling 696 rooms. A joint venture between Highgate and Cerberus sold the properties for an undisclosed price. The hotels include La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham LAX in Los Angeles; La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Anaheim in Anaheim, Calif.; La Quinta Inn by Wyndham Phoenix North in Phoenix; and La Quinta Inn & Suites DFW Airport South/Irving in Irving, Texas. The acquisition of the LAX property marks NewcrestImage’s first gateway location in California.
TEMPE, ARIZ. — Colliers has brokered the sale of Kyrene Corporate Center, an office property located at 9280 S. Kyrene Road in Tempe. Handwrytten Software Co. acquired the asset for an undisclosed price. The company, which provides software and hardware to mimic human handwriting for use in marketing materials, will use the 31,962-square-foot property as its headquarters. Situated on 2.6 acres, the asset was built in 1998. Michael Marsh of Colliers Arizona represented the buyer, while Michael Milic of Colliers Arizona represented the undisclosed seller in the deal.
BALTIMORE — Klein Enterprises, an investment and development firm based in Baltimore, has purchased a portfolio of nine grocery-anchored shopping centers in the Mid-Atlantic. The portfolio spans 800,000 square feet of retail space and was 80 percent leased at the time of sale. Cedar Realty Trust sold the portfolio for an undisclosed price in conjunction with the broader asset acquisition of Cedar’s grocery-anchored portfolio by a joint venture between DRA Advisors and KPR. United Bank provided an undisclosed amount of debt financing for the acquisition. As part of the transaction, Klein is acquiring seven stabilized shopping centers and two centers actively under redevelopment: Valley Plaza in Hagerstown, Md., and Yorktowne Plaza in Cockeysville, Md. The other seven centers in the portfolio include: • The Shoppes Arts District located in Hyattsville, Md. • Oakland Mills located in Columbia, Md. • Elmhurst Square located in Portsmouth, Va. • General Booth Plaza located in Virginia Beach, Va. • Kempsville Crossing located in Virginia Beach, Va. • Oak Ridge Shopping Center located in Suffolk, Va. • Swede Square located in East Norriton, Pa.
ATLANTA — Miami-based Westside Capital Group has purchased The Lofts at Twenty25, a 16-story high-rise apartment tower located at 2025 Peachtree Road in Atlanta. The unnamed developer sold the 623-unit property, which was originally built in 1951 and completely redeveloped in 2021, for $136 million. Situated between Atlanta’s Buckhead and Midtown districts, Lofts at Twenty25 features one-bedroom apartments ranging from 430 square feet to 600 square feet. Unit interiors feature eight- to 10-foot ceilings, wood-style plank flooring, quartz countertops and stainless steel appliances, walk-in closets and barn-style doors. Amenities include a 5,000-square-foot fitness center, swimming pool, movie theater, convenience store and coffee shop, dog park and dog wash, swimming pool, billiards and game room, office and conference rooms, bike storage, putting green, laundry facility and dry cleaning service, EV charging stations and 405 parking spaces.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the $64 million sale of Union Cross Distribution Center, a newly built logistics center located at 4051 Wallburg Road in Winston-Salem. The developer, Front Street Capital, sold the 610,000-square-foot facility to Galaxy Investments LLC, an affiliate of The Halle Cos. Rob Cochran, Nolan Ashton, Bill Harrison, Stewart Calhoun, Casey Masters, Bobby Finch, Jason Ofsanko and Hap Royster of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction. Union Cross Distribution Center was fully leased to an undisclosed tenant at the time of sale. The property features 40-foot clear heights, cross-dock loading, LED lighting, concrete tilt-wall construction and access to the Triad’s major transportation arteries along with Piedmont Triad International Airport. It is also located adjacent to the established Union Cross Business Park, a 403-acre industrial park.