EAST LANSING, MICH. — Newmark has arranged the sale of three student housing assets totaling 496 beds that serve Michigan State University in East Lansing. The sales price was undisclosed. The properties include: The Gates, a 139-bed property built in 2014; The Manor, a 56-bed building constructed in 2015; and The Tower, a 301-bed property. Amenities include controlled access, resident events, onsite parking, laundry facilities and a pedestrian bridge to campus. Ryan Lang, Jack Brett, Ben Harkrider and Debbie Corson of Newmark represented the seller, MJW Investments. Blue Vista Capital Management was the buyer.
ANKENY, IOWA — Sealy & Co. has acquired Crosswinds II, a 221,520-square-foot distribution center in Ankeny, a northwest suburb of Des Moines. The purchase price was undisclosed. The facility was completed earlier this year and features a clear height of 32 feet, 30 dock-high doors and a 136-foot truck court. Jason Gandy and Davis Gibbs led the transaction for Sealy on an internal basis. John Hassler of Newmark Zimmer represented the undisclosed seller.
ANN ARBOR, MICH. — Sartorius, a life sciences research and biopharmaceutical company, has broken ground on its new 130,000-square-foot research center at Ann Arbor Research Park. Sartorius currently employs about 140 people in the Ann Arbor area and expects to increase that number to about 300 employees over the next three years. The jobs will include product development, operations and other support functions. Employees at the facility will focus on providing advanced solutions to help customers develop drugs that cure, prevent and halt the progression of diseases. Sartorius expects to open the facility by the end of 2023. Hobbs+ Black Architects is the project architect and J.S. Vig Construction Co. is the general contractor.
WHEELING, ILL. — Cinergy Dine-In Cinemas is slated to open in July at the former CMX CinéBistro location at Wheeling Town Center in the Chicago suburb of Wheeling. The 40,000-square-foot, seven-screen theater will offer a dine-in theater experience. Wheeling Town Center, developed by The Lynmark Group, is now fully leased. This is the ninth location nationwide for Cinergy, which is operated by Dallas-based Cinergy Entertainment Group Inc. Other tenants at Wheeling Town Center include 312 Nails, Artic Spoon, AT&T, City Works, Inland Bank, Meat & Potato Urban Kitchen, Mia’s Cantina, Starbucks and The Learning Experience.
AUBURN AND GREENFIELD, MASS. — CBRE has brokered the $26.2 million sale of the Lundgren Honda dealerships located in the Central Massachusetts cities of Auburn and Greenfield. The Auburn property was built in 2012 and spans 55,870 square feet. The Greenfield property was constructed in 2005 and totals 12,807 square feet. The family-owned and -operated dealership and its affiliate real estate company, Lundgren Equity Partners, sold the sites to Pennsylvania-based Legacy Automotive Capital. Karly Iacono of CBRE represented both parties in the transactions.
PORTLAND, MAINE — Metro Boston-based mortgage banking firm Fantini & Gorga has arranged a $23 million permanent loan for Danforth Heights, a 166-unit mixed-income community located in between Portland’s historic and waterfront districts. According to Apartments.com, the property was built in 1973 and features one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units. Tim O’Donnell and Derek Coulombe of Fantini & Gorga placed the debt through Eastern Mortgage Capital on behalf of the undisclosed borrower.
PHILADELPHIA — BioLabs, an incubator for life sciences companies, has signed a 30,151-square-foot lease expansion at The Curtis, a facility in Philadelphia’s Center City District that is a redevelopment of a historic publishing house. The tenant’s footprint is now 53,529 square feet, and the move-in is scheduled for early 2023. Other tenants at The Curtis, which also houses traditional office space, include Aro Biotherapeutics, IMVAX Inc. and Vivodyne. Keystone Development + Investment owns the property.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Triple Five Group, the owner of the 3 million-square-foot American Dream shopping, dining and entertainment destination in Northern New Jersey, will soon open a 10,000-square-foot food hall. The food hall will feature seven concepts, including Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, Best Pizza and Vanessa’s Dumpling House, as well as wine bar Vinoteca and confectionary Lady M. The space will include seating and game areas and will be located near the live music and performance stage. A grand opening with a cornhole tournament, kids’ game and live music will take place on Wednesday, July, 13.
NEWPORT, R.I. — Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) has acquired Gurney’s Newport Resort & Marina, a 10-acre waterside resort located on Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, for $174 million. The 257-room hotel is located on Goat Island in Newport and features unobstructed views of Newport Harbor and the Newport Bridge. The hotel grounds include a historic lighthouse; 3,000-square-foot spa; coffee shop; 3,200-square-foot waterside pavilion; resort-style swimming pool with cabanas; indoor pool; fitness center; seasonal ice-skating rink; 80,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor event space; and several waterside restaurants, including Showfish Newport and The Pineapple Club. The property also features a 22-slip full-service marina, which was not included in the sale, but will be available for PEB to purchase in 2027. The new ownership is evaluating a number of capital expenditures at the resort, which could include full renovations to guest rooms; upgrades to the lobby; updated landscaping; refurbishment of the property’s restaurants and bars; the addition of a new market; relocating and updating the spa; and updates to the hotel’s grand ballroom, south lawn and outdoor pavilion spaces. “Gurney’s Newport is the only resort-style property in Newport, drawing strong demand from New York, Boston and Providence,” says …
By Jim Prichard of Ball Janik LLP The 13-story, L-shaped Champlain Towers decorated the Surfside coastline. In the early morning of June 24, 2021, the pool deck suffered a partial collapse, triggering more destruction in the structure’s central section and eastern wing. In less than 30 seconds, approximately half of the 136 units in the building were destroyed, leaving 98 residents dead and establishing a horrific legacy as one of the deadliest structural engineering failures in U.S. history. In the wake of the tragedy, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava ordered an immediate audit of all high-rise buildings that were more than 40 years old and five stories tall constructed by the developer. The attention to South Florida development prompted a review of hundreds of older buildings. There was also an onslaught of editorial investigations, including features by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Miami Herald. Florida International University conducted its satellite analysis of the site as well. All investigations, first-hand experiences, and post-collapse engineering findings reported that there had been concerns about the structural integrity of the building and that the collapse was based on faulty construction and deterioration. As a law firm, our biggest …