DALLAS — WorkSuites, a provider of coworking and flexible office spaces, has debuted its new brand WorkTank with a 4,000-square-foot space at 6060 N. Central Expressway in North Dallas. The WorkTank brand will offer a more private and professional office-using experience, with spaces located on ground floors as opposed to upper floors of office buildings, as is the case with the traditional WorkSuites brand. The new space will offer coffee and snacks, printers and patio workstations.
NORWALK, CONN. — JLL has provided a $107.2 million Freddie Mac acquisition loan for The Waypointe, a 464-unit apartment community in Norwalk that also houses 56,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. Units come in one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans, and amenities include a fitness center, game room, saltwater pool and two parking garages totaling 1,027 spaces. Scott Aiese, Peter Rotchford, Alex Staikos and Brendan Collins of JLL arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower, Invictus Real Estate Partners. The Waypointe was 93 percent occupied at the time of the loan closing.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the sale of a 168,144-square-foot office building located at 325 Columbia Turnpike in Florham Park, about 30 miles west of New York City. The three-story building is situated on 15 acres and offers amenities such as a recently renovated cafeteria and onsite tenant storage units. The property was 85 percent leased at the time of sale. Andy Merin, David Bernhaut, Gary Gabriel, Frank DiTommaso and Seth Zudiema represented the seller, Mack-Cali, in the transaction. The team also procured the buyer, Connecticut-based investment firm The Birch Group.
LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y. — Locally based investment firm Botanic Properties has acquired a 97,047-square-foot flex building located at 24-02 Queens Plaza in the Long Island City area of Queens. Apex Technical School has occupied the entirety of the three-story building since 2012. Christopher Peck, Steve Klein and Thomas Pryor of JLL arranged a $24 million fixed-rate acquisition loan through MSD Partners on behalf of the borrower. The seller was not disclosed.
PHILADELPHIA — An affiliate of Aquinas Realty Partners LLC has received a $13.2 million loan for the refinancing of AQ Overbrook, a 128-unit multifamily asset in Philadelphia. The borrower acquired the property, which formerly served as a student housing complex for St. Joseph’s University, in 2018 and implemented a capital improvements program to reposition the asset as a market-rate apartment community. Cronheim Mortgage arranged the loan, which carries a five-year term and a fixed interest rate, through an undisclosed local bank.
NEW YORK CITY — Brandon Singer, formerly of Cushman & Wakefield, has launched Retail by MONA, a leasing and advisory firm that will serve New York City. MONA is an acronym for Making of a New Age. The company has strategic partnerships with property owners including Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs, founders of RFR Holding. Singer will serve as CEO of the new entity, which will offer both tenant and landlord representation services. Michael Cody, also formerly with Cushman & Wakefield, will serve as director and co-founder.
BOSTON — HYM Investment Group has received approval from the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) for the redevelopment of Suffolk Downs, a 161-acre former thoroughbred horse track and racing facility, into a mixed-use district. Approved plans for the project include 10,000 residential units, 20 percent of which will be designated affordable housing; 40 acres of publicly accessible parks and open space; and 3 million square feet of office and retail space. HYM purchased the property in 2017 for $155 million and the racetrack officially closed in summer 2018. Thursday’s vote of approval marks the end of a three-year community review process, during which the company held over 450 meetings with community group members, elected officials and staff, and neighbors to hear and incorporate community feedback. HYM is now cleared to begin construction on the project, which might take up to 20 years to complete and will cost $8 billion, according to reports by WBUR, Boston’s NPR news station. Designs for the project also include the construction of a major extension of the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway, a public pathway and park in East Boston connecting Piers Park, Memorial Stadium, Bremen Street Park, Wood Island Bay Marsh and Belle Isle Marsh. …
By Brian Tranetzki, Principal, Taylor Street Advisors Multifamily is staying strong despite COVID-19. That’s because this product type was coming off an extremely hot market at the end of 2019 and early 2020 before the pandemic hit. The Phoenix metro area remains one of the few markets nationally with positive rent growth due to the steady population increase. Now, just months away from 2021, the market is faced with many unknown factors, such as unemployment, election outcomes, continued COVID uncertainty and the risk of eliminating 1031 exchanges. In turn, buyer sentiment also remains intense with a flurry of activity on those very exchanges. Development is still robust in the valley, with significant increases in downtown Phoenix, downtown Tempe and Chandler/Gilbert. There are currently more than 15,000 units under construction in the region. The building sizes are getting larger, while individual units are getting smaller. Developers are focused on building Class A properties with an emphasis on higher-end amenities, pool areas and concierge services. The class type determines whether it’s a landlord or tenant market. Tenants have several options in the Class A rental space, particularly as new units are delivered, which makes this a tenant-friendly environment. Class A vacancy is …
ATLANTA — Preferred Apartment Communities (PAC) has entered into an agreement with TPG Real Estate Partners to sell an eight-property student housing portfolio for $478.7 million. The portfolio is located in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas. The Atlanta-based seller expects the sale to close by the end of the year. The Arizona property is SoL, a 639-bed community serving students in Tempe. The Florida properties are NxNW, a 679-bed community in Tallahassee, and Knightshade, an 894-bed complex in Orlando. In Georgia, PAC will sell Stadium Village, a 792-bed property in Kennesaw. PAC will also sell Rush, an 887-bed asset in Charlotte, N.C. The Texas communities included in the sale are The Tradition, an 808-bed complex in College Station, and The Bloc, a 556-bed property in Lubbock. CBRE represented the seller in the transaction. PAC is a REIT whose portfolio includes apartment communities, grocery-anchored shopping centers, Class A office buildings and student housing communities.
ALPHARETTA, GA. — Crescent Real Estate LLC has acquired The Hotel at Avalon, a 330-room property within Avalon in Alpharetta. The hotel, which is part of the Marriott Autograph Collection brand, opened in 2018 and features a 65,000-square-foot conference center, 44,000 square feet of multi-function space, a fitness center, pool, full-service Starbucks and a South City Kitchen restaurant. The Fort Worth, Texas-based buyer has retained HEI Hotels & Resorts to manage the property. Bill Hodges, Mark Elliott, Todd Ratliff, Pete Dannemiller, Nate Ries, Coby Campbell and Nic Howe of Hodges Ward Elliott represented the seller, a partnership between Stormont Hospitality Group, North American Properties and Long Wharf Capital, in the transaction. The sales price was not disclosed. Avalon is a $1 billion mixed-use development spanning 86 acres. Developed in phases by North American Properties, Avalon features 500,000 square feet of retail space, more than 20 restaurants, 600,000 square feet of office space and more than 600 residential units. The Hotel at Avalon is the only hotel on the property. Avalon’s tenant base includes Whole Foods Market, Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, Sundance, Arhaus, The Container Store, lululemon athletica, Peloton, Pottery Barn, a 12-screen Regal theater, West Elm and Williams Sonoma, among others.
