EVANSTON, ILL. — Spirit Investment Partners and The Bascom Group have acquired 415 Premier Apartments in Evanston for $49.1 million. Built in 2008, the 17-story property includes 221 luxury apartment units as well as a 245-space parking deck. Dan Cohen of CBRE represented the undisclosed seller. Peter Marino of CBRE arranged acquisition financing through Rialto Capital Management.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — JLL has arranged a $43 million bridge loan for the refinancing of BELA, a 104-unit multifamily building in Jersey City. The newly built property offers one- and two-bedroom units that average 982 square feet and are furnished with stainless steel appliances, island kitchens and full-size washers and dryers. Amenities include a fitness center, grilling stations, outdoor lounge and a clubroom. BELA also houses 2,600 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Matthew Pizzolato and Thomas Didio Jr. of JLL arranged the floating-rate loan through BrightSpire Capital Inc. on behalf of the borrower, Golden Glades Capital Management.
GRANITE CITY, ILL. — Contegra Construction Co. has completed the new 40,800-square-foot headquarters for icon Mechanical in Granite City, just north of St. Louis. icon Mechanical is a full-service mechanical contractor, engineering and construction firm specializing in the design, fabrication and installation of process piping, power piping, industrial ventilation and commercial HVAC. The company employs more than 150 people in addition to hundreds of trade workers on projects. The two-story property is located at 1616 Cleveland Blvd. and features an atrium, glass-walled offices, LED lighting, two stairways and open interior workspaces. Joining icon and Contegra on the project team were civil engineer Juneau Associates, architect Gray Design Group and structural engineer Alper Audi, all of which are St. Louis-area firms.
By Brendan Carroll, director of research, Cushman & Wakefield The rapid emergence of greater Boston in the first two decades of the 21st century as a global center of advanced, technology-assisted biology has been followed by an even faster rate of growth since the start of the new decade. We have reached a critical mass in the greater Boston market, where we have developed a combination of skills, institutions and collaboration between companies that is supported and financed by an investor base that is qualified to evaluate the potential efficacy of new innovations. This landscape has created a self-propagating ecosystem for development and absorption of life sciences properties. The region’s large inventory of lab space has also evolved as a driver of new users into the market as biotechnology groups increasingly focus on speed to market for promising scientific breakthroughs. In response to these drivers, the inventory of biotechnology-focused laboratory space in greater Boston, which eclipsed 20 million square feet in 2016, is now on pace to reach 30.7 million square feet by 2023. Furthermore, the current inventory levels will likely approach and surpass 40 million square feet this decade, as a sizable set of projects are expected to move …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Office Properties Income Trust has broken ground on a redevelopment of a Class B office building located at 20 Massachusetts Ave. NW in Washington, D.C. The project will expand and reimagine the seven-story, 340,119-square-foot building to a 10-story, 427,000-square-foot property. The project, named 20 Mass, is expected to be completed in early 2023 and is predicted to cost approximately $200 million. Designed by Leo A. Daily Architects, 20 Mass will include 184,000 square feet of Class A office space on the top four floors with 45,000-square-foot floor plates, 14,000 square feet of retail space, a 271-room Royal Sonesta Hotel and a fitness club. Property amenities will include a vegetated green roof and a conference center. 20 Mass will feature touchless systems and will have WELL and LEED certifications. Located in D.C.’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, 20 Mass is adjacent to Union Station, a regional transit hub, and Capital One Arena, home stadium of the Washington Wizards basketball club and Washington Capitals ice hockey team. The property is also close to neighborhoods such as Chinatown, Penn Quarter and the Mount Vernon Triangle. Office Properties Income Trust is a REIT managed by the operating subsidiary of The RMR Group Inc., …
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — CP Group has purchased Harris Corners, a 370,000-square-foot office campus located at 9115 Harris Corners Parkway in Charlotte. CP Group and Siguler Guff, a private equity investment firm based in New York, purchased the property in a joint venture. The sales price and seller were not disclosed. Built between 2000 and 2006, Harris Corners includes two five-story buildings and one four-story building. Property amenities include a conference facility, tenant lounge with a café, fitness center, food truck program and a central courtyard. The property is also home to a newly constructed Courtyard/Residence Inn. Harris Corners is located 14.7 miles north of the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Following the acquisition, CP Group will renovate the common areas and amenities while implementing its Class A management and tenant service programs. Formerly known as Crocker Partners, CP Group is a Boca Raton, Fla.-based owner-operator and developer of commercial real estate.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — EverWest Real Estate Investors has purchased The Mint, a 178-unit multifamily community in Uptown Charlotte. EverWest purchased The Mint from Spectrum Cos. Allan Lynch and Caylor Mark of NorthMarq represented Spectrum Cos. in the transaction. The sales price was $64.1 million. Located 425 W. Trade St., The Mint totals seven stories and 161,723 square feet. The property offers studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments with an average unit size of 909 square feet. Delivered in 2015, The Mint features a brick, stone and stucco façade. Community amenities include a fitness center, Zen courtyard, swimming pool, resident clubhouse, sky lounge and dog run. Denver-based EverWest plans to upgrade the property’s unit interiors, amenity spaces and exteriors. The plan includes modernization of all amenity spaces and an upgrade of unit interiors with new plank flooring, updated kitchen and bathroom cabinets, designer lighting and hardware fixtures and a full technology package.
BETHESDA, MD. — Talonvest Capital Inc. has secured a $45.5 million construction loan to fund the ground-up development of a self-storage facility in Bethesda. Upon completion, the self-storage facility will feature a 131,559 net rentable square feet of climate-controlled space in approximately 1,560 units across nine levels. The project is expected to be completed in 2022. The loan features a low interest rate, a three-year term with an extension option and prepayment flexibility. Jim Davies, Erich Pryor, Mason Brusseau and Tom Sherlock of Talonvest secured the loan on behalf of the borrower, 1784 Capital Holdings, which is a self-storage developer based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Talonvest Capital is an Irvine, Calif.-based real estate firm that provides advisory services to self-storage and commercial real estate investors, owners and developers nationally.
BALTIMORE — Trout Daniel & Associates (TD&A) has arranged the sale of 300 West Fayette Street, a 120,000-square-foot building in Baltimore. The buyer, an entity doing business as 300 W. Fayette Finance LLC, is led by a local investment group. The company plans to redevelop the property into an apartment community. The sales price and seller were not disclosed. The property is a seven story building that formerly was a department store. The building will be converted into 107 market-rate apartments and will include street-level retail and flexible office space. Construction is slated to start in a few months. Built in 1908, the building was the original home of Berkheimer Brothers Department Store. In addition to the original department store, the sale includes an adjoining brownstone building that once housed Robert L. Richardson Mortgage Co. Gary Olschansky of TD&A represented the undisclosed seller, who had owned the building since 2005. Brad Byrnes of Byrnes & Associates Inc. represented the buyer. TD&A is a Baltimore-based commercial real estate services company.
AURORA AND LOMBARD, ILL. — Old Second Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: OSBC) and West Suburban Bancorp Inc. have signed a definitive merger agreement under which Aurora-based Old Second will acquire Lombard-based West Suburban in a cash and stock transaction valued at $297 million. Under the terms of the merger agreement, which was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, Old Second will pay 65 percent of the purchase price in stock and the remainder in cash. According to a news release, the merged company will have approximately $6.2 billion in assets with 70 branches and will create the largest community bank under $10 billion in assets in the Chicago market. The merger is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.
