NEW YORK CITY — Real estate investment sales specialist and capital markets advisor Hodges Ward Elliott has signed a 12,692-square-foot office lease at One Vanderbilt Avenue, a 1.7 million-square-foot skyscraper in Manhattan. The company will occupy part of the 50th floor of the 1,400-foot building, which is 70 percent leased to tenants such as TD Securities, The Carlyle Group, KPS Capital Partners and Oak Hill Advisors. Robert Alexander, Ryan Alexander, Emily Jones and Alex D’Amario of CBRE represented the landlord, SL Green Corp., in the lease negotiations.
WEST ALLIS, WIS. — McShane Construction Co. has completed building The West Living, a 177-unit luxury apartment project in West Allis, a western suburb of Milwaukee. McShane constructed the community on behalf of developer, Mandel Group. The first level of the four-story complex is a parking structure. Units consist of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Amenities include a club area, fitness center, dog park and rooftop patio. Zimmerman Architectural Studios served as architect. Units are currently available for move-ins. Monthly rents start at $909 for studios.
CHICAGO — Industrious will open a 52,000-square-foot flexible office space at Willis Tower in Chicago. Scheduled to open in phases in the first quarter of 2021, the space is now available for lease. It is the latest of more than 100 locations for Industrious. EQ Office, owner of Willis Tower, says the management agreement with Industrious is an opportunity to roll out new flexible layouts and office configurations as well as updated common areas that reflect health and safety standards. The 110-story Willis Tower is currently in the midst of a $500 million renovation project. The revamped office tower will include 125,000 square feet of amenities exclusive to tenants, a 30,000-square-foot outdoor terrace and a 300,000-square-foot retail and dining destination known as Catalog.
AKRON, OHIO — ASW Supply Chain Services LLC has signed an 80,000-square-foot industrial lease at 3111 Gilchrist Road in Akron. The supply chain management company provides integrated warehousing, distribution, fulfillment, asset management and transportation services. Bill Sadataki of NAI Pleasant Valley represented the landlord, Raith Capital Partners LLC.
WAUWATOSA, WIS. — Software company Dematic has opened a 37,330-square-foot office at The Mayfair Collection in Wauwatosa, a suburb of Milwaukee. PREMIER Design + Build Group built out the 27,200 square feet on the first floor and added another 10,130 square feet by constructing a mezzanine level. The space can accommodate up to 200 employees and features seven conference rooms. TOA Architecture/Urban Design provided architectural and interior design services. Dematic is a logistics technology services firm that specializes in supply chain optimization. HSA Commercial is the owner and developer for The Mayfair Collection, a mixed-use project comprising residential, retail and office space.
CHICAGO — Foxtrot Ventures, a food delivery company, has leased 13,000 square feet at The Glass Factory in Chicago’s East Pilsen. Foxtrot will operate a commissary kitchen at the site in order to serve its eight convenience stores throughout Chicago. Commissary kitchens enable foodservice providers to prepare and store food without having to own and maintain the facilities themselves. Brent Burden of Jameson Commercial represented ownership of The Glass Factory. Andrew Becker and Michael Wexler of Canvas Real Estate Collective represented Foxtrot. Located at 900 W. Cermak Road, The Glass Factory is a former glass manufacturing facility. It is currently undergoing renovations and will ultimately consist of four buildings of office and industrial space.
ATLANTA AND SCHIPHOL, NETHERLANDS — Americold Realty Trust (NYSE: COLD) has agreed to acquire Agro Merchants Group, a privately held cold storage warehouse owner based in The Netherlands, for $1.74 billion. Atlanta-based Americold entered into the agreement with Agro Merchants’ owner, an investor group led by funds managed by Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Management LP. The move will give Americold its first cold storage properties in Europe. Agro Merchants, which has its North American headquarters in Alpharetta, Ga., owns and operates 46 cold storage properties in 10 countries. The company is the fourth largest cold storage owner in the United States and third largest in Europe. Agro Merchants serves more than 2,900 customers across multiple industries. “We are confident that by joining Americold, we will accelerate our growth and by combining our complementary networks, we will be able to provide a more comprehensive range of solutions to customers around the world,” says Carlos Rodriguez, CEO of Agro Merchants. Americold is the only publicly traded REIT specializing in cold storage, which is seeing an influx of investment and leasing demand since the onset of the pandemic. According to a June report from Vyzn Research, the global cold storage sector is estimated …
By Brad Bailey, first vice president, CBRE; Adam Rabin, associate, CBRE; and Logan Reichle, vice president, CBRE It’s no secret that across the United States, the retail investment community has had to shift and adapt in several ways due to the ongoing pandemic. In addition, retail owners have had to make quick assessments of their strategies for asset management, usually on a property-by-property basis. For the first part of the pandemic, the commercial real estate industry was primarily reactive and in crisis mode. However, seven months into it, the indication is that this is something that will be around for the foreseeable future. As such, investors are moving out of their reactive modes and beginning to implement offensive strategies to identify and secure strong retail real estate investments. There are a number of key reasons that these investors are honing in on Central Texas retail: Suburban vs Downtown Good retail locations are hard to come by in Austin. We estimate that investment demand will rebound for space recently vacated. In high-quality locations, don’t expect too much of a change on rental rates. For some Austin submarkets like Cedar Park and Lakeway, we may see rates adjust slightly as vacancy rises. …
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has provided $41.5 million in Freddie Mac refinancing loans for two multifamily properties in Charlotte. The borrower, Ginkgo Residential LLC, received $23.1 million for the 260-unit Kimmerly Glen community and $18.4 million for the 220-unit Forest at Chasewood property. KeyBank structured the two loans, which feature 10-year terms with a five-year interest-only payment period and a 30-year amortization schedule. Ginkgo acquired Kimmerly Glen in 2014 and Forest at Chasewood in 2016. The locally based owner has invested $3 million in renovations across both properties during its ownership. Kimmerly Glen was built in 1986 and comprises 15 three-story buildings on 16 acres. Forest at Chasewood was built in 1985 and comprises 11 three-story buildings spanning 16 acres. Both properties offer one- and two-bedroom floor plans with communal amenities including dog parks, fitness centers, laundry facilities and community barbecue areas. Timothy DeWispelaere and Randy Rinderknecht of KeyBank originated the loans on behalf of the borrower.
CUMMING, GA. — Retail Planning Corp. has opened a Publix grocery store within Matt Town Center in Cumming on Friday, Oct. 9. The 48,387-square-foot store is located at the intersection of Matt Highway and Bannister Road, 48 miles north of downtown Atlanta. Other tenants at the center include Reveille Café, Laredo’s Cantina & Taqueria, Peaches & Pine, Great Clips, Alpha Nail Salon and The UPS Store. Hill Foley Rossi & Associates LLC was the architect, and RW Smith Co. was the general contractor.