BOCA RATON, FLA. — ODP Corp. (Nasdaq: ODP), the parent company of Office Depot, has rejected USR Parent Inc.’s off-market transaction offer to acquire the Boca Raton-based retailer. USR, the parent company of office products retailer Staples and affiliate of Sycamore Partners, offered to buy ODP for $40 per share in an all-cash deal that would equate to roughly $2.1 billion. In a letter to Stefan Kaluzny, managing director of Sycamore Partners and a member of the board of directors at USR, ODP’s chairman of the board of directors Joseph Vassalluzzo said the company is not opposed to selling, but “what we do not plan to do, however, is engage in a transaction that, as history has shown, would likely result in a prolonged and expensive regulatory review process with no guarantee of success.” In the letter, Vassalluzzo did not rule out the merger altogether, stating: “In addition, we are open to combining our retail and consumer-facing ecommerce operations with Staples under the right set of circumstances and on mutually acceptable terms.” ODP owns Office Depot, OfficeMax and IT-services business CompuCom. ODP has been in the process of selling CompuCom since November 2020. According to The Wall Street Journal, USR …
CLEMSON, S.C. — University Partners has acquired Grandmarc, a 494-bed student housing community located near Clemson University in South Carolina. The property was built in 2017 and offers two- and four-bedroom units with bed-to-bath parity, as well as 9,000 square feet of retail space. Communal amenities include a pool and hot tub, 24-hour fitness center, clubhouse, private study rooms and a sand volleyball court. University Partners will oversee management of the community. Ryan Lang, Jack Brett and Ben Harkrider of Newmark brokered the transaction. The seller and terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
ORLANDO, FLA. — JLL has negotiated the $9.1 million sale of Southgate Shopping Center, a 144,052-square-foot retail property in Orlando. Aldi anchors the center, which was 92 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including AutoZone, dd’s Discount’s, Aaron’s and Value Pawn. Additionally, the property can be expanded with the addition of a 6,000-square-foot pad site and drive-thru ATM development opportunity. The asset spans 17 acres and is located at 4649 S. Orange Blossom Trail, four miles south of downtown Orlando. Brad Peterson, Whitaker Leonhardt and Tommy Isola of JLL represented the seller, Marx Realty, in the transaction. An undisclosed Texas-based real estate company purchased the property.
WYNNE, ARK. — Goldman Investment Advisors has brokered the $4.1 million sale of Handy Rentals, a 96,455-square-foot self-storage property in Wynne. The property spans nine acres and is located at 1306 S. Falls Blvd., 49 miles west of downtown Memphis. Milwaukee-based Bank Five Nine provided acquisition financing to the buyer, Wynne Properties Group. Larry Goldman of Goldman Investment Advisors represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Goldman Investment Advisors is an affiliate of Denver-based Argus Self Storage Advisors.
HOUSTON — Australian development firm Caydon has launched Fitzroy Residences, a 32-story residential tower that represents Phase II of the company’s 2.5 million-square-foot Laneways mixed-use development in Houston. The building will house 191 condos ranging in size from 567 square feet for a studio unit to 2,243 square feet for a three-bedroom penthouse, as well as 190 hotel rooms that will be operated under the Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants brand. Residential amenities will include coworking spaces, a meditation room, yoga and fitness deck, two outdoor pools, fitness center and concierge services. Sales are underway, and construction is scheduled to begin over the summer and to be complete by the end of 2023. The entire Laneways project will ultimately span three city blocks and will also include retail and restaurant uses, as well as outdoor spaces.
ViaWest Group Acquires Insight Enterprises Office Portfolio in Tempe, Plans Industrial Redevelopment
TEMPE, ARIZ. — A joint venture partnership led by Phoenix-based ViaWest Group has purchased three real estate properties in Tempe from Insight Enterprises for $26.8 million. Phil Breidenback and Kathy Foster of Colliers International Arizona represented the seller and handled the transaction. The portfolio includes a 102,000-square-foot office building at 6280 S. Harl Ave., a 130,270-square-foot industrial/back office property at 910 W. Carver Ave. and an adjacent 56,240-square-foot office building at 8123 S. Hardy Ave. ViaWest plans to demolish the South Harl Avenue building, which will house Insight’s headquarters through December of this year. ViaWest then plans to develop two Class A industrial buildings, totaling 358,114 square feet, on the 19-acre site. The facilities will feature 32-foot clear heights and a shared truck court. Each speculative building will be available for a single tenant or space divisible to 30,000 square feet. McCall & Associates is serving as architect and Wilmeng is serving as general contractor for the buildings, which are slated for completion in mid-2022. Rob Martensen of Colliers International Arizona will serve as leasing agent for the new buildings. The West Carver Avenue building offers 100,270 square feet of industrial/back office space and a 30,000-square-foot mezzanine area. Insight currently …
GILBERT, ARIZ. — Crescent Communities has selected McShane Construction Co. to build NOVEL Val Vista, an apartment community located on 8.6 acres in Gilbert. The wood-frame development will feature 317 apartments spread across three four-story, garden-style buildings and three two-story, carriage house buildings. Each unit offers upgraded matte black plumbing fixtures and black quartz countertops. The 11,500-square-foot amenity space will include a dog park, swimming pool, cold plunge spa, outdoor kitchen with pizza oven, outdoor fireplaces and fire pits. Completion is slated for fourth-quarter 2022. Craine Architecture is the architect of record.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Westmount Realty Capital LLC has sold a 289,491-square-foot industrial building occupied by FedEx Supply Chain Inc. in Columbus for an undisclosed price. The building is situated within the Rickenbacker Global Logistics Industrial Park. FedEx has occupied the property since September 2019. Westmount acquired the building in late 2018 as part of a 1.4 million-square-foot portfolio. Built in 1994, the industrial building sits on 14.3 acres along John Glenn Avenue. It features 46 loading docks, including five drive-in doors. Clear heights range from 24 to 28 feet. Jerry Hopkins of Newmark represented Westmount in the transaction. Buyer information was not disclosed.
ST. LOUIS — NorthMarq has arranged a $24.7 million loan for the refinancing of Spanish Cove Townhomes in St. Louis. The 784-unit rental townhome property, located at 1708 San Remo Court, was constructed in 1971. It underwent a significant renovation from 2015 to 2018. Amenities include a pool, clubhouse, fitness center, business center, recreation room, media room, playground and onsite laundry facility. Noah Juran and David Garfinkel of NorthMarq structured the 10-year loan, which features a 30-year amortization schedule. A national bank provided the fixed-rate loan. The borrower was undisclosed.
KANSAS CITY, MO. — An affiliate of Rubenstein Real Estate, together with an affiliate of Exact Architects, has acquired a 20,000-square-foot office and retail building located at the corner of Linwood and Main streets in Kansas City. At the time of sale, the building was 25 percent occupied. A new tenant will soon lease a portion of the first floor, leaving 9,418 square feet remaining available for lease. Substantial building and common area renovations are underway. The two-story building features almost 80 parking spaces. Dwight Medbery III of Rubenstein led the buyer investment group. The purchase price and seller were undisclosed.