EL PASO, TEXAS — W. Silver Recycling, a privately owned firm specializing in industrial waste management, has purchased the 15th floor of WestStar Tower, a new 264,000-square-foot office building in El Paso that is nearing completion. The space will serve as the company’s new headquarters and will house more than 100 employees. W. Silver operates 11 recycling sites along the United States-Mexico border. Hunt Cos. and WestStar are the developers of the building.
DALLAS — Multifamily developer Gables Residential Services Inc. has renewed its 15,114-square-foot office lease at 3811 Turtle Creek Blvd. in Dallas. The 300,961-square-foot property recently received upgrades to its lobby and corridors and now features a gym, deli, tenant wine bar, game room and outdoor fire pits. Garrison Efird, Jim Cooksey and Louis Pascuzzi of Newmark Knight Frank represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Scott Walker, Kim Brooks and Justin Miller of Transwestern represented the landlord, California-based KBS.
ROMULUS, MICH. — The Kroger Co. and grocery e-commerce technology company Ocado have selected Romulus as the latest location for a customer fulfillment center. The automated warehouse facility, equipped with digital and robotic capabilities, will serve customers across the Great Lakes region. Kroger will invest $95 million and create 250 new jobs in Romulus, according to Warren Evans, Wayne County chief executive. The 135,000-square-foot facility will be located at 15675 Wahrman Road. It is expected to become operational 18 months after construction begins.
CHICAGO — ShipBob, an e-commerce fulfillment company based in Chicago, has raised $68 million in Series D funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, which has previously invested in companies such as Uber, Slack, Opendoor and Doordash. ShipBob says it has experienced a “tremendous acceleration” in new customers since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new capital will enhance the company’s capabilities to provide for more customers, hire more workers and expand its software platform. To support the influx in demand, ShipBob has opened six new fulfillment centers since April, including two international locations. The company has also hired hundreds of new fulfillment associates over the last few months and plans to hire hundreds more leading up to the holiday season. ShipBob expects to open two more U.S. centers this year and 10 facilities across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia in 2021. Dhruv Saxena and Divey Gulati formed ShipBob in May 2014. Series D funding refers to the fourth stage in the financing cycle of new business growth.
LANSING, MICH. — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed an executive order to reopen movie theaters and performance venues starting Friday, Oct. 9 following closures from the coronavirus pandemic. The order includes arcades, bingo halls, bowling alleys, indoor climbing facilities and trampoline parks. Indoor gatherings are now limited to 20 people per 1,000 square feet or 20 percent of fixed seating capacity, with a maximum of 500 people in Michigan’s largest venues. Outdoor gatherings are limited to 30 people per 1,000 square feet or 30 percent of fixed seating capacity, with a maximum of 1,000 people. Face coverings are now required for students in grades kindergarten and up in classrooms.
CHICAGO — Irvine Co. has negotiated several new and expanded office leases totaling more than 144,000 square feet at 300 North LaSalle, One North Wacker and 71 South Wacker. Vestian, a workplace solutions firm, doubled its footprint to 7,102 square feet at the 60-story 300 North LaSalle. LoanCore Capital, a privately held asset management firm, signed a lease for 4,521 square feet. In-telligent, a Chicago-based technology company, leased 7,753 square feet at the 51-story One North Wacker. Other lease signings at the office tower include Chicago Partners Wealth Advisors, Hana2.0 Property Group, James Denney and Periscope Equity. Chicago-based startup Drift Net Securities leased 10,136 square feet at the 48-story 71 South Wacker. Reply leased 4,885 square feet and Consolidated Training renewed its lease for 14,222 square feet. Irvine Co. partnered with UCI Health to review and enhance its coronavirus-related health and safety plans.
O’FALLON, ILL. — Knoebel Construction has completed building a new Drake’s restaurant in O’Fallon near St. Louis. The 6,014-square-foot restaurant and entertainment venue features two full-service bars and an outdoor patio. Drake’s, an entity of parent company Bluegrass Hospitality Group, is a Kentucky-based chain with 15 locations across the Midwest and Southeast. The restaurant offers more than 20 craft beers on tap as well as sandwiches, salads, burgers and sushi. Drake’s says it is closely following government guidelines for reopening during COVID-19 and working alongside state and local officials to ensure health and safety.
PRESCOTT, ARIZ. — Value Investment Group has completed the sale of Prescott Airpark NNN Flex Industrial, an industrial property located at 2286 Crosswind Drive in Prescott. A privately held, California-based 1031 exchange buyer acquired the asset for $3.1 million. Cory Gross of Marcus & Millichap’s Denver office represented the seller in the deal. Gross, along with Ryan Sarbinoff as Marcus & Millichap’s Arizona broker of record, secured and represented the buyer in the transaction. Built in 2000, the property features 30,020 square feet of warehouse and industrial space. At the time of sale, the facility was fully occupied by a mix of national and regional tenants all on triple-net leases.
JURUPA VALLEY, CALIF. — A joint venture between CT Realty and PGIM Real Estate has broken ground on Agua Mansa Commerce Park in Jurupa Valley, a city within greater Los Angeles’ Inland Empire West submarket. The logistics hub is fully entitled for 4.4 million square feet of industrial space. Newport Beach, Calif.-based CT Realty has undergone predevelopment on the 206-acre industrial park and plans to begin site work immediately. Newark, N.J.-based PGIM has invested in the development on behalf of institutional investors in its U.S. core plus equity fund. Agua Mansa Commerce Park will feature three buildings spanning over 1 million square feet each. The larger buildings will have a cross-dock design with 40-foot clear heights, which are ideally suited for e-commerce users. E-commerce sales have spiked during the coronavirus pandemic and are estimated to grow by 18 percent this year, the highest year-over-year increase on record, according to eMarketer. The Inland Empire’s network of rail systems and highways, as well as its proximity to the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach, provides tenants with access to 25 million people throughout Southern California. Agua Mansa will also feature two 200,000-square-foot buildings with 32-foot clear heights that are …
Healthcare has very different drivers when it comes to growth and demand. While highs and lows in the economy influence healthcare in many of the same ways other industries experience, it’s also governed by trends that are unique to how people seek — and pay for — their medical treatments. Chris Jacobson and Susan Wilson, both vice presidents and healthcare advisors for Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services, took some time recently to talk to REBusinessOnline about today’s healthcare real estate trends. Taking a broad look across the sector, some healthcare systems have lost revenue due to suspending elective procedures during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s going to take them a while to recoup that revenue,” Wilson says. “Additionally, now that they have reopened, they are spacing people out in waiting rooms, so they’re seeing fewer patients. There are currently opportunities for subleases with some major health systems. This could be an opportunity for some of the larger, more successful health systems to take over some of that space.” Jacobson has observed that there are three types of investments occurring right now. The first of those are large healthcare systems presently focused on COVID-19-related care. The …