MILLBURN, N.J. — Icebox Cryotherapy, a rehabilitative physical therapy concept, has opened its flagship studio at Plaza at Short Hills in the Northern New Jersey community of East Rutherford. Dean Tselepis and Joe Brendel of Newmark represented Icebox Cryotherapy in the lease negotiations. Other tenants at the property include SoulCycle, Club Pilates, Kings Supermarket and Chase Bank. The name and representative of the landlord were not disclosed.
DALLAS — ZOM Living has completed construction of Atelier, a 41-story apartment tower in the Dallas Arts District. The property features 417 luxury multifamily units, including 53 lofts, near Klyde Warren Park. Units range from 500 to 2,300 square feet with panoramic views of uptown and downtown Dallas. The property also features two levels of underground parking and 15,000 square feet of retail space, with CBRE handling the retail leasing. The location is walking distance from the AT&T Performing Arts Center, Dallas Museum of Art, Crow Museum of Asian Art and Nasher Sculpture Center. Atelier’s main lobby is designed as an art gallery and the tower features resort-style amenities, including an expansive amenity deck with infinity edge pool and sun deck, custom cabanas, yoga lawn, outdoor lounge with grilling area for al fresco dining, a bar and a fire pit. Interior amenities include a fitness area, coworking space with private conference rooms, private wine lockers, entertainment lounge, catering kitchen with harvest table, grab-n-go resident market and a pet spa. Stantec was the architect on the project, which general contractor Balfour Beatty built. ZRS Management, an affiliate of ZOM, is managing the community. Orlando-based ZOM is developing heavily in the Dallas …
By Morris Ellison Esq., partner, Womble Bond Dickinson LLP E-commerce was here to stay even before the pandemic devastated small businesses and placed an even greater premium on technology. In the changed landscape, lowering occupancy costs by reducing property taxes is one of the most important steps businesses can take to remain competitive. Stay-at-home orders still prevent many shoppers from visiting their favorite brick-and-mortar stores, while fear of contagion exacerbates consumers’ reluctance to shop in person. Regardless of customer traffic, however, retailers still incur fixed costs including insurance, enterprise software, property taxes and, arguably, rent. The occupancy costs of online-only retailers are much lower, making it difficult for small brick-and-mortar businesses to compete. Put differently, sales taxes decline with reduced sales but property taxes do not. Landlords and tenants in triple-net leases often fail to examine property taxes, but the survival of both may depend on reducing this expenditure. Other costs such as insurance and the enterprise software needed to run the business generally lie beyond a small business’ control and do not diminish with reduced business volume. The active 2020 hurricane season certainly has not reduced insurance costs. During the pandemic, some landlords have deferred or forgiven rent, but …
By Steve Callahan Jr., vice president of business development, Callahan Construction Managers Despite the turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Boston has experienced significant job growth over the last 12 to 18 months in the life sciences, healthcare, technology and finance sectors. The health of these industries will require that employees in these fields have access to much needed, reasonably priced housing as companies continue to grow and build, creating more local jobs. Demand for rental housing over the past few years has been mostly driven by millennials who work in these fields. This trend is expected to continue as young professionals in these sectors no longer need to commute to the office by virtue of the pandemic forcing many companies to adopt work-from-home programs. In addition, these renters are seeking to upgrade to larger units with more modern amenities and access to outdoor spaces and activities. More than 7,100 units were delivered last year in the Boston area, only slightly less than the cyclical high of nearly 7,500 apartments added in 2018. However, most projects that were either started or delivered in 2020 were aimed at lifestyle renters in or near Boston’s city center. This could spell trouble for …
NEW YORK CITY — It will take at least five years for office-using companies in the United States to demand enough office space to push rents to pre-pandemic levels, with more short-term pain for office owners on the horizon, according to projections by Moody’s Analytics. The New York City-based research firm, which is a subsidiary of ratings agency Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO), issued the forecast last week, punctuating its findings with an assertion that U.S. office vacancy would rise to 19.4 percent in 2021. That figure would represent a 30-year high, surpassing the national vacancy rate of 17.6 percent that occurred in 2010 toward the end of the Great Recession. It would also be the highest national vacancy rate recorded since the 19.7 percent posted during the Savings & Loan Crisis of the early 1990s. In addition, the report from Moody’s Analytics predicted that the national office vacancy rate of nearly 20 percent would hold equally steady in 2022, while rents would fall much more sharply in 2021 than the 0.7 percent decline they posted in 2020. Effective office rents are projected to decrease by 7.5 percent in 2021 before recovering in 2022 as companies continue to implement entire or …
DORAL, FLA. — Terra and Terranova Corp. have sold a 23.7-acre site in Doral for $55 million, or $2.3 million per acre. The land houses PepsiCo’s former bottling plant, which spans 232,000 square feet. Terra and Terranova, two South Florida investment firms led by David Martin and Stephen Bittel, respectively, initially acquired the site for $40 million in January 2018 and subsequently leased the property back to PepsiCo through July 2020. The unnamed buyer shares a Santa Monica address with GLP Capital Partners (GCP), an investment firm that specializes in logistics properties. The former PepsiCo bottling plant is located at 7777 Northwest 41st St. and is situated less than two miles from Miami International Airport. The property is zoned for industrial development and can accommodate up to 500,000 square feet of commercial space. Terra is a Miami-based real estate development and investment company. Terranova Corp. is a South Florida commercial real estate investment firm.
ATLANTA — Middle Street Partners and equity partner Pacific Coast Capital Partners (PCCP) have broken ground on a 323-unit apartment community in Atlanta’s Grant Park district. Middle Street expects to finish the property in 2023, with the first residences available in November 2022. Brock Hudgins Architects is spearheading design, and J.M. Wilkerson Construction Co. is the general contractor. Middle Street Partners, a Charleston-based real estate investment and development company, paid $6.9 million for the land. The property is located on the Atlanta BeltLine’s expanding Southside Trail at 1015 Boulevard SE. The six-story apartment community will feature a combination of studio, one- and two- bedroom units with an average of 729 square feet. The property will also have 5,000 square feet of direct BeltLine frontage retail and commercial space, as well as an underground parking garage. In line with the City of Atlanta’s Inclusionary Zoning policy, 15 percent of the homes will be available at 80 percent area median income (AMI). The unnamed property’s units will feature designer cabinetry and lighting, quartz countertops, stainless steel and gas appliances, island sinks and top-control dishwashers, along with dedicated office spaces designed with new work-from-home policies in mind. Community amenities include a 24-hour fitness …
EAST POINT, GA. — Duke Realty’s Atlanta office has acquired a larger space at Camp Creek Business Center in East Point and signed a lease extension and expansion with Ashley Furniture Industries LLC, a current tenant at the park. Ashley Furniture will be the sole occupant of the 336,960-square-foot facility located at 4505 N. Commerce Drive. Jeff Maris of Ashley Furniture explained why the furniture company decided to move. “Four years ago, we found the space at Camp Creek Business Center and our needs were met. In 2020, as we experienced increased demand and company growth, Duke Realty was able to help us find additional space very quickly and with limited disruption,” said Maris. Duke Realty’s Camp Creek development in East Point is 98 percent leased to tenants including FedEx, Amazon, Dick’s Sporting Goods and The Home Depot. Duke Realty is an industrial-only property REIT based in Indianapolis.
SMYRNA, GA. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $9.5 million sale of the 71,273-square-foot Promenade Shopping Center in Atlanta. Tim Giambrone of Marcus & Millichap’s The Giambrone Group represented both the buyer and the seller in the transaction. The undisclosed buyer was a private investor located in Central Florida, and the seller was Charles Lotz, a Tennessee-based developer who originally built the center in 1983. Promenade Shopping Center is located at 930 Cobb Parkway S., just north of the Interstate-285 and Interstate-75 exchange. Best Buy is a shadow anchor for the center. Promenade’s tenants include Scalini’s Italian Restaurant, West Marine, Juicy Crab, Chow King and T-Mobile, as well as a Bruster’s outparcel. The Giambrone Group of Marcus & Millichap is a real estate investment brokerage based in Atlanta.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Walker & Dunlop has acquired FourPoint Investment Sales Partners, an Austin-based brokerage firm specializing in student housing and traditional multifamily properties. The FourPoint team of Chris Epp, Chis Bancroft, Kevin Dufour, Matthew Chase, Craig Miller and Kyle Peco will lead and scale Walker & Dunlop’s student housing investment sales division, with a goal of growing sales volume to $25 billion by 2025 for the Maryland-based company. The two firms have partnered as correspondents on student housing deals in the past.