SACRAMENTO — San Mateo-based Nazareth Enterprises has purchased EcoThrift Mall and a 0.77-acre adjoining developable parcel in Sacramento for $5.4 million. EcoThrift is the main tenant of the 38,600-square-foot building. EcoThrift is California’s highest for-profit thrift store with six locations, according to Nazareth. Chris Talia of The Mansour Group of Marcus & Millichap represented the undisclosed sellers in the deal. Ryan Park of Bank Leumi USA arranged financing for the acquisition.
WASHINGTON — The Sage Creek Group has closed $11.4 million in permanent financing for a recently constructed student housing complex in Western Washington. The two-building property features 53 units for students. Further details on the asset were not disclosed. The undisclosed borrower used the loan proceeds to retire the senior construction loans, provide cash to the borrower and cover closing costs. The eight-year loan features a 3.37 percent fixed rate with 24 months interest-only payments followed by a 28-year payment schedule.
ALEDO, TEXAS — Civitas Senior Living and Journey Capital, a senior housing development company, have broken ground on Harvest of Aledo Senior Living, a 121-unit project located approximately 20 miles west of Fort Worth in Aledo. The 68,000-square-foot property will consist of 20 independent living residences, 67 assisted living units and 24 memory care units. Other project partners include Arrive Architects, Ridgemont Construction and Senior By Design. Completion is scheduled for fall 2022.
CONSHOHOCKEN, PA. — Keystone Property Group has begun development of Hotel West +Main, a 127-room hotel in the northern Philadelphia suburb of Conshohocken that will be operated under the Tapestry Collection by Hilton brand. Keystone has partnered with Concord Hospitality Enterprises to develop and operate the boutique hotel, which is part of the 520,000-square-foot SORA West mixed-use development. The hotel is expected to open in the second half of 2022.
BOSTON — Callahan Construction Managers has broken ground on a 108-unit apartment project located at 5 Washington St. in Boston’s Brighton neighborhood that will have 18 units designated as affordable housing. The five-story building will also house 12,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 127 parking spaces. Building amenities will include a fitness area, clubhouse, entertainment kitchen, home office space and an outdoor terrace with two quartz-topped bars, cabanas, gas grills and fireplaces. Washington Square Ventures is the developer, and Stantec is the architect. Completion is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2022.
SOUTHBRIDGE, MASS. — Arch Communities and WinnDevelopment are underway on construction of a $25.7 million adaptive reuse project in Southbridge, located in the south-central part of the state, that will convert the Mary E. Wells school into a 62-unit affordable housing community for seniors aged 55 and above. The majority (56) of the units will be reserved for renters earning 60 percent or less of the area median income (AMI), while the remainder will be restricted to households earning 30 percent or less of AMI. The school was built in 1916 as the town’s first public high school and has been vacant since 2012. Upon completion, which is slated for spring 2022, Wells School Apartments will feature a fitness center, tenant lounge, activity room, game room, library and an internal courtyard.
FAIRFIELD, N.J. — The Stro Companies, a New Jersey-based investment firm, has acquired a 77,000-square-foot industrial property in the Northern New Jersey city of Fairfield. The property is leased to pharmaceutical manufacturing company Maquet, and Stro intends to find a new life sciences tenant when Maquet’s lease expires at the end of this year. Howard Weinberg of JLL represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Prudential Bank provided acquisition financing to Stro Cos.
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 …
