WILMINGTON, DEL. — Biopharmaceutical giant Merck (NYSE: MRK) has broken ground on a $1 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Wilmington, about 30 miles southwest of Philadelphia. Known as Merck Wilmington Biotech, the 470,000-square-foot project will comprise laboratory, manufacturing and warehouse capabilities. Merck says the center will enable the launch and commercial production of next-generation biologics and therapies. Notably, the facility will be the Rahway, N.J.-based company’s first domestic site for producing cancer treatment drug Keytruda. Reuters reports that the Delaware plant is in effort to expand domestic production as Merck prepares to deal with President Trump’s tariffs. In its first-quarter financial results, Merck estimated that the impact of tariffs imposed so far would lead to additional costs of approximately $200 million for the company in general. Located within the 164-acre, 14-building Chestnut Run Innovation & Science Park (CRISP), the new facility will help foster growth in Wilmington’s biotechnology sector, creating more than 500 full-time roles and roughly 4,000 construction jobs. The laboratory component is expected to be fully operational by 2028, with production of experimental drugs anticipated to start by 2030. Pennsylvania-based developer MRA Groups owns CRISP, which is in the midst of a large-scale repositioning, and MRA Group is …
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— By Brian Anderson of CBRE — Utah’s retail market is shaped by its young population and large households, driving demand for big box stores and quality consumer brands. Utah has the youngest median age of any state in the U.S. by nearly four years, and the largest median household size. Our retail real estate market mirrors these realities. Large-box grocers and membership warehouses dot the landscape, creating gravity points that draw junior boxes, shops and restaurant users to these neighborhoods. Utah’s household incomes continue to rise, while the per capita income remains average. This has led to a concentration of quality — though not luxury — consumer brands in most retail centers. Despite challenges in construction and finance markets, Utah’s ongoing housing expansion is pushing box users and grocers to open new locations. The Salt Lake and Provo MSAs are expected to see several new big box and large grocery stores, mostly in outlying communities, after a quiet 2023 and 2024. Smaller-format grocers focused on organic food are also in permitting stages in established communities. These new locations will spark competition for restaurant and shop users. Health-conscious brands are expected to take space in desirable centers as 2025 progresses. …
CONROE, TEXAS — Georgia-based developer Landmark Properties has completed a 190-unit build-to-rent residential project in Conroe, about 40 miles north of Houston. The 23.5-acre development represents Phase I of The Everstead at Conroe. The community offers 56 two-bedroom and 134 three-bedroom ranch homes and townhomes that are furnished with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and individual washers and dryers. Amenities include a pool, dog park, playground, pickleball and bocce ball courts, as well as 567 parking spaces and a 2,817-square-foot clubhouse with a fitness center. Landmark co-developed the project with Open House Group Co. Rents start at roughly $1,580 per month for a two-bedroom home.
MIAMI — PMG has secured a $413 million construction loan for One Twenty Brickell Residences, a two-tower condominium and apartment development located at 120 S.W. 8th St. in Miami’s Brickell Financial District. Christopher Peck, Brian Gaswirth, Nicco Lupo, Nick Lavin, Jimmy Calvo and Paul Adams of JLL arranged the financing through an Ares Real Estate fund and Monarch Alternative Capital. Andrew Warman, Jon Blank and Paton Marion of PMG’s capital markets team worked on the deal internally. PMG plans to break ground on One Twenty Brickell Residences the first week of May and complete the development in 2028. The condominium tower will rise 37 stories and house 266 fully furnished, for-sale condominiums, as well as 60,000 square feet of amenities that include an owner’s lounge, infinity-edge pool and an upscale fitness and wellness center that includes treatment rooms, a yoga lawn, outdoor terraces and a high-end fitness studio. The condos were 91 percent sold at the time of financing, and each condo owner will have a deed to an office suite. The multifamily high-rise, which will be operated by Sentral, will rise 41 stories and feature a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, as well as a 48,000-square-foot amenity …
BETHESDA, MD. — Marriott International has reached an agreement to acquire the brand and related intellectual property of citizenM, a hospitality brand based in the Netherlands. The deal is valued at $355 million. The citizenM brand comprises 36 open hotels spanning 8,544 rooms, with properties located in cities such as Paris, Rome, London, New York City and Miami. There are three more citizenM-branded hotels in the development pipeline totaling more than 600 rooms that are set to open by mid-2026. The citizenM select-service lodging brand was founded in 2008. Following closing, the citizenM portfolio will become part of Marriott’s system, with the hotels owned and leased by citizenM subject to new long-term franchise agreements with Marriott. The seller may also receive earn-out payments up to $110 million that are based on the future growth of the brand over a specified, multi-year timeframe. The closing of the transaction is subject to various customary conditions, including U.S. regulatory approval. Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc and Eastdil Secured acted as financial advisors to citizenM in the transaction.
HOUSTON — Locally based owner-operator Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) has begun the redevelopment of Lion Square, a 117,592-square-foot shopping center in southwest Houston. Designed by Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, the project will upgrade the center’s design with traditional Chinese and Vietnamese architectural influences in reference to the location in Houston’s Asiatown District. In addition, the development team plans to transform the center into a cultural hub with greenery, irrigation systems, security and lighting enhancements and a focus on improving the center’s walkability. Completion is slated for early next year.
MCB Adds Streets Market Grocer to $170M Reservoir Square Mixed-Use Development in Baltimore
by John Nelson
BALTIMORE — MCB Real Estate has added Streets Market, a regional chain of grocery stores, to Reservoir Square, a $170 million mixed-use development underway in Baltimore. The project spans eight acres along the 600-850 block of West North Avenue. MCB is also adding locally based development firm Blank Slate Development to the project team, which includes the state-backed West North Avenue Development Authority. Streets Market will occupy 12,000 square feet on a 1.5-acre parcel that will also house 8,000 square feet of additional retail space. The grocery store is part of Phase II at Reservoir Square, which will include housing, additional retail options and the new 63,000 square-foot home to the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED), which is slated to open in 2026. Phase I includes for-sale homes currently under construction.
CCI Real Estate Obtains $18M Construction Financing for Mixed-Use Project on Georgia Tech Campus in Atlanta
by John Nelson
ATLANTA — CCI Real Estate has obtained an $18 million construction loan for a mixed-use development at 740 Techwood Drive, which is on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta near Bobby Dodd Stadium. CCI is co-developing the 64,000-square-foot project, which will replace the existing Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM) location, with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. Summerhill CRE arranged the financing through locally based Southern States Bank on behalf of the borrower. Set to break ground this summer and open in summer 2027, the five-story project will offer 12,000 square feet of retail and student gathering space on the ground level, as well as 55 one- and two-bedroom residences, upgraded ministry facilities, an onsite coffeeshop and additional lounge space. CCI is also redeveloping existing BCM locations at the University of Georgia in Athens and Georgia Southern University in Statesboro.
HOUSTON — JLL has negotiated a 50,498-square-foot office lease at Westgate II in Houston’s Energy Corridor area. The tenant is McDermott, a provider of engineering and construction services for the energy industry. The space features 162 workstations, 66 offices, two breakrooms, 10 conference rooms, a wellness room, coffee coves and collaboration spaces. Tyler Garrett and Christian Canion of JLL represented the undisclosed landlord in the lease negotiations. Steve Hesse, also with JLL, represented McDermott.
CBL Signs Six New Restaurants and Retailers at Friendly Center in Greensboro, North Carolina
by John Nelson
GREENSBORO, N.C. — CBL Properties has announced that four new restaurants and two new retailers will be joining the tenant lineup at Friendly Center, the company’s 1.3 million-square-foot regional retail center located in Greensboro. All four restaurants — Cooper’s Hawk, First Watch, North Italia and French artisan bakery Tous les Jours — as well as LEGO, plan to open by the end of the year, while Rowan anticipates opening this summer. Current tenants at Friendly Center — which comprises more than 140 shops, restaurants and service retailers — include Anthropologie, Pottery Barn, lululemon, Warby Parker, Carhartt, Apple, Williams Sonoma, American Eagle and J. Crew Factory. Last summer, CBL Properties and Davis Moore Capital opened a more than 20,000-square-foot medical office building within the former Macaroni Grill at Friendly Center called Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Plaza.