Richmond has been considered a secondary market in the eyes of many national investors, and for good reason. Rental rates don’t compare to Washington D.C., New York City or other major primary markets. But a strong leasing market mixed with a large-scale population shift leads to one question: is now the time to start investing in the Richmond office market? Home to seven Fortune 500 companies, as well as fast-growing companies such as CoStar Group and Capital One, Richmond has made its mark as one of the top cities in the country when it comes to attracting recent college graduates. Offering affordable and diverse housing, amazing food and entertainment, close proximity to beaches and the nation’s capital with a high demand for skilled workers, Richmond is the perfect city for just about anyone. Hence, Richmond has seen a massive boom in its working-class population, which has led to lower vacancy rates, increased rents and a rise in new office developments. The revitalization of two major submarkets is also impacting the growth in millennial population. Scotts Addition and Manchester have both seen significant interest and investment from local and national developers. These submarkets are bringing the live-work-play feel to Richmond’s downtown …
NEW YORK CITY — SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG), a locally based developer and Manhattan’s largest office owner, has opened One Vanderbilt. The $3.3 billion office tower is located across the street from Grand Central Station in Midtown Manhattan. Designed by Kohn Pederson Fox Associates, One Vanderbilt spans 1.7 million square feet. Rising 77 stories and 1,401 feet, it is the tallest commercial building in the Midtown area. CBRE is the leasing agent for One Vanderbilt. SL Green developed the building in partnership with Houston-based Hines and the National Pension Service of Korea, according to the New York Post. The local media outlet also reports that One Vanderbilt is currently 67 percent leased to companies such as TD Securities, Carlyle Group and KPS Capital Partners. SL Green will occupy 70,000 square feet at the building for its new headquarters. Move-ins are scheduled to begin before the end of the year. Asking rents range from $125 to $300 per square foot. SL Green began assembling various tracts on the block between 42nd and 43rd streets and Madison and Vanderbilt avenues for the project more than 20 years ago, the Post reports. As part of the project, SL Green also made …
RICHARDSON, TEXAS — Orlando-based investment firm Berkshire Property Holdings has purchased a two-property multifamily portfolio totaling 568 units in the northeastern Dallas suburb of Richardson for $56.8 million. The Parks at Walnut is a 308-unit property that consists of 25 two-story residential buildings on a 12-acre site, and NinetyNine44 on Walnut is a 260-unit community that features one- and two-bedroom units across 27 buildings on a 10.4-acre site. Both properties offer amenities such as pools, outdoor grilling areas, playgrounds and resident clubhouses. William Jarnagan, Jay Gunn, Taylor Hill, Tom Burns and Michael Ware of Berkadia represented Berkshire Property Holdings and the undisclosed seller in the transaction. A CBRE team led by Brian Eisendrath arranged a 10-year Freddie Mac acquisition loan on behalf of the new ownership.
HOUSTON — JLL has arranged the sale of Chasewood Technology Park, a 463,969-square-foot office campus in northwest Houston. The four-building campus spans 10.4 acres and was 93 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants in the energy, consulting, technology, architecture, healthcare and food services industries. Rick Goings and Ethan Goldberg of JLL represented the seller, The GenCap Group, and procured the buyer, Nitya Capital, in the sale. John Ream and Laura Sellingsloh of JLL arranged a $46 million acquisition loan through Morgan Stanley on behalf of Nitya Capital.
LIVE OAK, TEXAS — 29th Street Capital (29SC) has acquired Live Oak Place Apartments, a 308-unit multifamily community located in the San Antonio suburb of Live Oak. Built in 1984, the property features studio, one- and two-bedroom units ranging in size from 408 to 857 square feet. Amenities include a pool, pet play area and onsite laundry facilities. 29SC will invest in capital improvements to the unit interiors, building exteriors and amenity spaces. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.
MCKINNEY, TEXAS — RPM xConstruction LLC will build a 90,000-square-foot office building at McKinney Corporate Center at Craig Ranch, located north of Dallas, for its new office headquarters. Approximately 750 employees will work at the new building, which offers proximity to the Sam Rayburn Tollway and multiple retail and restaurant establishments. Construction is scheduled to begin early next year and to be complete in early 2022. Pross Design Group is the project architect.
HOUSTON — Five Below has opened a 9,600-square-foot store at Brookhollow Marketplace, a 200,000-square-foot shopping and dining destination that is a redevelopment of the former ExxonMobil campus in Houston. The store will be Five Below’s 1,000th in the country. Fidelis Realty Partners is leading the redevelopment project, which features other retailers such as Ross Dress for Less, Michaels, Ulta Beauty, Burlington and T.J. Maxx
MILWAUKEE — BMO Financial Group has opened its new Wisconsin headquarters building in downtown Milwaukee. Known as BMO Tower, the 25-story building is located at 790 N. Water St., immediately beside the company’s previous headquarters. Approximately 600 BMO employees will be based at the 336-foot-tall tower. The main floor features a new BMO branch for customers. Many aspects of the interior design of the workspaces pay tribute to BMO’s roots in Milwaukee. Many meeting and conference rooms are named after Milwaukee neighborhoods. Much of the artwork is from local artists. BMO Harris Bank is headquartered in Chicago.
OAK BROOK, ILL. — MedProperties has received approval from the Oak Brook Village Board of Trustees to build a 78,000-square-foot medical office building within Oak Brook Commons, the $500 million redevelopment of the former McDonald’s campus in suburban Chicago’s Oak Brook. The seven-story outpatient facility will be known as Oak Brook Commons Medical. Plans call for a lobby area, immediate care clinic, comprehensive imaging suite and 281 covered parking spaces. Medical specialties will be determined at a later date to meet the needs of the community. The larger Oak Brook Commons development will be built in three phases, encompassing retail, restaurants, office, 72 condominium units, 250 apartment units, a 252-room hotel and a park. The medical office building will be part of Phase I with a completion date expected in 2022. Antunovich Associates is the project architect.
CINCINNATI — The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) has reported that its digital sales surged 127 percent in the second quarter, which ended Aug. 15. Consumers have been buying more groceries online as a result of the coronavirus. “Investments made to expand the company’s digital ecosystem are resonating well with customers,” says Rodney McMullen, chairman and CEO. In addition, the Cincinnati-based grocer’s operating profit of $820 million was up 43 percent compared with the same period a year ago. Total company sales were $30.5 billion in the second quarter, compared with $28.2 billion the same period last year. Kroger operates roughly 2,750 supermarkets nationally.