FRISCO, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 9,941-square-foot freestanding commercial property net-leased to Kiddie Academy in Frisco, located north of Dallas. Ron Hebert, Ryan Wolf and Vincent Knipp of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller in the transaction. Wolf and Knipp also procured the buyer, another private investor. Kiddie Academy is based in Abingdon, Maryland, and has more than 250 franchised locations across 30 states and Washington, D.C.
Many multifamily real estate investors have moved to the sidelines until price transparency returns and the trajectory of property performance becomes clearer. It is a prudent strategy. Indeed, this period of forced inactivity is, perhaps, better used to reflect on the future and consider which U.S. apartment markets will offer the most attractive opportunities when the moment arrives to test the waters again. Conventional wisdom holds that markets with significant reliance on leisure travel employment will be hardest hit by the pandemic, particularly those with outsized exposure to the cruise industry. It’s hard to refute the logic. But investors who interpret it too literally may miss potentially attractive options. Take Fort Lauderdale, for example. The Broward County labor market has one of the highest exposures in the country to the leisure, hospitality and cruise sectors. More than 3.9 million cruise passengers embarked from the port last year, generating direct employment for about 15,000 residents and indirect employment for tens of thousands more in the lodging, dining and entertainment, air transportation and retail sectors. With the cruise industry taking on water surely investors would be well advised to steer clear of the Gold Coast? Perhaps not. In fact, the statistical impact …
LOS ANGELES — The Passman Group has brokered the sale of a three-parcel land assemblage, located at 2107-2121 Westwood Blvd. in Los Angeles. A private investor acquired the asset for an undisclosed price. The property consists of multiple buildings across three parcels that are approximately 27,000 square feet. With close to 200 feet of frontage, the property was previously home to the iconic Wally’s Wine & Spirits for more than 30 years. David Passman, Michael Navi and Marc Pakravan of The Passman Group represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Richard Drapkin advised the seller.
LOS ANGELES — El Segundo, Calif.-based Matthews Real Estate Investment Services has arranged the sale of a residential property located at 12626 Matteson Ave. in Los Angeles. An undisclosed buyer acquired the asset for $9.7 million. The name of the seller was not released. Built in 1988 in Los Angeles’ Westside neighborhood, the building features 20 units in a mix of two-bedroom and four-bedroom apartments with lofts. Kyle Mirrafati of Matthews Real Estate represented the buyer and seller in the deal.
FREMONT, CALIF. — First Industrial has acquired a light industrial warehouse and manufacturing facility in Fremont. An undisclosed seller sold the property for $9.1 million. The 38,692-square-foot property is located at 4160-4170 Business Center Drive. The asset was built to accommodate a variety of uses from manufacturing to last-mile delivery services. Joe Yamin of Colliers represented the seller, while Century 21 represented the buyer in the transaction.
WHITTIER, CALIF. — Avison Young has arranged the sale of an industrial building located at 8155 Byron Road in Whittier. The undisclosed seller sold the asset to a private buyer for $5.5 million. Built in 1974 on 1.5 acres, the 32,000-square-foot property includes 3,000 square feet of office space, 16 parking spaces, two roll-up doors and 20-foot to 22-foot clear heights. The seller is a company that manufactured racking systems for the grocery industry and vacated the property prior to escrow. The buyer intends to use the building for its business. Chris Maling, David Mailing and Paul Clark of Avison Young represented the seller, while Lee & Associates represented the buyer in the deal.
CORONA, CALIF. — Organic Roots, a family-owned organic and natural food store, has opened a its location at McKinley Crossroads. ShopOne Centers REIT owns the property, located in Corona. This is the retailer’s second store, joining its existing location in Temecula. Organic Roots offers local, organic products, all-natural foods, health and body care products, and supplements. Additionally, the store features a wide selection of foods for specialized diets, including vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, low sugar, paleo and keto. Organic Roots will be open to seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and will offer senior citizen shopping hours and curbside pickup for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has continued to clobber the hotel sector as industry experts say 70 percent of workers have been furloughed and eight in 10 rooms are vacant, according to a survey conducted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA). The data from the survey also leads the AHLA to project that vacancy rates in 2020 will be the lowest (38 percent) since the Great Depression. The vacancy rate was 66 percent from 2017 to 2019. “Hotels were one of the first industries affected by the pandemic and will be one of the last to recover,” said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA. The survey also reports that the full-service hotels that are remaining open are operating on average with a 14-person staff, a fraction of the average 50-person staff pre-crisis. Resort hotels, which often operate seasonally based on peak tourism months and averaged about 90 employees per location as recently as March 13, are down to an average of five employees per resort today. As of this writing, there were 49,963 deaths and 869,172 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
ATLANTA — A joint venture between Jonathan Rose Cos., Columbia Residential and SUMMECH Community Development Corp. has acquired City Views at Rosa Burney Park near downtown Atlanta. The Section 8 and low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) community comprises 181 units reserved for residents earning 40, 60 or 80 percent of the area median income (AMI). City Views, which offers two- to five-bedroom floor plans, is situated at 259 Richardson St. SW, a mile from downtown Atlanta. The new ownership is planning a $16.5 million upgrade, which will include new roofs, windows, elevators and façade. There will also be brick repairs and repainting, as well as improved Americans with Disabilities (ADA) accessibility, HVAC and plumbing. Apartment interiors will also be completely renovated, including new LVT flooring, kitchens, bathrooms, Energy Star appliances, low-flow plumbing fixtures and LED light fixtures. Additionally, several thousand square feet of community space that was previously closed off and used for storage will be reactivated, including a fitness center, craft room, package room, upgraded laundry facilities, community room with warming kitchen and free Wi-Fi, a computer learning center and updated management and resident services offices. Residents will be temporarily relocated off-site on a rolling basis, in durations of fewer …
ORLANDO, FLA. — In an effort to limit contact and feed frontline healthcare workers, Park Pizza & Brewing Co. has partnered with Beep, a company operating self-driving shuttles, to deliver food to the Orlando VA Medical Center in the city’s Lake Nona neighborhood. To limit contact with the delivery, each pizza box is sealed, put onto a cart, loaded into the shuttle by Park Pizza & Brewing restaurant employees and the onboard shuttle attendant, and personnel at the medical center are then able to roll the cart into the hospital. The shuttles typically operate on a fixed route, but that has been paused due to the COVID-19 crisis. Park Pizza & Brewing opened within Lake Nona in November 2018. The VA hospital opened in 2015 and provides acute care, complex specialty care, advanced diagnostic services, a large multispecialty outpatient clinic, and administrative and support services to more than 100,000 veterans in the area. Beep and Lake Nona developer Tavistock Development Co. are exploring other opportunities to utilize the autonomous shuttles to serve the community during COVID-19.