OAKLAND COUNTY, MICH. — The dispute between Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE: SPG) and Taubman Centers Inc. (NYSE: TCO) over a planned merger will move to a mediation phase. James Alexander, a circuit court judge with the state of Michigan, has ordered that the mediation phase be completed by July 31 and that the companies must be ready for a trial by mid-November. On Thursday, Taubman shareholders voted to approve and adopt the previously announced merger agreement dated Feb. 9 and says the company is “ready, willing and able to close the transactions with Simon.” As previously announced, Simon delivered a notice purporting to terminate the merger agreement, which was valued at $3.6 billion, on June 10. The mall owner also commenced a lawsuit in Michigan state court on the grounds that Taubman hadn’t responded effectively to the coronavirus pandemic. Taubman says it continues to believe that Simon’s termination is “invalid and without merit.” On June 17, Taubman filed a counterclaim in the lawsuit, rejecting Simon’s allegations. Given the pending litigation, “it appears Simon will not consummate the transactions on June 30, despite its contractual obligation to do so,” according to a statement from Taubman.
INDIANAPOLIS — Milhaus has opened Grid, a $30.4 million apartment project located at 520 E. Washington St. in downtown Indianapolis. Grid includes 175 apartment units and 175 car parking spaces. Amenities include coworking spaces, multiple fitness areas, an outdoor courtyard, bark park, pet spa, coffee bar and resident lounge. The property serves as Milhaus’ first opportunity zone investment in the U.S. Milhaus says that Grid’s prominent location in the Cole Noble neighborhood served as inspiration for the property name. Indianapolis was originally plotted on a grid structure upon its founding in 1820. Local artist Jackie Head created a mural for the northwest corner of the building. The project team included KTGY Architecture + Planning, Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc. and DkGr.
EVANSTON, ILL. — High Street Residential, a subsidiary of Trammell Crow Co., has completed Avidor Evanston, a 169-unit active adult community in Evanston. The community, reserved for residents 55 years of age or older, offers a mix of one- and two-bedroom units. Amenities include a bistro bar, business center, activity center, pet spa, dog run, fitness center, theater room and chef’s kitchen. On the 18th floor, residents have access to a rooftop deck with a pool and fire pits. Daily activity offerings include fitness classes, game nights, cooking classes and community happy hours. Allegro Management Co. operates the property.
CLEVELAND — The NRP Group will develop a 52-unit affordable housing project on the site of the former Harry E. Davis Elementary School, which has been vacant since 2006. Located at the corner of East 105th St. and Churchill Road in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood, the four-story project will include 48 apartments and four townhomes. The project is the first phase of a larger development known as Churchill Gateway. The units will be designated affordable to residents earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income. NRP is also developing a 2,500-square-foot community outreach center at the site. The center will focus on health education and workforce training. Project partners include the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, Cleveland Metropolitan School District and University Hospitals. The Ohio Finance Housing Agency allocated housing tax credits for the project. Churchill Gateway is expected to be complete in fall 2022.
KENOSHA, WIS. — Zilber Property Group has broken ground on a 23,359-square-foot speculative industrial building within the Business Park of Kenosha in Southeast Wisconsin. Known as Zilber Industrial 4, the facility will feature a clear height of 24 feet, two dock positions, one drive-in door and 26 car parking spaces. Completion is slated for this fall. The project team includes Partners In Design Architects, Riley Construction and Pinnacle Engineering Group. Sergio Chapa and Michael Prost of Newmark Knight Frank will market the building for lease.
DALLAS — Equinix (NASDAQ: EQIX), a global provider of data colocation services, has completed a $142 million expansion project at its Dallas Infomart Data Center campus. The California-based company’s Dallas campus is located at 1950 N. Stemmons Freeways, spans roughly 1.6 million square feet and offers a power capacity of 60 megawatts. The project represents that first phase of a larger development and provides 72,000 square feet of colocation space for data storage. Future expansion phases may provide as much as 144,000 square feet of colocation space. Equinix purchased the property in 2018 from ASB Real Estate Investments for roughly $800 million.
CORSICANA, TEXAS — Advantage Construction and Forge Building Co. have broken ground on a 278-unit expansion project at Mini-West Storage, a self-storage facility located in Corsicana, about 50 miles south of Dallas. The project will add 39,500 net rentable square feet of climate- and non-climate-controlled space to the facility, which originally opened in 1987 and now features approximately 700 units. Texas Community National Bank provided construction financing for the project, which is expected to be complete in December.
SAN ANTONIO — General contractor Adolfson & Peterson Construction has been awarded the contract to build the Northside Independent School District’s Marshall Law and Medical Services Magnet High School in San Antonio, a project valued at $22.1 million. The project includes an 80,000-square-foot addition to the main high school, adding a new magnet school for law and medical services, new soccer and softball fields and a parking lot. In addition, the project will include renovations to the career and technology building and administration area. Completion is scheduled for November 2021. Pfluger Architects is designing the project.
TYLER, TEXAS — Grandbridge Real Estate Capital has provided a $9.3 million Freddie Mac loan for the refinancing of The Ashton, a 160-unit apartment community in Tyler, about 100 miles east of Dallas. The property was built in 1979 and offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Paul Harbor of Grandbridge originated the loan, which was structured with a fixed interest rate, 10-year term and 10 years of interest-only payments.
PHOENIX — Epoch Residential has completed the sale of Capital Place, a multifamily property located at 11 S. 12th St. in Phoenix. Knightvest Capital acquired the asset for an undisclosed price. Built in 2016, the two-building Capital Place features 292 apartments offering stainless steel kitchen appliances, custom kitchen cabinets, granite counter tops and covered balconies. Residential amenities include a swimming pool, fitness center, clubhouse, spa, cabanas, barbecue grills and parking garages. Mike Higgins, Charlie Steele and John Cunningham of the JLL Capital Markets Investment Advisory team represented the seller in the deal. Mark Brandenburg and Brad Miner, also of JLL, arranged acquisition financing through Freddie Mac for the buyer. Jones Lang LaSalle Multifamily, a Freddie Mac Optigo lender, will service the loan.