WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has released what it called a “Roadmap to Recovery” for the hotel sector in the United States. In the document, AHLA notes that the April jobs report issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says the hotel industry was hit the hardest of any sector tracked, losing 7.7 million jobs. The AHLA wrote a letter on behalf of its members to the U.S. Congress urging it to prioritize hotel workers and small businesses during the next stimulus package and to provide immediate assistance in four areas: help hotels retain and rehire employees by extending the Paycheck Protection Program, (PPP) offering employees direct tuition assistance or tax credits and expanding the Employee Retention Credit; protect employees and guests through tax credits for cleaning equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE); keep hotel doors open by providing relief for hotel commercial mortgages and increasing the size and flexibility of PPP loans; and incentivize Americans to travel again when it’s safe with a new, temporary travel tax credit and restoring the entertainment business expense deduction. “The hospitality industry is in a fight for survival,” says Chip Rogers, president and CEO of Washington, D.C.-based …
GAINESVILLE, FLA. — Onicx has sold a 46,483-square-foot medical office building in Gainesville for $18.2 million. The building is situated at 6500 W. Newberry Road on the North Florida Regional Medical Center’s campus. Onicx developed the property in 2016 and sold it to an investor group of physicians from Florida Cancer Specialists. Dhvanit Patel and Arjun Choudhary internally represented Onicx in the transaction. Tampa, Fla.-based Onicx specializes in medical and commercial real estate development.
TAMPA, FLA. — Bausch Health has signed a 127,254-square-foot industrial lease within Cabot at Aprile Farms in Tampa. Cabot at Aprile Farms comprises 390,395 square feet and offers 417 car stalls and 116 trailer drops along with dock-high loading and onsite trailer storage. The property is situated at 8963 E. Sligh Ave., near the interchange of Interstate 4 and U.S. Highway 31, nine miles northeast of downtown Tampa. John Dunphy of JLL represented the landlord, Cabot Properties, in the lease transaction. Jodie Matthews, Scott Claiborne and Peter Cecora, also with JLL, represented the tenant. Bausch Health is a Canadian-based pharmaceutical company developing, manufacturing and marketing pharmaceutical products and branded generic drugs.
PEACHTREE CORNERS, GA. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $2.4 million sale of a retail property leased to Wells Fargo in Peachtree Corners. The 10,851-square-foot building was built in 1968 and is triple-net-leased to the bank. The asset is situated at 6155 Buford Highway, 17 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. Don McMinn of Marcus & Millichap’s Taylor McMinn Group represented both the seller, Linkpoint Properties, and the buyer, Matthews Family Investments LLC, in the 1031 transaction. Linkpoint originally purchased the asset in November 2017 for a little over $2 million.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Pier 1 Imports Inc. has filed a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to begin the process of closing all of its remaining stores and liquidating its assets, including its intellectual property and e-commerce business, the Fort Worth-based home goods retailer said on Tuesday. Pier 1 closed about 450 stores in January and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in mid-February prior to the outbreak of COVID-19. However, CEO Robert Riesbeck said in the statement that the pandemic had amplified the company’s struggles to restructure debt and secure investment that would keep the business afloat. Pier 1 intends to initiate store closing efforts and liquidation sales once stores can reopen, in compliance with COVID-19 guidelines from local government and health officials. Pier 1 was founded in 1962 and operated about 1,300 stores at the height of its expansion in 2006.
SPRING, TEXAS — Berkadia has arranged the sale of Belvedere Springwoods Village, a 342-unit apartment community located within the Springwoods Village mixed-use development on the northern outskirts of Houston. Developed in 2014 by Fein Communities, the property features one-, two- and three-bedroom units with stainless steel appliances, walk-in showers and private balconies and patios in select units. Amenities include a pool with a sundeck and heated spa, outdoor kitchens and fire pits, a fitness center with a yoga studio, conference room, coffee bar and a dog park. Ryan Epstein and Jennifer Ray of Berkadia represented the seller in the transaction. John Koeijmans and Austin Blankenship of Berkadia arranged financing on behalf of the buyer, MLG Capital.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — NAI Robert Lynn has brokered the sale of a two-building, 124,658-square-foot industrial facility located at 4901 N. Beach St. in Fort Worth. According to LoopNet Inc., the property was built on 11.5 acres in 1981 and includes additional outdoor storage space. Todd Hubbard of NAI Robert Lynn represented the seller, G&W Ventures, in the transaction. Hubbard will also handle leasing of the space on behalf of the new owner, Dallas-based CanTex Capital. The new ownership will rebrand the property as Beach Industrial Park and will target e-commerce users for occupancy.
KYLE, TEXAS — Dallas-based Montfort Capital Partners (MCP) will develop a 550-unit expansion project at its CubeSmart-operated self-storage facility located on Cromwell Drive in the Central Texas city of Kyle. The expansion building will span 55,000 square feet of net rentable space and will offer both climate- and non-climate-controlled units. The groundbreaking is scheduled for July, and the project is expected to be complete by early 2021.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Locally based development and investment firm Rastegar Property Co. has acquired Mueller Square Apartments, a 58-unit multifamily community located near the 700-acre Mueller mixed-use development in Austin. Rastegar acquired the property, which was originally built in 1967, in a joint venture with an unnamed insurance company based in Texas. The new ownership will renovate Mueller Square’s unit interiors, including kitchens, bathrooms, floors, counters and utility systems. The seller was not disclosed.
MYERSTOWN, PA. — Indiana-based REIT Duke Realty Corp. is nearing completion of Central Logistics Park 100, a 615,000-square-foot warehouse in Myerstown, approximately 35 miles east of Harrisburg. Located at 100 Fort Motel Drive, the building will feature 45-foot clear heights and 7,000 square feet of office space. The remaining acreage on the site can accommodate additional development of up to 584,820 square feet. The development is a build-to-suit project for wholesale tire distributor Max Finkelstein Inc. Duke expects to complete construction in late spring or early summer of 2020.