The apartment construction boom continues in Miami as rapid demographic and employment growth foster rental demand. Employers expanded staffs by 25,900 personnel year over year in February, roughly 6,900 more than in the preceding annual period, which has kept the unemployment rate below 4 percent for 12 consecutive months. Hiring during this period was led by the professional and business services sector, due in part to a growing tech sector. The relatively higher salaries in this segment helped boost the median household income 6.8 percent year-over-year in March, among the top five growth rates in the nation. Available employment is helping draw new residents and produce population growth above the national pace. Over the past 12 months, the metro has gained nearly 28,000 residents, generating a strong need for additional housing options, and many are opting to rent. These factors are contributing to robust apartment demand and maintaining minimal rental availability in several submarkets, including Downtown and North Central Miami, despite the increase in deliveries over the past few years. The rise in household income is providing demand for apartments with luxury amenities in walkable urban neighborhoods. During the first quarter of 2019, apartment deliveries remained above the five-year average …
Strong economic growth on the West Coast from the booming tech industry has benefited Portland’s economy. As a result, considerable employment and population growth, particularly from the Millennial generation, has elevated the industrial market significantly in recent years. According to CBRE, demographic growth and the national shift to online consumption have contributed to a steadily decreasing industrial vacancy rate since 2010, which reached 3.3 percent in early 2019. Demand for industrial space began to pick up speed about five years ago and has since boosted asking rents 45 percent. Build-to-suit construction projects were a growing trend in 2018, delivering more than 2.9 million square feet for existing tenants, the largest developments being the Troutdale Reynolds and Rivergate. To date, 2019 construction has been exclusively speculative with half a million square feet delivered thus far and 41 percent preleased. An additional 1.4 million square feet is under construction and expected to deliver by year-end 2020, none of which is pre-committed. At the same time, demand for industrial space of 100,000 square feet or greater accounts for 20 percent of users in the market. The speculative construction projects delivering during the next 18 months should provide some supply options for users of …
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A joint venture between Spectrum Cos. and Invesco Real Estate has broken ground on a mixed-use development that will span five acres in Charlotte’s South End. The project will include two 11-story office buildings, an urban park with event space, restaurants, retail space and a 200-room hotel. The project will be located one block from the Carson light rail stop in South End and two blocks from Uptown. The two office towers will total 577,000 square feet of space and offer a fitness center, conference center and private terraces. LendingTree, an online lending marketplace, will anchor the development, moving its headquarters into 175,000 square feet in the first office building, which is set to be complete in January 2021. Construction on the hotel is expected to begin in summer 2020 and be delivered in late 2021.
RALEIGH, N.C. — KBS has sold CapTrust Tower, a 300,389-square-foot office tower in Midtown Raleigh, to Preferred Office Properties. KBS originally bought the tower in 2013 in a joint venture with Kane Realty Corp, which will stay on as a partner with Preferred Office Properties, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Preferred Apartment Communities. Kane Realty built the tower, which was fully leased at the time of sale to tenants including CapTrust, Wells Fargo, PWC, Wasserman, Insight Global and Kilpatrick Townsend. CapTrust Tower offers nine floors of office space atop a six-story parking garage with a restaurant on the ground level. Patrick Gildea, Will Yowell, Ben Kilgore and Chandler Hawkins of CBRE represented the sellers in the transaction. The sales price was not disclosed.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Harbor Group International has acquired 1340 Concord, a 100,710-square-foot, single-tenant office building in Fort Lauderdale, for $32.5 million. The buyer is planning for the property to undergo renovations, though details were not disclosed. The building, which technology firm Ultimate Software Group Inc. fully occupies, features three stories with flexible single-floor or whole-building floorplans. The seller was not disclosed.
PEMBROKE PINES, FLA. — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has provided a $34 million refinancing loan for Flamingo Pines Plaza, a 140,213-square-foot shopping center in Pembroke Pines. Flamingo Pines Plaza was 97 percent leased at the time of sale to 33 tenants, including anchor tenant Florida Technical College and junior anchor tenants United States Postal Service and Goodwill. The property comprises six single-story buildings and was built in 1987. JBL Asset Management acquired the property in December 2017 for $33.2 million. Meridian Capital arranged the loan on behalf of JBL.
HERNDON, VA. — Griffin Capital has signed a 270,000-square-foot office lease with a Fortune 100 company in Herndon. Griffin did not release the name of the tenant, though several media outlets report it is Amazon Web Services. The 12-year lease is expected to commence in April 2020 when Griffin completes renovations at 13820 Sunrise Valley, a 10-story office building. Situated about 25 miles west of downtown Washington, D.C., the office building has been undergoing renovations since 2018 when its previous tenant, Time Warner Communications, consolidated its space and broke its lease. Griffin was able to use the money from Time Warner’s buyout to immediately begin upgrading the building. Furthermore, the property is situated about 20 miles northwest of National Landing, where Amazon’s announced HQ2 will be located.
HOUSTON — Wood Partners, a multifamily development and investment firm with offices around the country, has broken ground on Alta River Oaks, a 364-unit multifamily project in Houston. Located at 3636 W. Dallas St., the property is situated near an array of shopping and dining establishments, as well as the Buffalo Bayou hiking and jogging trails. Floor plans will consist of one-, two- and three-bedroom units with stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops, custom backsplashes and individual washers and dryers. Amenities will include a pool, fitness center and outdoor kitchen areas. Alta River Oaks is slated to open in the fourth quarter of 2020.
CORPUS CHRISTI, BASTROP AND SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has provided $35 million in HUD financing for a three-property, 378-bed skilled nursing portfolio located throughout Texas. The financing includes $16 million for the Regency-Windsor Calallen in Corpus Christi; $14.5 million for the Regency Bastrop Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Bastrop; and $14 million for the Regency-Windsor Mission Oaks Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in San Antonio. The financing was closed using HUD’s 232/223(f) mortgage insurance program and paid off an acquisition loan structured by KeyBank’s Healthcare Group. Grant Saunders, Peter Trazzera and John Randolph of KeyBank handled the transaction.
DALLAS — Florida-based private investment firm Waramaug Hospitality has acquired the Embassy Suites by Hilton Dallas Central Park, a 279-room hotel located near the Galleria area of Dallas. The hotel offers amenities such as an indoor pool, fitness center, business center and 7,800 square feet of flexible meeting space. Waramaug plans to renovate the property’s guest rooms and public space. The seller was not disclosed.