The Raleigh-Durham region’s strong job growth is fueling sustained demand from tenants, keeping the office market firmly in favor of landlords despite a notable increase in construction activity in recent months. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the region added 24,200 nonfarm payroll jobs between October 2018 and October 2019 for a growth rate of 2.5 percent. Unemployment rose slightly from 3 percent to just 3.1 percent during this time as nearly 36,000 people entered the local labor force. Raleigh-Durham continued to witness economic development wins in 2019 as well. Major job announcements came from office-using tenants such as Xerox (600 jobs), Q2 Solutions (700 jobs), Parexel (260 jobs), AmeriHealth Caritas (300 jobs) and HZO (500 jobs). In its recently published Emerging Trends in Real Estate report, the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) named Raleigh-Durham as the No. 2 market in the United States to watch for overall real estate prospects in 2020. The region’s quality of life, robust population and job growth and highly educated workforce are supporting sustained business expansion and healthy leasing fundamentals across all asset classes. Raleigh-Durham’s office market continues to experience the most landlord-favorable conditions since the dot-com boom in the late 1990s. …
Stemming from the ashes of 2009 — a decade later and a decade wiser — Phoenix and the surrounding Maricopa County has exploded to outpace the national averages in both rent and job growth. In fact, the entire State of Arizona is booming in population growth and job production. The Census Bureau just released its American Community Survey “One-Year Estimates” in which Arizona was named the fastest-growing state in the nation with a year-over-year growth of 2.2 percent. The Phoenix MSA also experienced a 2.6 percent increase (as of October 2019) from the prior year ranking when it came to the largest job gains in the education and health services industries. The state also boasts a tax-friendly environment, pro-business governor, competitive workforce and one of the youngest median age populations in the country at 35.4. This has attracted a broad array of financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and tech companies that have been moving to Phoenix in droves, making Phoenix a diversified and balanced economy that is different than years’ past. What does all this mean? The need for housing is paramount and multifamily investors are reaping the benefits. Phoenix is able to absorb the roughly 7,500 new units developers are …
ORLANDO, FLA. — Berkadia has arranged $140 million in combined financing for four extended-stay hotels totaling nearly 1,000 rooms that will be part of Flamingo Crossings, a master-planned development located at the western entrance to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. Justin Ownby of Berkadia’s Tampa office together with Adrienne Kautzman and Mauricio Rodriguez of Berkadia’s Hotels & Hospitality team arranged the financing on behalf of the borrower and developer, Huntsville, Ala.-based Doradus Partners. The Berkadia team secured the four-year, adjustable-rate, non-recourse construction loan through a private lender. The properties include a 223-room Residence Inn by Marriott, a 273-room Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, a 229-room Homewood Suites by Hilton and a 272-room Home2 Suites by Hilton. The four properties, which will be managed by Yedla Management Co. Inc., are slated for completion in the fall of this year. The complex will have a structured parking garage, pools and a sports facility to include a soccer field, basketball court and batting cages. Flamingo Crossings will also feature a 200,000-square-foot retail hub with over 50 stores.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Miami-based Lindemann Multifamily Management LLC has acquired One Metrocenter, a 320-unit apartment community in Nashville, for $83.2 million (approximately $260,000 per unit). Tarek El Gammal of JLL’s Nashville office represented the sellers, MetroCenter Apartments X LLC and other partners, in the transaction. As part of the transaction, Lindemann obtained two fixed-rate loan tranches with New York Life Insurance Co. for $41.2 million and $4.6 million. David Zimmerman and K.O. Kennedy of CBRE’s Nashville office arranged the debt financing. Located at 45 Vantage Way, One Metrocenter’s apartments feature one- and two-bedroom layouts. The property opened in 2016, according to Apartments.com. Amenities include a Zen garden, saltwater pool, covered parking, outdoor fire pit and a dog park. The One Metrocenter acquisition is the fifth in the Nashville area for Lindemann, bringing its total units owned in the market to more than 2,300.
ATLANTA — A joint venture between Chevy Chase, Md.-based FCP and Atlanta-based developer Westbridge Partners has sold Stockyards Atlanta, a mixed-use project in Atlanta’s West Midtown district, to New York-based Clarion Partners for $69.7 million. Situated on three acres at the corner of 10th Street and Brady Avenue, Stockyards is an adaptive reuse of three historic warehouses into office and entertainment space. The space was initially built in the early 1900s as a stockyard and meatpacking plant. Designed by architectural firm ai3 and built by Gay Construction Co. in 2017, the 142,478-square-foot development houses tenants including Red Bull and Fitzgerald & Co., as well as the Italian restaurant Donetto and game parlor/restaurant Painted Duck. Stockyards Atlanta was fully leased within a year of delivery. Stewart Calhoun, David Meline, Mike McDonald, Samir Idris and Michael Moore of Cushman & Wakefield brokered the sale on behalf of the joint venture.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — TD Bank has provided $28.6 million in funding for the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Lauderdale (HACFL) to redevelop Suncrest Court, a 66-unit public housing community, by replacing it with 116 modern and affordable apartment units. TD Bank has provided a $16 million construction loan and its subsidiary Community Capital Group has provided $12.6 million in low income housing tax credits (LIHTCs). HACFL also received a State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) from the Florida Housing Finance Corp. for the project, which involves the demolition of the existing buildings that were built in 1962. The new Suncrest Court will include seven buildings with 12 units reserved for residents who earn less than 30 percent of the area’s median income (AMI). The remaining 104 units will be reserved for residents making up to 60 percent of AMI. During construction, current Suncrest Court residents were offered vouchers to nearby affordable housing communities. Upon completion in 2021, existing residents will have the right to return to the community.
NEWNAN, GA. — Halpern Enterprises Inc. has acquired Newnan Crossing, a 92,412-square-foot shopping center in Newnan, about 35 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta. Ohio-based Retail Value Inc. sold the property to Smyrna, Ga.-based Halpern Enterprises for $11.6 million. A 66,412-square-foot Hobby Lobby anchors the center, which was fully leased at the time of sale. Other tenants include CATO, GNC, Edible Arrangements, Sally Beauty, American Deli, The Athlete’s Foot and T-Mobile. Walmart and Lowe’s Home Improvement shadow-anchor the center. Newnan Crossing was built in 1996 and is situated adjacent to Interstate 85 at 963 Bullsboro Drive.
FRISCO, TEXAS — Newland Communities has unveiled plans for Phase II of The Grove Frisco, a 735-acre mixed-use project located on the northern outskirts of Dallas. Phase II will include a 424-unit apartment community developed by JPI as well as 129 townhomes and an unspecified amount of retail and dining space. The groundbreaking is scheduled for the second quarter. Phase I of the project featured single-family homes and 25 acres of communal outdoor space that includes a fishing pond, city park and 4.5 miles of walking trails.
MANSFIELD, TEXAS — Houston-based Hilltop Residential has acquired an undisclosed apartment community in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro of Mansfield. The number of units was also undisclosed, but the property was built in two phases between 2015 and 2017 and features a pool, fitness center, outdoor lounge and a dog park. Cortney Cole and Steve Heldenfels of JLL arranged a four-year, fixed-rate acquisition loan through a life insurance company on behalf of Hilltop Residential.
SUGAR LAND, TEXAS — CBRE has arranged a $28.2 million bridge loan for the refinancing of Overture Sugar Land, a 200-unit active adult community in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land. The community opened in 2017 and features a coffee bar and bistro, pool, yoga studio and access to nature trails. Aron Will, Austin Sacco and Adam Mincberg of CBRE arranged the nonrecourse, floating-rate loan with 18 months of interest-only payments on behalf of the borrower, Greystar. The lender was MF1 Capital, an alliance between Limekiln Real Estate, Berkshire Group and CBRE Capital Markets.