PLAINSBORO, N.J. — Berkadia has arranged a $43 million loan for the refinancing of Deer Creek, a 288-unit apartment community in Plainsboro, a northern suburb of Trenton. The property is situated on 34 acres, features one- and two-bedroom units, and offers amenities such as a pool, tennis courts and a fitness center. Robert Falese of Berkadia arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower, a joint venture between Verde Capital Corp., Kushner Real Estate Group and Oxford Realty Group, which acquired the asset in 2016 and implemented a value-add program.
NEW YORK CITY — Taco Bell Cantina, a concept from the fast-food chain that incorporates alcoholic beverage service, will open a new restaurant at The Paramount Building, an 800,000-square-foot tower located in Manhattan’s Times Square. David Firestein and Jenna Heidenberg of SCG Retail represented Taco Bell in the lease negotiations. Ross Berkowitz, Jason Wecker and Andrew Taub of Newmark Knight Frank represented the landlord, Rosemark Management and Levin Management Corp. in conjunction with in-house representatives of those firms. The opening is slated for this summer.
Retail transaction volume was strong in January as the shorter 2019 holiday season created a tight window for year-end closings, residual transactions pushed into the New Year and gave 2020 an early jump on what should be another great year. Total transactions in 2020 should continue to build from the big start. The massive transaction volume from the second half of 2019 — more specifically, a glut of fourth-quarter sellers — has produced a wave of investors needing to complete 1031 exchange purchases in the second and third quarters of 2020. By comparison, 2019 featured a slower than typical start due to a combination of elevated interest rates and residual investor hangover from the equity markets debacle of the fourth quarter of 2018. Our sense is that 2020 will benefit from enormous velocity, driven by private investor demand and seller willingness to meet market expectations in favor of quicker transactions as fears of the late cycle, election turmoil and international unrest grow. Further evidence of seller’s alignment with market expectations, trailing available data has shown the asking price to sale ratio narrowed from nearly 12 percent in first-quarter 2019 to 3 percent in fourth-quarter 2019. This brought the bid/ask more …
BOSTON — JLL has arranged an $870 million construction loan for the first phase of the redevelopment of Boston’s South Station transit hub. Upon completion, the project will ultimately comprise 1.9 million square feet of commercial and residential space. The initial phase will feature a 1.2 million-square-foot, 51-story mixed-use tower rising above the historic transit station, which was built in 1898. Scheduled for completion in 2024, the tower will house approximately 660,000 square feet of Class A office space, 166 condominium units and more than 500 parking spaces. Pelli Clark Pelli Architects is designing the project. The office component will feature 26,000-square-foot floor plates, 13-foot floor-to-ceiling windows and unobstructed views of downtown Boston and Boston Harbor. The residential component will include one-, two- and three-bedroom units, as well as penthouse duplex units, and amenities such as an outdoor pool, fitness center, conference center and onsite restaurant. Riaz Cassum and Jennifer Kelly of JLL arranged the loan through The Children’s Investment Fund on behalf of the borrower, a joint venture between Hines, APG Groep NV and Dune Real Estate Partners. “Developments of this quality and magnitude arise infrequently in a mature market such as Boston,” says Cassum. “The tower at South Station …
The Federal Reserve’s decision to reverse its monetary policy and lower short-term interest rates has fueled demand for single-tenant, net-leased retail assets with regard to both deal volume and the entrance of new buyers into the space, although cap rate movement has been slow to reflect this growth. The nation’s central bank implemented three 25-basis-point cuts in 2019, creating a lower cost of capital for prospective buyers in the net-lease market and generating positive impacts on the cash flows of owners marketing their properties for sale. Consequently, both sides are showing a willingness to both bid on and ask for more aggressive price points. Traditionally, lower interest rates translate to more investment demand, leading to higher prices, thus lower cap rates. The new monetary policy, which has only been in effect since this summer, has not yet impacted cap rates in the net-lease retail sector. However, that will likely change in early 2020, says Jonathan Hipp, president and CEO of Calkain Cos., a Virginia-based net-lease brokerage and advisory firm. “Cap rates rose slightly in the middle of the year, but with interest rate cuts, they’ve come down,” he says. “Cap rates should demonstrate more compression when we do a 2019 …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Geolo Capital and JW Capital Partners have sold Thompson Washington D.C., a 225-room hotel that opened Jan. 8, to Hamburg, Germany-based Union Investment for $120 million. Union Investment agreed to purchase the hotel more than two years before its completion. Geolo and JW Capital Partners developed Thompson Hotel over the past three years. Following the sale, the Geolo and JW Capital Partners joint venture will remain a long-term tenant, leasing the property back from Union Investment and overseeing management of the asset, which will continue to be operated as a Thompson Hotel. The hotel offers three restaurant and bar concepts by Union Square Hospitality Group, in addition to 7,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space. Thompson Hotel anchors The Yards, Brookfield Property’s 3 million-square-foot mixed-use development. Bank OZK provided construction financing for the hotel, which is located in Washington, D.C.’s Navy Yard neighborhood. Studios Architecture and Parts and Labor Design NYC designed the hotel, and John Moriarty & Associates provided preconstruction and general contracting services for the project.
GLEN ALLEN, VA. — S.L. Nusbaum has brokered the sale of a 109,813-square-foot former Macy’s within Virginia Commons Mall in for $2 million. The buyers, VCC Partners LLC and Shamin VCC LLC, plan to demolish the existing building and redevelop the nine-acre property into a sports arena that will include indoor event space, basketball courts and seating for 4,500 spectators. Demolition will begin by May. The mall, which is home to tenants including Burlington, JCPenney, Bath & Body Works, Foot Locker and Finish Line, is located 12 miles north of downtown Richmond. David Kalman of S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co. represented the seller, Impact Investments Group LLC, in the transaction.
DAPHNE, ALA. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the $22.5 million sale of Palladian at Daphne, a 120-unit apartment complex near Mobile Bay in Daphne. The community offers residents home-style living with attached garages, ground-floor entry and an average floor plan size of 1,800 square feet. Amenities include a fitness center, conference room, outdoor TV lounge, 15-seat movie theater, swimming pool and a bark park with pet washing station. Craig Hey and Jimmy Adams of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, The Gateway Cos., in the transaction. Hathaway and Lynx Capital, both based in Atlanta, acquired the property.
STARKVILLE, MISS. — JLL has arranged the sale of Lakeside Student Living, a 504-bed student housing community located near the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. The property opened in 2006 and features a mix of studio, one-, two- and four-bedroom, fully furnished units. Community amenities include a fitness complex, swimming pool, volleyball court, hammock beach, computer lab and private study lounges. Scott Clifton, Stewart Hayes and Barry Brown of JLL represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The buyer and terms of the transaction were also not disclosed.
MIAMI — MMG Equity Partners has acquired two retail centers in metro Miami for a total of $12.7 million: Naranja Plaza and Lakeside Plaza. Naranja Plaza was purchased for $7.1 million, or $139 per square foot, in an-off market deal. The shopping center spans 51,246 square feet and is situated at 27000-27100 S. Dixie Highway in Homestead, 29 miles southwest of downtown Miami. The Dollar General-anchored asset was built in 1980 and was fully leased at the time of sale. MMG Equity Partners also acquired Westlake Plaza for $5.6 million, or $128 per square foot. The property is a 43,781-square-foot retail center located at the intersection of Bird Road and 109th Avenue in Miami. Lakeside Plaza was built in 1959 and comprises five buildings. Amerant Bank provided acquisition loans for both transactions totaling $9.5 million, including a future advance for construction. The two sellers were not disclosed.