ST. LOUIS — Chesapeake Hospitality has opened an 88-room Hotel Indigo in downtown St. Louis. Located at 501 Olive St., the boutique hotel property features a restaurant, rooftop bar and event spaces. The project involved the redevelopment of the former LaSalle Building, an office building dating back to the early 1900s. Each guest room pays homage to the building’s history and location within its décor. Guests have access to mini-refrigerators, complimentary Wi-Fi and USB charging ports.
NEWBURGH, IND. — Cohen Financial, a division of SunTrust Bank, has arranged a $10.7 million loan for the acquisition of Bell Oaks in Newburgh, a suburb of Evansville. Schnucks grocery store anchors the 95,000-square-foot shopping center. Dan Rosenberg and Matt Terpstra of Cohen arranged the 10-year, fixed-rate loan with Goldman Sachs. Midland Atlantic Properties was the borrower.
DETROIT — Hunt Real Estate Capital has provided a $7.5 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of East Jefferson Portfolio, a three-property, 131-unit multifamily portfolio in Detroit. The 10-year loan features a fixed rate. Hibbard Tower is a nine-story building with 44 units; the Kean Building is a 15-story tower with 49 units; and Trombley Lodge is a four-story property with 38 units. The properties were constructed between 1926 and 1931. The current owners purchased the portfolio in April 2017 and subsequently invested $1.6 million in upgrades.
FAIRBORN, OHIO — NorthMarq has secured a $6.1 million loan for the refinancing of Wright Executive Center in Fairborn near Dayton. The 119,473-square-foot office building is located on Presidential Drive. Susan Branscome of NorthMarq arranged the 10-year, fixed-rate loan with a life insurance company. The borrower was undisclosed.
INNER GROVE HEIGHTS, MINN. — The Cooper Commercial Investment Group has brokered the $2.1 million sale of Inner Grove Market II, an 8,955-square-foot retail property in Inner Grove Heights, about 20 miles southeast of Minneapolis. Caribou Coffee anchors the building, constructed in 2005. Bob Havasi and Dan Cooper of Cooper Group represented the seller, an East Coast-based private investment group. A North Dakota-based private investment group purchased the asset at a cap rate of 7.28 percent.
Southern California’s Inland Empire region has enjoyed a sustained period of growth in the retail real estate sector. Good spaces in quality centers are leasing quickly. Although new developments have slowed, there is still about 1.2 million square feet of new space under construction. These are all top-tier projects that will very much enhance the communities where they are being built. Projects include a Sprouts-anchored center in Eastvale, a Grocery Outlet/Planet Fitness center in Beaumont, an Aldi-anchored center in Hesperia, a Stater Bros. center in Calimesa, AMC Theaters at Montclair Place in Montclair and a Cardenas grocery market center in Montclair. Conversely, apart from the Inland Empire, there are likely few other areas that were as impacted by the recent store closure announcements from Sears and Forever 21. Closings will occur in Montclair, San Bernardino, Victorville, Moreno Valley, Palm Desert, Riverside, Temecula and Rancho Mirage. All told, more than 900,000 square feet of big box space just hit the market. The Inland Center Mall in San Bernardino, which has been a very healthy property over the past few years, is dealing with both a Sears and Forever 21 closure. Macy’s and JC Penney (opened in 2016) still remain at the …
BUFORD, GA. — Atlanta-based Ackerman & Co. has brokered the sale of 65 acres across Interstate 85 from the Mall of Georgia in Buford, approximately 30 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. The Orkin family, of Orkin pest control, sold the parcel to Atlanta-based Fuqua Development for $18 million. The space will accommodate Phase I of Fuqua’s The Exchange at Gwinnett, a $320 million mixed-used development that will feature office space, a hotel, apartments and 500,000 square feet of retail space, including a food hall, “fashion hall,” and a Cinebistro movie theater, according to local media reports. Ackerman & Co.’s John Speros and Larry Wood brokered the sale of the property, located at the intersection of I-85 and Georgia Highway 20. Wood and Speros also represented Rooms To Go in the acquisition of a 4.5-acre site within the development for construction of a 52,000-square-foot store to replace its 24,000-square-foot store fronting the Mall of Georgia.
BURLINGTON, N.C. — The Morgan Cos. has purchased a former Sears department store at 309 Huffman Mill Road within Holly Hill Mall. Morgan Cos. intends to develop the 9.6-acre site into a shopping center anchored by a 48,387-square-foot Publix grocery store and 13,400 square feet of inline retail space. Prego’s Trattoria restaurant, located on an outparcel, is also part of the purchased property. Morgan Cos. will also develop the former Sears Auto Center outparcel next to Prego’s into a multi-tenant retail building as part of the project. Morgan Cos. plans to begin demolition of the Sears building next year and expects the new shopping center to be completed in 2021. Morgan Cos. currently owns a second Triad Publix and developed and owns Peace Haven Village shopping center in Clemmons, N.C.. Morgan Cos. is currently developing another Publix-anchored shopping center in Clayton, N.C. that is expected to open in 2021.
TUSCALOOSA, ALA. — Capstone Real Estate Investments (CREI) has acquired Parker 301, a student housing community located near the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The community has been rebranded The Preserve at Tuscaloosa and is set to undergo substantial renovations and repositioning within the market. Renovations will include updates to all units and the addition of one- and two-bedroom floor plans; updates to the community’s clubhouse; an expansion of the property’s business center to include private study rooms; the addition of a new dog park; and a refresh of the swimming pool area. A timeline for renovations and terms of the acquisition were undisclosed.
RANSON, W.VA. — Heidenberg Properties Group and Strategic Real Estate Partners have opened the 22,000-square-foot Marshalls at The Potomac Marketplace in Ranson. In March, the two companies announced they reached a leasing agreement with The TJX Cos., the parent company of Marshalls, and would need to immediately expand the center between Kohl’s and Petco. The center now spans 379,000 square feet following the expansion. Marshalls joins other retail tenants such as AT&T, Weis Markets, Kohl’s, Petco and The Home Depot.
