HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — A joint venture between MGold Properties and Mishorim Real Estate Investments has sold University Place, a 169,585-square-foot retail center in Huntsville, for $27 million. University Place was fully leased at the time of the sale to tenants including Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Armed Forces Career Center, Zaxby’s, Panda Express, Red Wing Shoes, Republic Finance, T-Mobile and Subway. The property sits on 17.2 acres at 6125 University Drive along U.S. Highway 72, about six miles west of downtown Huntsville. Kyle Stonis and Pierce Mayson of SRS’ Investment Properties Group represented the seller in the transaction. The buyer, Colterra Capital Corp., was self-represented.
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ATLANTA — Woodbine Legacy Investments (WLI) has completed a $20 million renovation of W Atlanta-Buckhead, a 12-story, 291-room hotel in Atlanta’s Buckhead district. The renovation began in May 2018. Guest accommodations — 286 guest rooms, four WOW Suites and one EWOW Suite — were enhanced with new headboards, armoires, damask wallcoverings and carpeting, 55-inch TVs, in-room Nespresso machines, beverage bar and artwork throughout. Communal renovations included new furnishings, an upgraded lobby and living room, upgraded fitness center and added Wi-Fi and meeting space throughout the hotel. The design team included architect and interior designer C+TC Studio, which designed the hotel’s rooftop bar, Whiskey Blue; interior designer Studio 11, which designed the lobby; and general contractor Genoa Construction. A second phase of renovation is planned for later this year, which will focus on updating the hotel’s restaurant, Cook Hall.
GLEN BURNIE, MD. — Continental Realty Corp. has acquired Governors Commons, a 129,242-square-foot shopping center in Glen Burnie, for $16.2 million. Governors Commons was fully leased at the time of sale to tenants including Gavigan’s Furniture, Pep Boys, Sake Japanese Steakhouse, Goodwill Industries and Dollar Tree. The property is located at 7311 Ritchie Highway, nine miles south of downtown Baltimore. Mathew Adler, Geoffrey Millerd and Chris Huesgen of Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) arranged the transaction. The seller was not disclosed. Joe Donato of NKF arranged acquisition financing.
Relative to past cycles, the multifamily market of the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area has seen a record number of new deliveries of Class A product over the last four years. The metro’s population has grown significantly during the current economic expansion. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of the city of McAllen alone has increased by 9.5 percent over the past decade. Combined with a relatively low cost of living throughout the region, the market’s natural growth has prompted greater demand for multifamily product while also allowing more residents to gravitate to higher-quality housing. With demand rising over the last few years and developers adding record volumes of new supply in order to meet it, 2019 purports to be a year in which developers focus more on leasing up existing projects rather than greenlighting or breaking ground on new ones. To better understand the depth of supply additions to this market between over the last four years, consider fluctuations in the vacancy rate. Vacancy Movement In 2014, just before the building boom began, the market had a vacancy rate of 5.5 percent. At the peak of the construction cycle, which occurred in mid-2017, vacancy stood close to 14.5 percent. …
LAKE CHARLES, LA. — A joint venture between Lotte Chemical USA (KRX: KRW) and Westlake Chemical Corp. (NYSE: WLK) has opened a new chemical plant in Lake Charles, located in the southwest corner of Louisiana near the Texas border. Development costs for the 250-acre campus were estimated at $3.1 billion. The chemical plant produces monoethylene glycol — commonly called MEG — an important ingredient in the making of paper, textile fibers, latex paints, asphalt, resins, antifreeze, coolants and adhesives. With an annual capacity of 700,000 metric tons, the new facility is now the largest MEG plant in the world. South Korea-based Lotte and Houston-Based Westlake expect the plant to generate 250 permanent jobs. According to the Louisiana Economic Development office, approximately 2,000 “indirect jobs” have also been created as a result of this project. “Among Korean petrochemical companies, Lotte Chemical is the first to locate a project in the United States. As such, this project represents a significant investment by Lotte Chemical,” says Jinkoo Hwang, president and CEO of Lotte Chemical USA. “Today also marks the opening of our new corporate headquarters in Lake Charles, and we are very excited to be part of the industrial growth in the region.” …
The U.S. industrial market has now recorded more than 240 million square feet of net absorption for four consecutive years, the strongest run on record, with an all-time high of 284.9 million square feet in 2018, according to Cushman & Wakefield. In New York City, the largest consumer market in the United States, the current industrial supply of approximately 170 million square feet remains heavily constrained, especially around the region’s transportation hubs. Nowhere is the demand for industrial product more apparent than in the area surrounding John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, which handles more than 1.3 million tons of air freight every year, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. JFK is the second busiest air cargo airport on the East Coast behind Miami International Airport and just ahead of Newark International Airport. “There’s really not a lot of land near JFK,” says David Hercman, director of asset management at Long Island-based Milvado Property Group. “So, whatever supply is there is there.” Time-sensitive industrial users like freight forwarders, which organize shipments from manufacturers or producers overseas, need to be close to the airport in order to get products to the end user as quickly as …
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Hardware manufacturer Stanley Black & Decker will open a 425,000-square-foot manufacturing plant at AllianceTexas in Fort Worth. The facility will be used to produce a range of tools and devices sold under the Connecticut-based company’s CRAFTSMAN line for homebuilders and mechanics. The groundbreaking of the plant, which is expected to employ approximately 500 people, will be held this summer, with construction slated for a late 2020 completion. Stanley Black & Decker, which operates roughly 30 manufacturing plants across the country, is also in the process of opening a 1.2 million-square-foot distribution center in nearby Northlake.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — A partnership between South Florida-based investment firm PointOne Holdings and Cleveland-based developer/general contractor NRP Group will develop The Knoll at South Congress, a 308-unit multifamily community in Austin. Units at the Class A property, which will be situated on 13.3 acres, will feature stone countertops, designer cabinetry, stainless steel appliances and hardwood-style flooring. Amenities will include a pool, fitness center, resident clubhouse, business center, dog park and spa, sky lounge and package concierge service. Construction is expected to begin in the next few weeks.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Stream Realty Partners has arranged the sale of a 217,565-square-foot industrial property located at 10705 North Freeway in Fort Worth. According to Commercial Real Estate Exchange Inc., the property, which fronts Interstate 35, spans six buildings across 54.9 acres that feature 14- to 25-foot clear heights. Seth Koschak and Forrest Cook of Stream Realty Partners represented the buyer, M2G Ventures, in the transaction. Michael Newsome and Todd Hubbard of NAI Robert Lynn represented the seller, KLM Partners.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Locally based developer Gardner Tanenbaum Holdings (GTH) is underway on construction of a 156,000-square-foot industrial facility in Oklahoma City for Corken Inc., a provider of pumps and compressors. Situated within the 104-acre Britton Road Commerce Park, the property offers convenient access to Interstate 35. Corken will utilize the facility, which is expected to be complete in late 2019, for manufacturing and office uses. Metropolitan Capital Advisors arranged debt for the project through Centennial Bank.