NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the $2 million sale of a retail property in Astoria, Queens. Located at 31-79 Steinway St., the 2,250-square-foot property is a single-story retail building with a full basement. The property offers an additional 4,500 square feet of air rights for future development. Stephen Preuss and Andreas Efthymiouof Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Steinway Sports & Recreation Center Inc., in the transaction. The buyer was ABS Partners Real Estate, a locally based investment firm.
PITTSBURGH, PA. — CBRE has arranged an office lease for Kennametal Inc. at an office tower in Pittsburgh’s central business district. Located at 525 William Penn Place, the 900,000-square-foot, 41-story office property is owned by investment group FAC 525. The tower is Pittsburgh’s fourth-largest office building in the CBD. Major capital improvements are nearing completion as part of a rebranding and redevelopment initiative at the property, including a complete lobby renovation, fitness center and reserved tenant parking.CBRE represented FAC 525 in the deal. Avison Young represented Kennametal in the lease transaction, the size of which was not disclosed.
The combined forces of population growth, increased online shopping and demand for last-mile fulfillment centers are driving development of and investment in industrial assets in major markets. Natural population growth translates to more aggregate demand and consumption of goods and services. The rise of e-commerce has guaranteed that a growing percentage of those products will be ordered online and delivered to end users within a few days, hence the need for more fulfillment and distribution facilities near major population centers. The metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) of Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and Houston are home to a combined 13 million or so people and counting. Both MSAs have seen major upticks in industrial development over the last several years while also posting record absorption numbers. And despite some vast differences between the industries and users driving demand in DFW and Houston, both markets reflect how sweeping changes in consumer behavior have elevated the fundamentals of their industrial real estate inventories. Regardless how different their economies are, demand for space in both markets should remain robust in 2019. By The Numbers According to CoStar Group, DFW posted positive net absorption of approximately 20 million square feet in 2018, a year in which inventory …
IRVING, TEXAS — Following a merger with the parent company of the Chuck E. Cheese brand, London-based Leo Holdings Corp. plans to rebrand itself and take the new company public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “CEC.” The enterprise value of the combined company, which will be known as Chuck E. Cheese Brands Inc., is estimated at $1.4 billion. Leo Holdings, which is self-described as a special purpose acquisition firm, has entered into a “definitive business combination agreement” with Queso Holdings Corp., which is the parent company of CEC Entertainment Inc., the owner, operator and leading franchisor of the family dining and entertainment brand Chuck E. Cheese. The other principal in the merger agreement is Queso’s controlling stockholder, an entity owned by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE: APO), a publicly traded equity firm based in New York. CEC Entertainment is based in the Dallas suburb of Irving and also owns, operates and franchises Peter Piper Pizza, a family dining concept. As of year-end 2018, CEC Entertainment and its franchisees operated a system of 606 Chuck E. Cheese venues and 144 Peter Piper Pizza restaurants, with locations in 47 states and …
OWINGS MILLS, MD. — AvalonBay Communities Inc. will develop Avalon Foundry Row, a 437-unit multifamily community within Foundry Row in Owings Mills, a suburb of Baltimore. Avalon Foundry Row will offer studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Amenities will include a fitness center, clubroom, coworking space, dog parks and a pool. AvalonBay expects to break ground this spring. Greenberg Gibbons and Vanguard are developing Foundry Row, a mixed-use project which includes a 110,000-square-foot Wegmans Food Market, LifeBridge Health, Old Navy, DSW Shoe Warehouse, LA Fitness, Ulta Beauty, HomeGoods, La-Z-Boy, Mission BBQ, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panera Bread.
ATLANTA — Berkadia has brokered the $26 million sale of The Preserve at Collier Ridge, a 419-unit multifamily complex in west Atlanta. The property offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Amenities include a pool, fitness center, playground and a picnic area. The buyer, Montreal-based Frankforter Group, plans to upgrade the fitness center and add a business center and community room. Andrew Mays, Paul Vetter, Judy MacManus and Matthew White of Berkadia represented the seller, Atlanta-based DRI Legacy LLC, in the transaction.
Hunt Real Estate Capital Provides $15.7M Green Acquisition Loan for Apartment Community in Baltimore
BALTIMORE — Hunt Real Estate Capital has provided a $15.7 million Fannie Mae acquisition loan for Park Raven Apartments, a 253-unit community in Baltimore. The 15-year loan includes eight years of interest-only payments and a 30-year amortization schedule. The asset was built in 1949 and renovated in 2006. The property comprises 23 two-story, garden-style buildings. The borrower, Park Raven DNB LLC, plans to implement on-site water and energy conservation measures as part of Fannie Mae’s Green Reward program. The goal is to save more than 30 percent of the combined water and energy usage, including a minimum of 15 percent energy savings. The seller was Park Raven Holdings LLC.
NORFOLK, VA. — HFF has arranged a $13.4 million acquisition loan for The Gates at West Bay Apartments, a 202-unit community in Norfolk. The 10-year, fixed-rate Freddie Mac loan includes five years of interest-only payments. The borrower was a partnership between Brick Lane and Enterprise Community Investment Inc. The Gates at West Bay Apartments comprises 10 two-story buildings and was 95 percent occupied at the time of the sale. Of the 202 units, 99 percent are affordable to low-income units.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Insite Properties has arranged the sale of Forest Park 6, a single-story, 70,000-square-foot office building in Charlotte, for $12.6 million. The asset was fully occupied by three tenants — Camso, Paychex and Lending Tree — at the time of the sale. Built in 2000, the property is situated at 8215 Forest Point Blvd. in the south Charlotte airport submarket. Insite Properties represented the buyer, Longvalley II LLC, in the transaction. Rob Cochran, Jared Londry and Nolan Ashton of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Stream Realty Partners. Insite Properties will provide property management and leasing services for Forest Park 6.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Job aggregator Indeed Inc., which has headquarters in Austin and Stamford, Conn., has signed a 183,911-square-foot office lease at Domain Gateway in Austin. The company will occupy the entirety of the Class A building, which was built in 2009 and is owned by a fund of California-based KBS, following the expiration of the current tenant’s lease. Troy Holme and Katie Ekstrom of CBRE represented KBS in the lease negotiations. CBRE also worked with Todd Chessher Commercial Leasing & Brokerage on behalf of Indeed. The space will ultimately be able to accommodate the 3,000 employees that the company plans to hire in the coming years. A timeline for assuming occupancy was not disclosed. According to local news station KXAN, with this lease, Indeed’s office footprint in Austin is now approaching 1 million square feet.