LOS ANGELES — PSRS has arranged a $4.4 million loan for Kenmore Commons, an apartment building located in the Koreatown area of Los Angeles. The building features 22 recently renovated units. William DeFanti of PSRS’ Los Angeles office secured the high-leverage, non-recourse loan, which features no prepayment penalty after the 12th month. The borrower was not disclosed.
ORION TOWNSHIP, MICH. — General Motors is investing $300 million in its Orion Township assembly plant to produce a new Chevrolet electric vehicle. The investment will bring 400 new jobs to the plant, which is located approximately 40 miles north of Detroit. The announcement is part of GM’s new commitment to invest a total of $1.8 billion in its U.S. manufacturing operations, creating 700 new jobs and supporting 28,000 jobs across six states. The Orion plant currently builds the Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle, along with the Chevrolet Sonic and test vehicles for the Cruise autonomous vehicle.
SEWARD, NEB. — Scoular, an Omaha-based company that offers supply chain solutions for grain, feed and food ingredients suppliers, has unveiled plans to build a new freeze-drying manufacturing facility in Seward. The facility will establish Scoular’s new freeze-dried pet food ingredients platform. Scoular will invest approximately $50 million to build the facility, which is expected to create nearly 100 new jobs. A groundbreaking ceremony is expected to take place in June. Construction of the 105,000-square-foot building will take approximately 14 to 16 months to complete and be operational by early fall 2020. An indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of the company will construct the facility.
PLAINFIELD, IND. — A joint venture between Distribution Realty Group LLC and a private real estate fund advised by Crow Holdings Capital have unveiled plans to develop a 338,520-square-foot speculative industrial building in Plainfield. The property will be located at 9500 Bradford Road and known as Plainfield Distribution Center. The building will feature a clear height of 32 feet, LED lighting, up to 74 dock doors and 67 trailer stalls. Brian Buschuk and Steve Schwegman of JLL will market the property for lease. Arco Murray will serve as general contractor.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — The Cheesecake Factory is coming to Woodland Mall in Grand Rapids as part of the repositioning of the shopping center, according to PREIT, the mall’s owner. This is the second location in the state of Michigan for The Cheesecake Factory. The first location in the state was in Novi. The restaurant will occupy 8,500 square feet at Woodland Mall and is expected to open in late October. Other new tenants include Black Rock Bar & Grill, Von Maur, Urban Outfitters, REI and Tricho Salon. Von Maur is set to open this fall in the former Sears space. As the second largest redevelopment underway in PREIT’s portfolio, Woodland Mall is expected to generate nearly 20 percent growth in net operating income (NOI) in 2020, according to the company.
INDIANAPOLIS — FM Capital has provided a $6 million bridge loan for the acquisition of a retail center in Indianapolis. The 182,056-square-foot property is comprised of two buildings and an outparcel. The asset is approximately 89 percent occupied. Tenants include Shoppers World, Dollar Tree and Dollar General. The borrower was not disclosed.
ATLANTA AND DALLAS — Cousins Properties Inc. (NYSE: CUZ) and Dallas-based TIER REIT Inc. (NYSE: TIER), two of the larger office development and investment firms in the country, have entered into an all-stock merger agreement. The combined company, which will retain the Cousins name, will have an equity market capitalization of $5.9 billion and a total market cap of $7.8 billion. Following the merger, the company will continue to function as a Class A office REIT with a combined portfolio of approximately 21 million square feet spread across various markets in the Southeast and Southwest. Both firms are active in leading office markets like Atlanta, where Cousins is based, as well as Charlotte, Dallas and Austin. Cousins owns several trophy assets in Atlanta’s Buckhead area, including 3348 and 3350 Peachtree, which have about 670,000 square feet combined, as well as 816 Congress and 303 Colorado in downtown Austin. TIER REIT owns 3354 Peachtree, a 560,000-square-foot building in Atlanta, as well as the 40-story Burnett Plaza in Fort Worth and the 1.5 million-square-foot Domain office building in Austin. Under terms of the agreement, Cousins will issue 2.98 shares of common stock in exchange for each share of TIER stock. That rate …
The Raleigh and overall Triangle retail markets ended 2018 in a strong position with several large sites changing hands, urban growth booming in the downtowns, numerous suburban ground-up projects in the pipeline and traditional malls undergoing major transitions. The market is poised to see retail construction activity grow with a healthy balance of supply and demand, despite national brick-and-mortar retail industry challenges. The Triangle vacancy rate ended the year with a vacancy rate below 7 percent, which represents strong improvement from the end of 2017, even with accounting for the large-scale closing and downsizings in the Triangle. Positive absorption over the past year has included re-leasing 12 Kroger stores, two Gander Mountains, five hhgregg stores and several other significant box vacancies. Fierce grocery competition and continued pressure on “in-store” sales have caused retailers, owners and developers to rethink and recreate the retail experience and development landscape. Downtown urban centers Rapid multifamily and housing gentrification in the downtowns of Raleigh and Durham continue to push mixed-use and high-street retail. With residential and employment densification occurring, Raleigh has experienced several first-time retail events in 2018. Morgan Street Food Hall and Urban Outfitters opened in the Warehouse District, Publix is under construction on …
SAN DIEGO — Multifamily properties in San Diego are in high demand — and not just among Millennials and empty nesters who long for convenience, walkability and beautiful ocean views. Panelists at InterFace Conference Group’s San Diego Multifamily Conference, held March 19 at the Sheraton Hotel & Marina, viewed this market as a hot one… if you can get in. “There hasn’t been a ton of multifamily transaction activity in San Diego,” said Aldon Cole, senior managing director at HFF and moderator of the “Who’s Lending?” panel. “It’s an interesting market that we’re all trying to navigate. We have to adapt in a low-trade environment.” San Diego’s reputation for being a stable market and one where people want to be are two of the factors contributing to this lack of opportunity. “During the last downturn, San Diego was the most stable market,” noted Mark Gleiberman, CEO of MG Properties Group and Developers/Owners panelist. “It always tends to be one of the most stable markets that we’re in. It’s not totally resistant to a downturn, but San Diego tends to fare better in most recessions than other markets.” Desirability paired with strong market fundamentals has created a very competitive landscape among …
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — HFF has brokered the sale of The Village at Camp Bowie, an 180,000-square-foot retail center in Fort Worth. Anchored by Sprouts Farmers Market, the property was 89 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants such as Verizon Wireless, Keller Williams Realty, Tuesday Morning and Orangetheory Fitness. Jim Batjer, Barry Brown, Ryan Shore and Aaron Johnson of HFF represented the seller, a joint venture between Lincoln Property Co. and Boston-based Long Wharf Capital. The buyer was brokerage and investment firm Dunhill Partners Inc.