HOUSTON — Houston-based LMI Capital, a Real Estate Capital Alliance (RECA) member, has arranged two loans for a pair of apartment properties totaling 560 units in the Houston area. In the first transaction, Kurt Dennis of LMI Capital placed a $9.5 million acquisition loan for a 120-unit complex in the Humble submarket. In the second deal, Brandon Brown of LMI Capital arranged a supplemental agency loan for a 440-unit asset in the Alief submarket. Supplemental agency loans offer subordinate financing options for multifamily properties with existing agency mortgage loans. The borrowers and property names were not disclosed.
HOUSTON — Lee & Associates has negotiated a 13,280-square-foot industrial lease in Houston. Mike Spears, Robert McGee and Mason Alsbrooks of Lee & Associates represented the landlord, 6811-6815 Gant Road LLC, in the lease negotiations. The tenant was Black Diamond Real Estate Inc., a Virginia-based property management firm.
MINNEAPOLIS — Starwood Capital Group has purchased the 57-story Wells Fargo Center in downtown Minneapolis for $315 million. Blackstone and Hines sold the office tower, which was designed by Cesar Pelli and completed in 1987. The property is home to an indoor pedestrian promenade with a 100-foot-high ceiling rotunda and a lobby. Tenants include a Wells Fargo branch bank, accounting firm KPMG and investment firm Castlelake LP. Starwood plans to renovate the building and add amenities.
BOLINGBROOK, ILL. — Ulta Beauty has expanded its corporate headquarters in Bolingbrook by 70,720 square feet. The company now leases nearly 379,000 square feet at Tallgrass Corporate Center, which is a 533,365-square-foot Class A office building. Middleton Partners, the landlord, is adding a new tenant lounge in the building. Existing amenities include a fitness center, conference center, cafeteria and outdoor walking path. Ulta Beauty has maintained its headquarters at Tallgrass Corporate Center since 2008. Francis Prock, Dave Florent and Brent Jacob of Colliers International represented Middleton Partners in the lease expansion.
MILWAUKEE — MLG Capital has acquired Frederick Lofts in Milwaukee for $16 million. The 100-unit multifamily complex is located in The Brewery neighborhood. Amenities include a resident clubhouse, fitness center, yoga room, media room, underground parking and rooftop deck. MLG Capital plans to upgrade the unit interiors in order to maintain the property’s Class A status.
DETROIT — Union Joints will anchor the new Little Caesars world headquarters campus expansion at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Columbia Street in Detroit. The 14,000-square-foot restaurant will feature a second-floor patio that faces Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers. Level One Bank has secured construction financing and completion is slated for the end of the year. Union Joints is an independent restaurant group that owns and operates nine locations, including The Clarkston Union, Union General Store, Union Woodshop, Vinsetta Garage, Fenton Fire Hall, Pumphouse Custard, Honcho, Gran Castor and Bunkhouse Burgers. The company is based in Clarkston, Mich. and is known for its mac and cheese.
MILLARD, NEB. — Darland Construction Co. has broken ground on the new CHI Health Clinic Millard, a 38,844-square-foot facility near Omaha. The clinic will feature 59 exam rooms and focus on primary care with specialties of radiology, ultrasound, behavioral health, nutrition and physical therapy. The property will be located south of an existing clinic near 153rd and Q streets. A partnership between CHI Health and Denver-based NexCore Group is developing the project. Completion is slated for spring 2020.
SECAUCUS, N.J.— New York Life Real Estate Investors, on behalf of New York Life Insurance Company, has provided a $115 million loan to refinance The Harper at Harmon Meadow, a 469-unit multifamily community in Secaucus, across the Hudson River from Midtown Manhattan. Located at 100 Park Plaza Drive, the newly constructed community is part of the master-planned Harmon Meadow mixed-use development, which includes apartments, dining, hotels, shopping and entertainment. Amenities at The Harper at Harmon Meadow include club lounges, fitness facilities in each building, saltwater swimming pool, outdoor athletic course and yoga studio. The community features studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments. Rents at the community start at $1,975 for studio units, $2,255 for one-bedroom units and $2,910 for two-bedroom units. New York Life Real Estate Investors provided the financing to property owner Hartz Mountain Industries Inc. Terms of the financing were not disclosed. “The property’s location in the mixed-use Harmon Meadow development and the nearby transportation links create an outstanding live-work-play environment with excellent access,” says Keith Duane, director in New York Life Real Estate Investors’ Northeast office. — David Cohen
The greater Boston retail market experienced a substantial rise in the vacancy rate to 9.5 percent through June 2018, reflecting an 11.3 percent increase in unoccupied space, compared to a level of 8.6 percent in 2017. At the same time, total inventory ended the year at 196 million square feet, a gain of 1 percent, nearly the same square footage as the increase in vacant space. This resulted in a nominal negative absorption rate of only 21,900 square feet. A considerable number of large format store closings and chain liquidations were responsible for the disappointing outcome, which could have been even worse without a significant number of retail conversions to non-retail space cushioning the impact. The retailer gaining the most retail space in the region was Wegmans, adding a two-level store at Natick Mall and a second unit at the redeveloped Meadow Glen in Medford. In second place was 7-Eleven, completing its brand conversion from Tedeschi Food Shops, which it acquired in 2015. Market Basket rounded out the top three, adding new stores in Lynn and Fall River. By number of new units, 7-Eleven added 68, the most of any retailer. Metro PCS was a distant second, adding 16 stores …
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Starwood Capital Group, Crescent Real Estate LLC and High Street Capital Partners will develop a two-tower, dual-branded hotel situated on 1.3 acres directly across from Music City Center, a $625 million convention center in downtown Nashville that opened in 2013. The project will consist of a 506-room, 30-story Embassy Suites by Hilton and a 215-room, 18-story 1Hotel Tower, Starwood’s signature brand. The two hotel towers will be connected via a four-story lobby, conference center, public street-level dining and retail space and a rooftop bar. The joint venture will break ground on the hotels in the second quarter of this year.