LAREDO, TEXAS — Stos Partners, a San Diego-based investment and management firm, has acquired a 1.4 million-square-foot industrial portfolio in the border city of Laredo. The sales price was $88 million. The purchase was made via a joint venture with institutional investor Washington Capital Management. The seller of the portfolio, which consists of eight buildings, was an undisclosed, privately held national real estate firm.
WAXAHACHIE, TEXAS — Greystone has closed a $23.7 million HUD loan for Hunter’s Cove Apartments, a 192-unit multifamily community located in the southern Dallas suburb of Waxahachie. The property features one-, two- and three-bedroom units and amenities such as a pool, fitness center, dog park and a resident clubhouse. Ana Ramos of Greystone placed the 30-year loan, which featured a fixed interest rate and a 30-year amortization period. The borrower was not disclosed.
HOUSTON — Sterling Construction Co. has been awarded the design-build contract for Phase I of the Houston Spaceport, a project that will deliver a hub for transporting people and cargo in and out of space. Valued at $17.2 million, Phase I of the project will span 90 acres and deliver infrastructure, including streets, water, and electrical power facilities to the spaceport, which is being developed at Ellington Airport on the city’s southeastern side. Construction is expected to begin during the first quarter of 2019 and to be complete by early 2020.
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS — New York City-based Meridian Capital Group has arranged an $11.5 million acquisition loan for Wilson Plaza, a 270,000-square-foot office building in Corpus Christi. The 17-story property was built in 1927 and is considered the city’s first skyscraper. Jason Grimm, Noam Kaminetzky and Israel Schubert of Meridian Capital placed the five-year loan through a balance sheet lender on behalf of the borrower, The Tridium Group.
CEDAR PARK, TEXAS — Retail Solutions has brokered the sale of a 6,600-square-foot, single-tenant retail property leased to Dave’s Ultimate Automotive in Cedar Park, a northern suburb of Austin. According to LoopNet Inc., the property was built in 1986. Alan Rust and Dave Burggraaf of Retail Solutions represented the seller in the transaction. David Stojanik of NAI Partners represented the buyer. Both parties requested anonymity.
CHICAGO — Kiser Group has brokered the $4.5 million condo deconversion sale of a 20-unit property in Chicago’s East Lincoln Park neighborhood. Originally built in the late 1950s as a condominium development, the property features four studio, 14 one- and two two-bedroom units. The units range from 550 to 1,200 square feet. The property is located at 512 W. Wrightwood Ave. An affiliate of Horizon Realty Group purchased the property from 512 Wrightwood Condominium Association. Under the Condominium Property Act in Illinois, condo unit owners can elect to sell a condo property if 75 percent or more are in agreement.
DEARBORN, MICH. — Friedman Real Estate has arranged the sale of a 33,077-square-foot industrial building in Dearborn for an undisclosed price. The property is located at 13250 Rotunda Drive. Bob Dabrowski, Greg Hornby and Todd Hawley of Friedman represented the seller, Restaurant Leasing LLC. Rotunda Ventures LLC purchased the property.
From large publicly traded companies to mid-size tech companies and small professional services firms, companies are taking notice of the office development and vibrant live-work communities being built in the Lehigh Valley. Located one hour north of Philadelphia and 90 minutes west of New York City, the Lehigh Valley is a two-county region in eastern Pennsylvania consisting of 62 municipalities and the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton. It is the 69th largest metropolitan region in the United States, with a $39.1 billion GDP larger than that of both Wyoming and Vermont. The Lehigh Valley’s total office market inventory currently stands at 26.8 million square feet. There have been 281,250 square feet of office market deliveries in 2018 so far, and another 329,000 are currently under construction. A total of 669,832 square feet of office space was under construction in the Lehigh Valley as of the first quarter of 2018, with the majority of that development in the region’s urban centers. Ninety-six percent of the office buildings constructed in the Lehigh Valley so far this year have been built in either Allentown, Bethlehem, or Easton and all of the 329,000 square feet of office space currently under construction are in …
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A joint venture between private equity firms Durational Capital Management LP and The Jordan Company LP has agreed to acquire chicken-and-biscuits chain Bojangles’ Inc. for $593.7 million in an all-cash transaction. Bojangles’ (NASDAQ: BOJA) stockholders will receive $16.10 in cash for each share held, representing a 15 percent premium to the closing share price of Sept. 27, a day prior to a published report by Reuters that the company was exploring alternatives including a sale. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019 and is subject to shareholder approval. Once the transaction closes, Bojangles’ will operate as an independent, privately held company based in Charlotte. “For the Bojangles’ family of employees, franchisees, and our customers, today’s announcement represents an exciting next phase for this great brand,” says Randy Kibler, Bojangles’ interim president and CEO. “The new ownership group is committed to maintaining the qualities of this brand that have sustained it for over four decades.” Jack Fulk and Richard Thomas founded Bojangles’ in Charlotte in 1977. As of July 1, 2018, the company had 766 locations, of which 325 were company operated and 441 were franchised. The locations are primarily located in the Southeastern United States. “Bojangles’ is …
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s Cos. Inc. (NYSE: LOW) has unveiled its plans to close 20 underperforming stores in the United States as part of its ongoing strategic reassessment. Additionally, the company will close 31 Canadian stores. The Mooresville-based home improvement retailer stated that most associates at these stores will be extended opportunities to transition to a similar role at a nearby Lowe’s store. The majority of affected stores are located within 10 miles of another Lowe’s store. Lowe’s expects to close the impacted stores by Feb. 1, 2019, which is the end of the company’s 2018 fiscal year. The list of the closed stores can be found here. The company intends to conduct store-closing sales for most of the impacted locations, with the exception of select stores in the U.S. that will close immediately. “The store closures are a necessary step in our strategic reassessment as we focus on building a stronger business,” says Marvin Ellison, president and CEO of Lowe’s. Previously the CEO of J.C. Penney, Ellison was appointed over the summer to lead Lowe’s, taking over for Robert Niblock. Shortly after the hire, Lowe’s announced plans to close all 99 Orchard Supply Hardware stores, as well as a …