WEST NEW YORK, BAYONNE, N.J. — Marcus & Millichap has negotiated the sales of two apartment buildings in separate transactions in Hudson County, New Jersey, for a combined $3.5 million. In the first transaction, 5204 Palisade Ave., a 16-unit multifamily building in West New York, sold for $2.5 million. The property was 100 percent occupied at the time of sale. In the second deal, 265 Ave. B in Bayonne sold for $1 million. The property includes eight residential units and one storefront. Fahri Ozturk and Tyler Van Wagoner of Marcus & Millichap’s New Jersey office represented the sellers, both private individuals, in the two transactions.
NEW YORK CITY — HFF has arranged a $260 million construction loan for the development of 202 Broome Street. The 16-story tower will rise at Essex Crossing, a planned mixed-use project on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Evan Pariser, Michael Gigliotti, Scott Aiese, Alex Staikos and Jackie Ferrer of HFF arranged the 42-month loan on behalf of the developer, Delancey Street Associates, a joint venture comprising Taconic Investment Partners, L+M Development Partners, BFC Partners and Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group. Square Mile Capital Management LLC provided the loan. “We continue to see compelling opportunities for debt investments in the New York market,” said Sean Reimer of Square Mile Capital. “The Essex Crossing project is a great example — a transformative development being created by a strong, visionary ownership group.” Upon completion in 2020, 202 Broome Street will include 179,234 square feet of Class A office space, 36,888 square feet of retail space and 83 luxury condominiums. The building will also contain a portion of Market Line, an underground marketplace that will span three city blocks and feature a food hall and a variety of large and small businesses. The historic Essex Street Market will anchor the marketplace. Construction on Essex Crossing …
HOUSTON — After several years of sluggish rent growth, heavy concessions and tepid absorption brought on by the oil slump, investors are returning to Houston’s multifamily market with quite a bang. Rent growth and absorption were particularly weak in the city’s Class A multifamily space over the past few years. But with oil prices stabilizing (currently at about $68 per barrel of West Texas intermediate crude) and overall population growth still booming, multifamily investors are rethinking their positions on the Bayou City. “For the past two or three years, capital had been going elsewhere,” said Bruce McClenny, president of Houston-based research firm Apartment Data Services, during his keynote address at the second annual InterFace Houston Multifamily conference. “But that’s about to change.” Panelists at the event agreed that Houston’s construction pipeline for new apartments is thinning, stabilized properties are being brought to market and sellers are seeing more bids on assets they’re marketing. All this activity points to a previously overbuilt market turning the corner. Multifamily developers, lenders and brokers discussed these trends and others at the conference, held on Tuesday, April 17 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Houston’s Galleria neighborhood. The event drew about 150 real estate professionals. …
The pace of evolution in the retail sector is accelerating in a manner that few would have anticipated even five years ago. E-commerce has proven to be a very powerful disruptor, affecting both retailers and property owners alike. For some who have had the foresight and financial resources to adapt to this change, the disruption has brought opportunities for growth and increased market share. Clearly, not all have been able to adapt — some due to lack of execution and others seemingly caught in circumstances beyond their control. Despite the turbulence within the retail category, overall U.S. retail sales grew a very respectable 4.2 percent during 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The growth is attributed to continuing gains in employment and a marked improvement in economic growth during the second half of the year. On the local level, the Omaha retail market exhibited moderate improvement during 2017, following a year of weak performance in 2016. The market absorbed just over 364,000 square feet during the year (see chart), slightly under the average annual rate of 378,000 square feet for the past five years. The overall vacancy rate decreased from 11.2 percent to 10.5 percent during the year as …
WILLOW GROVE, PA. — J.G. Petrucci Co. has acquired five properties totaling six acres in Willow Grove in separate transactions brokered by CBRE. The sales price was not disclosed. Willow Grove is located about 13 miles north of Philadelphia. The developer plans to build a new $75 million mixed-use development on the site, which will be called Station at Willow Grove. Patrick McCabe of CBRE represented the buyer in all five transactions. The project will include 275 new apartment units and 30,000 square feet of commercial and retail space. Located across from the Willow Grove Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority train station, the development fits J.G. Petrucci’s penchant for transit-oriented residential projects. Construction is scheduled to begin on April 19 and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2019.
LAWRENCE, MASS. — MassHousing has provided $28.8 million in financing to Reed Realty Advisors for the creation of a 180-unit affordable housing community in Lawrence, about 30 miles north of Boston. Reed Realty will redevelop a section of the former Pacific Mills cotton complex into new mixed-income housing that will include 40 workforce housing units for moderate-income households. The project will be called Pac 10 Lofts. MassHousing provided a $14 million tax-exempt permanent loan, a $1 million taxable permanent loan, an $8.8 million tax credit equity bridge loan and $5 million from MassHousing’s $100 million Workforce Housing Initiative. The transaction also involved $1.8 million from an allocation of state historic tax credits, a $3.6 million seller note, a $2.5 million deferred developer fee and $210,000 in financing from the City of Lawrence.
SYRACUSE, ROCHESTER, BUFFALO, N.Y. — Speedway LLC has signed an agreement to purchase 78 Express Mart store locations held by Petr-All Petroleum Consulting Corp. The stores are located primarily in the Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo markets. Following the acquisition, the stores will be rebranded as Speedway locations. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter. Speedway, headquartered in Enon, Ohio, is the nation’s second largest company-owned and operated convenience store chain with approximately 2,740 stores located in 21 states. Speedway is a subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum Corp.
NEW YORK CITY — Ariel Property Advisors has arranged a $6.5 million cash-out refinance loan for four mixed-use properties in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Paul McCormick and Matt Dzbanek of Ariel Property Advisors arranged the five-year, cash-out refinancing at a 75 percent loan-to-value and fixed interest rate of 4 percent for the undisclosed borrower. The four properties include 22 residential and six commercial units. Approximately 30 percent of the owner’s gross income comes from commercial leases.
FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS — JPI has broken ground on Jefferson Alpha West, a 409-unit apartment community in Farmers Branch. The four-story property will be located within the Alpha + Inwood mixed-use development, which will include a 155-room ALOFT hotel, 296,000 square feet of office space and 22,000 square feet of retail space. Residential amenities will include a pool, rooftop lounge, clubhouse and a dog park. Occupancy at Jefferson Alpha West is scheduled for the end of 2019 and completion of the project is slated for mid-2020.
BAYTOWN, TEXAS — Houston-based E.E. Reed Construction LP has completed a 712,740-square-foot warehouse/distribution center situated on 170 acres in the eastern Houston suburb of Baytown. Built on behalf of Ravago Americas, a supplier of rubber and plastic, the property features a tilt-wall configuration, 30,000 square feet of office space, a 200-car railyard and a truck maintenance facility. Houston-based Powers Brown Architecture designed the property.