HOUSTON — Local developer NewForm Real Estate has completed a 50,738-square-foot adaptive reuse project near downtown Houston. The project converted the historic, six-story Commercial National Bank Building at 917 Franklin St., which was originally constructed in 1904, into a modern office facility with 3,390 square feet of retail/restaurant space. The restoration involved exterior façade work, window repairs, masonry cleaning and upgraded lighting. Stream Realty Partners is leasing the office space, and Rebel Retail Advisors is leasing the retail/restaurant space.
FLOWER MOUND, TEXAS — Spring Valley Construction Co. has broken ground on a 17,400-square-foot retail project in Flower Mound, located in the northern-central part of the metroplex. The project represents Phase I of the 40,000-square-foot retail component of Silveron Park, a mixed-use project that will also feature 525,000 square feet of office space and 200 apartments. Weitzman is managing the development and leasing of Silveron Park’s retail space. Thompson Realty Capital is handling the residential and office components.
ELLABELL, GA. — National retailer Burlington Stores Inc. has opened a new 2 million-square-foot distribution center in Ellabell, about 27 miles west of Savannah in Bryan County. The facility, the first distribution center in Georgia for Burlington, is expected to generate 1,500 new jobs at full capacity. In addition to climate-controlled, automated distribution space, the property will offer 40,000 square feet of office space with a full-service cafeteria, fitness center, locker room with showers, meditation room, maternity room and meeting rooms. The retailer also recently broke ground on another nearly 2 million-square-foot distribution center earlier this year in Buckeye, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix. The new distribution centers will support the retailer’s growing network of discount apparel stores. Burlington expects to open approximately 115 net new stores nationwide by the end of fiscal 2026, which ends Jan. 30, 2027. All new stores feature Burlington’s reimagined store layout.
KNOXVILLE, TENN. — A public-private partnership between the University of Tennessee and a newly formed development platform comprising Arctos, RVX Ventures and Magellan Development Group will soon begin the development of Neyland Entertainment District, a $280 million mixed-use village surrounding Neyland Stadium, the home football arena of the University of Tennessee. The waterfront development in Knoxville will feature approximately 100,000 square feet of entertainment space alongside a 24-story hotel and residences, along with a private members club. Arctos is the majority equity investor in the project and is participating as a general partner alongside a sponsor team led by RVX, Magellan and Dixon Greenwood. The construction timeline was not disclosed, but Knoxville News Sentinel reports that construction is expected to begin this summer and include the overhaul of the G10 parking garage, which is a hub of parking and tailgating on game days. The media outlet also reported that the University of Tennessee System Board of Trustees approved a 99-year lease for the development in early May.
NEW YORK CITY — Developer Nasser Freres has received a $375 million construction loan for JFK Boulevard, an 840-unit apartment tower that will be located in the Journal Square area of Jersey City. The building will offer studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, 10 percent of which will be designated as affordable housing. Amenities will include a spa, fitness center, multi-sport court, coworking and library lounges, game and screening rooms, an outdoor pool with sun decks, dog run, pet spa and a rooftop lounge. In addition, JFK Boulevard will feature 50,000 square feet of retail space that will be anchored by an organic grocer. Keith Kurland, Aaron Appel, Adam Schwartz, Jonathan Schwartz, Dustin Stolly, Sean Reimer, Jordan Casella, Christopher de Raet and Jack Krentzman of Walker & Dunlop arranged the floating-rate, interest-only loan through Madison Realty Capital. Completion is slated for early 2029.
COLUMBUS, MISS. — Matthews has arranged the sale of a 76,269-square-foot Kroger grocery store located at 1829 U.S. Highway 45 N in Columbus, about 26 miles east of Starkville, Miss. The seller, an entity doing business as MS Columbus 45 LLC, sold the store to an undisclosed, publicly traded investment firm. Kyle Stonis, Pierce Mayson and Boris Shilkrot of Matthews represented the seller in the transaction. The sales price was not disclosed. Prior to the sale, Kroger committed to an early lease extension through 2041 with plans for a future expansion. The acquisition did not include adjacent inline retail shop space, which is currently under contract with a separate, privately held buyer.
COLD SPRING, KY. — Publix Super Markets has opened a new Publix grocery store in northern Kentucky. The 48,387-square-foot store is located at 5401 Alexandria Pike in Cold Spring, about 11 miles south of Cincinnati. The grocery store anchors Cold Spring Pointe, a 52-acre retail development along U.S. Highway 27 by Mid Atlantic Properties that features a Marshalls, Hobby Lobby, Qdoba, Five Below, Tropical Smoothie Café, AT&T, The UPS Store, Chase Bank and Chick-fil-A. The new Publix features an adjacent Publix Liquors store, as well as a drive-thru pharmacy and its traditional departments including produce, bakery and deli. The Cold Spring store represents the seventh Publix grocery store in Kentucky.
CHICAGO — Glenstar, in a joint venture with a high-net-worth private investor, has acquired 500 W. Monroe, a 966,924-square-foot office tower in Chicago with a 1,300-stall parking garage. The sales price for the all-cash purchase was not disclosed, but Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the asset traded for 76 percent less than it did prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Glenstar will soon launch a hospitality-driven renovation at the property. Plans call for a full lobby transformation followed by additional common area upgrades and the introduction of new amenities. Glenstar plans to introduce Glenstar Connect, its signature app-based tenant engagement program, at the property in the coming months. Built in 1992, 500 W. Monroe rises 44 stories and is located steps from the Union and Ogilvie train stations. According to Glenstar, the property currently offers the largest contiguous block of space available in the West Loop at 572,000 square feet. With the acquisition, Glenstar also assumes the asset and property manager role and has tapped CBRE’s Jason Houze, Greg Tait and Aaron Schuster to oversee leasing.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — PGIM has provided a $58.5 million loan for the refinancing ofOne Brattle Square, an office and retail building located across the Charles River from Boston in Cambridge. The six-story building, which was 99 percent leased at the time of the loan closing, is located within the Harvard Square submarket and features 82,500 square feet of office space and 15,000 square feet of retail space. PGIM provided the floating-rate loan to the borrower, an affiliate of Beacon Capital Partners.
NEW YORK CITY — Locally based intermediary HKS Real Estate Advisors has arranged a $25.8 million loan for the refinancing of a 52,578-square-foot retail building in Queens. The newly developed building at 10-04 Borden Ave. is located in the borough’s Long Island City neighborhood and was fully leased at the time of sale, with iFly and Vibe Fitness serving as the anchor tenants. Daniel Kowalsky of HKS arranged the loan on behalf of the owner, VOREA. Hanover Capital provided the loan.