TUCSON, ARIZ. — Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR has brokered the sale of the 123,394-square-foot industrial building located at 3430 E. 36th St. in Tucson. The sales price was $8.6 million. A company doing business as Arto 3430 LLC acquired the property, which is known locally as the former Sam Levitz building, from a company operating under the name 36th & Palo Verde Investors LLC. Arto Brick, a manufacturer of handmade ceramic, porcelain and concrete tiles, pavers and brick veneers, will occupy the property in an effort to expand its California manufacturing operations into the Tucson market. Stephen Cohen and Paul Hooker of Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR represented the seller in the transaction, while Rick Borane of Volk Co. represented the buyer in the deal.
Digital Realty Agrees to Buy Blackstone’s Stake in Northern Virginia Data Center Portfolio for $3.5B
MANASSAS AND STERLING, VA. — Data center firm Digital Realty has agreed to purchase a $3.5 billion equity stake in three data centers located in the Northern Virginia cities of Sterling and Manassas from Blackstone-affiliated funds. The portfolio maintains a gross value of $7.8 billion, reflecting an expected initial stabilized capitalization rate of over 6.5 percent. The portfolio is comprised of three data centers — two in Manassas, one in Sterling — which each contain 96 megawatts of IT capacity. Digital Realty will purchase Blackstone’s 80 percent interest in the Manassas properties and 50 percent interest in the Sterling facility, including assumed debt and remaining capital expenditures to complete the ongoing development. Two of the data centers are expected to stabilize in the first half of 2027 while the third is anticipated to stabilize in 2028. The data centers are all fully leased for 15 years to investment-grade hyperscale customers, and rent will escalate annually by 3.6 percent. The transaction will see Digital Realty pay Blackstone $1.2 billion in cash as well as $2.3 billion in Digital Realty shares for a blended 64 percent equity interest in the properties. Digital Realty was an original partner in the $7 billion joint …
By Matthew Auchincloss With prices of construction materials perpetually up across the board and labor shortages persisting, multifamily developers have long been searching for new ways to improve efficiency both in pre-planning and in actual construction. That’s unlikely to change any time soon. But the quest for elevated efficiency has recently taken a number of different forms, according to Nikolas Fowler, a multifamily project executive at Birmingham, Ala.-based general contractor Hoar Construction. “What you’re starting to see is more use of off-site construction, whether it’s traditional volumetric modular or panelized or bathroom pods or some of the other things that are out there today,” says Fowler. “As more and more people realize the advantages of those systems and we have more and more challenges with labor, you’re going to continue to see people looking for new innovative ways to make those projects pencil out.” Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. Construction is historically not a very innovative industry. According to research from McKinsey, construction is the second-least digitally updated industry for the modern era; the first is agriculture and hunting. “One didn’t change for thousands of years, the other didn’t …
KATY, TEXAS — Local developer Sueba USA has completed Boardwalk Square, a 353-unit apartment community located west of Houston in Katy. The midrise building features 20 open-concept floor plans including studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts. Units range in size from 496 to 2,088 square feet and feature quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, full-size washers and dryers and walk-in closets. Amenities include a CrossFit-inspired athletic club, recovery room with dry sauna and cold plunge, pool with tanning ledges and poolside cabanas, pet spa, catering kitchen and a coffee bar. Rents start at $1,265 per month for a studio apartment. Construction began in spring 2024.
HOUSTON — NewQuest has broken ground on a 163,456-square-foot retail project in northwest Houston. The project will feature two junior anchor spaces within The Grand at 249, the local developer’s $90 million project located at the interchange of the Grand Parkway and the Tomball Tollway. The spaces, which are expected to be available for occupancy by mid-2027, are preleased to Dick’s Sporting Goods, Ross Dress for Less, Burlington, Dollar Tree, Cavender’s, Petco, Sephora, Bath & Body Works and Milano’s Nails.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Lee & Associates has negotiated a 78,272-square-foot industrial lease in North Fort Worth. The tenant is Wistron Corp., a provider of high-tech communications products and services, and the space is located within Building H at 35 Eagle Center. Trey Fricke and Reid Bassinger of Lee & Associates represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Bob Scully and Steve Trese of CBRE represented the landlord, an entity doing business as Alpha Industrial Properties.
CLARENDON, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 49-room hotel in the West Texas city of Clarendon. Built on 2.4 acres in 2004, the hotel is operated under the Best Western Plus brand and offers amenities such as an indoor pool, business center, fitness center and meeting space. Gordon Allred and Chris Gomes of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller in the transaction and procured the buyer.
COMMERCIAL POINT, OHIO — Scannell Properties has broken ground on the first phase of a logistics park in Commercial Point, a southern suburb of Columbus. The 1.2 million-square-foot speculative building will feature a clear height of 40 feet, 60 dock doors and four drive-in doors. The development marks Scannell’s ninth in the central Ohio region. Completion is slated for April 2027. Joel Yakovac of Colliers is handling leasing.
MIDDLETON, WIS. — SRS Real Estate Partners has brokered the $39.1 million sale of a four-story, 197,860-square-foot office property in Middleton. A tenant since 2008, University of Wisconsin Health Administrative Services occupies the entire property and recently signed a new 20-year lease. John Redfield and John Battle of Lee & Associates represented the seller, a California-based private owner. The buyer was ASG Equities.
PHOENIX — Tides Equities has sold Tides on McDowell, a multifamily community located at 4620 W. McDowell Road in Phoenix, to Houston-based Nitya Capital for $41 million. Jesse Hudson, Logan Baca and Chris Michl of Northmarq’s Phoenix office represented the Los Angeles-based seller in the transaction. Built in 1985 on 13 acres, Tides on McDowell features 27 two-story buildings with studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans. The property features a mix of renovated, partially upgraded and original-condition units. Amenities include a pool, soccer field, playground, leasing office, fitness center, outdoor grilling area, clubhouse, laundry facilities and gated access.