Property Type

The terms “experiential retail” and “mixed-use development” are both thrown around heavily in the context of 21st century commercial real estate. As buzzwords for the changing landscape of retail real estate and encapsulations of the preferences of millennials, the terms are as popular in their usage as they are arbitrary in their application. Is an apartment building with a ground-floor restaurant or coffee shop really considered mixed-use? Is it actually legitimate to think of buying shoes or jewelry as an experience? The answer varies depending on who’s asked. But the fact remains that dividing lines between certain property classes are beginning to blur. Increasingly, office and multifamily projects are designed to include food, drink and entertainment options, which have become the only real common denominators among mixed-use projects. Given that those three facets of retail involve spending on one-time, consumable products and services, they have become the face of experiential shopping and spending. Integrating retail development into mixed-use projects, as opposed to standalone shopping centers or pad sites, comes with its own unique challenges: parking, noise restrictions and sourcing contractors that specialize in build-outs for multiple property types, to name a few. But developers realize that no matter how much …

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CHICAGO — Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has arranged a $74.8 million loan for the repositioning of the Hard Rock Hotel located at 230 N. Michigan Ave. in Chicago. Property owner Becker Ventures and manager Aparium Hotel Group plan to reposition the property as the St. Jane Chicago hotel following the closing of the Hard Rock Hotel on Dec.1. The newly branded property is scheduled to reopen in spring 2018. The new name is a nod to social worker Jane Addams, who co-founded Chicago’s Hull House in 1889. The settlement house opened to European immigrants and provided social and educational programs. Built in 1929 and designed by the Burnham Brothers, the historic Carbide & Carbon building features 37 stories. Renovations will consist of updated interiors with the addition of a rooftop bar and lounge, full-service restaurant, market café, cocktail bar and 11,000 square feet of meeting and event space. In addition to 363 guest rooms, St. Jane Chicago will feature luxury suites on floors 25 and above known as The Tower at St. Jane. A reason for the repositioning was not provided, but Crain’s Chicago Business reports that competition in the neighborhood was the catalyst for the makeover. Ben Greazel of …

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DALLAS — With roughly 10,000 new residents moving into the metro area every month and more than 100,000 jobs already created in 2017, the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex appears poised to handle any challenges thrown at its multifamily sector. These obstacles include absorbing the 35,000 or so multifamily units expected to come on line in 2018, maintaining positive rent growth of 3 to 4 percent and navigating a constricting labor market to ensure new projects stay on schedule. For the real estate professionals who spoke on these issues at the InterFace Multifamily Texas conference on Sept. 13 at the Westin Galleria hotel in Dallas, there wasn’t much dissension as to whether the market can handle these tasks. The bigger question among the panelists was what, if anything, could crash the party. Moderator Rob Key, senior vice president at HFF, invited the four panelists — all of whom work for DFW-based firms that offer investment platforms — to share their insights on what they believe is the single-biggest threat to the continued growth and prosperity of DFW’s multifamily market. Kim Radaker, managing principal of The Exponential Property Group of Cos., identified rising property taxes stemming from higher sales prices as her biggest …

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DALLAS — Dallas-based MedProperties Holdings has acquired a portfolio of 17 healthcare properties totaling 620,750 square feet from Chicago-based private equity firm Harrison Street for approximately $230 million. Seven properties are located in Texas: Abilene Surgery Center and Hospital in Abilene; Texas Rehabilitation Hospital of Arlington in Arlington; Grand Parkway MOB in Richmond; Williams Way MOB in Richmond; Conroe Medical Plaza in Conroe; Kingwood Medical Plaza in Kingwood; and Lake Granbury Medical Center in Granbury. None of the five assets in the Houston area were significantly affected by Hurricane Harvey. The other properties in the sold portfolio are located in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Missouri and Kentucky. Chris Bodnar and Lee Asher of CBRE represented Harrison Street in the sale. Erik Tellefson and Jon Buehner of Capital One originated senior debt financing for the transaction. David Selznick and Andrew Smith of Kayne Anderson originated mezzanine debt for the acquisition. MedProperties Holdings’ portfolio of healthcare assets now totals roughly 3.4 million square feet across 20 states.

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CARROLLTON, TEXAS — High Street Residential (HSR) and partner Olympus Property have broken ground on Phase III of Union at Carrollton Square, a 352-unit apartment community in the Dallas metro of Carrollton. One- and two-bedroom units at the property, which will also feature 4,025 square feet of ground-floor retail space, will range in size from 381 to 1,149 square feet. Amenities will include a business center with multiple conference rooms, a pool, fitness center and multiple courtyards. The first units of Phase III are slated for fourth-quarter 2018 occupancy.

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HOUSTON — HFF has arranged the sale of Apex Distribution Center, a 410,600-square-foot, Class A industrial property in Houston’s Northwest Industrial submarket. Situated on 24.7 acres at 5750 Brittmoore Road and 10618-10634 Tanner Road, the three-building property offers access to Interstate 10, State Highway 290 and Loop 610. Trent Agnew and Rusty Tamlyn of HFF represented the seller, Dallas-based Crow Holdings Industrial, in the transaction. Toronto-based WPT Industrial REIT purchased the asset for an undisclosed price.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ally Financial has signed on to anchor a 742,000-square-foot mixed-use project in Uptown Charlotte. Crescent Communities will break ground on Ally Charlotte Center at 601 S. Tryon St. in the first quarter of 2018. Ally Financial will lease 400,000 square feet and is expected to move to the new space when the building delivers in 2021. In addition to office space, plans for the 26-story tower include ground-level retail and restaurant space, a parking garage and a hotel. The building is situated near a LYNX light rail system stop and Interstate 277. Chase Monroe and Chris Schaaf of JLL represented Ally in the lease transaction, and Charley Leavitt and Barry Fabyan of JLL represented Crescent Communities. The Charlotte-based company specializes in the development of residential and mixed-use communities, including Piedmont Town Center, Coliseum Centre and the River District in Charlotte.

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SPARROWS POINT, MD. — FedEx Ground, the small package delivery unit of FedEx Corp., has opened a new distribution facility at Tradepoint Atlantic, a 3,100-acre global logistics center in Sparrows Point, roughly 15 miles southeast of Baltimore. The 307,000-square-foot facility connects existing FedEx Ground stations located in White Marsh and Halethorpe, and will support approximately 275 full- and part-time jobs, as well as 150 contracted service providers. FedEx occupies 50 acres within the northwest portion of the site, with close proximity to Interstate 695. JLL is the exclusive broker for Tradepoint Atlantic.

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LEWISVILLE, TEXAS — Disney Investment Group (DIG) has closed the sale of Lakepointe Towne Crossing, a 196,630-square-foot retail power center located at 709-735 Hebron Parkway in the Dallas metro of Lewisville. Anchored by Ross Dress for Less and Party City and shadow-anchored by Super Target, the property was 62 percent leased at the time of sale. DIG represented the seller, Retail Properties of America, in the transaction and procured the undisclosed buyer.

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GAITHERSBURG, MD. — Buchanan Partners, in a joint venture with Elion Partners, has acquired a 700,000-square-foot industrial portfolio in suburban Washington, D.C. A joint venture between Ares Capital Corp. and Adler Group sold the assets for $81.2 million. The 14-building portfolio is spread across three different office parks along the Route 28 corridor in Northern Virginia: 3680-3863 Centerview Road in Dulles Business Park, 14420-14434 Albemarle Point Place in Westfields North and 14280-14290 Sullyfield Circle in Sullyfield Business Park. The new ownership plans to implement capital improvements, including landscaping and amenities, and will lease and manage the properties.

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