CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA — NorthMarq Capital has arranged a $4.4 million loan for the refinancing of Cypress Pointe Apartments in Cedar Rapids. The 108-unit multifamily property is located at 211 1st Ave. Jason Kinnison of NorthMarq arranged the loan with a life insurance company. The borrower was not disclosed.
SUGAR LAND AND RICHMOND, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $58 million sale of a portfolio of fully leased medical office properties in the western Houston metros of Sugar Land and Richmond. The portfolio includes Memorial Hermann Surgical Hospital and Physicians Pavilion in Sugar Land, as well as UT Physicians facilities in Sugar Land and Richmond. Scott Niedergang and Gino Lollio of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a partnership, and procured the buyer, a public pension fund.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — New York Life Real Estate Investors has originated a $30.2 million mortgage loan for Fox Hill Apartments, a 288-unit, Class A apartment complex located at 8800 U.S. Highway 290 in Austin. Brian Eisendrath and Annie Rice of CBRE arranged the five-year, fixed-rate loan on behalf of The Praedium Group, a New-York based investment firm.
AUSTIN — Arrive Hotels & Restaurants will open an 83-room hotel at the corner of East Sixth and Chicon streets in Austin, the company’s second location in the state capital. The 58,600-square-foot property will feature 3,500 square feet of event and meeting space, including an outdoor courtyard, as well as restaurant and retail space. Construction is scheduled for an early 2019 completion. Austin-based hospitality firm Alexa Management has been named co-developer of the project. Burton Baldridge Architects, also based in Austin, will serve as project consultant.
IRVING, TEXAS — Bradford Commercial has arranged the sale of Las Colinas Distribution Center, a two-building, 103,054-square-foot industrial property in Irving. Located at 3242-50 N. Skyway Circle and 3241-51 W. Story Road, the properties were 100 percent occupied at the time of sale to tenants such as JMP Engineering and PCI Logistics. Brian Pafford and Jason Miller of Bradford represented the seller, a family trust from North Texas, in the transaction. Hahn Franklin-Mitchell of Younger Partners represented the buyer, Austin-based Gretzinger Investment Group LLC.
DALLAS — Lee & Associates has negotiated a 51,555-square-foot industrial lease at 11470 Hillguard Road in Dallas. Brett Lewis and George Tanghongs of Lee & Associates represented the landlord, GLP, in the transaction. Tom Walrich of Lee & Associates represented the tenant, Supreme Custom Fabricators Inc., an Arkansas-based construction and remodeling firm.
VANCOUVER, WASH. — Gramor Development Inc., a privately held firm based in Oregon, has secured a round of construction financing for Phase I of its $1.5 billion mixed-use project along the Columbia River in Vancouver. Known as The Waterfront Vancouver, the project will span 20 city blocks and 32 acres and feature residential, office, retail and restaurant space, as well as a Hotel Indigo. U.S. Bank provided a $42.5 million construction loan to Gramor Development for Block 6 Office and Block 6 Residential — a seven-story office building and a six-story, 63-unit apartment building. The street level of both assets will house the Shops at Waterfront Way, which will include retail and restaurants. Committed tenants include M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust at Block 6 Office and Cascade Sotheby’s International Realty and MidiCi The Neapolitan Pizza Co. at Block 6 Residential. The project team for Block 6 includes architect Ankrom Moison and general contractor Robertson & Olson. “Gramor is a driving force in revitalizing Vancouver’s waterfront and the local community,” says Ann Young, senior vice president, and Oregon market manager of U.S. Bank. “U.S. Bank is excited to be part of the project and to help bring this vibrant and unique development …
In a major victory for subsidized housing developers and investors, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has reaffirmed longstanding principles governing the assessment of these properties. The Dec. 22, 2016 decision in Regency West Apartments LLC v. City of Racine confirms that the assessment of a subsidized housing project is a property-specific exercise that must take into account the type of federal program involved, specific restrictions on the property, and actual property income and expenses. The decision also affirms that the value of a subsidized property cannot be determined by comparison to conventional apartment properties that have no restrictions and can charge full market rents. Historical context The Wisconsin Supreme Court first upheld these principles in a 1993 case involving a Milwaukee apartment project subject to rental and other restrictions imposed by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The assessor had valued the property based on market rents at conventional apartments, ignoring the property owner’s inability to legally charge market rents. The Supreme Court nullified the assessment, stating that the assessor had illegally assessed the property by “pretend[ing]” that the HUD restrictions did not apply. The new decision In the December 2016 decision, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the …
HERNDON, VA. — A new forecast released by the NAIOP Research Foundation calls for approximately 39.7 million square feet of net absorption of office space in 2017. That is about 10 million square feet per quarter — similar to the 41.4 million square feet absorbed in 2016. Greater than expected hiring in the office-using sectors of the economy led to 14.8 million square feet of positive net absorption in the fourth quarter of 2016, well above the 7.8 million square feet that had been projected. The annualized growth rate in office-using jobs was 2.52 percent in the first quarter of 2017, compared with 1.58 percent growth in overall nonfarm payroll employment, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If growth in office-using employment continues at such a pace, the need for office space will expand rapidly and thus cause actual absorption to come in near or above the 39.7 million square feet of total absorption projected for all of 2017. However, prior experience suggests that growth in the number of office-using jobs will likely decelerate as it moves closer to the overall employment growth average over the long term, according to NAIOP. The forecast is also driven, in part, by …
SUNNYVALE, CALIF. — A 3.4-acre redevelopment site located at 767-769 N. Mathilda Ave. in the Silicon Valley submarket of Sunnyvale has sold to OTO Development for $21 million. OTO Development plans to build a Hilton Garden Inn on the property, which is currently occupied by the Palladium nightclub, TL Beer Garden and a restaurant. Vince Schwab and Jeffrey Ida of Marcus & Millichap represented both the buyer and seller, Sinogap LLC, a locally based family office, in the transaction. Potential buyers worked with the City of Sunnyvale’s planning commission for the past two years to obtain the necessary approvals and complete the sale, which is part of a 1031 exchange. The replacement properties in the exchange are the Calaveras Park Professional Center, a 21,008-square-foot medical office park in Milpitas, and an apartment complex in San Jose.
