Rapid growth in the tech sector is dramatically impacting the St. Louis office market. The city boasted an increase of 6,220 high-tech jobs during the last four years, over 2,000 of which were generated in the past year alone. Given the total number of tech jobs in St. Louis is 57,300, this amounts to a healthy growth rate of 10.9 percent. From well-known companies like Square Inc., Yurbuds and Answers.com to newer ones such as LockerDome, Aisle411 Inc. and MediBeacon Inc., the St. Louis region is a growing hot spot for innovative, new and expanding companies. These companies include leaders in the areas of plant and life sciences as well as financial services, information technology, advanced manufacturing and even rapidly growing pet care industries. Significant healthcare and biotechnology institutions in the region include Pfizer, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Solae Co. and Sigma-Aldrich. As capital injections slow in the coastal markets, St. Louis’ startup scene is thriving, attracting talent, new companies and investors from across the globe. According to Forbes, the city was named the fastest-growing metropolis for startups in 2016. Analytical website fivethirtyeight.com reaffirmed St. Louis’ increased appetite for startups, attributing the uptick in part to a combination of …
ATLANTA — Legislative decisions made over the next 18 months will have a substantial effect on American businesses, according to Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.). The remarks were made at the fourth annual InterFace Seniors Housing Southeast conference on Wednesday, Aug. 23. The event drew over 400 industry professionals. “If you’re in business in America, what happens in Washington has a lot to do with your business,” he says. “You’re going to begin to see pressure on elected officials to move out of partisan voting, and I think that’s good for the economy.” Before entering politics, Isakson worked in real estate for more than 40 years and has a long family history in the industry. His father helped establish the prominent Atlanta-area real estate firm Northside Realty, which Isakson led as president for 22 years. Johnny’s brother, Andy Isakson, founded Isakson Living, a seniors housing development company, based on the Isakson family’s own difficulty finding suitable retirement options for their parents. Currently serving his third term, the U.S. Senator delivered this year’s keynote address at the Westin Buckhead in Atlanta. According to Isakson, healthcare and tax reform top the list of issues that need be addressed by Congress over the next …
LAS VEGAS — SR Construction has completed construction of two of the Las Vegas Valley’s first neighborhood hospitals, North Las Vegas Campus and Blue Diamond Campus. The projects are a joint venture between Dignity Health and Emerus. The North Las Vegas Campus Neighborhood Hospital is located at 1550 W. Craig Road in North Las Vegas and was the first to be built in the state. The three-story building houses a licensed hospital on the first floor with 16 patient rooms. The hospital also has a diagnostic imaging suite, lab, inpatient waiting room, and space for primary care and specialty physicians, in addition to a wellness center. The Blue Diamond Campus Neighborhood Hospital is located at 4855 Blue Diamond Road. It was the second of four facilities to open. The 27,000-square-foot, two-story building mirrors a similar layout housing a licensed hospital on the first floor. It also has a diagnostic imaging suite, lab, inpatient waiting room and space for primary care and specialty physicians, in addition to a wellness center located on the second floor.
PHOENIX — A joint venture between an institutional investor and Everest Holdings has purchased Foothills Corporate Centre II, a 145,000-square-foot office building in Phoenix, for $18.4 million. The center is located at 14601-14605 S. 50th St. The property is 72 percent leased to three tenants: Level 3, DirecTV and ExhibitOne. It is situated just north of the future South Mountain Freeway, which is a 22-mile extension of the Loop 202 Freeway. JLL’s Brian Ackerman and Dan Postal represented the seller, Fort Properties Management, in this transaction. The firm’s Dave Seeger, Mark Gustin and Karsten Peterson will head up the project’s leasing efforts.
PHOENIX — Crescendo Development has purchased Foothills Health Center, a 53,310-square-foot medical office property in the Phoenix submarket of Ahwatukee, for $12.1 million. The property is located at 4510 and 4530 E. Ray Road. The center is 93 percent occupied. The larger building was developed in 1994 and refurbished in 2000, while the smaller building was developed in 2002. NKF represented Crescendo Development. Nicholas Pelusio and Kevin Helland of Avison Young represented the seller, United Insurance Company of America, in this transaction.
LOS ANGELES — Universe Holdings has acquired the 53-unit Nob Hill Towers in the Los Angeles submarket of Westlake for $12.6 million. The community is located at 2430 Ocean View Ave. Nob Hill was built in 1929. It features studio to three-bedroom units. The new owner plans to implement $917,000 in property improvements. These will include modernizing interiors with new flooring, appliance packages, counters and cabinets, in addition to updating exterior treatments with lighting, paint, enhanced common areas and new landscaping. The company also plans to convert dormant space in the basement level to a business center and fitness area.
FOOTHILL RANCH, CALIF. — Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors has arranged the $5.7 million sale of a two-tenant retail building located in Foothill Ranch. The 4,150-square-foot pad site is a part of Foothill Ranch Towne Center, and is occupied by Dunkin’ Donuts and MOD Pizza. Bill Asher and Ed Hanley of Hanley Investment group represented the seller, Spectrum Development Group, in the transaction. John Carpenter of The 949 Group represented the buyer, a private investor from Newport Beach.
PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania has completed the $80 million renovation of Hill College House, a 261-unit on-campus residence hall. The five-story, 195,000-square-foot property offers student lounges, seminar rooms and a 300-seat dining area. Mills + Schnoering Architects of Princeton, N.J., led the design and construction team for the project. The property was originally designed by Eero Saarinen and built in 1960 as a women’s dormitory. Renovations at the property included the restoration of the building’s ‘drawbridge’ entrance and landscaped ‘moat’; the removal, restoration and refitting of over 400 windows; an expansion of the dining facilities; the addition of new furniture and finishes; and the conversion of all bathrooms to individual restrooms and shower rooms.
CLIFTON, N.J. — Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF) has arranged a $23.35 million loan for a partnership between Tulfra Real Estate and The Hampshire Companies to refinance a 204,000-square-foot industrial building. The 10-year, fixed-rate loan with Citizens Bank will be used to refinance the existing construction financing on the property, which is located at 65 South Industrial Street in the Passaic County community of Clifton. Situated on 11 acres, the property is located just off Route 3, less than two miles from the Garden State Parkway and seven miles from the New Jersey Turnpike. The industrial building recently underwent a multi-million dollar renovation that included raising the roof to provide a 27-foot ceiling height, new exterior skin, adding six new loading docks (for a total of 24), refinishing the warehouse floors, installing new lighting and sprinklers, adding new mechanical and electrical systems and fitting out 28,000 square feet of office space. The speculative redevelopment project is now fully leased to Damascus Bakeries, which will use the building as a second manufacturing facility and its corporate headquarters. Damascus will lease its space for a 15-year term and will also take a 50-percent ownership interest in the borrower entity. The HFF team included …
Paterson, N.J. — Cushman & Wakefield has assisted a joint partnership between Camber Real Estate Partners and Advance Realty in procuring $15.34 million of financing for the acquisition of 1200 Madison Avenue, a 245,529-square-foot institutional quality industrial building located immediately off Interstate 80 in Paterson. First Bank provided the financing. The property is currently 100 percent leased, with M. Tucker and SupplyOne serving as the anchor tenants. The building features 30-foot ceiling heights and 21 loading positions as well as ample car and trailer parks. A Cushman & Wakefield Equity, Debt & Structured Finance team of John Alascio, Sridhar Vankayala and Noble Carpenter III represented the joint partnership between Camber Real Estate Partners and Advance Realty. Ryan Larkin of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller and procured the buyer, working with Cushman & Wakefield’s Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group team members Andrew Merin, David Bernhaut, Gary Gabriel, Brian Whitmer and Kyle Schmidt, as well as industrial leasing specialist Andrew Siemsen.