GREENSBORO, N.C. —Blue Ridge Cos. and Richardson Properties have partnered to co-develop Country Park at Tall Oaks, a 216-unit apartment community located near the intersection of Lawndale Drive and Pisgah Church Road in Greensboro. The property will feature running and bike trails, a fitness center, bike storage and workshop, swimming pool and a dog park with a pet wash station. Blue Ridge and Richardson plan to open the project in spring 2017.
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Colliers International has arranged the $22.4 million sale of The Shoppes at Centre Pointe, a 112,302-square-foot shopping center located in North Charleston. The property is fully leased to Field & Stream, Conn’s HomePlus and La-Z-Boy. Marc Bonilla of Colliers International represented the buyer, Rose FP LLC, in the transaction. Joey Odom of Stan Johnson Co. represented the seller, SC North Charleston CPD 2G-1 1B.
WASHINGTON, D.C. AND NEW YORK — The board of trustees at Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO) has approved the tax-free spinoff of its Washington, D.C., portfolio and has agreed to the subsequent merger of the new entity with JBG Cos. The transaction is valued at $8.4 billion. The company, known as JBG Smith Properties, will be structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT). Vornado shareholders are expected to own roughly 74 percent of the new company, JBG’s limited partners are expected to own approximately 20 percent and JBG management is expected to own the remaining 6 percent. JBG’s senior management team will lead JBG Smith, which will have a portfolio totaling 50 office properties spanning 11.8 million square feet, 18 multifamily properties totaling 4,451 residential units and 11 other properties totaling about 700,000 square feet. The new company will be the largest landlord to the U.S. government in Washington, D.C. The portfolio is situated in Washington, D.C., as well as the suburban Maryland markets of Columbia and Bethesda and Crystal City, Pentagon City, Rosslyn, Arlington and Reston in Virginia. Additionally, JBG Smith will have a pipeline of projects under construction and land for future development that could span more …
The Puget Sound region may be home to the growing online retail giant of Amazon, but bricks and mortar retail development is in the best shape it’s been in since the beginning of the Great Recession. After five consecutive years of strong employment growth and resultant in-migration of highly paid tech workers, the Seattle market is continuing to enjoy gains in retail sales volumes, which are projected to grow 4.5 percent in 2016. Demand for retail space has pushed overall vacancy rates to 3.7 percent throughout the metro area. For the 12 months ending on June 30, 2016, there were only 500,000 square feet of new space built. This is in contrast to the recent annual absorption that has exceeded 1 million square feet. Overall vacancy rates reflect the demand for new space and asking rents have climbed correspondingly. The majority of new retail construction is occurring in mixed-use projects, such as ground-floor spaces at new residential developments. The largest chunk of retail space currently under construction, however, is within the $1.2 billion expansion of Kemper Freeman’s Bellevue Collection in Downtown Bellevue. In all, the project will add 375,000 square feet of new retail, which is 85 percent pre-leased. The …
For real estate developers and investors, a time of transition and evolution within the retail world presents abundant opportunities to capitalize by acquiring and investing in underperforming spaces. With an infusion of capital, some strategic restructuring and re-tenanting with regional and national brands, a moribund center or underwhelming site can be transformed. Understanding the strategies deployed to effectively identify, acquire, reposition and re-tenant retail is an essential prerequisite for any commercial real estate professional looking to get involved in the process. The big picture The most critical step in the process is selecting the right opportunities to pursue in the first place. Identifying existing retail assets that are underperforming is one thing. Finding those that can be successfully reinvigorated and repositioned through an infusion of capital and the application of some expertise is a little trickier. It is a best practice to confine your search to well-established trade areas because you generally do not want a project on the fringe. The overall goal is to identify markets and trade areas where there is more demand than quality supply, and then work to find a creative and cost-effective way to deliver that supply. Once you identify those areas, familiarize yourself with …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — PetSmart Inc. has opened a new 12,000-square-foot store at 2484 Market St. N.E. in Washington, D.C. The new store is the first location for the pet retailer inside the Washington, D.C., metro area. Located within The Shops at Dakota Crossing shopping center, the new PetSmart will feature pet food, pet products, training classes for dog owners and a full-service grooming salon for dogs and cats. PetSmart Inc. operates 1,477 pet stores in North America and employs roughly 53,000 associates.
WALLA WALLA, WASH. — Walker & Dunlop Inc. has arranged a $25 million loan for Wheatland Village, an independent living, assisted living and memory care community in Walla Walla, located in the southeastern corner of Washington near the Oregon border. Portland, Ore.-based Generations Senior Living operates the Class A community. The company developed the property in 2004 through a partnership with a nonprofit hospital. Wheatland Village features 134 independent living units, 62 assisted living units and 38 memory care units. The memory care portion was added in 2013. Jeffrey Ringwald and William Jackson of Walker & Dunlop structured the 15-year, fixed-rate, Fannie Mae loan with a 30-year amortization schedule. The transaction consolidates two existing loans and features a 60 percent loan-to-value ratio.
VICTORVILLE, CALIF. — Stirling Capital Investments has completed construction on a 447,740-square-foot industrial facility within Southern California Logistics Centre in Victorville. The facility, known as Building 13B, was built in 19.3 acres within the 2,500-acre commercial and industrial complex. Arden Cos. has pre-leased 211,000 square feet at Building 13B, and Newell Brands leased the remaining space. Southern California Logistics Centre is entitled for 60 million square feet of development.
KENT, WASH. — BKM Capital Partners has purchased Andover Executive Park, a 181,163-square-foot industrial business park in the Kent submarket of Tukwila for $19.8 million. The park is located at 400-774 Industry Drive. BKM plans to implement a series of capital improvements to the business park, which was built in 1974. Upgrades will include the buildings’ roofs, exterior paint, landscaping, facades and signage. CBRE represented the seller, ScanlanKemperBard, in the transaction.
PASO ROBLES, CALIF. — MBK Rental Living has purchased the 144-unit Buena Vista Apartments in Paso Robles for $5.8 million. The community is located at 708-1002 Experimental Station Road. MBK plans to upgrade the property. The company represented itself in this transaction, while Marty Indvik of Lee & Associates and Jim Fisher and Michael Smith of Berkadia, represented the seller, Arjun Buena Vista Properties LLC.
