NEW YORK CITY — Cadre has closed on the $70 million sale of a portfolio consisting of four multifamily apartment buildings in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens. Acquired in January 2015, the portfolio was renovated during Cadre’s ownership, including improvements to common areas and individual units, such as the addition of bedrooms and bathrooms to some units.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Spector Group, a New York-based architecture and interior design firm, has unveiled the new design for the headquarters of Heineken USA. Heineken is consolidating two locations into a single location at its headquarters at 360 Hamilton Ave. in White Plains. The project consisted of redesigning the two-floor, 60,000-square-foot space to increase densification and to expand and update the bar and social area, which is used to cater large events and for training programs.
MORRISTOWN, N.J. — G.S. Wilcox & Co. has secured a $16.5 million loan for the Hampshire Cos.’ newly constructed office building located at 49 Market St. in Morristown. The 44,000-square-foot property is a build-to-suit for law firm Fox Rothschild LLP, allowing the company to consolidate its Morristown and Roseland offices. The Morristown-based mortgage banker secured the financing over a 15-year term from a life insurance company headquartered in Alabama. Gretchen S. Wilcox and Al Raymond of G.S. Wilcox handled the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Rosewood Realty Group has arranged the $20.9 million sale of an apartment property located at 188-30 and 188-34 87th Dr. in the Holliswood neighborhood of Queens. A Brooklyn-based family purchased the six–story, 68,466-square-foot property, adding to its other holdings in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. The 1950-built building includes 96 apartments as well as a storage area, laundry room and indoor parking for up to 40 vehicles.
NEW CANAAN, CONN. — CH Vitti Street Associates and Collins Enterprises will develop a mixed-use medical and residential property at 23 Vitti St. in New Canaan. Known as New Canaan Medical Arts Center, construction will begin in May and will be completed in spring 2018. Do H. Chung & Partners is the project architect and Avison Young will serve as leasing agent. The two-story, 9,000-square-foot medical center will be constructed along the parcel’s 121 feet of frontage, with a public courtyard along Vitti Street. The commercial portion of the project includes 2,000 square feet of medical space on the first floor and 7,000 square feet on the second floor, which can be subdivided. Building features will include automated doors and a medical grade HVAC system with HEPA filtration. The project also includes eight apartments to be developed as a separate building on the site. Each use will have its own entrance and will be separated by a landscaped parking area and residential pathways. The site is located in downtown New Canaan within walking distance of restaurants, services and transportation.
WARRENDALE, PA. — Teen clothing retailer rue21 is set to close about one-third of its stores nationwide as it shifts its focus to e-commerce. The privately held company will shutter 400 stores, according to reports by The Associated Press, leaving more than 700 rue21 locations in 48 states. The retailer confirmed upcoming closures in a Facebook post, stating that “it was a difficult but necessary decision.” A spokeswoman for rue21 recently alluded to the retailer’s unfavorable financial state, according to reports by Women’s Wear Daily. The decision to shrink the company’s store footprint comes about two weeks after entering into forbearance agreements with lenders in order to stave off a default. In 2002, the company filed for bankruptcy under its former name — Pennsylvania Fashions Inc. It emerged under the name rue21 the following year. The company, based in the Pittsburgh suburb of Warrendale, didn’t say how soon the stores would close. Rue21 took to Facebook, once again, to explain to customers that they could search for stores near them on the company’s “Store Locator” page. Those set to close will show a “Closing Store” label above the address. Rue21 is the latest retailer to struggle amid the expansion of …
With nearly 3 million square feet of industrial space under construction, and climbing lease rates averaging $5.64 per square foot, it is safe to say the industrial market along Utah’s Wasatch Front is alive and well. The primary Salt Lake County market reports an overall industrial vacancy level of 5.08 percent. In the fast-growing Utah County submarket that’s just south of Salt Lake City, the vacancy rate is 3.44 percent. This is in line with the pre-recession levels experienced in the mid-2000s. The most noticeable difference in today’s environment is the scale of buildings being built on spec, as well as who is carrying out these projects. We continue to see construction starts and announcements on buildings larger than 300,000 square feet — many of which are speculative — by out-of-state development or investment groups. This includes companies like Clarion Partners, Exeter Property Group and Seefried Industrial Properties. This represents a new resurgence of interest by many of the “brand name,” major-market players who want to be part of the dynamic growth occurring in Utah. This is a growing trend nationally as well, which is interesting to see in the relatively smaller, 170-million-square-foot Wasatch Front market.Activity from the local players …
One measurement of the health of the U.S. office sector stood out in the first quarter of this year. Net absorption totaled 4.9 million square feet, down from an average of 9.4 million square feet per quarter in 2016 and the lowest since 2014. In short, growth in the office sector “continued to disappoint,” according to Reis. The New York City-based real estate research firm, which tracks 82 markets nationally, recently released its analysis of the property sector’s vital signs in the first quarter. The positive news is that the office vacancy rate held steady at 15.8 percent from the prior quarter, and was down 20 basis points from the first quarter of 2016. The overall asking rent rose 1.8 percent on an annual basis. Construction was also relatively low at 7.9 million square feet in the first quarter of 2017, down from an average of 8.8 million square feet in 2016. Much like retail real estate’s war with e-commerce, office markets are competing with the pressures of using space more efficiently and hiring employees who work from remote locations, says Reis senior economist Barbara Byrne Denham. “Firms have persistently leased less space for their growing workforce,” she says. The …
SUGAR LAND, TEXAS — TriGate Capital, a Dallas-based real estate private equity firm, has purchased First Colony Commons, a 410,121-square-foot retail center in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land. Covington Realty Partners, a Chicago-based investment firm that specializes in Class A assets in primary markets, sold the property. HFF arranged the $38.2 million in acquisition financing for the property and represented both parties in the sales transaction. Nexbank SSB provided the floating-rate, non-recourse loan for the property, which features a 12-year term and a five-year extension option. Situated on 37.8 acres at 15201-15555 Southwest Freeway near Interstate 69 on Houston’s southwestern outskirts, the center was 99 percent leased at the time of sale. Tenants include The Home Depot, Tuesday Morning, Babies “R” Us and Office Depot. More than 85,000 residents earning an average annual household income of $134,000 or more live within three miles of First Colony Commons. Rusty Tamlyn and Ryan West of HFF headed the investment sales effort. Jim Curtin of HFF led the debt placement transaction. “This power center had a lot of moving parts, which presented challenges for buyers and lenders,” says Tamlyn. “TriGate was able to navigate through the issues and will have potential value-add opportunities …
GOLETA, CALIF. — PSRS has arranged an $80 million loan for a 266-unit apartment complex in Goleta. The luxury complex is situated on a 13.7-acre lot. It features 18 buildings and amenities such a business center, clubhouse, fitness center, swimming pool, barbecue, fire‐pits and spa. The loan was used to pay off construction costs. PSRS’ Mike Thorp arranged the financing. The 10‐year, fee-simple loan will amortize in 30 years. One of PSRS’ correspondent life companies provided the capital for the loan.