STAMFORD, CONN. — Hunt Mortgage Group has provided a $28 million first mortgage bridge loan to facilitate the recapitalization and renovation of a mixed-use multifamily and commercial property in Stamford. Park Square West Apartments is a nine-story property located at 101 Summer St. The property was built in 1999 and includes 143 residential units, two commercial spaces and a 213-space parking garage. The unit mix features 10 studios, 64 one-bedroom units, 64 two-bedroom apartments and five three-bedroom units. The two-year floating rate loan includes three options to extend the term for a period of 12 months each. The residential component is currently 92 percent occupied and the commercial component is 100 percent occupied. The loan also includes a $703,000 capital improvement reserve, which will go toward renovations. Additional improvements planned include interior renovations of 48 of the property’s units, including replacing countertops and cabinets, flooring upgrades, installation of new lighting, bathroom fixtures and kitchen appliances. Property amenities include a concierge, shuttle service, valet dry cleaning, roof deck, fitness center, garage parking and a ground floor restaurant.
NEW YORK CITY — New Project, a Brooklyn-based fabrication company specializing in museum, exhibition and commercial design/build projects, has purchased a 12,500-square-foot, two-story building in the Greenwood neighborhood of Brooklyn. With the purchase, the company will combine its administrative offices, metal and finish shop, and woodworking facilities into one location at 223 25th St. Since New Project’s founding in 2004, the company has grown from two employees to more than 30. Over the last five years, the firm has experienced a 376 percent growth in revenue. New Project will move to its new location in spring 2017.
WESTAMPTON, N.J. — Hersh Realty Group Commercial Real Estate (HRG) has arranged the $7.4 million sale of The Westampton Marketplace located at 483 Woodlane Road in Westampton. The Westampton Marketplace is a 32,140-square-foot Class A retail shopping center consisting of 24,000 square feet of inline retail space and an 8,300-square-foot freestanding Family Dollar situated on 8.3 acres. Additional pad sites are available for future development. The center, built in 2008, is located near I-295 and the New Jersey Turnpike. In addition to Family Dollar, other tenants located at the center include Subway, Scotto Pizza, a nail salon and a daycare center. Seth Hersh of HRG was the sole broker involved in the transaction and represented the seller, a private local real estate investment group. The buyer was a private real estate investment group located in the New York area.
NEW YORK CITY — Ricoh USA has signed a 10-year lease for a 30,469-square-foot office space at 711 Third Ave. in New York City. SL Green is the landlord. Ricoh USA will consolidate into 711 Third Ave. from three other Manhattan buildings. Located one block east of Grand Central Terminal, 711 Third Ave. features a mosaic mural designed by expressionist Hans Hofmann in the lobby. The building was recently renovated with new elevator cabs, windows, corridors and restrooms. Other tenants include McKinsey & Co., Goldberg Segalia and Ackman Ziff. CBRE’s Joseph Mangiacotti, Carolyn Sica and Kurt Burdack represented Ricoh USA, while Howard Tenenbaum and Gary Rosen represented the landlord in-house at SL Green.
CHICAGO — The Scion Group, along with sovereign wealth fund partners GIC and Canada Public Pension Investment Board (CPPIB), has acquired a portfolio of 11 student housing properties throughout the United States for $640 million. Harrison Street Real Estate owned nine of the properties in partnerships with Trinitas, Opus, CA Ventures and Vertex Nine. In addition, Scion, GIC and CPPIB acquired another asset from Trinitas and another property in Chicago from an undisclosed entity. The properties in the transaction total more than 6,300 beds, and include: University Trails Tallahassee, a 936-bed community located near Florida State University Alpha, a 698-bed community located near the University of Alabama VAMP, a 668-bed community located near the University of Indiana The Foundation, a 725-bed community located near CSU Sacramento NXNW, a 648-bed community located near Western Washington University Varsity Quarters, a 162-bed community located near the University of Wisconsin Uncommon Madison, a 408-bed community located near the University of Wisconsin Uncommon Tampa, a 516-bed community located near the University of South Florida Uncommon Charlottesville, a 342-bed community located near the University of Virginia LUX at Central Park, a 608-bed community located near the University of North Carolina 1237 West Fullerton, a 592-bed community …
By Gregory Schaffer Pennsylvania property owners and tenants, who pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation, are no doubt aware of the annual deadline to file a property tax appeal. After all, one look at a new tax bill is often enough to make even the most seasoned tax manager scramble to contact their local tax counsel. However, very few taxpayers are aware that the assessment they may have accepted as favorable could easily trigger a reverse appeal filed by the local school district. Assessment appeals filed by the taxing entities, often referred to as reverse appeals, are increasingly common as cash-strapped school districts seek to fill their coffers. Just as a tax manager might view an inflated assessment as a reason to appeal, more and more school districts see potentially under-assessed properties as a much-needed source of additional revenue. To the bane of many taxpayers, this tactic has now reached the city of Philadelphia. Despite undergoing a citywide property revaluation for the 2014 tax year, with another currently slated for 2018, the Philadelphia School District recently decided to begin filing reverse appeals against properties it feels are under-assessed. On Sept. 15, 2016, for the first time, …
Metro Milwaukee’s industrial market continued to be a strong performer in 2016, and this strength should continue for the foreseeable future. We’re now seeing a healthy uptick in new industrial development, and even speculative development in select submarkets. While the demand for industrial space has continued to increase, the new supply has failed to keep pace. Sustained quarterly absorption without a sufficient corresponding increase in new product coming to market continues to keep vacancy rates hovering around 4 percent, near the record lows, according to Xceligent and CoStar. The new industrial construction that is occurring continues to be driven by users expanding, relocating or consolidating their existing facilities and by limited build-to-suit developments undertaking Milwaukee-based firms such as Wangard Partners Inc., Phoenix Investors LLC and Briohn Building Corp. Spec building returns Speculative development is still relatively rare, but developers such as Zilber, HSA Development and Interstate Partners are all venturing into the speculative realm and with favorable results so far. HSA, for example, recently completed a 214,000-square-foot speculative building in Waukesha, and Zilber continues to build and fill buildings in the I-94 South corridor. In late 2016, Zilber unveiled plans for a 163,716-square-foot facility in Franklin and a 72,324-square-foot facility …
GRESHAM, ORE. — Stockdale Capital Partners has purchased Gresham Station Medical Plaza, a 100,419-square-foot medical office complex in the Portland suburb of Gresham for $23.5 million. The four-building complex is located at 831 N.W. Council Drive, 862-894 N.W. Burnside Drive and 1851-1867 N.W. Civic Drive. The medical office complex is situated near the Adventist Medical Center. Adventist Health anchors Gresham Station Medical Plaza, which is 77 percent leased. Additional tenants include DaVita HealthCare Partners and Providence Health & Services. The facility provides surgery, imaging, dialysis, primary care, orthopedics, laboratory, physical therapy, dermatology, dentistry, women’s health and pediatrics services. HFF’s Nick Kucha, Evan Kovac, Andrew Milne and Trent Jemmett represented both the buyer and the seller, Westlake Realty Group, in this transaction. The firm also worked to secure an acquisition loan for Stockdale.
GILBERT, ARIZ. — A joint venture between Trammell Crow Co. (TCC) and Artis REIT has completed construction on Park Lucero Phase II, a 131,796-square-foot spec industrial building in Gilbert. The Class A building fronts the Santan Freeway (Loop 202). Park Lucero is situated on 48 acres at the northwest corner of Mustang Drive and Germann Road near the Gilbert/Chandler border. Phase II is situated adjacent to Park Lucero’s Phase I, which was completed in 2015, and Phase III, which is currently under construction. Both Phase I and Phase II are fully leased. Park Lucero is a four-phase industrial park featuring buildings with dock-high, truck well and grade-level loading; 24- to 30-foot ceiling clear heights; and an overall 2.1:1,000 parking ratio. The project will eventually contain nearly 600,000 square feet of industrial space in six buildings.
SALT LAKE CITY — Restore Utah has purchased The 500, a 109-unit apartment community in South Salt Lake City, for an undisclosed sum. The community is located at 3440 S. 500 E. The 500 offers two-bedroom apartment and townhome units near downtown Salt Lake City. Amenities include a swimming pool, playground, large private patios and covered parking. Restore Utah plans to enhance the community through interior renovations and a common area overhaul that will include a dog park and gathering pavilion. The acquisition was made possible by Goldman Sachs’ increased equity commitment of $24 million to Restore Utah’s Multifamily Acquisition Fund. The commitment allowed the fund to significantly increase its acquisitions and improve affordable housing options throughout the Wasatch Front. Restore Utah revitalizes low- and moderate-income neighborhoods by transforming vacant or neglected properties hit by the financial crisis into quality, affordable rental homes for low-income families.