ROUND ROCK, TEXAS — Retail Solutions has brokered three leases totaling 6,870 square feet in Round Rock, a suburb 20 miles north of Austin. In the first deal, Plato’s Closet leased 3,950 square feet of retail space at Sky Ridge Plaza, located at 2000 S IH-35. Andrew Perkel of Retail Solutions represented the tenant, while Drew Smith, also of Retail Solutions, represented the undisclosed landlord. In the second lease, Comet Cleaners leased 1,460 square feet of retail space at 1304 Round Rock Ave. Tucker Francis and Smith of Retail Solutions represented the undisclosed landlord. In the third transaction, Baby Face Salon leased 1,460 square feet of retail space at 1300 Round Rock Ave. Francis and Smith represented the undisclosed landlord in the deal.
DALLAS — NAI Robert Lynn has represented two tenants in the leasing of restaurant space at Preston Center in Highland Park in Dallas. Go Fish Poke has inked a deal for 2,574 square feet of restaurant space at 6030 Luther Lane for the city’s first true poke concept restaurant. Poke is a raw fish salad or entrée that is traditionally served in Hawaii. Additionally, Yolk has leased 4,604 square feet of space at 8315 Westchester Drive. This will be the breakfast and lunch restaurant’s third location in Dallas. Kornel Romada of NAI Robert Lynn represented the tenants in both transactions. Ryan Stewart provided in-house representation for the landlord, Rosebriar Properties, in the Go Fish Poke transaction, while the Weitzman Group represented the sub-lease of LYFE Kitchen for the Yolk deal.
DETROIT — Platform LLC, the development arm of Peter Cummings, Mike Hammond and Dietrich Knoer, has purchased the former Wayne State University Criminal Justice Building for $2 million. When complete, the redevelopment of the 147,500-square-foot building will include approximately 69 apartment units, 19,000 square feet of retail space and a permanent Wayne State University art gallery. The building, located at 6001 Cass Ave., was originally built in 1920 and is currently vacant. The deal also includes a long-term ground lease of the adjacent property at 445 York Street, where an additional 64 apartment units and 48 condo units are planned. Both properties are located in the north end of Wayne State’s main campus.
SCHILLER PARK, ILL. — Associated Bank has provided a $10 million land acquisition and construction loan to Bridge Development Partners to redevelop two industrial sites in Schiller Park, about 20 miles northwest of Chicago. The sites are located at 9555 and 9655 Soreng Ave., one mile from the I-294 interchange at Irving Park Road. The parcels were formerly two Hostess Brands sites totaling 9.9 acres. Both sites contained old buildings that have been demolished in preparation for the development of two speculative Class A industrial buildings. The completion of an 84,700-square-foot building and a second 72,825-square-foot building is slated for May 2017. Daniel Barrins of Associated Bank originated the loan.
ITASCA, ILL. — Captive Resources LLC has purchased 1100 N. Arlington Heights Road in Itasca, about 27 miles northwest of Chicago, for its new headquarters. The independent consulting company, which provides advisory services to captive insurance or self-insured companies, will relocate from its current headquarters in Schaumburg, Ill. Two properties in Schaumburg will be consolidated, and all employees will be relocated to the Itasca location in the third quarter of 2017. CRI will occupy approximately 100,000 square feet on the first four floors, with third-party tenants occupying the remainder of the 150,000-square-foot building. Originally constructed in 1999, the building is a six-story, Class A office property located on the northwest corner of Thorndale and Arlington Heights roads. Colliers International represented Captive Resources in the transaction.
TAYLOR, MICH. — Signature Associates has negotiated the sale of 108,850 square feet of industrial space in Taylor, about 18 miles southwest of Detroit. The building is located at 13500 Huron Street. Brad Viergever of Signature Associates represented both the seller, MYM 13500 JC Property Owner LLC, and the buyer, Hearn Industrial Services Inc. Hearn is a provider of quality control services to the automotive industry.
OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — Everest Medical Core Properties has acquired Foxhill Medical Center in Overland Park for $9 million. The 52,000-square-foot, three-story building features medical and dental suites. The property is located near I-435 in close proximity to several major hospitals and surgical centers. The building was renovated in 1998, and major exterior enhancements were completed in 2016. The building is 97 percent occupied, with an average of four years remaining on lease terms.
REDWOOD CITY, CALIF. — Equinix Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX) has agreed to acquire a portfolio of 24 data center sites and their operations from Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) for $3.6 billion. The portfolio consists of 29 buildings across 24 sites in North and South America, including Atlanta and Norcross, Ga.; Bogotá, Columbia; Boston; Chicago; Culpeper, Va.; Dallas, Houston and Richardson, Texas; Denver; Los Angeles, Santa Clara and San Jose, Calif.; Miami and Doral, Fla.; New York City; São Paulo, Brazil; Seattle; and Washington, D.C. The NAP of the Americas facility in Miami was formerly a flagship facility for Verizon, and will become a strategic hub and gateway for Equinix customer deployments servicing Latin America. Approximately 250 Verizon employees, primarily in the operations functions of the acquired data centers, will become Equinix employees. The all-cash transaction is expected to close by mid-2017. Evercore, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP advised Equinix in the acquisition. At the close of the transaction, Redwood City, Calif.-based Equinix’s total global footprint will be 175 data centers in 43 markets with approximately 17 million gross square feet across the Americas, Europe and Asia. Equinix’s stock price closed at $332.08 per share …
Denver’s economic growth, its reputation as a commercial hub in the Rockies and the growth in e-commerce sales are all factors contributing to the metro’s strong industrial property performance. Denver employers are on track to add 39,000 new workers to their headcounts by year end, expanding the local workforce by 2.8 percent, with the professional and business services and construction sectors driving employment gains. As household formation and retail spending has increased, demand for industrial space in Denver has followed suit. The city’s strategic position as a Western state commercial hub, along with the rapid rise in e-commerce sales, has attracted retailers and distributors, such as FedEx and Amazon, to the area. These large retailers and distributors are contributing to the high demand for industrial space, especially given the limited number of industrial property deliveries in 2015. The industrial construction pipeline is growing as a result of this demand. Spurred on by Denver’s positive economic performance, developers have expanded the industrial development pipeline, including higher levels of speculative development. About 3.7 million square feet of industrial space will have come online by the end of the year. About 1 million square feet of space was delivered in 2015. The breakneck …
How are apartment communities adapting to the sharing economy? That’s the central question that multifamily developers need to ask themselves going forward, according to Wes Taubel, co-founder and managing partner of TWO Capital Partners, a private multifamily developer and investor based in Atlanta. The sharing economy is a term given to the online-driven practices of consumers shopping and ordering food online, renting out their apartment or house via AirBNB and uploading their experiences via social media. “From a development perspective, the biggest thing is a holistic assessment of how you design your community to incorporate the renters’ lifestyle. We’re working with hotel and office interior designers to think about how do we authentically design our amenity and community offerings that work with how this group lives their lives,” said Taubel, who spoke at the seventh-annual InterFace Multifamily Southeast conference on Thursday, Dec. 1 at the Westin Buckhead. Taubel served as a speaker on the development panel entitled “Walking the Tightrope: Will New Development Stay in Balance or Is There Too Much Supply Coming? An Overview of Today’s Development Environment,” which was moderated by Ron Cameron, senior vice president and principal of Colliers International. The sharing economy also includes co-working office …