WEST SAINT PAUL, MINN. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $3.9 million sale of Wentworth Plaza, a 12,793-square-foot retail property located at 1590 S. Robert St. in West Saint Paul. National retailers occupy about 75 percent of Wentworth Plaza. Matthew Hazelton, Sean Doyle, Cory Villaume and Adam Prins of Marcus & Millichap’s Minneapolis office represented the seller, a regional developer/owner, in the transaction. The team also secured the buyer, a limited liability company.
ANDERSON, IND. — Faris Lee Investments has completed the $2.6 million sale of a freestanding, 10,125-square-foot, single-tenant retail property triple net-leased to CVS/pharmacy in Anderson. Built in 1998, the property is situated on 1.7 acres at 2419 Nichol Ave. at the intersection of Nichol Avenue/State Road 32 and Raible Avenue. CVS/pharmacy has two years remaining on its lease. Jeff Conover of Faris Lee Investments represented the seller, Indiana-based Copper Development, in the transaction. Nick Cuneo of Clement Partners represented the 1031 exchange buyer, Cuneo Trust.
LOS ANGELES — Gramercy Property Trust and TPG Real Estate have formed Strategic Office Partners, a platform that will acquire single-tenant office assets in high-growth U.S. metro regions. The platform’s inaugural purchase was a six-property office portfolio valued at $187.5 million. The portfolio contains a total of 1 million square feet of single-tenant, net lease office assets in metro Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay and San Diego. It also includes assets in Nashville and Minneapolis. The buildings have an average tenant tenure of more than 11 years. Half of the assets have been occupied by the original tenant since the buildings were constructed. The weighted average remaining lease term was 3.6 years at closing. Gramercy and TPG committed $400 million to the new venture and secured a $200 million non-recourse credit facility from Morgan Stanley. Strategic Office Partners plans to buy up to $1 billion in assets over a three-year period.
FORT COLLINS, COLO. — EdR has acquired two student housing communities located in Fort Collins for an undisclosed price. The acquisition includes Pura Vida Place and Carriage House Apartments. Both Pura Vida and Carriage House Apartments are located near Colorado State University, and offer a total of 194 beds. Community amenities at each include a 24-hour computer lab, indoor bike storage and in-unit washers and dryers.
IRVINE, CALIF. — HFF has provided $62.5 million in refinancing for Irvine Crossings, a 395,673-square-foot data center and industrial asset. The property is located at 17871 Von Karman Ave. and 17836 Gillette Ave. in Irvine. The fully leased building was renovated in 2000. It was partially converted to a powered-shell data center in 2013. A data center operator and an internet technology company occupy the property. The asset is situated one block north of the intersection of Von Karman Avenue and Main Street in the Airport Area. There are six other data centers in the area. The five-year, full-term, interest-only loan features a fixed rate. HFF’s Kevin MacKenzie and Jamie Kline arranged the loan on behalf of Menlo Equities. Deutsche Bank provided the capital.
TUCSON, ARIZ. — EdR has acquired The Urbane, a 311-unit apartment community in Tucson, for an undisclosed sum. The community offers a range of studio to five-bedroom apartments. The Urbane amenities include a fitness center; spa featuring a sauna and tanning beds; rooftop sundeck with pool, oversized hot tub, lounging and gaming areas, and poolside cabanas; an outdoor terrace with fire pits and a custom barbecue grill; and an executive business center with computers and printers.
LOS ANGELES — Baskin-Robbins, the world’s largest chain of ice cream specialty shops, has signed a multi-unit store development agreement with new franchisee Sharooz Setareh to develop three new ice cream shops in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills over the next few years. Currently, there are more than 460 Baskin-Robbins shops located throughout California. Setareh owns a beauty supply chain and clothing manufacturing company, which he still operates today. The first shop under the Baskin-Robbins agreement opened in Santa Monica earlier this year. Setareh plans to open his second shop in 2017, with the third location following in 2018. Baskin-Robbins also sold two completed, ready-to-operate stores so far this year. Existing franchisee Harpreet Gill purchased the first turnkey shop in Porterville and opened it earlier this summer. New franchisee Alejandro Kochergane purchased the second shop in Imperial Beach with plans to open early next year. Founded in 1945, Baskin-Robbins has more than 7,700 retail shops in nearly 50 countries. Headquartered in Canton, Mass., Baskin-Robbins is part of the Dunkin’ Brands Group.
GREENWOOD VILLAGE, COLO. — National Storage Affiliates Trust (NYSE: NSA) has formed a joint venture with a state pension fund advised by Heitman Capital Management LLC. The venture was formed to acquire the iStorage portfolio of self-storage properties for $630 million. The portfolio includes 66 properties containing 4.5 million square feet in over 36,000 storage units across 12 states. Separately, NSA has agreed to acquire the iStorage property management platform, including a property management company, a captive insurance company and the iStorage brand. The cost of the additional transaction was not disclosed. The joint venture expects to complete both transactions concurrently during the fourth quarter of 2016. The two transactions are conditioned upon each other and are subject to other closing conditions. A subsidiary of NSA has agreed to contribute $80 million in cash funded from its revolving line of credit in exchange for a 25 percent ownership interest in the unconsolidated joint venture, while the joint venture investor has agreed to contribute $240 million in cash in exchange for a 75 percent ownership interest in the joint venture. The joint venture anticipates incurring new debt to fund the remaining balance of the purchase price and transaction costs. The parties have …
New York City’s retail outlook is sunny, as steady labor market expansion — bolstered by substantial Fortune 500 hiring — has spurred retailer demand for existing and new spaces in all five boroughs. Strong retail property performance in the City That Never Sleeps has supported continued rent and price growth, which will result in higher sales velocity over the short- and mid-terms. Employment Gains, Tourism Underlie Performance During the first six months of 2016, New York City employers created 33,600 new jobs. This pronounced job growth, which has been characteristic of the current cycle, reduced the unemployment rate to 5 percent by the end of the first quarter. This is the lowest rate unemployment rate the city has seen since November 2007. By the end of the year, area employers will add 90,000 workers, with the education and health services and professional and business services sectors projected to post the greatest increases. The leisure and hospitality sector will also contribute significantly to employment gains this year, as greater tourism spending prompts organizations in the sector to ramp up hiring. Another important indicator of NYC’s economic health is strong retail sales, which represent one of the best paces of retail spending …
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. AND BOSTON — Clearwater Senior Living, a Newport Beach-based seniors housing developer, and Berkshire Group, a Boston-based multifamily investor, have formed a new joint venture that plans to develop and acquire $500 million in seniors housing communities in the Western United States. The JV plans to bring in third-party institutional investors to help fund the pipeline. The joint venture will own, operate and develop a mix of independent living, assisted living and memory care communities. As of June 30, Berkshire Group had approximately $7.2 billion in real estate assets under management, largely in the multifamily sector.
