LITHONIA, GA. — Wendover Housing Partners plans to begin construction in August on Granite Crossing, a $14.7 million, 75-unit apartment community that will anchor Lithonia Plaza in downtown Lithonia, a southern suburb of Atlanta. According to Wendover, the multifamily property will be the first major construction in the city since 2009. To make way for Granite Crossing, demolition has begun on an 80,000-square-foot, city-owned building that has been vacant since 2009. Wendover Housing partnered with the state of Georgia, Lithonia Downtown Development Authority, the city of Lithonia and Bainbridge GP LLC on the project. Residents are expected to occupy Granite Crossing next summer. The property will comprise one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with monthly rents ranging from $620 to $800. Amenities will include a clubhouse with a fitness center, computer lab and an activity room for after-school programming. Other amenities include an outdoor splash park and playground equipment.
Demand for top-notch logistics space remains strong across the country, so strong in fact that six of the top 10 markets with the fastest growing logistics rents globally are located in the United States, according to CBRE’s “Global Prime Logistics Rents” report released this week. The global prime industrial rent survey provides a snapshot of achievable net rental rates for high-quality, Class A logistics space in traditional and emerging global hubs. With a nearly 30 percent increase in rents during 2015, Oakland, Calif., posted the largest gain. To determine the percentage increase, researchers gathered information based on industrial distribution space of the highest quality and specification, and in the best location, within each industrial hub. In North and South America, rents for prime logistics space increased 5.6 percent during 2015, largely due to massive growth in U.S. coastal markets where strong occupier demand drove up pricing. In Oakland, which also recorded the largest annual increase in prime rents globally, flight-to-quality is common for inner-bay logistics users despite the high cost. New development in some markets, like the Inland Empire, is also commanding premium rates. In addition to Oakland, U.S. cities in the top 10 for fastest growing prime logistics rents …
Detroit has become a five-sport town: The Pistons, Red Wings, Lions and Tigers have been joined by Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock Real Estate Services LLC, the entity that has made a sport out of assembling a downtown Detroit portfolio of commercial buildings. In the process, Gilbert is becoming the city’s biggest advocate. Talking about Detroit’s office market without including Gilbert’s latest investment is akin to discussing Detroit’s economy and excluding the automotive industry. The Quicken Loans founder and principal shareholder of the Cleveland Cavaliers put himself on the region’s real estate game board when the recession ended and he started buying up properties. To date, Gilbert and his team have amassed a portfolio of more than 85 properties in and around the downtown comprised of more than 13 million square feet and valued in excess of $2.2 billion. The March 2015 acquisition of the 43-story One Detroit Center at 500 Woodward Ave. — which has since been renamed Ally Detroit Center — and attached 2,070-space parking deck for well over $100 million was his biggest deal during the acquisition spree. Ally Financial is completing its relocation to the building this spring from the nearby Renaissance Center, as well as bringing employees …
PHOENIX — Weidner Apartment Homes has acquired The Reserve at Arrowhead, a 472-unit multifamily asset in Phoenix, for $64.5 million. The community is located at 7701 W. St. John Road. Mark-Taylor Inc. developed the property between 1998 and 1999. The Reserve at Arrowhead is within walking distance of Arrowhead Towne Center, a 1.2 million-square-foot super-regional mall. Notable employers in the area include Joseph’s Westgate Medical Center, Luke Air Force Base, AAA, the City of Glendale, Honeywell, Humana Healthcare, Midwestern University, Conair Corp. and the Thunderbird School of Global Management. Steve Gebing and Cliff David of Marcus & Millichap’s National Multi Housing Group represented both the buyer and the seller, an institutional investment management firm, in this transaction.
RIALTO, CALIF. — New York Life Real Estate Investors has purchased a 609,888-square-foot distribution center in Rialto for an undisclosed sum. The Class A center is situated at the northeast corner of North Locust and West Bohnert avenues. It is known as CapRock Distribution Center I. The center was recently completed by CapRock Partners, which acquired, entitled and developed the site over 18 months. New York Life Real Estate Investors is the real estate investment arm of NYL Investors, a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Co. Paul Earnhart, Jeff Smith, Brian Pharris, Steve Haston and Ryan Lal at Lee & Associates executed the transaction.
LOS ANGELES — Institutional Property Advisors Capital Markets has arranged a $50 million refinancing for a 168,764-square-foot office tower in Beverly Hills. The 12-story tower is situated within the Golden Triangle area. It was first high-rise building erected on Wilshire Boulevard in the 1970s. The cash-out loan refinanced a 25-year, fixed-rate loan. The new non-recourse loan features a 15-year, 3.75 percent fixed rate with interest-only payments. Jake Roberts and Anita Paryani Rice of Institutional Property Advisors Capital Markets arranged the loan.
TACOMA, WASH. — Dermody Properties has broken ground on LogistiCenter at 167, a 225,972-square-foot industrial facility in Fife. The facility will be located at 7450 26th St. E., just east of Tacoma. LogistiCenter at 167 is situated 1.7 miles from Interstate 5 and the Port of Tacoma, the largest deep-water port in Washington. Other industrial operations in the neighborhood include Regal Distribution, Milgard Windows & Doors, Mission Foods, American Fast Freight, Gensco, Fed Ex Freight, Odom Corp., Pexco, UPS and Prologix Distribution Services. Craft Architects is designing the building and the general contractor is Poe Construction. Vanessa Herzog, Patricia Loveall and Kraig Heeter of Kidder Mathews are representing Dermody.
COMMERCE, CALIF. — As part of its growth plan, Smart & Final has opened 33 Smart & Final Extra! warehouse-style grocery stores in California. The locations, which were acquired in December 2015, were previously operated under the Haggen banner. Between January 20, 2016 and May 11, 2016, Smart & Final opened 11 Smart & Final Extra! stores in the San Diego area, seven in Los Angeles County, four in Orange County, three in Ventura County, four in the Central Coast, and two in the Inland Empire — all of which were formerly operated under the Haggen banner — and one additional non-Haggen location in Sacramento County. Currently, Smart & Final operates 306 stores in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada and Idaho, including 251 Smart & Final banner stores, 160 of which are Smart & Final Extra! format stores.
FRISCO, TEXAS — Southside Bank will finance new development at Frisco Station, a 242-acre mixed-use development located along the Dallas North Tollway in Frisco. The bank will provide the Frisco Station Partnership, an investment entity composed of Hillwood, Rudman Partnership and Van Trust Real Estate, with a three-year revolving line of credit for constructing road, water, sewer and other utilities. Initial construction will begin in June and will include infrastructure to support office development along Warren Parkway. Frisco Station includes more than 5 million square feet of office space, 2,400 apartment units, food and beverage concepts, hotel and conference facilities and more than 250,000 square feet of retail space. Headquartered in Tyler, Texas, Southside Bank has $5.2 billion in assets and operates more than 60 banking facilities in Texas.
BOERNE and THE COLONY, TEXAS — Scooter’s Coffee will open two new locations in Texas. The coffee franchise has begun construction of an end-cap at 1 FM 3351, Suite 155 in the San Antonio suburb of Boerne. The 1,560-square-foot location will include a drive-thru and is projected to open in mid-August. The chain has also signed a lease for a drive-thru kiosk located on the southeast corner of South Colony Boulevard and Main Street in the Dallas suburb of The Colony. The 480-square-foot location is also projected to open in mid-August. The new locations will be Scooter’s sixth and seventh in Texas. Based in Omaha, Neb, Scooter’s Coffee operates more than 130 stores, with expansion plans for 40 more locations by the end of 2016. The company hopes to operate more than 500 stores by 2021.