SAN DIEGO — Union Cowork has signed a 10-year lease for the Unicorn Building in downtown San Diego. The historic space is located at 704 J St. This will be the cowork space’s fifth location in Southern California, which includes two additional outposts in the San Diego submarket of North Park. David Maxwell and Bill Shrader of Colliers International represented both Union Cowork and the landlord, PREF Unicorn, an affiliate of Paragon Real Estate Investments, in this transaction.
SEATTLE — MetLife (NYSE: MET) has purchased Alley24, a 215,402-square-foot, Class A office building with ground floor retail in Seattle’s South Lake Union submarket, for $129.3 million. HFF marketed the property on behalf of the sellers, Vulcan Inc. and PEMCO Insurance Co. MetLife assumed an existing life insurance company loan as part of the purchase. Alley24 is located at 221 Yale Ave. N. Completed in 2006, the property was one of Seattle’s first mixed-use projects to earn LEED certification and features sustainable elements such as natural daylight, operable windows, energy-efficient water flow fixtures, automatic sun-tracking sun shades and environmentally sensitive building materials. The 85 percent-leased property serves as the corporate headquarters for architectural firm NBBJ. Additional tenants include Skanska and Cole & Weber. Alley24 offers tenants two roof decks and flexible floor plans. Todd Tydlaska, Nick Kucha and Michael Leggett led the HFF team. “Alley24 is one of the only true mixed-use assets in the South Lake Union submarket, a centrally located, high-amenity, pedestrian-oriented location that has maintained historical occupancy of more than 96 percent since it was completed,” says Tydlaska. MetLife’s stock price closed at $37.43 per share on Friday, Feb. 12, down from $50.86 one year prior. — …
There is a popular song from the HBO show Treme written and performed by Steve Earle titled “This City Won’t Wash Away”. Ten years ago the wind and water of Hurricane Katrina threatened to destroy almost a third of the multifamily market in metro New Orleans. After a decade of rebuilding, the multifamily market has emerged as one of the most dynamic and resilient markets in the country. For 10 straight years this world-class city has seen strong demand, increasing rents and stable occupancy. New Orleans is not only unique in its food, music and culture, but also its geography. The Crescent City is situated on the bend of the Mississippi River with Lake Pontchartrain to its north and wetlands to the east and west. The ability to increase inventory in Metro New Orleans is seriously impaired by a lack of land, as well as historic and demographic factors. Over the past 14 years the multifamily inventory in metro New Orleans has only increased by 10,500 units, an average of only 750 units per year. Included in that number is the rebuilding of existing inventory damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Fifty percent of the increase of inventory has been in downtown …
SAN FRANCISCO — NorthMarq Capital has arranged a total of $268 million in refinancing for a pair of San Francisco-based industrial portfolios. The first portfolio received $141 million and contained 18 properties with a total of 3.3 million square feet. Major tenants include Ashley Furniture, Anixter and US Foods. The second portfolio received $127 million and contained 12 properties. Major tenants include Amazon, LG Electronics and FedEx. Dennis Williams of NorthMarq Capital’s San Francisco office finalized the refinancings for both institutional borrowers through the firm’s correspondent relationship with a life insurance company.
LOS ANGELES — A private investor has purchased the 21-unit Verona Villas condominium complex in the Los Angeles submarket of Toluca Lake for $14.7 million. The community is located at 10640 Woodbridge St. It was built in 2008. Matt Ziegler of Marcus & Millichap represented the buyer. The same firm’s Jeff Louks and Daniel Hirth represented the seller, the property’s developer.
CALEXICO, CALIF. — CBRE Group has brokered the sale of Calexico Commons, a shopping center located at 2300 Imperial Ave. in Calexico. B.H. Properties LLC sold the 145,378-square-foot property to an affiliate of Pacific Properties Group Inc. for $5.3 million. Built in 1982 and situated on 10.7 acres, Dollar Tree and Fallas Paredes anchor the center. Reg Kobzi, Brad Jones and Joel Wilson of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction.
DAVIS, CALIF. — HighBridge Properties has acquired a five-acre infill site in Davis for an undisclosed price. HighBridge intends to develop the site as rental housing for students at the nearby University of California, Davis. The site consists of 11 contiguous parcels along Olive Drive near the intersection of Richards Boulevard. Preliminary plans call for the construction of a mix of three- and five-story residential buildings with 120 to 140 student purpose-built rental units. The property is located within walking distance of both the UC Davis campus and the downtown business district. Sunny Gill of Habitat Investment Advisors brokered the transaction.
RANCHO SANTA FE, CALIF. — Grand Restaurant Group has signed a seven-year lease for 5,808 square feet of restaurant space at 6106 Paseo Delicias within Rancho Santa Fe Village in Rancho Santa Fe. The company plans to open Ponsaty’s, a restaurant led by Chef Patrick Ponsaty, in June at the space, which was the former Delicias site. Bill Shrader and David Maxwell of Colliers International represented the landlord, Millar Properties, while Michelle Bothof of Brush Real Estate and Financial Services represented the tenant in the transaction.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA. — GBT Realty Corp. has acquired 30 acres in Oklahoma City to develop the first phase of a $50 million development known as The Market at Czech Hall. The project is a 450,000-square-foot regional neighborhood center. Phase one includes the construction of 180,000 square feet of retail, along with seven available outparcels, with the first tenant expected to open fall 2016. GBT purchased the property on Jan. 11 for $3 million. The development team includes engineering firm Crafton Tull and MJM Architects.
HOUSTON — Ten-X, formerly known as Auction.com, has brokered the sale of Lighthouse Plaza, a 10,600-square-foot retail strip center in Houston that sold on the Auction.com platform for $2.2 million. A local individual investor purchased the 2013-built, 100-percent occupied center. A local LLC was the seller. Saqib Ali of Champions Real Estate, who worked with Alexander Lavell of Ten-X, brokered the transaction. Located at 8245 Mills Road, Lighthouse Plaza is a single-building structure.
