COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS — Haven Campus Communities has acquired The Tradition at Northgate, a 795-bed student housing community located across the street from the Texas A&M campus in College Station. ARA Newmark’s Student Housing Group, led by Ryan Lang, brokered the transaction. Haven plans to implement a renovation project that will be delivered in time for the fall 2017 semester. Renovated units will be furnished with fully equipped kitchens, large flat screen televisions, washers and dryers and trundle beds with pillow top mattresses. The apartments will also feature upgraded private bedrooms and bathrooms with bed to bath parity. Community amenities will include a large central courtyard with an indoor/outdoor lounge leading out to a resort-style pool, covered grills, hammocks and fire pits and a 24-hour fitness center. The clubhouse will feature a cyber-lounge with charging stations, a study room with smart TVs, a coffee bar, pool tables and shuffleboard. The property will also feature a new 1,360-square-foot computer lab when renovations are complete.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Vesper Holdings has announced the launch of its in-house student housing management company Campus Life & Style (CLS) to manage its rapidly growing portfolio of off-campus apartment communities. Based in Austin, the CLS team will be led by COO Jim Sholders, who most recently served as senior vice president at American Campus Communities. To lead the new company’s design side, Vesper has tapped top New York interior designer Jon Call.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Austin-based developer Johnson Trube & Associates is developing Skyloft, a Class A student housing property one block from the University of Texas at Austin campus. Located at 507 W. 23rd St., the project will total 22 floors, with four below-grade parking levels and 18 residential levels. Skyloft will house 212 units with a mix of one- to four-bedroom units totaling 677 beds. The project will feature a rooftop pool and fitness center, 24-hour study lounges, media room and underground parking. A recent vote by the Austin City Council green-lighted the move of the historic Dabney-Horne home currently on the site, which is allowing the Johnson Trube development to move forward. The development will offer a percentage of its units as affordable housing. Johnson Trube & Associates plans to break ground in August with an opening scheduled for late July/early August 2018. Project team members include architectural firms Mark Hart Architecture and STG Design and general contractor JE Dunn Construction.
SAN ANTONIO — Somervell Commercial Realty has begun construction on GM Financial Servicing Center in San Antonio. The 100,000-square-foot, two-story facility is located on 13.8 acres in the Westover area at the intersection of North Ellison Drive and Westover Link. Somervell plans to complete the building in one year, after which the building will host 500 employees. The project received tax abatements from Bexar County and the city of San Antonio, as well as a $2.5 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund. The facility’s exterior walls will display a stone pattern created by reveals and at least two colors. Tinted green glass curtain walls will be located at two-story entry atriums on the north and south sides of the property.
SAN ANTONIO — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of AT&T Distribution Center, a 131,755-square-foot industrial property located in San Antonio. Joshua Murphy of Marcus & Millichap’s San Antonio office marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor. Jon Danklefs of Marcus & Millichap’s San Antonio office secured and represented the buyer, an individual/personal trust. AT&T Distribution Center is located at 827-829 AT&T Center Parkway. Built in 1975 on five acres, the property is adjacent to the AT&T Center in the northeast San Antonio industrial submarket.
NEW YORK CITY — Meridian Capital Group has arranged $28 million in permanent financing for a multi-tenant medical office property located 902 Quentin Road in Brooklyn. The five-year loan, provided by Bethpage Federal Credit Union, features a fixed rate of 4.25 percent and the ability to prepay at any time without a penalty. The eight-story, 72,300-square-foot property is currently occupied by New York University and Touro College. Shaya Ackerman and Shaya Sonnenschein of Meridian Capital arranged the financing.
NEW YORK CITY — InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has opened Holiday Inn Brooklyn Nevins Station at 300 Schermerhorn St. in downtown Brooklyn. The 81,000-square-foot hotel was developed by K.K. and Sanjeev Mehta. Designed by Gene Kaufman Architect, the 15-story property features 246 guest rooms, including a 400-square-foot Presidential Suite and a 250-square-foot Junior Suite. On-site amenities include entertainment and meeting facilities; a 1,200-square-foot outdoor terrace; 4,000 square feet of dining, bar and lounge options; an indoor pool; and fitness center.
STAMFORD, CONN., AND BETHESDA, MD.— Stockholders from Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR) and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) have approved Marriott’s acquisition of Starwood. The new entity will be the world’s largest hotel company with 30 brands, approximately 5,700 hotels and 1.1 million hotel rooms. The shareholder vote conducted at each company on April 8 passed easily with 97 percent of Marriott’s shareholders approving the transaction and 95 percent of Starwood’s shareholders approving the deal. “There is no doubt that this transaction puts our company on the best path forward,” says Thomas Mangas, Starwood’s CEO. “We remain excited about the opportunity this combination will create for our stockholders, associates, owners and guests.” At closing, Starwood stockholders will receive 0.8 shares of Marriott common stock, plus $21 in cash for each share of Starwood common stock. The transaction is on target to close by the middle of this year.
HARTSDALE, N.Y. — Northeast Private Client Group has brokered the sale of a retail property located at 150-152 S. Central Ave. in Hartsdale. A family trust sold the property to a New York-based investor for $8.8 million, or $420 per square foot. Situated on 1.7 acres, the multi-tenant property comprises 21,000 square feet and is currently occupied by Ethan Allen and Blinds to Go, each on 10-year leases with rent escalations and option periods. Edward Jordan of Northeast Private Client Group represented the seller, while Vijay Raghavan of Vijay Realtors represented the buyer in the transaction.
ALBANY, N.Y. — Eastern Union Funding has arranged construction financing for UP REALTY LLC for the conversion of 20 Park Street in Albany from office to residential use. Motti Blau of Eastern Union negotiated the two-year, $7.3 million loan with the Albany office of Community Preservation Corp. The four-story, 94,920-square-foot former office building is being redeveloped into 73 rental units. On-site amenities will include a rooftop deck, gym and parking. The property is connected to the Times Union Center indoor arena, the Empire State Plaza complex, additional parking and the future convention center via a covered pedestrian walkway. Construction is slated for completion by early summer.