CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cousins Properties Inc. plans to develop Dimensional Fund Advisors’ new 229,000-square-foot regional headquarters in Charlotte. The Class A office building will be located on a 2.3-acre site in Charlotte’s South End. The project is a 50/50 joint venture between Cousins and Dimensional. Construction is anticipated to begin in the fourth quarter, and delivery is slated for the fourth quarter of 2018. Dimensional signed a 15-year lease to occupy 100 percent of the building upon completion.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. — Mesa West Capital has originated a $56.8 million acquisition loan for Northbridge Centre, a 287,000-square-foot, Class A office building located at 515 N. Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach. The sponsor, 515 N. Flagler Drive Owner LLC, recently acquired the property from Gaedeke Group, which had owned the building for 20 years. The floating rate loan includes a future funding component to be used toward leasing costs, according to Mesa West Capital. Built in 1987 and renovated in 2002, the office building was 71 percent leased at the time of sale.
MAUMELLE, ARK. — Dominium, an apartment development and management firm based in Minneapolis, has purchased The Gables of Maumelle, a 120-unit apartment community located in the Little Rock metro area. Built in 2001, The Gables is Dominium’s first acquisition in Arkansas. Dominium will upgrade the property’s clubhouse and pool with new furniture, artwork, painting and a new fully equipped fitness room. All units will receive washers and dryers, and select units will receive new flooring, appliances and other improvements. The property will also receive updated signage, major landscaping and new lighting. The sales price and seller were not disclosed.
COVINGTON, LA. — Doster Construction has broken ground on Springs at River Chase, an apartment community located in Covington, situated across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans. The property will feature floor plans ranging from studio to three-bedroom, and community amenities will include a clubhouse, resort-style pool, 24-hour fitness center, dog park, attached and detached garages, car care center and a pet spa. The project team includes developer Continental Properties and architect of record Phillips Partnership. Doster has completed more than 1,000 units of multifamily housing in the last year, including Springs at Fremaux in Slidell, La.
STAMFORD, CONN. — Anbang Insurance Group and Marriott International Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) entered a ceasefire yesterday. The bidding war between the two companies to purchase Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) has ended, as Anbang has rescinded its latest offer. A consortium consisting of Anbang, J.C. Flowers & Co. and Primavera Capital Limited upped its offer to $14 billion on March 26, outbidding Marriott’s previous offer of $13.6 billion, but Anbang is now withdrawing its offer due to “market considerations.” It isn’t clear why Anbang retracted its latest bid or if Marriott had been planning to counteroffer. Both Starwood’s and Marriott’s shares fell over 4 percent in Thursday’s after-hours trading. Starwood’s stock price closed on March 31 at $83.43 per share and opened April 1 at $79.81. Marriott’s stock price closed at $71.18 and opened at $67.48 per share. Starwood’s board of directors continues to unanimously support the existing merger with Marriott, which will create the largest hospitality company in the world. “Throughout this process, we have been focused on maximizing stockholder value now and in the future,” says Bruce Duncan, chairman of Starwood’s board. “We continue to be very excited about the combination of our two companies and …
Mexico is what drives El Paso. Mexico is the dog and El Paso is the tail. When the dog is happy the tail gets to wag, and we’re wagging pretty hard right now. The El Paso industrial market hasn’t been this strong since at least 1990. Juarez, Chihuahua, El Paso’s Mexican counterpart directly across the border, posted a third consecutive year of positive industrial absorption in 2015. Build-to-suit development activity is at a level not seen in five years. As a direct result, El Paso’s industrial vacancy rate dipped below 9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015, the strongest tenancy performance in nearly a decade, according to Cushman & Wakefield | PIRES International. All the leasing activity we’ve been seeing has been chewing into the city’s vacancy rate. El Paso’s Class A vacancy rate is now below 2 percent. For example, in February, Los Angeles-based BH Properties leased a 409,000-square-foot industrial space located at 9600 Pan American Drive between Interstate 10 and the Rio Grande to a subsidiary of Sweden-based Electrolux Group. Electrolux Group chose the location because it is near the Zaragoza Bridge, El Paso’s far-east port of entry, providing convenient access to the company’s plant across the …
CHANDLER, ARIZ. — Virtú Investments has purchased The Fairways, a 352-unit apartment community in Chandler, for $47 million. The Class A community is located at 777 W. Chandler Blvd. The Fairways is 95 percent occupied. The community was built in two phases in 1986 and 1996, overlooking the historic San Marcos Golf Resort. Cindy Cooke and Brad Cooke of Colliers’ Phoenix office represented the seller, BAZV Fairways LLC, in this transaction.
SAN DIEGO — RAF Pacifica Group has purchased a 16-building industrial portfolio in San Diego. The price was not disclosed, though the firm secured a $19.6 million loan at 50 percent leverage for the acquisition. The 277,040-square-foot portfolio is fully leased. It contains six projects with a total of 87 tenants. The projects include Carroll Way Industrial Park, Rancho Pacifica Business Center, Sorrento Mesa Commerce Center, Enterprise Business Center, and Oceanside Business Park I & II. Oceanside Business Park I & II was purchased from a private owner, while the remainder were acquired from a private international real estate investment firm. James Ruiz and Lori Wendel of Keystone Mortgage Corp. provided acquisition financing. Randy LaChance of Voit, Bob Willingham of Kidder Mathews, along with John Witherall, Josh McFadyen and Joe Crotty of Colliers International, executed the transaction.
FLAGSTAFF, ARIZ. — American Campus Communities has broken ground on its fourth student housing community in partnership with Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. The 284,982-square-foot residential community, to be named SkyView, will house 626 students in 163 units. The property will comprise three-, four- and five-story buildings with flat and townhome floor plans. The community offers two-, three- and four-bedroom units with bed-to-bath parity. Select two-bedroom units will also feature a half bath. A two-story, 12,602-square-foot community center will be located on the property, and will offer academic amenities including private study rooms, a quiet study loft and an academic success center. The community center will also feature a large community plaza with a fire pit, active gaming and lounge areas, and mail and leasing services. The property will also contain a two-story fitness center with storage lockers and bike parking. The SkyView transaction was structured under ACC’s American Campus Equity program, which gives universities the opportunity to expand their student housing portfolio while taking on the least amount of risk. Under the ACE program, no university financial resources will be used. The development is set to open in fall 2017.
YUBA CITY, CALIF. — Blueprint Healthcare Real Estate Advisors has arranged the $13.5 million sale of Summerfield Senior Living, a 71-unit assisted living and memory care community in Yuba City, approximately 40 miles north of Sacramento. The community opened in 1993. A California-based entrepreneur bought the community in 2005 as a value-add opportunity. It was the only seniors housing property in the owner’s portfolio, so it was sold to a growing owner/operator. Neither party was disclosed. The purchase price equates to approximately $190,000 per unit. Jacob Gehl and Mike Segal were the lead advisors on the transaction.