AUSTIN, TEXAS — Hank Crane of BMC Capital’s Austin office has arranged a $2.5 million acquisition loan for a 36-unit apartment property located in Austin. The loan features a 75 percent loan-to-value ratio, five-year term, fixed interest rate at 4.37 percent and a 30-year amortization schedule. The loan was arranged through one of BMC Capital’s credit union correspondent relationships.
PASADENA, TEXAS — NAI Partners represented Bart Industries LP in leasing 30,000 square feet of new industrial space located at 1605-A Genoa Red Bluff in Pasadena. John Ferruzzo and Chris Kugle of NAI Partners represented the landlord, Bart Industries, while Leigh Anne Ahr of Proximity Real Estate Advisors represented the tenant, WLSC Incopro LLC.
CARROLLTON, TEXAS — Variosystems Inc. has purchased a 14,550-square-foot light industrial building in Valwood Industrial Park for its international headquarters. The electronics service company is planning to relocate in 60 to 90 days to 1628 Valwood Parkway in Carrollton from its current leased space in Southlake. Variosystems has acquired a former call center on nearly 3.5 acres from Global Harvest Church, which was represented by George Tanghongs of Lee & Associates. The property is located near I-35, I-635 and the George Bush Turnpike and was developed in 1986. The air-conditioned tech space will be retooled to include employee areas. Founded in 1993, Variosystems specializes in engineering and global project management. It employs more than 1,100 professionals in the U.S., Switzerland, Sri Lanka and China.
MIAMI — The city of Miami has given its approval to the development team of Miami Worldcenter, a $2 billion, 27-acre mixed-use development in downtown Miami. The green light allows the development team to apply for building permits. Miami Worldcenter is a collaboration between master developer Miami Worldcenter Associates and a team of development firms following a master plan created by Elkus Manfredi Architects. The Forbes Co. and Taubman will deliver a 765,000-square-foot shopping mall, which will be anchored by Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s alongside high-end dining and entertainment options. The team behind the PARAMOUNT Miami Worldcenter condo, the project’s signature residential tower, includes Miami-based developer Daniel Kodsi in partnership with Art Falcone and Nitin Motwani. Nearby, a 429-unit luxury apartment building developed by ZOM will rise adjacent to Bloomingdale’s. Two blocks west, Miami-based MDM Group will develop a new Marriott Marquis hotel, which will feature 1,800 hotel rooms and 600,000 square feet of meeting and event space. The groundbreaking for these components of Miami Worldcenter is scheduled to take place in the third quarter of 2015.
ARLINGTON, VA. — Mesa West Capital has originated a $55 million mortgage loan to refinance the Hilton Crystal City, a 393-room hotel located in Arlington, a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. Nicholas Seidenberg and Michael Zelin of Eastdil Secured arranged the loan through Mesa West on behalf of the borrower, The JBG Cos. The non-recourse, floating-rate loan features interest-only payments for the full term, which is initially three years but features extension options. JBG renovated the hotel in September 2013, which helped boost the hotel’s occupancy and Average Daily Rate, according to Mesa West.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Continuing its buying spree of Publix grocery stores in Florida, Publix Super Markets Inc. has purchased the Publix at Sunrise, a 44,840-square-foot, single-tenant Publix grocery store located at 1415 E. Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. Publix Super Markets purchased the net-leased asset from Stiles Corp. for $22.5 million free and clear of existing debt. Daniel Finkle, Luis Castillo and Nat Scarmazzi of HFF represented Stiles in the transaction.
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Berkadia has brokered the $12.4 million sale of East Central Lofts, a 72-unit, Class A apartment community located at 274 Huger St. in Charleston. Built in 2013, East Central Lofts comprises studio, one- and two-bedroom units with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors and floor-to-ceiling windows. The property’s amenities include laundry facilities on each floor, a bocce ball court, barbecue area and covered and gated parking. The property offers views of the Ravenel Bridge and is located within walking distance of historic downtown Charleston. East Central Lofts LLC sold the asset to a group of buyers, including Federal Capital Partners, Kane Realty Corp., Randolph Development and Canongate Capital. Mark Boyce of Berkadia’s Charleston office brokered the transaction.
PURCHASE, N.Y. — WESTMED Medical Group has opened its fifth full-service office in Westchester County, N.Y. Located at 3030 Westchester Ave. within Purchase Professional Park in Purchase, the four-story, 85,000-square-foot medical office property is the first new construction along the Interstate 287 corridor in more than 25 years. Developers Simone Healthcare Development and Fareri Associates completed the $22 million property in less than 14 months. The medical facility will offer a variety of specialty practices, including internal medicine, pediatrics, dermatology, endocrinology, ENT, plastic surgery, reproductive endocrinology, critical care and neurology among others.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — ARA, A Newmark Company (ARA Newmark) has brokered the $10 million sale of a 0.6-acre waterfront development site at 321 N. Birch Road in Fort Lauderdale. The site has more than 200 feet of frontage on the Intracoastal Waterway and is steps away from the beach and the Atlantic Ocean. The site is approved for an 11-story, 22-unit condominium project, as well as a marina with four 70-foot boat slips. Troy Ballard, Avery Klann and Marc deBaptiste of ARA Newmark represented the sellers, Jeremy Bedzow and Grand Birch LLC. An affiliate of Sobel Co. known as 321 Birch LLC purchased the development site. According to ARA Newmark, the sales price of $454,000 per unit is the new record for land pricing per unit for a non-oceanfront site in South Florida.
BOSTON AND LOS ANGELES — Boston-based Sperry Van Ness International Corp. (SVNIC) has partnered with Los Angeles-based DealPoint Merrill to form a private equity firm. Operating under the name of SVN DealPoint Merrill Realty Partners, the new firm will capitalize on SVNIC’s access to investment opportunities, which will be then matched by DealPoint Merrill’s development experience. Kevin Maggiacomo, president and CEO of SVNIC, explains that the “goal of the new partnership is to build preeminent investor value by acquiring co-investment assets, which are fundamentally sound but undervalued.” “On a risk-adjusted basis, we prefer apartments, multi-tenant retail, self-storage and medical properties,” notes David Frank, CEO of DealPoint Merrill. “The new partnership will secure multiple rounds of real estate equity investment with the first tranche of approximately $100 million in the first year to acquire property in the name of the partnership.” SVNIC has approximately $9.1 billion in annual sales volumes and 190 national sales offices. DealPoint Merrill has acquired more than $2 billion in assets and attracted more than $1 billion in equity for commercial real estate investments.