LA PORTE, TEXAS — Liberty Property Trust has acquired three industrial buildings and 139 acres of additional land in La Porte, a suburb of Houston, for $93 million. The 100 percent leased buildings consist of two rail-served facilities and a cross-dock building totaling 921,196 square feet, and are located in the Port Crossing Commerce Center. The buildings are located in close proximity to both the Bayport container terminals and the Barbour’s Cut terminal at the Port of Houston. Tenants in the park include Anheuser-Busch, Gulf Winds, Ferguson Enterprises and Overland Distribution. Liberty plans to add an additional 2 million square feet of space to Port Crossing Commerce Center. Phase I of development, which could include a 408,000-square-foot cross-dock building and a 105,000-square-foot rear-load building, could commence in 2016.
OKLAHOMA CITY AND EULESS, TEXAS — Steadfast Apartment REIT has acquired apartment communities in separate transactions in Oklahoma City and metro Dallas totaling 654 units for an aggregate purchase price of $88.5 million. Steadfast Apartment REIT entered the state of Oklahoma with the purchase of The Shores, a 300-unit, Class A apartment community that was constructed in 2013 on 22 acres. The complex includes a clubhouse/leasing center, 11 three-story apartment buildings and 12 two-story townhome buildings boasting one-, two- and three-bedroom configurations. Apartment homes range from 649 to 1,288 square feet with average in-place rents of $1,030. The Shores was 93.7 percent occupied at the time of sale. Monticello by the Vineyard is located in Euless, 25 miles from both Dallas and Fort Worth. Built in 2002, Monticello features 21 three-story apartment buildings, five garage buildings and a leasing office/clubhouse on approximately 20 acres. The property offers 354 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes in 21 different layouts averaging 993 square feet. Average in-place rents are $1,245 and the community was 96.9 occupied at the time of sale.
MCKINNEY, TEXAS — KWA Construction, a general contractor specializing in multifamily developments, has completed the Millennium, a 162,440-square-foot affordable housing project, on behalf of GroundFloor Development. Located in McKinney, 130 of the 164 residences will be reserved for low-income residents as an affordable housing option. The Millennium is KWA’s third construction assignment completed for GroundFloor Development. The four-story multifamily rental development features one-, two- and three-bedroom units that offer nine-foot ceilings, patios and balconies and high-end appliances. Amenities in the Millennium include a community center with a swimming pool, library, business and fitness centers, a porch and cookout area. The location allows for children living in the Millennium to attend schools in the Frisco Independent School District and adults to have access to financial planning and health and nutrition classes. The Millennium affordable housing project is a joint effort between not-for-profit organization Inclusive Communities Project, which works to create and expand affordable housing opportunities, and McKinney’s Housing Authority, whose mission is to serve the housing needs of low to moderate-income families in the authority’s jurisdiction.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — bluebird bio Inc. has signed a 10-year lease with Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. to occupy a 253,000-square-foot, build-to-suit property at 60 Binney St. at Alexandria Center at Kendall Square campus in Cambridge. The lease is for the entire 60 Binney Street building except for a ground-floor retail suite. The project is on track to be delivered in late 2016. bluebird bio, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, plans to relocate its headquarters to the new facility, which will also expand its presence in Cambridge. The Alexandria Center at Kendall Square is a fully integrated urban campus featuring 2.3 million rentable square feet of state-of-the-art office/laboratory space and high-quality amenities, including retail and restaurant facilities, a 33,000-square-foot Cambridge Athletic Club and two acres of open space.
NEW YORK CITY — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of a mixed-use property located at 741 Fulton St. in Brooklyn. BBD Enterprises sold the 2,600-square-foot property, which features multifamily and retail space, for $2.3 million. Dwane Omar Jones represented the seller and the buyer, a local private investment partnership, in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Fundrise, a platform for crowdfunded online real estate investment, has partnered with 306 7th Street LLC to provide $2 million in funding for an apartment repositioning in Brooklyn’s Park Slope. The partnership has selected JLB Project Management to oversee the three-unit apartment repositioning. Fundrise investors are projected to receive a gross annual return of 11 percent paid current quarterly over an 18-month term. Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet. JPB Project Management specializes in high-quality, boutique projects in and around New York City. The firm has completed several similar renovations in the area.
WOODBRIDGE, N.J. — T.J. Maxx has opened a new location at St. Georges Crossing in Woodbridge. Levin Management constructed the freestanding 23,000-square-foot store on an underutilized parcel of land adjacent to the original St. Georges Crossing site. Levin spearheaded the off-market land purchase, secured the T.J. Maxx lease and obtained site plan approval for the new building, which enabled the firm to bring the nationally recognized tenant to the 340,000-square-foot shopping center. Current tenants include ShopRite, P.C. Richard & Son, PetSmart, Pier 1 Imports, Golf Galaxy, Shannon Rose, AutoZone, Bertucci’s, Wine Country, Verizon Wireless, European Wax Center, Visionworks and Taco Bell, among others.
SHORT HILLS, N.J. — KMPG, a global accounting firm, has signed a long-term lease for 54,341 square feet of office space at 150 John F. Kennedy Parkway in Short Hills. The 247,476-square-foot property, which is owned by Mack-Cali Realty Corp., recently underwent renovations that included the lobby and an enhanced entryway. Amenities at the property feature lobby-level food service and complimentary Wi-Fi in the café and lobby. With the signing of KPMG, 150 John F. Kennedy Parkway is now 100 percent leased. Jeffrey Babikian, Patrick Murphy and Kenneth Boland of CBRE represented the tenant in the transaction.
OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — NorthMarq Capital has arranged a $24.4 million HUD refinancing for Whispering Hills Apartments located at 8800 W. 124th St. in Overland Park, a Kansas City suburb. Brent Blake of NorthMarq arranged the refinancing for the 376-unit property. The transaction was structured with a 35-year amortization term. Amenities of the apartment complex include equipped kitchens with granite counters, private patios with storage, washer and dryer connections, an on-site DVD library, numerous catered events, an indoor and outdoor swimming pool and a 24-hour fitness center.
ROCKFORD, ILL. — Quantum Real Estate Advisors Inc. has brokered the sale of a 9,000-square-foot retail building located at 7310 Walton St. in Rockford, approximately 90 miles west of Chicago. The property was sold for $2.7 million and was 78 percent leased at the time of sale. The tenants at the time of sale were Aspen Dental and Sleep Number. Chad Firsel and Daniel Waszak of Quantum were the sole brokers in the transaction. The seller was an undisclosed real estate investor based in Illinois, and the buyer was an undisclosed Texas-based fund. Quantum Real Estate Advisors Inc. specializes in investment sales brokerage and assisting clients in the acquisition and disposition of commercial real estate.