COLUMBUS — Lee & Associates has opened its second office in Ohio. Lee & Associates — Columbus is a merger between commercial real estate firm Ruscilli Real Estate Services and Lee & Associates. Tim Kelton, Mike Spencer, Dax Hudson and Todd Spencer, founders and principals of Lee & Associates — Columbus, will lead the office. Combined, the team has 85 years of commercial real estate experience in Central Ohio. In the last 10 years, the team has leased or sold more than 22 million square feet of space and developed or sold more than 750 acres of office, industrial and retail assets. In July, Lee & Associates opened its first office in Ohio, Lee & Associates Cleveland, which was followed by new offices in Denver and Houston.
LIBERTYVILLE, ILL. — I.M. Construction Group (IMCG) will renovate a new space for the Illinois Bone & Joint Institute (IBJI) located at 724 Florsheim Drive in Libertyville. A provider of orthopedic care, the firm currently operates a branch at 720 Florsheim Drive and has purchased an adjacent building to accommodate its operational needs. Construction on the 75,000-square-foot, single-story, masonry building will begin in April with completion scheduled for July 2015. Construction will include the demolition of the existing interior and the build-out of new medical office space. Once complete, IBJI will relocate its physical and occupational therapy space to the new building, which will also include additional exam rooms. Bob Nomellini, president of IMCG, will lead the firm’s construction team. In addition, Kent Nepras will serve as project manager and Angelo Christopher will serve as the superintendent. Brubaker Architects is providing architectural services. IMCG is an affiliate of The Missner Group.
OAK BROOK TERRACE, ILL. — Holladay Properties has arranged a medical office lease with Loyola University Medical Center at the Oak Brook Terrace Medical Center located at 1S224 Summit Ave. in Oak Brook Terrace. Nashville-based HCP Inc. owns the 92,000-square-foot, two-building medical campus. Loyola is expanding its presence on the campus through the addition of a conference center. Once completed, Loyola University Medical Center will occupy nearly 55,000 square feet at the Oakbrook Terrace Medical Center campus. Holladay Properties will provide construction management services for the project, which is set to be complete in July. Jeffrey Fischer of NAI Hiffman represented Loyola in the lease transaction. Michael O’Connor of Holladay Properties represented HCP.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fundrise has announced that the first-ever crowdfunded real estate project has opened in Washington, D.C.’s H Street Corridor. The project is known as Maketto, a communal food and retail market located at 1351 H St. N.E. The property will include a new restaurant from chef Erik Bruner-Yang of Toki Underground in D.C.; a DURKL retail store; gourmet coffee shop; bakery; and outdoor vendor stalls. Fundrise raised $325,000 from 175 individual, unaccredited investors who invested anywhere from $100 to $10,000 into the project. Maketto was not only Fundrise’s first offering when the platform launched in 2012, but the first real estate project in the country to allow investment from individuals online. Since its founding, Fundrise has activated more than 50,000 investors for real estate projects in top markets around the country, including landmark developments such as 3 World Trade Center in Manhattan. For a video on the Maketto project, click here.
MIAMI — Crocker Partners has completed a $15 million makeover of its 31-story SunTrust International Center, a 449,000-square-foot office tower in Miami’s central business district (CBD). The renovation includes a redesigned lobby and streetscape, 4,000-square-foot bayview sky terrace, complimentary tenant fitness center and a new conference facility. The renovation also includes 20,000 square feet devoted to fully finished office suites for companies new to the market and for growing start-ups. The building is LEED Silver-certified, has 11 high-speed elevators and on-site amenities including a restaurant, pharmacy and banking. Among recent leasing activity at SunTrust Center, the Daily Business Review, Marcum LLP, US Legal and BastAmron recently renewed and/or expanded their leases along with several other long-time tenants totaling approximately 72,000 square feet. SunTrust Center will have the largest contiguous block of space available in the CBD — 116,000 square feet — when Akerman LLP vacates later this year. Jon Blunk, Cristina Glaria and Laurel Oswald of Cushman & Wakefield are the leasing agents for the office tower.
HEBRON AND WILDER, KY. — NorthMarq Capital has arranged the refinancing of two properties in Hebron and Wilder totaling $18.1 million. The properties include Shoppes at Worldwide Park in Hebron and Aspen Pines Apartments in Wilder. Shoppes at Worldwide Park is a 13,174-square-foot unanchored retail property located at 2010 N. Bend Road. Aspen Pines is a 245-unit Class A apartment community located at 1700 Aspen Pines Drive. Susan Branscome of NorthMarq’s Cincinnati office arranged the $16.8 million loan for Aspen Pines through PPM and the $1.3 million loan for Shoppes at Worldwide Park through Symetra.
ROSWELL, GA. — Crossman & Co. has brokered the $8.6 million sale of Market Center, an 82,225-square-foot shopping center located on Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell, a suburb of Atlanta. The Office Depot-anchored center was built in 1990 and was 56 percent leased at the time of sale. Brian Carolan and John Zielinski of Crossman & Co. represented the institutional seller in the transaction. The buyer was an unnamed investment fund.
TAMPA, FLA. — ANDA Global Co. Ltd. has partnered with Fairlead Commercial Real Estate to purchase Sabal VI, a two-story, 97,527-square-foot office building located at 3611 Queen Palm Drive in Tampa. The partnership purchased the Class A asset for an undisclosed price with equity from ANDA Global and Fairlead’s investment fund, Mandalay-FCRE Fund I. Dale Peterson, Courtney Decker and Donald Jennewein of CBRE represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The asset was fully leased at the time of sale. ANDA Global is an affiliate of South Korea-based ANDA Asset Management Co. Ltd.
LOS ANGELES — Tech talent clustering is a growing driver of demand for office space in both large and small markets across the U.S., according to a new CBRE Research report, “Scoring Tech Talent,” which ranks 50 U.S. markets according to their ability to attract and grow tech talent. Atlanta ranks as number 10 on the overall tech talent list, and has the lowest apartment rents, cost of living, occupancy costs and overall cost of doing business when compared with the other cities in the top 10 (Silicon Valley, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, San Francisco Peninsula, New York, Seattle, Boston, Baltimore and Austin). While established tech markets like San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Seattle dominated the top spots on the “Tech Talent Scorecard,” many smaller, up-and-coming markets stood out as top “momentum markets” based on tech talent growth rates. Oklahoma City and Nashville had tech talent growth rates of 39 percent between 2010 and 2013, higher than Seattle (38 percent) and just below that of San Francisco (44 percent) and Baltimore (42 percent). Portland, Ore., and Charlotte both saw tech talent growth rates of 28 percent, outpacing well-known tech markets like Austin (26.5 percent), Silicon Valley (20.8 percent) and Los Angeles …
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Fisher Development Associates has broken ground for the construction of the first phase of 33 Park Avenue, 44-story residential tower on the Gold Coast of downtown Jersey City. Designed by Perkins Eastman, the 448-unit tower is part of a two-building project in Jersey City’s Liberty Harbor North area. 33 Park Avenue will feature a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom residential units, ranging from 550 to 1,200 square feet; a 24-hour concierge; an outdoor pool, lounge and landscaped deck; a children’s playroom; cyber café; business center; conference room; screening room; and bicycle and general storage space. The residential tower is slated for completion in spring 2017. At total build out, the two-phase project will feature 900 rental residences, retail space, a state-of-the-art health club, indoor and outdoor screening areas and a full-size sports court. Additional plans for the project include the development of a 267-room Marriott hotel by Tramz Hotels.