The retail market in Utah continues to build steam and has expanded over the past 12 months. With these gains, tenants are in abundance and new construction is on the rise. Vacancy continued to improve through 2014, as the overall vacancy rate declined by 0.7 percentage points on a year-over-year basis to end at 6.2 percent. This represents the lowest vacancy rate of the past decade. With supply constrained and demand improving, average asking lease rates jumped by 9 percent on a year-over-year basis, to $18.98 per square foot. New construction continued across the valley, with 548,577 square feet of space added to the market. The local housing market drives retail development in Utah. About 18,573 building permits have been issued throughout the state in the past two years, including multifamily projects. This construction pushed many retailers into expansion mode, looking to take up shop in locations that cut off the competition. This is particularly true in one segment of the market that now stands supreme in the Utah retail ecosystem: grocery. Grocers have expanded at a breakneck rate. Sprout’s Farmers Market opened new stores in Holladay and South Jordan. A Smith’s Marketplace opened its doors in West Jordan at …
DALLAS — 400 Record, a downtown Dallas office building formerly known as the Belo Building, will be renovated. The Hartland-Mackie family owns the 17-story, 235,000-square-foot office tower located at the corner of Wood and Record streets. Design firm Gensler is leading the renovation, which will include upgrades to the entrances, a new glass-walled lobby, a garden on the top floor, a restaurant, new fitness center and new conference center. Another major feature of the remodel is a restaurant and bar, which will appear to float in the space and is covered in bronze metal panels. Restaurant consultant Sharon Hage is working with the Hartland-Mackie family on the dining space.
BLUFFTON, IND. — Stan Johnson Co. has arranged the $20.5 million sale-leaseback of an industrial facility in Bluffton. The property, which is leased to Alexin LLC, is located at 1390 South Adams St. Ken Hedrick, Jerry Hopkins, D. Andrew Ragsdale and Scott Briggs of Stan Johnson Co. represented the seller and the buyer in the corporate sale-leaseback transaction. The 90,108-square-foot facility was built in 2009. The location currently serves as Alexin’s headquarters and aluminum casting facility.
CLUTE, TEXAS — Cencor Realty Services has broken ground on Woodshore Marketplace, a 140,000-square-foot shopping center at the southeast corner of Oyster Creek Drive and Dixie Drive within the master-planned Woodshore community near Houston. A 123,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace will anchor Woodshore Marketplace. The Kroger Marketplace is projected to open in December. In addition to the Kroger, Woodshore Marketplace will also include 16,450 square feet of in-line space, along with three pad sites for freestanding concepts. Steve Chandler of Cencor is directing development of the community center. Woodshore Marketplace is set for completion in later this year.
DULUTH, MINN. — Summit Management has begun construction on BlueStone Flats, a 142-unit high-end luxury apartment community in the BlueStone Commons residential and commercial development in Duluth. The new building will include studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans. Units will feature balconies, six-foot windows, granite countertops, custom wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances and plank flooring pendant lighting. Amenities at the property will include an indoor, year-round swimming pool, whirlpool, sauna and a fitness center. Doran Construction, a Bloomington, Minn.-based general contracting company, will also build Bluestone Flats. An official groundbreaking ceremony for BlueStone Flats will take place in May.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Sperry Van Ness / Visions Commercial have arranged three new office lease transactions at Fossil Creek Station office complex in Fort Worth. CelSana LLC leased 1,091 square feet for a three-year term beginning May 1; Scott Boyd, CPA leased 1,091 square feet for a three-year term that began April 1; and Blue Star Consulting leased 1,091 square feet for a three-year term that began March 1. Located at 6642 N. Riverside Drive, Fossil Creek Station is a four-building office complex situated just north of I-820 and east of I-35 off Western Center Blvd. The property was built in 2006. Clint Montgomery with Sperry Van Ness / Visions Commercial represented the property owner, Value Builders Inc., in all three transactions.
STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS — Balfour Beatty has reached financial close on a new, $76 million phase of development for a student housing project at Tarleton State University, a member of the Texas A&M University System. In this third phase of the partnership, the Balfour Beatty team will deliver more than 1,000 student housing beds at the University’s Stephenville campus, as well as academic space for the ROTC program and shell space for a university-operated health clinic. Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions, a developer and operator of infrastructure projects for the university market, will serve as the lead developer on the project, which is scheduled to break ground later this month and open in August 2016. Dallas-based Balfour Beatty Construction will continue as the construction partner on the project. Designed by BOKA Powell Architects, a new 616-bed housing facility will be located adjacent to the football stadium, and will include two four-story structures with both four- and two-bedroom units in a modified suite configuration that will include private bedrooms, semi-private baths, a living room and kitchenette. Balfour Beatty will also renovate and expand Traditions Hall, an existing 180-bed student housing facility that will grow to 446 beds configured in double and single semi-suite …
PHILADELPHIA — Shorenstein Properties has completed the acquisition of a 1818 Beneficial Bank Place, a commercial office tower in Philadelphia’s Market Street West submarket. Also known as 1818 Market Street, the 988,000-square-foot building features Class A office space, ground-floor retail space and parking for more than 400 vehicles. The property serves as the headquarters for Beneficial Bank and Five Below. Terms of the transaction were not released. The company acquired the property on behalf of its eleventh real estate investment fund, formed in 2014 with $1.22 billion in committed capital from Shorenstein and its investors.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS — Brian Gramlich of BMC Capital’s Dallas office has arranged a $612,500 purchase loan for a 20-unit apartment complex located in Arlington. The loan features a five-year term with a 4.3 percent interest rate and a 30-year amortization schedule. The loan was arranged through one of BMC Capital’s correspondent bank relationships.
NEW YORK CITY — Madison Realty Capital has provided $34 million in financing for the acquisition and renovation of a mixed-use residential and retail building in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. The loan provides $29 million in immediate acquisition funding and $5 million for planned renovations. Located at 125 West 16th St., the 39,504-square-foot building features 40 residential units and two ground-floor retail units. The name of the borrower was not released.