COLUMBUS — Vineyard Vines, a clothing and accessories retailer, has opened a 3,000-square-foot store at Easton Town Center in Columbus. The retailer leased space at the property located at 160 Easton Town Center. The store is the brand’s third Midwest location after Chicago and St. Louis. The Georgetown Co. and Steiner + Associates developed Easton Town Center, a 1.7 million-square-foot shopping center that opened in 1999. Vineyard Vines plans to open 10 more stores in major markets throughout the U.S. by the end of 2015.
Property Type
SAN ANTONIO — CBRE has secured $44.6 million in acquisition financing for Signature Ridge, a 612-unit, Class A multifamily community in San Antonio. The loan carries a 10-year floating-rate term, five years of interest-only payments and a 70 percent loan-to-value ratio. Fannie Mae provided financing. Jim Kirkpatrick of CBRE’s Houston office arranged the financing on behalf of the borrower, a joint venture between RailField Realty Partners and Artemis Real Estate. Located at 3711 Medical Drive, Signature Ridge is garden-style apartment community situated on more than 30 acres. The property is located within minutes of South Texas Medical Center and just southeast of USAA’s 4.2 million-square-foot campus.
KINGWOOD, TEXAS —NorthMarq Capital’s Kansas City-based regional office has negotiated the refinancing of Discovery at Kingwood Apartments, a 324-unit multifamily property located at 150 Northpark Plaza Drive in Kingwood. The 10-year loan includes five years of interest-only payments and a 30-year amortization schedule. NorthMarq arranged financing for the borrower through its seller-servicer relationship with Freddie Mac.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Embassy Suites Oklahoma City Downtown/Medical Center is now open in Oklahoma City. The new hotel is the third Embassy Suites property in Oklahoma. The full-service hotel includes 195 two-room guest suites and more than 10,000 square feet of meeting space. There is an on-site restaurant, E.S. Founders, led by chef Andrew Black. OU E. Suites LLC own Embassy Suites Oklahoma City Downtown/Medical Center and Prism Hotels & Resorts manages the property. The hotel’s amenities include free made-to-order breakfast, a 24-hour fitness center and a business center. The hotel is located at 741 N. Phillips Ave. near downtown Oklahoma City.
PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS — Baker Katz has completed the renovation of a 90,000-square-foot retail center in Port Arthur. Located at the corner of Highway 69 and FM 365, Baker Katz transformed the single-tenant building into a multi-tenant center, with interior and exterior property renovations as well as added an additional 7,000-square-foot building. Port Arthur Center is fully leased to tenants including Hobby Lobby, Party City, PetSmart, Firehouse Subs, Cash Store, Gulfside Dental and Chipotle Mexican Grill. The 57,300-square-foot Hobby Lobby and 14,000-square-foot Party City are open and fully operating, while the remaining tenants are slated to open in late 2015. Baker Katz purchased the building from the Sutherland Lumber Co. in 2012.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — HFF has arranged acquisition financing for Belterra, a 288-unit, Class A apartment complex in Fort Worth. HFF worked on behalf of the borrower, Venterra Realty, to place the five-year loan with a fixed interest rate at 3.1 percent through PPM Finance Inc. The entire loan consists of interest-only payments. Belterra is located at 7001 Sandshell Blvd., east of I-35 West and south of Basswood Boulevard within the Keller Independent School District. Completed in 2005, the property has one-, two- and three-bedroom units averaging 966 square feet. Community amenities include a swimming pool, hot tub, fireside lounge areas, basketball court, fitness center, clubhouse, business center, billiards lounge and car care center. The property is 94 percent occupied. Cortney Cole and Steve Heldenfels led HFF’s debt placement team.
Stewart/Perry Co. Breaks Ground on $20M Conversion of Former Hotel in Downtown Birmingham
by John Nelson
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — The Stewart/Perry Co., a construction firm based in Birmingham, has started construction at the former Hotel Thomas Jefferson site in downtown Birmingham. The $20 million project will convert the historic hotel into a mixed-use apartment building with 96 residential units and ground-floor retail space. The 20-story structure, which was built in 1929 as a 350-room hotel, is best known for having the world’s last zeppelin mooring mast on the rooftop, which will be preserved in the new project. Scott Reed of Reed Realty Advisors has partnered with Brian Beshara and Adam Beshara of Beshara Investment Group to develop the property. The team has utilized historic tax credits administered by the National Park Service, as well as a new funding program operated by the state of Alabama. The project team expects to deliver the new apartment tower in the second quarter of 2016.
NEW YORK CITY — Dalan Management has purchased two 12-story office buildings located at 10 and 12 East 33rd St. in New York City’s Midtown South neighborhood. The assets, which feature 22 full-floor office lofts and ground-floor retail space, sold for $36 million as part of a 1031 exchange. Additionally, the properties, which total 61,100 square feet, are zoned for conversion to residential or hotel space. Timour Shafran and Phil Fierro of Citicore represented Dalan, while Pavan Uttam of UP Real Estate Advisors represented the seller, Adee Associates, in the transaction.
MAMARONECK, N.Y. — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA) has brokered the sale of Soundview Apartments, an apartment building overlooking Long Island Sound in Mamaroneck. Bayou Properties Inc. purchased the 86-unit property for $15.9 million, or $184,300 per unit. Located at 151 Fenimore Road and built in 1926, the property features eight studios, 36 one-bedroom units, 41 two-bedroom units and one three-bedroom unit. Additionally, the property features a 21-car parking garage, fitness room, on-site laundry and a private courtyard. Steve Witten, Victor Nolletti, Adam Mancinone and Blake Barbarisi of IPA represented the seller, Soundview Apartments Co., in the transaction. J.D. Parker of Marcus & Millichap is the broker of record in New York. IPA is a division of Marcus & Millichap that specializes in serving institutional and major private real estate investors.
PARSIPPANY, N.J. — A joint venture between Intercontinental and Ivy Realty has acquired Morris Corporate Center 4 (MCC 4) in Parsippany for an undisclosed price. Situated within the 182-acre Morris Corporate Center campus, MCC 4 offers 345,218 square feet of office space within two interconnected five-story buildings at 369 and 379 Interpace Parkway. Constructed in 2000, MCC 4 is the newest office building at Morris Corporate Center. Jeffrey Dunne, Kevin Walsh, Brian Schulz, Frank Maresca, Remy deVarenne and Sarah Jones-Maturo of CBRE represented the seller, a subsidiary of MetLife, in the transaction.