NEW YORK CITY — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 6,385-square-foot land parcel located at 71-74 Parsons Blvd. in the Kews Gardens section of Queens. The asset sold for $2.5 million. The 67-foot by 83-foot parcel offers a floor area ratio of 2.43 for a residential development and a floor area ratio of 4.8 for a development that includes a community facility. Steven Siegel and Michael Kook of Marcus & Millichap’s Manhattan office represented both the seller, a bank/financial institution, and the buyer, a developer, in the transaction.
HOUSTON — Cousins Properties Inc. has arranged a lease renewal with Transocean Ltd. for 255,413 square feet at Greenway Plaza in Houston. Transocean, the fourth largest customer in Cousins’ Houston portfolio, currently occupies 4 Greenway Plaza in its entirety. The 255,413-square-foot transaction renews 100 percent of the company’s current space and extends their expiration from January 2017 to January 2023. Greenway Plaza is a 4.5 million-square-foot Class A office complex located in the Greenway submarket of Houston. With the Transocean renewal, leasing at Greenway Plaza now stands at 90 percent. Bob Boykin, Warren Savery, Bubba Harkins and Will Hightower represented Cousins in the transaction.
HIGHLAND VILLAGE, TEXAS — Trademark Property Co. has begun renovation work on the 389,090-square-foot Shops at Highland Village shopping center. Enhancements will include upgraded building facades, common area and landscaping improvements, public art, new amenities for adults and children, and new signage throughout the property. Located at 1701 Shoal Creek on the corner of FM 2499 and FM 407 in Highland Village, The Shops at Highland Village is anchored by AMC Highland Village 12, Whole Foods Market and Barnes & Noble Booksellers. The center includes 11 restaurants and 60 shops including Banana Republic, White House Black Market, Chico’s and Jos. A. Bank. The center is owned by AEW Capital Management and operated by Trademark Property Co.
HOUSTON — Ashley Furniture has signed a 10-year, 52,360-square-foot lease renewal at Deerbrook Corner located at 20050 Highway 59 North in Houston. Mickey Meyer-Sturgis represented the tenant and landlord, The Richland Cos., in the transaction.
GRAPEVINE, TEXAS — HFF has arranged an $18.3 million refinancing for Grapevine Towne Center, a 207,004-square-foot retail center in Grapevine. HFF worked on behalf of the borrower, a joint venture managed by Cencor Realty Service, to secure the 10-year, fixed-rate loan with Morgan Stanley Bank. HFF will service the securitized loan. Loan proceeds will be used to refinance the borrower’s existing debt. Grapevine Towne Center is located along State Highway 114 between William D. Tate and Ira E. Woods Avenues (State Highway 26). Grapevine Towne Center’s main building and five outparcel pads are 87.5 percent leased. Tenants at the property include Office Depot, Ross Dress for Less and Big Lots in addition to Vision Works, Weight Watchers, Hallmark Creations and Bealls. Steve Heldenfels, Travis Anderson and Joe Lerer led the HFF team representing the borrower.
MINNEAPOLIS — HFF has secured $25 million in refinancing for the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Minneapolis, a 12-story hotel located in downtown Minneapolis. HFF arranged the three-year, floating-rate loan with two optional one-year extensions through BBVA Compass Bank for the borrower, Wheelock Street Capital LLC. Proceeds of the loans will be used to refinance a loan, which was assumed by the borrower upon its acquisition of the property in 2012. Located at 1101 LaSalle Ave., the 150,752-square-foot property was renovated in 2013 and features 229 suites, 1,162 square feet of meeting space, a second-floor merchandising suite, parking garage, 24-hour business and fitness centers, in-house Starbucks Coffee and Lot 57, a full-service restaurant and lounge. Steven Klein and Sam Nidenberg of HFF represented the borrower in the financing.
SHAKOPEE, MINN. — The Opus Group and AmerisourceBergen, a global healthcare solutions provider, have partnered to develop a build-to-suit distribution center within Valley Park Business Center in Shakopee. Opus’ design-build capabilities will allow for a quick turnkey building customized for AmerisourceBergen’s needs. The facility will include warehouse space and two stories of office space. Construction is slated to begin in July with a scheduled completion in 18 to 24 months. Opus Development Co. will be the developer, Opus Design Build will be the design-builder and Opus AE Group will be the architect and engineer of record.
CRAWFORDSVILLE, IND. — Flaherty & Collins Properties will break ground on Historic Whitlock Place, an apartment project located at 306 Binford St. in downtown Crawfordsville, a city northwest of Indianapolis, on Monday, June 8. An adaptive reuse of Culver Union Hospital, the project will offer 56 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartment units. Community amenities will include a community atrium, a community room with a television, a computer room with free Internet access and an exercise room with equipment. Completion is slated for late summer 2016. The project is a collaborative effort between Sustainable Solutions, Vision Communities, Flaherty & Collins, the City of Crawfordsville, Palma Architects and McKinley Development.
GRIMES, IOWA — R&R Realty Group has completed the development of Prairie Business Park I, a 260,000-square-foot Class A industrial facility in Grimes. Situated at the southeast corner of S. James Street and SE 37th Street, the facility features ESFR sprinklers and 32-foot clear heights, which increase pallet capacity by 20 to 25 percent compared with 26-foot clear height facilities. Plans for a second warehouse facility in Prairie Business Park are underway. Realty Marketing Group is serving as the listing agent for the business park.
EVANSTON, ILL. — Podolsky|Circle CORFAC has arranged the relocation and renovation of the Evanston Art Center in Evanston. The organization will relocate to a newly acquired 20,000-square-foot facility located at 1717 Central St. this summer from its current location at 2603 Sheridan Road. The Dobbins Group, serving as design-build contractor, renovated the new facility, which was a former office building. The art center features multi-disciplinary offerings, including programming and educational activities in the areas of culinary arts, design, digital fabrication, music and visual arts. Additionally the facility features gallery space and a coffee shop. Randy Podolsky and Adam Tarantur of Podolsky|Circle assisted in the acquisition of the facility for the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Podolsky|Circle and Lebar Construction Management served as construction manager for the renovation project.