MILWAUKEE, WIS. — Siegel-Gallagher has brokered a 17,000-square-foot lease of retail space at 2220 N. Commerce St. in Milwaukee. Adventure Rock Inc. leased the space for a build-to-suit gymnasium from RiverCrest Equity II LLC, an affiliated entity of Mandel Group Inc. The mixed-use project will also include 46 apartment units on the final parcel in the Humboldt Yards development, which includes Pick-N-Save, Columbia St. Mary’s and RiverCrest Condominiums. John Kuhn of Siegel Gallagher represented the tenant in the transaction.
NAPLES, FLA. — Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, a publicly traded hotel REIT, has purchased LaPlaya Beach Resort and LaPlaya Beach Club in Naples for a combined purchase price of $185.5 million. LaPlaya Beach Resort is a 189-room waterfront resort located on a six-acre tract of beach along the Gulf of Mexico and Vanderbilt Bay. The resort features 11,620 square feet of meeting space, a bar/restaurant, upscale spa, three outdoor swimming pools, 2,200-square-foot fitness center, seven-story parking garage, children’s aquatic and beach camp, watersport rentals and in-room dining. The private club has more than 800 active members and features a private dining room, private pool cabanas and a partnership with the LaPlaya Golf Course, which was not included in the acquisition. In addition to the resort and private club, the transaction includes the leasehold interest in a 23-slip marina on the Vanderbilt Bay side of the property. Daniel Peek, Max Comess, Chris Drew, Alexandra Lalos and Maxx Carney of HFF represented the seller, a partnership between affiliates of Noble House Hotels & Resorts Ltd. and Halstatt, in the transaction. Pebblebrook has retained Noble House Hotels & Resorts under a new operating agreement for the management of the hotel and private club.
SAVANNAH, GA. — HOS Management has begun construction on the new Fairfield Inn & Suites-Historic Savannah at 135 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in downtown Savannah. The Savannah-based developer has also begun building a public parking garage located adjacent to the hotel. The hotel will feature 140 guest rooms and meeting space that can accommodate up to 385 people. HOS Management expects to deliver the hotel and parking garage in July 2016. The company is also in the design/development stage for a new Aloft hotel in Savannah’s Historic District and has a future hotel in the pipeline at 321 Montgomery St. in Savannah.
CUMMING, GA. — Atlanta-based contractor Juneau Construction Co. has entered the final phase of construction for The Villas at Canterfield in Cumming, which includes a 146,000-square-foot independent living apartment facility. The structure under construction is a four-story building housing 76 residential units, plus a pool, exercise facilities, multi-purpose activity rooms, a club area, country store, fully equipped communal kitchen, restaurant-style dining area and an outdoor courtyard. Juneau expects to complete construction of The Villas at Canterfield by November. The developer is Medical Development Corp., and the architect and engineer is The Corcoran Ota Group.
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GA. — Westwood Financial Corp. (WFC) has acquired Retreat Village, a 108,600-square-foot grocery-anchored shopping center located at 220 Retreat Village in St. Simons Island. WFC purchased the Winn Dixie-anchored center from Pace Properties LLC and Somera Capital Management LLC for an undisclosed price. The property is currently 97 percent occupied by tenants including H&H Lifestyles, Bonefish Grill, Edwin Watts Golf, AT&T, Great Clips, Subway, Burger King and Verizon Wireless. Richard Reed of HFF represented the sellers in the transaction.
UPPER MARLBORO, MD. — Finmarc Management Inc. has sold a 108,000-square-foot mixed-use property at 9822 Fallard Court in Upper Marlboro for $6 million. The buyer, Chesapeake Lighthouse Foundation, plans to reposition the two-story asset as a new campus for Chesapeake Math and IT Academy (CMIT), a charter middle school and high school. Built in 1994, the building was previously the corporate headquarters for Mattress Discounters. Peter Burleigh and Lance Schwarz of NAI Michael represented Finmarc in the transaction. Over the past 24 months, Finmarc and its partners have acquired or sold nearly $400 million worth of properties. CMIT opened its first school in Prince George’s County in 2011.
The industrial market had a notable year in 2014. Vacancy declined 270 basis points from the first quarter of 2014 where nearly 1 million square feet of space was absorbed. It has been more than seven years since absorption has registered similar figures. The primary factor driving last year’s success was a handful of large deals with more than 50,000 square feet. The supply of larger, quality spaces was steadily leased up throughout the year. These accounted for 54 percent, or 522,000 square feet, of absorbed space. Market velocity slowed down during the fourth quarter, driven by a lack of quality inventory. Absorption registered a positive 103,000 square feet, and was the lowest quarterly level of 2014. The centrally located North I-25 submarket outshined all other submarkets. In the biggest deal of the quarter, Flagship Foods occupied nearly 79,000 square feet of space in the North I-25 submarket. There were also nine other spaces occupied in this submarket that contributed another 60,000 square feet of absorption. A developing concern for 2015 is the significant amount of new available space being brought to market. Although still occupied, a total of 244,000 square feet of new space was added to the inventory …
NORMAN, OKLA. — University House Communities (UHC), formerly known as Inland American Communities Group, will develop a new University House community on the site of the current Bishop’s Landing apartments near the University of Oklahoma. Construction will begin on the apartment community this fall, with a scheduled opening of August 2017. Leasing will begin by August 2016. The five-story, 388-unit development will feature 917 beds with studio, one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom floor plans, all fully furnished. The community will also include amenities such as three outdoor courtyard areas, a clubroom, lounge, pool, 24-hour fitness center, parking and on-site management. Residents of University House will also have easy access to campus via the Norman CART bus system, with a transit hub directly across the street from the property. The project team consists of Humphrey’s & Partners Architects as the architect and Huitt-Zollars as the civil engineer. University House will be located near Brooks and Classen at 333 E. Brooks St. in Norman.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Presidium Group LLC, in partnership with St. Croix Capital Advisory Services Group, has acquired Hunterwood Apartments, a 160-unit apartment complex in Austin. The property was built in 1983. Presidium plans to implement value-add upgrades that will consist of aesthetic and finish improvements. Interior renovations will include the addition of granite countertops, tile backsplashes, faux wood flooring, new door and cabinet hardware, new plumbing and electrical fixtures, new appliances and a new paint scheme. Exterior upgrades will include modernizing the leasing center, the addition of a fitness center, pool area upgrades, landscaping additions and a new exterior paint scheme. Hunterwood is located in south Austin within a mile of South First Street and South Congress Avenue, two of the major access ways into downtown Austin. The property is a 15-minute drive from downtown Austin, Bergstrom Airport, the Sunset Valley shopping area, Barton Creek Square Mall and Circuit of the Americas. Hunterwood’s current amenities include a swimming pool, laundry facilities and a leasing center.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — KDC, in a joint venture with SH 71-130 Holdings GP, will develop a 100-acre parcel for build-to-suit office space in southeast Austin. The new office space will be part of a planned 390-acre mixed-use project at the intersection of Texas Highway 71 and State Highway 130. In addition to the office component, the mixed-use project will also include retail, multifamily, industrial and educational elements. It has received the Triple Freeport Designation, which allows schools, cities and counties to exempt business inventory from taxes if goods are shipped out of state within 175 days. Page is coordinating the architectural planning, and Kimley-Horn is the engineer.