CHICAGO — Maverick Commercial Mortgage Inc. has arranged $5.6 million in financing for a three-tenant retail property in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago. The 5,800-square-foot asset was fully leased at the time of the loan closing. A national lender provided the three-year, fixed-rate loan at 6.45 percent. The loan amortizes on a 25-year schedule. Chicago-based JDI Realty was the borrower.
NAPERVILLE, ILL. — Husband-and-wife franchise owners Veronika and Greg Parranto plan to open the first IMAGE Studios concept in Illinois at Fox River Commons shopping center in Naperville later this month. The Parrantos signed a lease with Continental Realty Corp. (CRC) for 10,645 square feet of space at the 241,000-square-foot shopping center. With this transaction, Fox River Commons is now 77 percent leased. Kristin Perry of CRC and Brooke Spinell of Mid-America Real Estate represented the landlord, while Carlie Wilmes of Reimagine CRE represented the tenant. IMAGE Studios, which operates nearly 100 locations throughout 22 states, is an exclusive salon suite that enables hair stylist and other beauty-care professionals to operate independently owned private salon studios under one roof. Approximately 35 new locations are expected to open in 2025, including two in the Chicago area, with seven additional sites expected in Chicagoland by different franchise owners. The Fox River Commons location will contain 48 private salon studios.
LENEXA, KAN. — Cactus Grill has opened at Lenexa City Center’s Restaurant Row in Kansas. The new location features house-made salsas, fajitas and espinaca dip as well as a spacious bar and patio. Copaken Brooks owns the property, and Erin Johnston is the landlord representative. Ed Gieselman owns Cactus Grill.
CHICAGO — Stantonic, a Chicago-based interior design and procurement firm, has announced that it is officially dropping the company name, “STANTON Interior Concepts” from the brand, effective immediately. The company says the rebranding enables the organization to further diversify its portfolio without the constraints of a strong name association, while also enhancing brand clarity and consistency directed toward the hospitality sector. Stantonic was founded in 2001.
AcquisitionsAffordable HousingCompany NewsLoansMultifamilyNew YorkNortheastSeniors HousingTexasTop Stories
Franklin BSP Realty Trust Agrees to Acquire Multifamily Mortgage Originator NewPoint Holdings
NEW YORK CITY AND PLANO, TEXAS — Franklin BSP Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: FBRT), a REIT based in New York City, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire NewPoint Holdings JV LLC, a multifamily loan originator headquartered in Plano. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Terms of the transaction were not released. Launched in 2021, NewPoint has an existing servicing portfolio of $54.7 billion, including mortgages for market-rate multifamily, affordable housing, seniors housing, healthcare and manufactured housing properties nationwide. The company operates as both a direct lender and third-party placement provider. NewPoint, through its wholly owned subsidiary NewPoint Real Estate Capital LLC, is one of 19 multifamily originators and servicers approved to make loans on behalf of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The acquisition will now allow Franklin BSP Realty Trust to originate agency mortgage loans. “For years we have been looking to add agency capabilities to the platform,” says Michael Comparato, president of Franklin BSP Realty Trust. “We believe this transaction is the final piece to complete our ‘one stop shop’ puzzle.” The acquisition will …
— By Nick Krakower and James deRegt of SRS Real Estate Partners — The fourth quarter of 2024 revealed significant trends across key indicators in Orange County’s industrial market. For starters, the county’s industrial market vacancy rate was 3.9 percent at that time. This figure represents a continued trend of gradually increasing vacancies, which has consistently occurred over the past eight quarters. The uptick in vacancies can be attributed to increased availability in larger distribution centers and evolving tenant requirements. North County had the largest increase at 4.5 percent. While a 3.9 percent vacancy shows OC’s industrial market remains relatively tight, there is a countywide availability of more than 16 million square feet. Net absorption for the quarter came in at -900,000 square feet. Sectors that rely heavily on logistics and distribution were most impacted, as the move to less expensive space in the Inland Empire continues. Despite the negative figure, leasing activity remains high with quarterly averages of more than 2 million square feet. Net absorption is expected to stabilize with the development pipeline slowing down. Development activity remained strong with 2 million square feet of new industrial space in the pipeline. This new inventory focuses on state-of-the-art facilities designed to …
— Phillip Hernandez, Research Director, Colliers — The Phoenix industrial market showed resilience throughout 2024. Arizona ranked fifth in net migration as of October, with 62,533 new residents — 52.8 percent of whom relocated from California. This influx of residents has positively impacted the labor market, growing Phoenix’s workforce by 42,900 employees by November, a 1.7 percent increase from the previous year. Investor interest in Phoenix’s industrial sector also remains strong. Fourth-quarter sales volume reached $1.9 billion, a 74 percent increase compared to the previous quarter and a 91.8 percent year-over-year increase. This brought last year’s total sales volume to $4.3 billion, with average prices per square foot rising by 2 percent (to $204.20) compared to fourth-quarter 2023. Vacancy Trends and Absorption Despite strong investor activity, the Phoenix market is experiencing rising vacancy rates. New deliveries in the fourth quarter added 7.8 million square feet to the market, bringing total deliveries for 2024 to 34.8 million square feet. However, the vacancy rate increased to 10.6 percent, marking a year-over-year 390 basis points rise. This increase is largely attributed to the completion of vacant product. Net absorption reached 3.8 million square feet in the fourth quarter, contributing to a year-to-date total of …
BURTONSVILLE, MD. — Cushman & Wakefield and Greystone have secured the sale of Country Place Apartments, a 312-unit multifamily development located in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Burtonsville. The property offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans ranging in size from 978 square feet to 1,196 square feet, according to Apartments.com. Featured amenities at the development include a swimming pool, sundeck and a fitness center. Anthony Liberto and Jorge Rosa of Cushman & Wakefield represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Alex Basile of Greystone, along with Cushman & Wakefield, originated a seven-year, $41 million Freddie Mac loan for the acquisition.
IRMO, S.C. — The Palomar Group has negotiated the sale of Irmo Station, a 99,384-square-foot shopping center in the Columbia suburb of Irmo. Located at 7467 St. Andrews Road, the center is situated on 13.8 acres. Kroger anchors the center. Additional tenants at the property include Orangetheory Fitness, Pizza Hut, Pet Supplies Plus and Palm Beach Tan. A publicly traded REIT acquired the property for an undisclosed price. The seller was also not disclosed.
MONTGOMERY, ALA. — Berkadia has arranged a $35 million construction loan for The ONE at Montgomery, a new 264-unit multifamily development in Montgomery. Brad Williamson, Patrick Johnson, Mitch Sinberg, Scott Wadler and Matt Robbins of Berkadia’s Miami office arranged the financing on behalf of the Miami-based borrower, One Real Estate Investment (OREI). Synovus Bank provided the floating-rate loan at an approximately 65 percent loan-to-cost ratio. Located at 10510 Chantilly Parkway, the garden-style development will offer a mix of 96 one-bedroom units, 132 two-bedroom units and 36 three-bedroom units. Units will range in size from 827 square feet to 1,254 square feet. Amenities at the property will include a swimming pool with a cabana and sauna, fitness and yoga studio, multiple dog parks and a golf simulator. Construction on The ONE at Montgomery is currently underway and is slated to complete in mid-2026.