WACO, TEXAS — R3 Funding has arranged a $6.25 million refinancing loan for The Highlands apartment complex, a 224-unit property in Waco. Located at 1600 Lake Shore Drive, The Highlands was purchased by its current owner in 2012, with occupancy around 70 percent at the time. Occupancy is now at 92 percent. The 10-year, fixed-rate Freddie Mac loan includes a 30-year amortization schedule and two years of interest-only payments.
MIDLAND, TEXAS — Home2 Suites by Hilton has opened its 46th hotel, Home2 Suites by Hilton Midland. The 93-suite hotel is located at 1401 Catalina Drive and is the seventh property for the brand in Texas. Home2 Suites Midland is located near Midland International Airport, Loop 250 and Highway 191 and Scharbauer Sports Complex. TMI Hospitality Inc. manages the hotel.
COPPELL, Texas – ProSource Texas has leased a 22,781-square-foot office space in the Sandy Lake Business Center for its fifth location in north Texas, signing a long-term lease with a purchase option to underwrite its stay. ProSource Texas has just moved into the end-cap space, which was previously occupied by the landlord. As a supplier for the flooring, kitchen and bath industries, ProSource Texas will spend three months building out its new location. The space will be converted into a showroom with additional storefront windows and air conditioning. The anticipated opening is May 1. ProSource Texas will become the fifth tenant in Sandy Lake Business Center. The office/showroom building was developed in 2005 on a four-acre tract, which is a gateway property to the Freeport North park from Texas 121. The property also has easy access to I-635 and TX 114. Whitney Harris of Century 21 Lynch & Associates represented the tenant.
BALTIMORE — St. John Properties Inc. has plans to initiate construction on three new speculative office buildings totaling approximately 90,000 square feet at Baltimore Crossroads, a master-planned, 1,200-acre mixed-use park in the White Marsh section of Baltimore County. Baltimore Crossroads is configured to support more than 5 million square feet of office, research & development/flex, warehouse, industrial, retail and hotel space. St. John Properties leased more than 100,000 square feet of office/flex space to eight Baltimore Crossroads tenants in the fourth quarter of 2014. The new tenants include Pro Transport, Social Solutions, All-Pro Team Sports, Sovereign, Evolution Physiotherapy, Performance Contracting, Skillforce, The Mallow Bar and 24-Hour Dependable Medical Supplies.
FORT MYERS, FLA. — Baltimore-based Continental Realty Corp. (CRC) has sold The Shops at Verandah, a 72,795-square-foot shopping center located at 11961 Palm Beach Blvd. in Fort Myers for $14.4 million. The Shops at Verandah was 98 percent leased to tenants such as Advance America, Principal Life Insurance, Subway, Pizza Hut, H&R Block, Beef O’Brady’s and Allstate. CRC sold the Publix-anchored shopping center to Publix Supermarkets Inc. Jim Michalak and Mike Cvetetic of Plaza Advisors represented CRC in the transaction. The Shops at Verandah was built in 2005 as part of Verandah, a 1,500-acre premier master-planned community that includes two 18-hole golf courses designed by Bob Cupp and Jack Nicklaus.
CORAL GABLES, FLA. — Aquarius Capital LLC has purchased Merrick Plaza, an office building located at 2199 Ponce de Leon Blvd. in the heart of the Coral Gables financial district. Aquarius Capital plans to use the property for the corporate offices of Ascendant Commercial Insurance. Tere Blanca of Blanca Commercial Real Estate represented the buyer in the sale. John Lonardo of Sperry Van Ness Commercial Realty represented the seller, 1607 Ponce LLP.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Ferncroft Capital has purchased Miller Crossing in Winston-Salem for $12 million. The 40,292-square-foot shopping center is anchored by Whole Foods Market. The shopping center is located near the intersection of Miller Street and Stratford Road and is adjacent to the Wake Forest Baptist Hospital campus. Berkeley Capital represented the seller in the transaction while Bank of North Carolina provided acquisition financing. Meridian Realty will continue to handle management and leasing.
Construction on the 73-story Wilshire Grand Hotel, office and retail complex in Downtown Los Angeles’ Financial District, coupled with Google’s recent purchase of 12 acres for development in Playa Vista prove the region’s office market is alive and well. It may even be enjoying a bit of a rebirth in this post-recovery period. Los Angeles, unlike many other comparable U.S. metropolitans, is composed of several distinct business centers that make it difficult to generalize about the overall market. Separated by only a few miles, there are nonetheless very distinct markets that comprise LA, due, in no small part, to the lack of a fully integrated public transportation system and long-standing traffic that remain a barrier to full connectivity between the various areas. With that in mind, there are some very evident trends emerging out of Downtown and the Westside, which includes Century City, Westwood, Santa Monica, Playa Vista and adjacent cities. Downtown is enjoying a resurgence. It now has a real live-work vibe due, in large part, to the highly successful LA Live mixed-use hotel, retail and entertainment development adjacent to Staples Center. A variety of high-rise condominiums and apartments now make it possible to actually live Downtown. With new …
NEW YORK CITY — American Realty Capital New York City REIT Inc. (NYCR) has entered into an agreement to acquire an institutional-quality office building in downtown Manhattan for $253 million, exclusive of closing costs. Located at 123 William St., the 545,000-square-foot property is currently 81 percent leased. The property’s largest tenants include the State of New York, the City of New York, the United States of America, the Securities Training Corp. and McAloon & Friedman PC. Additional terms of the transaction were not released.
NEW YORK CITY — Eastern Consolidated has arranged the sale of a commercial loft building located at 34 West 17th St. in New York City’s Flatiron District. Extell Development sold the 25,000-square-foot property for $20 million to Atkins & Breskin Co. The 10-story, pre-war building features ground-level and basement retail components. Additionally, the currently vacant property is zoned for residential, office, retail or mixed-use development. Ronald Solarz, Chris Matousek and Michael Levine represented the seller and procured the buyer in the deal.