CHARLESTON, S.C. — Co-developers Kassinger Development Group and Richardson Properties have broken ground on Sweetwater, a 266-unit luxury apartment community located on Beresford Creek in Charleston. The property will be located across Daniel Island near I-526 via Clements Ferry and the Wando River via boat. Sweetwater Construction is the general contractor for the property. Every apartment unit at Sweetwater will feature a porch. Waterfront amenities include boat parking, a boat ramp, kayak and canoe launch and community docks. Sweetwater will also feature pet parks, a fitness center, gathering barn, waterfront swimming pool and greenhouses. Upon completion, the 50-acre site will also house an 18-room boutique inn and an event lawn. The development team expects to deliver the property’s first buildings in early 2016.
CELEBRATION, FLA. — West Palm Beach-based Flagler Realty & Development Inc. has broken ground on Shoppes at Celebration Place, a 43,500-square-foot shopping center in Celebration, a master-planned community near Orlando. The $21 million property will be leased to Walgreens, Chipotle Mexican Grille, Dunkin’ Donuts, Five Guys Burgers & Fries and additional retailers. Flagler expects to complete the property in the fall. Flagler Realty & Development is owned by principals Patrick Koenig, Richard Johnson Jr. and Scott Johnson. The Walt Disney Co. established Celebration in 2001 after breaking ground on the community in 1994. Celebration is a Census-designated place, or an unincorporated community.
PALO ALTO, CALIF. —TIBCO Software has sold a 292,000-square-foot office/R&D campus in Palo Alto to Morgan Stanley’s Prime Property Fund for a reported $330 million. The campus is located at 3301-3307 Hillview Ave. within the Stanford Research Park. The acquisition was the largest sales transaction in Palo Alto history, according to Cushman & Wakefield, which marketed the property. The infrastructure and business intelligence software provider signed a long-term leaseback agreement with the new owner. The sale transaction was led by Adam Lasoff and Grant Lammersen of the firm’s Northern California Capital Markets team. They were assisted by Michael McMillan.
SANTA MONICA, CALIF. — Phase I of the Water Garden office complex in Santa Monica has received a $260-million refinancing. The complex is located at 2425 Olympic Blvd. and 1620 26th Street. Phase I includes 673,660 square feet situated in two, six-story office buildings. Tenants in this phase include Amazon, Edmonds, Group M Worldwide, Sony Computer Entertainment and AMC Networking Entertainment. Phase I is part of the larger 1.27-million-square-foot Water Garden office complex. It sits catty-corner to a light rail station that will be completed next year. The 12-year, fixed-rate loan was arranged by HFF’s Mike Tepedino, Paul Brindley and Jennifer Keller through New York Life Real Estate Investors. The borrower is composed of institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
LAS VEGAS — Solstar Investments has acquired two Marriott-flagged properties near Las Vegas for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition includes the 120-room Marriott SpringHill Suites Hotel and the 108-room Marriott TownePlace Suites Hotel in the submarket of Henderson. Both hotels were built in 2009. They will be managed by Twenty Four Seven Hotels. The hotels were purchased from Campbell Lodging, the original owner and developer. Financing was provided by GE Capital Franchise Finance, while Sklar Kirsh served as legal advisors.
ROYSE CITY, TEXAS — MYCON General Contractors has broken ground on a 154,696-square-foot Walmart Supercenter in Royse City. The new store is located off IH 30 at 782 E. St. The Walmart will open in October 2015 and is expected to employ approximately 100 people. MYCON General Contractors has built, renovated and/or expanded Walmart Supercenters, Walmart Neighborhood Markets and a Sam’s Club in locations throughout Texas including Bryan, Dallas, Denton, Flower Mound, Frisco, Garland, Plano, Rowlett, Sachse and Temple. This is MYCON General Contractors 21stWalmart store.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Foot Locker, an athletic footwear and apparel retailer, has leased 4,135 square feet of retail space in Capital Plaza, an Austin retail center located at the northeast corner of IH-35 and Cameron Road. Matt Epple and Casey Kopecky of The Weitzman Group were the retail leasing agents for Capital Plaza. Cencor Realty Services manages Capital Plaza.
DALLAS — Inland American Communities Group Inc. (IAC), a development, acquisition and management company operating in university markets across the U.S., has rebranded to become University House Communities (UHC). University House Communities will continue to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Inland American Real Estate Investment Trust, a non-traded national REIT that manages a portfolio of commercial real estate assets in multi-tenant and student housing. Currently, University House Communities has five new properties under construction in Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Charlotte and Tempe, and continues to identify new development and acquisition opportunities across the country.
HOUSTON — TexWhouse Inc. has purchased two office/warehouse buildings in Houston. The two single-tenant buildings, spanning 6,000 square feet and a 10,000 square feet, are located at 3103 and 3113 Farrell Road, respectively. Mike Spears, Thomas Leger and Robert McGee of TNRG represented the buyer, TexWhouse, and the seller, Farrell Road Park North LLC.
BLAINE, MINN. — Transwestern’s Chicago office has brokered the sale of a 221,239-square-foot shopping center in Blaine. The Village of Blaine Shopping Center is located at 4345 – 4349 Pheasant Ridge Road. Pine Tree Commercial Realty LLC paid an undisclosed amount for the property. A Cub Foods grocery store anchors the shopping center. Other tenants in the 13-year-old center include Michaels, Applebee’s, Pier 1 Imports, DressBarn, Sprint, Maurices, Caribou Coffee, Bath & Body Works, GNC and Great Clips. Janice Sellis and Paul Barile of Transwestern represented the seller, MEPT, and its real estate advisor, Bentall Kennedy. Pine Tree Commercial Realty was represented internally in the transaction.