NEW YORK CITY — Vornado Realty Trust has acquired the land and air rights above a development site at 220 Central Park South in Manhattan for $194 million. Extell Development Co., builder of the nearby One57 luxury-condo tower, was the seller, according to Bloomberg. Vornado says the deal will enable the company to begin work on a 920-foot luxury residential condominium tower at the site. Robert A.M. Stern Architects will design the 472,000-square-foot tower, which will have unobstructed views of Central Park.
HOPEWELL, N.J. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the $90.8 million sale of 1100, 1150 and 1200 Merrill Lynch Drive, a trio of Class A office buildings in Hopewell. A partnership including Fortress Investment Group, Sansome Pacific Properties, Normandy Real Estate Partners and Skyline Pacific Properties sold the 380,000-square-foot complex to American Real Estate Partners. The buildings are part of Merrill Lynch’s 12-building, 1.8 million-square-foot Hopewell campus and house the firm’s global wealth and investment management division. Cushman also arranged $60 million in acquisition financing for the office portfolio. Andrew Merin, David Bernhaut, Gary Gabriel, Brian Whitmer and Grace Braverman of Cushman & Wakefield's metropolitan capital markets group represented the sellers in the transaction. Mark Ehlinger and John Alascio of Cushman & Wakefield's equity, debt and structured finance team arranged acquisition financing on behalf of the American Real Estate Partners.
NEW YORK CITY — RFR has unveiled a $65 million capital improvement plan for its 530,000-square-foot office tower located at 285 Madison Ave. in Manhattan. RFR plans include redesigning the office tower as a green building and achieving LEED-Silver certification. The tower’s infrastructure will get a boost with new elevators and HVAC system, and the entrance and lobby of the 1920s-era building will be redesigned. Additionally, 40,000 square feet of retail space will be offered.
NEW YORK CITY — HFF has arranged a $62.4 million construction loan for the redevelopment of 12 East 13th Street, a residential condominium project in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village neighborhood. HFF worked on behalf of the borrowing team of DHA Capital, Continental Properties and Ramius. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance provided the non-recourse loan. Proceeds of the loan will be used to redevelop an eight-story parking garage into a 12-story, luxury residential condominium property called 12 East 13th Street. The building is located south of Union Square between University Place and Fifth Avenue. The project is slated for completion by spring 2015. Michael Gigliotti, associate director, and Andrew Scandalios, senior managing director, led the HFF team representing the borrower.
HOUSTON — Hanover Real Estate Partners, a Greenwich, Conn.-based investment company, has sold the Marathon Oil Tower in Houston’s Galleria submarket. The 41-story, 1.2 million-square-foot office building is located at 5555 San Felipe Street and includes an attached 13-story parking garage. CBRE Strategic Partners U.S. Value 6, a fund sponsored by CBRE Global Investors, purchased the asset, which is LEED Silver certified. Hanover assumed management and oversight duties at the tower in 2003, at which time Marathon Oil Co. leased the entire building. Marathon has since reduced its footprint to 650,000 square feet. Other tenants, including Aon Corp., Kanaly Trust Co. and Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations Inc., currently lease space vacated by Marathon.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Investment fund Velocis has acquired a majority interest in two Class A Austin office buildings totaling 173,870 square feet. Arboretum Atrium, located at 9737 Great Hills Trail, is a 91,083-square-foot facility that was 100 percent leased at the time of the sale. Las Cimas I is an 82,787-square-foot property located in the center of the four-building Las Cimas office park, which is situated at the corner of Bee Cave Road and Loop 360 in the Southwest Austin submarket. Moore & Associates sold the interests to Velocis and will retain management and leasing duties in addition to partial ownership.
McKINNEY, TEXAS — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a multifamily brokerage division of Marcus & Millichap, has brokered the sale of Ashton Oaks, a 168-unit multifamily community in McKinney, a northern Dallas suburb. Built in 1988, the property features amenities such as an indoor heated pool, fitness center and multiple barbecue grills. Apartment units include fully equipped kitchens with vinyl plank flooring, 9-foot ceilings and outside storage units. Will Balthrope of IPA represented the seller, an Austin-based limited partnership. The buyer is an Illinois-based limited liability company.
PASADENA, TEXAS — WIKA Process Solutions LP, a manufacturer of industrial measuring instruments, has purchased 13 acres for a new build-to-suit facility to be developed by GSL Welcome Group. The land is located in Park 225, a business park in Pasadena, approximately 14 miles southeast of downtown Houston. The plans for the development call for a two-story, 87,900-square-foot building including 44,025 square feet of office space and a 43,875-square-foot crane-served warehouse. Ryan Wasaff of GSL Welcome Group and Wade Bradow, owner of Park 225, collaborated on the transaction. Kingham Dalton Wilson LTD will perform design build construction services.
SAN FRANCISCO – A portfolio sale that includes Apple’s retail store and Bulgari’s flagship location within San Francisco’s Union Square has closed for a total of $160 million. The buyer was a private, U.S.-based investor. The Bulgari Building is located at One Union Square and 212 Stockton Street. It is a fully leased retail and Class A office building. The property is anchored by Bulgari, though it includes other luxury retail and boutique office tenants like Loro Piana, Lacoste, Vera Wang and Union Square Investments. The Apple store is located at 1 Stockton Street. Other notable tenants within the Union Square neighborhood include Barneys New York, bebe, De Beers, Dior, Ferragamo, Gucci, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, MaxMara, Prada, Saks Fifth Ave and Tumi. The seller, Deka Immobilien, was represented by Savills.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. — La Brea Regency Lofts in Hollywood has received $19.3 million in construction financing. The lofts will be located at 1616 North La Brea Ave near the Roosevelt Hotel and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. It will contain 56 residential units and 9,000 square feet of retail space. The three-year balance sheet loan features interest-only payments and a LIBOR-based floating rate. It was negotiated by Tal Savariego and Zev Feder of Meridian Capital Group.