FERNDALE AND ROYAL OAK, MICH. — Bernard Financial Group has arranged a $5.4 million loan for the Urbane Apartments Portfolio in northern metro Detroit. The portfolio includes Urbane on Breckenridge in Ferndale and Urbane on Catalpa, Urbane on Center, and Urbane on Crooks South in Royal Oak. Kevin Kovachevich of Bernard Financial originated the loan on behalf of the borrower, Urbane on Crooks South LLC. CitiGroup Global Markets Realty Corp. was the lender.
DES PLAINES, ILL. — The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has signed a 9,000-square-foot lease at a shopping center located at 1500 Lee St. in Des Plaines, a northwest suburb of Chicago. The new DMV will open in October. The building is located between Forest Avenue and Oakton Street. Jennifer Hopkins, Mike Meksto and Jim Tsevis of NAI Hiffman’s retail services group, represented the landlord, Jewel Food Stores Inc., in the transaction. A 53,000-square-foot Jewel grocery store anchors the center, which has an additional 16,458 square feet of retail space, including the space that the DMV will occupy.
PHILADELPHIA — PCCP LLC has provided $80 million in senior loans to a joint venture between Keystone Property Group and Mack-Cali Realty Corp. The loans were for a portfolio of four office properties located in the metro Philadelphia area. Mack-Cali Realty Corp. previously owned and managed the properties and is selling the portfolio to Keystone Property Group. Mack-Cali will retain an equity investment in each of the properties sold, and Keystone will manage future property operations. Properties in the portfolio include 4 & 5 Sentry Park, three buildings totaling 200,000 square feet in Blue Bell; 150 Monument Road, a 125,000-square-foot, Class A building in Bala Cynwyd; Rose Tree Corporate Center, two buildings totaling 260,000 square feet in Media; and 1000 Madison, a 100,000-square-foot office building in Lower Providence.
CRANSTON, R.I. — Johnson & Wales University, a career-focused college with four campuses, has opened Centennial House in Cranston. The university, which says this is the first co-op-style student housing, spent $2 million renovating the building that was built in 1899. Students who live here are selected based on their GPAs and social experiences and backgrounds. The 35 residents will determine house rules and participate in daily operations, including cooking, cleaning and general upkeep. The cost per student to live at Centennial House is $6,900 per academic year. A portion of the fee is set aside for students to manage a budget and pay for utilities, food for a weekly required community meal and to reimburse the university for removal of garbage and snow throughout the year. The university purchased the property in October 2012 for $459,000. The renovation team included contractor Stack Design Build and Ed Wojcik Architects.
NEW YORK CITY — Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. (MMCC) has arranged a $1.2 million loan to refinance a 22,500-square-foot apartment building in the Bronx. The 10-year loan includes a fixed interest rate of 3.9 percent for the first five years of the term and a 30-year amortization schedule. Anita Pins, associate director in the firm’s Manhattan office, arranged the refinancing. Built in 1910, the 21-unit apartment building is located at 444 E. 187th St. in the Fordham neighborhood.
CHERRY HILL, N.J. —Benefits Consultants Group Inc., has signed a 21,000-square-foot lease at a Class A office building in Cherry Hill. The 100,000-square-foot office building is located at 51 Haddonfield Road. A joint venture between Bergman Real Estate Group and Time Equities Inc. purchased the property in 2012. Since the acquisition, the joint venture has upgraded areas of the property, including the parking lot and lobby. Anne Klein, senior managing director, and Brian Sherlock, director at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, represented ownership in the transaction. Ken Clyman of Ken Clyman Realty and Klein co-brokered the transaction on behalf of Benefits Consultants Group.
HOUSTON — HFF has brokered the sale of and arranged the acquisition financing for Easton Commons, a 193,595-square-foot shopping center in Houston’s Copperfield master-planned community. The property, which was 86 percent leased at the time of the sale, is anchored by Kroger and Studio Movie Grill. Rusty Tamlyn, Ryan West and Matt Berry of HFF represented the seller, a joint venture between affiliates of The Hutensky Group and an investment account managed by American Realty Advisors. Adam Herrin, Andy Scott, Cameron Cureton and Michael George of HFF arranged the loan through BBVA Compass Bank. NewQuest Epic Investments and an institutional partner purchased the property.
FLOWER MOUND, TEXAS — BNSF Logistics, a Berkshire Hathaway company and a subsidiary of railway company Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC, will move its headquarters to the Lakeside Business District of Flower Mound, a northern suburb of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The tenant will relocate from its current facilities in Grapevine to the 38,000-square-foot space in Lakeside Commerce Center, located at 1600 Lakeside Parkway, in November. Transwestern’s Brett Owens and John Fulton represented landlord Exeter Property Group in the negotiations.
HOUSTON — Moody Rambin has arranged the lease of 31,182 square feet at Houston’s Clay Hempstead Business Park for Continental Stone, a construction material wholesaler. The facility, which offers both office and warehouse space, is located at 8700 Clay Road in the Northwest Near Industrial submarket. Jim Autenreith of Moody Rambin represented the tenant in the negotiations. Jeff Barbles, also of Moody Rambin, represented building owner and landlord IVEST LP.
PASADENA, TEXAS — NAI Houston has arranged a 30,000-square-foot warehouse lease for Seaway Crude Pipeline Co. in Pasadena, a southeastern suburb of Houston. The property is a freestanding facility located at 1605 Genoa Red Bluff Drive, in close proximity to the interchange of Beltway 8 and Interstate 45. John Ferruzzo and Chris Kugle of NAI Houston represented landlord Bart Industries LP in the negotiations.