OWINGS MILLS, MD. — Owings Mill-based Chesapeake Realty Partners and Washington, D.C.-based Bernstein Management Corp. have begun developing six new apartment communities totaling 1,250 units in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. The investment totals $250 million. Construction has commenced on four of the communities. The apartment communities include 2251 Wisconsin Avenue in the Glover Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C.; Paragon at Columbia Gateway in Columbia, Md.; 2 East Wells Street in south Baltimore; The Winthrop in Towson, Md.; 900 Thayer Ave. in downtown Silver Spring, Md.; and Accotink Village Fort Belvior in southeast Fairfax County, Va.
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. AND MURFREESBORO, TENN. — Hines, an international real estate investment firm based in Houston, has acquired two retail centers in Tennessee and Florida through Hines Global REIT. The centers include The Markets at Town Center in Jacksonville and The Avenue Murfreesboro in Murfreesboro. The Markets at Town Center is a nine-building, 317,415-square-foot, upscale retail center that Hines purchased from Pinehill Investment Co. The Markets at Town Center is part of the St. Johns Town Center master-planned development and is 93 percent leased to tenants such as Toys R' Us, Nordstrom Rack, West Marine, REI, Best Buy and Gold Galaxy. Hines has retained Genesis Real Estate Advisers LLC as the property manager. The Avenue Murfreesboro is a 10-building, 747,497-square-foot center that Hines purchased from Faison & Associates and Cousins Properties. The center is 89 percent leased to 93 tenants including Belk, Dick's Sporting Goods, Haverty's, Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath & Beyond and Michael's. David Hocker & Associates will manage the center on behalf of Hines.
PALM HARBOR, FLA. — Colliers International has arranged the $8.4 million sale of the Commons at Twin Lakes, located at 31958 U.S. Highway 19 N. in Palm Harbor. Outback Steakhouse anchors the 53,000-square-foot retail center, which features tenants such as Massimo's Eclectic Fine Dining, North Pinellas Children's Medical Center and Select Medical Rehab. The property is 98 percent leased. Mike Milano and Ron Schultz of Colliers International's Tampa Bay office represented the seller, Commons at Twin Lakes LLC, in the transaction. Jim Michalak of Plaza Advisors Inc. represented the buyer, Realty Financial Corp.
FREDERICK, MD. — NorthMarq Capital has arranged $7 million in first mortgage refinancing for the 105-room Fairfield Inn & Suites in Frederick. The hotel is located at 5220 Westview Drive. Brendan Scanlon and Gary McGlynn of NorthMarq's Washington, D.C., office arranged the loan through a CMBS lender.
BALTIMORE — Ellin & Tucker, a CPA firm, has signed a 31,000-square-foot lease for office space at 400 E. Pratt St. in downtown Baltimore. The company is moving its Baltimore headquarters from 100 S. Charles St. into the 11-story office tower, which is undergoing renovations. The updates include a two-story, 24,000-square-foot addition and updates to the common corridors, lobbies, elevators and restrooms. Construction on the addition is underway. The addition is part of an open-space plan developed by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore and supported by Baltimore City and the Baltimore Development Corp. to rejuvenate the downtown area and improve the north side of Pratt Street. The design team includes Peter Fillat Architects and construction manager Constantine Commercial Construction Inc. Ellin & Tucker's new office space will span the entire second floor and 7,000 square feet on the third floor, including a balcony above the new addition. The lease includes signage in the lobby and on the exterior southwest side on the second floor. Courtenay Jenkins of Cushman & Wakefield represented Ellin & Tucker and Whitney Nye represented the owner, PDL Pratt Associates LLC.
WAUKEGAN, ILL. — HSA Commercial Inc. has partnered with Boston-based Great Point Investors to develop a 218,500-square-foot speculative warehouse facility at Delany and Blanchard roads in Waukegan, a northern suburb of Chicago. The partnership broke ground this month on the new industrial building, which will be divisible to 25,000-square-foot suites. The suites will offer 30-foot clear heights, 28 truck docks, four drive-in doors, 300 parking spaces and access to Highway 41 and Interstate 94. Michael Caprile, vice chairman, and Steve Roth, executive vice president, of CBRE secured Great Point Investors for the joint venture with HSA. Birmingham, Ala.-based Regions Bank is providing construction financing for the project, and Premier Design + Build will serve as the general contractor.
CHICAGO — Denholtz Associates has received a $29 million loan for the refinancing of a five-property office and industrial portfolio located in Illinois and Florida. The portfolio, which totals 649,586 square feet, features four assets in suburban Chicago and 7129 University Blvd. in Winter Park, Fla. The Illinois properties include 1050-1138 Tower Lane in Bosenville; 747 N. Church Road in Elmhurst; 2625 Butterfield Road in Oak Brook; and 625-701 Executive Drive in Willowbrook. The portfolio is 84 percent leased to 117 different tenants and includes 56 percent office, 30 percent flex and 13 percent warehouse/industrial space. Natixis Real Estate Capital Inc. provided the five-year loan. Proceeds from the loan were used to repay an existing mortgage. Jon Mikula, senior managing director, and Michael Klein, director, of HFF represented Denholtz Associates in the transaction.
BERKLEY, MICH. — Alliant Capital LLC has closed a $9.6 million loan for the refinancing of Oxford Park Towers, a 214-unit multifamily property in Berkley, about 15 miles north of Detroit. Built in 1974, Oxford Park Towers includes one- and two-bedroom units. The seven-year loan includes a fixed interest rate and a 30-year amortization schedule.
SULLIVAN, WIS. — Breakout Investments LLC has purchased a 20,000-square-foot industrial building and three self storage buildings totaling 18,000 square feet in Sullivan. Hotchkiss LLC and Sullivan Self Storage LLC were the sellers of the properties, which are located at W2355 Highway 18, about 40 miles west of Milwaukee. Zach Noble of Dickman Co. Inc./CORFAC International was the broker in the transaction.
BOSTON — Colliers International has arranged $40 million in financing for Lenox Hotel, a 12-story, 213-key boutique hotel in the heart of Copley Square in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. Colliers worked on behalf of Saunders Hotel Group of Boston (SHG) to secure two notes from People’s United Bank. The new financing includes a $37.5 million, 15-year, fixed-rate loan and a $2.5 million revolving-credit facility. Kevin Phelan and John Broderick led the Colliers’ Boston-based Capital Markets team. Since acquiring the hotel in 1963, SHG has funded and overseen a series of restorations. Recent renovations include upgrading each guest room and the building’s entire façade. SHG also added restaurants City Table, City Bar and Sólás Pub.