NEW YORK CITY — A joint venture between Witkoff Group, Maefield Development, Infinity Urban Century and New Valley LLC has completed the $430 million acquisition of a development site at 701 Seventh Ave. in Times Square. The companies plan to build a 340,000-square-foot multi-use complex that will include retail, a hotel and the nation's largest single LED screen. The $800 million project is expected to be operational within two years and fully complete in three years. Starwood Capital is providing $475 million in combined acquisition and construction financing for the project. An existing 11-story office building at the site will be partially demolished to make way for the complex.
NEW YORK CITY — Whole Foods Market has signed a lease for 39,000 square feet at 1551 Third Ave. on Manhattan's Upper East Side. The grocery store is expected to open in 2014 and will mark the company's eighth location in Manhattan. The three-level store will stretch along the entire block front between 87th and 88th streets. Gary Alterman of RKF represented the property owner, Milstein Properties, in the transaction. Chase Welles and Jacqueline Klinger of SCG Retail represented the tenant.
HICKSVILLE, N.Y. — Ivy Realty has acquired Station Plaza, a two-building, 420,000-square-foot office complex in Hicksville. The property is located at 100, 102 and 110 Duffy Ave., adjacent to the Hicksville LIRR train station. The five-story buildings are 36 percent leased to tenants such as New York Sports Club and Farmers Insurance Group. Andrew Scandalios, Jose Cruz, Kevin O'Hearn and Jeffrey Julien led the HFF team that represented the seller, Duffy HH LLC, in the transaction. HFF also arranged the acquisition financing through Aetena Life Insurance Co. on behalf of the buyer.
NEW YORK CITY — Beech Street Capital has arranged an$8.2 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of a 74-unit apartment building on Fort Washington Avenue in Manhattan. Carol Selby of Meridian Capital Group originated the seven-year, fixed-rate loan. The borrowers have owned the property since 1999, which is located in Hudson Heights.
CRANBURY, N.J. — Matrix Development Group has sold 102 Melrich Road, a 103,350-square-foot distribution facility in Cranbury. In conjunction with the sale, Tris Pharma, a pharmaceutical company, has leased the property from the new owner. The single-story property is situated on eight acres, and is less than two miles from the Exit 8A interchange of the New Jersey Turnpike. The property was constructed in 1977 and expanded in 1987. David Zimmel of Zimmel and Associates represented the buyer in the transaction.
DALLAS — Chef John Coleman will open a restaurant and food kiosk in the new Klyde Warren Park, a 5.2-acre deck park built above Woodall Rodgers Freeway next to downtown and uptown Dallas. Savor, the restaurant, will be a gastropub featuring a custom mixology program. Bill Johnson of Atlanta-based Johnson Studios is designing the restaurant's interior. Savor will debut as a food truck until the restaurant is delivered in mid-2013. Relish, a permanent kiosk, will be a companion to Savor.
AUSTIN — Muskin Commercial has arranged the sale of the 122-unit Salem Walk Apartments, located in Austin. Ellen Muskin and Daniel Elam of Muskin Commercial represented the seller, a Santa Rosa, Calif.-based partnership, in the transaction.
HOUSTON — Hendricks & Partners has brokered the sale of the 76-unit Memorial Trails, an REO, garden-style apartment complex located at 14900 Memorial Drive in Houston. Chris Ross, Mike Miller and Will Caruth of Hendricks & Partners' San Antonio office, along with Chris Malcolm of Hendricks & Partners' north Los Angeles branch, represented the seller, Newport Beach, Calif.-based Kinecta Federal Credit Union, in the transaction. The buyer was San Francisco-based FAOF Memorial Trails.
DALLAS — Jones Lang LaSalle has secured Crosstex Energy's 108,525-square-foot lease at Crosstex Court, a seven-story corporate office development previously known as Cedar Springs Plaza, located at 2501 Cedar Springs Road in uptown Dallas. Steve Thelen, Jeff Staubach, Torrey Littlejohn and Vince Burt of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the tenant in the lease transaction. Michael Dudley and Hunter Lee of CBRE Group represented the landlord, Caddo Holdings.
SAN ANTONIO — Johnson Capital has arranged $6.7 million in mezzanine financing for the construction of the 225-unit Tobin Lofts, an off-campus student housing development serving the students of San Antonio College, which owns the $30 million development. Tobin Lofts will also feature a retail component. NRP Group has begun developing the property, which will open prior to the fall 2013 semester. Austin-based Campus Advantage will manage the community upon completion. Ron Davis of Johnson Capitals' Dallas office arranged the loan through a national private equity fund, while a separate $20 million construction loan was provided by a regional bank.