NEW YORK CITY — Besen & Associates has arranged the $7.5 million sale of a mixed-use property at 1444 Third Ave. in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The four-story, 7,197-square-foot building includes a restaurant with two years remaining on its lease and nine apartments. The new owner plans to redevelop the property into a boutique condominium.
KILLINGLY, CONN. — The Grossman Cos., in partnership with Summit Development and Ameritas Life Insurance Corp., has purchased an industrial property at 349 Lake Road in Killingly for $3.2 million. The property, near I-395 and the Massachusetts and Rhode Island borders, includes 40 acres of developable land and a mostly vacant, 210,000-square-foot industrial building. The property is also in an industrial area that includes manufacturing and distribution facilities run by companies such as Frito Lay, United Natural Foods and Staples.
SOUTHINGTON, CONN. — Viththal Bank has acquired a Days Inn Hotel in Southington from Lighthouse Laning St., an entity of a California-based private investor, for $2.4 million. Originally built as a Howard Johnson in 1965, the 71-unit hotel operated as a Red Carpet Inn prior to foreclosure by the lender. In consultation with Hamm & Co., Lighthouse installed professional management, renovated the hotel and reflagged the property as a Days Inn. The repositioning increased occupancies from 15 percent prior to foreclosure to more than 80 percent. The hotel is located off Exit 32 on I-84. Freedom National Bank provided the SBA financing for the deal. Sperry Van Ness represented the seller in the transaction.
BEDFORD, N.H. — P&P Realty Trust, a Massachusetts investment group, has acquired a 23,497-square-foot retail plaza in Bedford for $3.8 million. The center is anchored by Rite Aid, and additional tenants include Sleepy's and Radio Shack. Tom Fini of the Fini Real Estate Group represented the seller, RAD08 LLC, in the transaction. He also represented the buyer.
WILMINGTON, DEL. — Auto parts retailers Advance Auto Parts and Pep Boys recently signed new leases in Wilmington. Advanced Auto leased 6,000 square feet at The Depot, a freestanding building at 3405 Kirkwood Highway that was formerly a Blockbuster store. Pep Boys leased 5,000 square feet in the Villa Monterey Shopping Center at 729 Philadelphia Pike. Jim O'Hara of NAI Emory Hill represented the landlord, Gap 41 Ventures, in the Advanced Auto transaction. Jim O'Hara and Kevin O'Hara, also with NAI Emory Hill, represented Pep Boys in the Villa Monterey lease.
DALLAS — Methodist Dallas Medical Center has broken ground on the new six-story, $108 million Charles A Sammons Trauma and Critical Care Tower, located in Dallas. The 248,000-square-foot trauma and critical care center will include 58 emergency room beds, six trauma suites, eight surgical suites and a 36-bed critical care unit. The hospital will also have the ability to expand to 11 stories for future growth. The construction will be supported by a $20 million BrightER campaign. Completion is slated for summer 2014.
HOUSTON — Transwestern, through a joint venture with Denver-based Miller Global Properties, has purchased a 20.8-acre tract of land to develop Westgate, a 660,000-square-foot, Class A office project to be located in the Energy Corridor of Houston. The site has extensive frontage on the north side of Interstate 10. Westgate will consist of a four-story, 248,500-square-foot building; a four-story, 186,000-square-foot building; and a five-story, 225,500-square-foot building, each of which will have its own parking structure. The development is 67 percent pre-leased. EE Reed will be the project's general contractor, and Powers Brown Architecture will design the project to achieve LEED Silver certification. Carleton Riser, Sean Suffel and Mark Miller of Transwestern are spearheading the design and development of the project. Jeff Peden and David Cook of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Hearst Corp., in the land transaction. Transwestern was self-represented.
CORPUS CHRISTI — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of a 12,080-square-foot office building, located at 438 Robert Drive in Corpus Christi. Jeff Smith of Marcus & Millichap's Corpus Christi office represented the seller, a limited liability company, in the transaction.
AUSTIN — John Capital has secured a $23 million loan to refinance a 87,500-square-foot mixed-use development, located at 5th Street and Lamar in downtown Austin. The development also includes a four-level parking garage. The retail portion is leased by several tenants, including West Elm, and the office space is fully leased to HomeAway. Scott Monroe of Johnson Capital arranged the 10-year loan with a 30-year amortization schedule through a Wall Street conduit lender to refinance a construction loan.
HEBRON, THE COLONY AND LOWRY CROSSING — Houston-based Spec's Wine, Spirits & Finer Foods has leased locations in Hebron, The Colony and Lowry Crossing. The Hebron store, located at 2401 W. Parker Road, spans 12,000 square feet and is now open. Sam Gruner of Hank Dickerson Co. represented the landlord, One Emsee, in the lease transaction. The Colony store, located at the northeast corner of State Highway 121 and Blair Oaks, spans 20,000 square feet and is projected to open in the spring of 2013. Tommy Crowel of The Standridge Company represented the landlord, Memorial 121 Land, LTD. The Lowry Crossing store, located at 4100 E. State Highway 380, spans 14,261 square feet and also serves as the Spec's Collin County distribution facility. Gruner represented the landlord, Big Tex Lowry Crossing. Jeff Brand of Brand Capital Partners, along with Jody Detmore of SFP Brokerage, represented the tenant in all three lease transactions.
