SAN DIEGO — The Law Firm of Morris, Sullivan & Lemkul, LLP has signed a new 10-year lease at the Monarch Corporate Center in the San Diego submarket of Scripps Ranch. The firm now occupies the entire third floor of the building. The expansion totaled 20,000 square feet, and the lease is valued at $7.5 million. Morris, Sullivan & Lemkul was represented by Cassidy Turley BRE Commercial’s Dave Odmark. CBRE’s Jeb Bakke, Tyler Gossett and Scott Kincaid represented the building’s owner, Vinings Trace, LLC.
LOS ANGELES – PetSmart has signed a lease for 23,153 square feet at One Westside Shopping Center in Los Angeles. The 100,000-square-foot power center is fully leased with notable tenants like Starbucks, Panda Express, Marshalls and Baja Fresh. Parker Champion of Wilson Commercial represented the landlord, Champion Real Estate Companies, in this transaction.
SMYRNA, GA. — Atlanta-based Branch Properties has broken ground on the $28 million West Village Phase II, which will include a 188-unit multifamily development located off of Interstate 285 in Smyrna. Atlanta-based Phillips Partnership is the architect for the second phase, Atlanta-based Planners and Engineers Collaborative is the civil engineer, Atlanta-based Site Solutions is the landscape and hardscape designer, and Jacksonville, Fla.-based Summit Contractors Group is building the project. Branch Properties provided internal equity for the project and additional financing was provided by Fifth Third Bank. Amenities will include a resort style pool with fountains, bocce ball court with an adjacent cabana, a poolside grotto with a built-in outdoor grilling station, a club room with an internet cafe, a full-service mailing station and game nooks that will overlook the pool. The first units are slated for completion in September 2012.
RALEIGH AND CARY, N.C. — A six-building office portfolio, located in Raleigh and Cary, has sold. The assets include 5540 & 5565 Centerview Dr., 801 Jones Franklin Rd. and 5520 Capital Center Dr. in west Raleigh; 6501 Weston Pkwy. in Cary; and 1616 Millbrook Rd. in north Raleigh. David Finger and Scot Humphrey of Cassidy Turley's Raleigh office, along with Rob Cochran of the firm's Charlotte, N.C., office, and Jud Ryan, Paul Collins and Drew Flood of the firm's Washington, D.C., office represented Duke Realty, the seller, in the transaction. The buyer was Archon Acquisition.
STATESBORO, GA. — Charlotte, N.C.-based CampusWorks and Raleigh, N.C.-based The Preiss Co. have purchased the 200-unit Varsity Apartments, located at 111 Rucker Ln. #40 in Statesboro, from a Jacksonville, Fla.-based private group for $3.25 million. The property will be razed for the development of a $27 million, 692-bed student housing facility. The development is located across from Georgia Southern University. Construction will begin in spring 2012, with completion slated for fall 2013. Amenities will include an indoor basketball court and a resort-style swimming pool. Hilton Head, S.C.-based Coastal Apartment Advisors represented the seller in the transaction.
NAPLES, FLA. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $2.7 million sale of the 53-unit Oceans 52, an apartment complex located at 4058 Bay Shore Dr. in Naples. William Berthiaume, II, Still Hunter, III, and Evan Kristol of Marcus & Millichap's Fort Lauderdale, Fla., office represented the seller, a Jupiter, Fla.-based private investor, in the transaction. Alex Zylberglait and Ryan Shaw of the firm's Miami office represented the buyer, a Miami-based private investor.
PINECREST AND KENDALL, FLA. — Miami-based Aztec Group has secured two 10-year, refinance loans totaling $4.65 million for two shopping centers, located in suburban Miami, on behalf of the borrower, an affiliate of the Suchman Retail Group. The shopping centers include the 32,665-square-foot Dadeland North Shopping Center, located at the intersection of South Dixie Highway and Ludlam Road in Pinecrest, and the 42,700-square-foot Snapper Creek Shopping Center, located at the intersection of Southwest 72nd Street and Southwest 117th Avenue in Kendall. Jason Shapiro and Kevin Miliffe of Aztec Group arranged the non-recourse, fixed-rate loans.
MCCOOK, ILL. — A real estate fund managed by Morgan Stanley has purchased a storage facility in McCook for $7.2 million. The property includes 69,945-square-foot of rentable space and 698 storage units. Located at 9001 W. 47th St., the facility is about 90 percent occupied. The property will be rebranded as a Safeguard Storage. The sale marks the first non-distressed sale of a stabilized, Class A self-storage property in the Chicago area in three years.
DALLAS, ST. LOUIS, MO. —Dallas-based Cobalt Capital Partners has acquired a 1.6 million-square-foot industrial portfolio, located in the Dallas and St. Louis MSAs. The properties in the 13-building portfolio were built between 1980 and 2006. The acquisitions expand Cobalt's presence in the Dallas market to nearly 6 million square feet and double the company's presence in St. Louis to 1.4 million square feet. The purchase price was undisclosed.
CRANSTON, R.I. — The historic Garden City shopping center in Cranston will be renovated and expanded into a new 20,000-square-foot building. Owner Wilder Cos. says the multi-million dollar redevelopment will include breaking up retail spaces formerly held by larger tenants into mid-size and smaller specialty stores. Ann Taylor is among the new stores moving in, and Williams-Sonoma is expected to expand. Other current tenants have signed new multi-year leases including Starbucks and Hallmark. Construction is expected to begin this spring, and should be completed later this year.