EAST GREENBUSH, N.Y. — Commercial finance and advisory firm Axiom Capital Corp. has arranged an $11.6 million permanent loan for the refinancing of a 194,889-square-foot shopping center located in the Upstate New York community of East Greenbush. The property comprises five buildings on a 33.3-acre site and is currently leased to 19 tenants. Axiom Capital arranged the 10-year, fixed-rate loan on behalf of the undisclosed borrower. The name of the direct lender and property were also not disclosed.
Elizabeth Barnes, COO of NAI Plotkin, knows property management is always a labor- and people-intensive profession, no matter the day or time of year. In that regard, the pandemic did not change the best practices for the Springfield, Mass.-based full-service brokerage and management company. “The number-one best practice has always been — and remains to this day — to manage the property as if you own it, with the awareness that you don’t,” Barnes says. Treat the Asset as Your Own For Barnes, this means focusing on the asset’s value at all times. “Common area maintenance (CAM) reconciliation, capital planning, value engineering options — they need to be front and center,” she continues. “It’s not just about cutting expenses. Look at how you can add value or reduce upfront costs.” All this should be done, she states, with the owner’s goals for the property in mind. Those goals may differ based on whether the owner is, for example, looking to divest the asset. Or if the tenant’s space has gone dark. Or if a pandemic is occurring. “There is a definite focus on health and safety now, regardless of the product type,” Barnes says. “Many owners wanted HVAC and air-handling …
The retail market in the Orlando MSA is doing well, on the surface. According to the numbers, the region has recovered from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Orlando’s economy is heavily driven by tourism and when travel stopped and the initial state-wide shutdown orders went into effect on April 3, 2020, the impacts were profound and widespread, since four of the top 10 employers in Central Florida are in hospitality or retail, as well as Orlando International Airport. Since then, life in Central Florida has largely returned to normal. Tourism is back, hotel occupancy is up and people are dining out again. Retail numbers for the second quarter are actually better than in the first quarter of 2019, according to CoStar Group. The availability percentage at the beginning of 2019 was 5.9 percent, compared to 4.7 percent at the end of the second quarter. The average rent is up as well, rising from $21.94 per square foot to $25.52. Consumer habits have changed as e-commerce is still enormously popular, although it’s now more about convenience than mitigating risks. For those who can, working from home has become the preferred mode. As a consequence of the remote work trend, local …
SARASOTA, FLA. — A trio of entrepreneurs — Brian and Valerie McCarthy and Matthew Gordon — plans to invest $180 million to build at least 15 indoor pickleball courts in Florida. All locations, which will be branded The Pickleball Club, will be members-only and privately owned, for-profit sports clubs. The first venture is The Pickleball Club at Lakewood Ranch in Sarasota, which has broken ground and is set to open in December. The 33,000-square-foot Sarasota location will feature 12 indoor courts, two outdoor courts, Dink’s Pro Shop, Pickles Café and an outdoor activity center dubbed Food Truck Alley. The entrepreneurs have purchased land in Bonita Springs and Port St. Lucie for two more locations, and are in negotiations for four more, including in Fort Myers. Each The Pickleball Club location will utilize high-definition PlaySight technology to integrate real-time video into lessons and clinics. The Pickleball Club currently has 47 shareholders and has raised nearly $5 million in equity over the past 18 months.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Locally based developer M2G Ventures has sold The Foundry District, a 98,000-square-foot mixed-use property in Fort Worth’s Cultural District. M2G Ventures acquired the former industrial site in 2015 and redeveloped it to feature office, retail and restaurant space, as well as showrooms and an art gallery. The buyer was Charlotte-based Asana Partners. Cushman & Wakefield’s Chris Harden and Kris Von Hohn brokered the transaction.
QUAKERTOWN, PA. — New Jersey-based Cronheim Mortgage has arranged $9 million in permanent financing for a 210,000-square-foot shopping center in Quakertown, located north of Philadelphia in Bucks County. Anchored by grocer Giant, the unnamed center also houses tenants such as Rite Aid, Buffalo Wild Wings, H&R Block and Panera Bread. Allison Villamagna and Andrew Stewart of Cronheim Mortgage arranged the financing on behalf of the borrower, a subsidiary of New York City-based ADCO Group. An undisclosed life insurance company provided the loan.
TOTOWA, N.J. — Total Wine & More has opened a 32,000-square-foot store at Totowa Square, a 258,000-square-foot retail power center in Northern New Jersey. The retailer is backfilling a space formerly occupied by Babies ‘R’ Us. Brian Katz and Amy Staats of Katz & Associates represented the landlord in the lease negotiations. Brian Schuster of Ripco Real Estate represented the tenant.
ATLANTA — Atlanta BeltLine Inc. (ABI) has selected development firm Culdesac for the 20-acre Murphy Crossing project located at 1050 Murphy Ave. in southwest Atlanta’s Oakland City neighborhood. Culdesac, which recently delivered a “car-free” mixed-use development in Tempe, Ariz., will be working with Urban Oasis Development, Kronberg Urbanists + Architects, LDG Consulting and T. Dallas Smith and Co. on the Murphy Crossing project, which will be branded Murphy Crossing by Culdesac. Plans for the development are subject to change pending community feedback, but preliminarily the project will comprise new and existing buildings that will house market-rate and affordable housing apartments, a grocery store, retail and dining options, light industrial space, coworking spaces, arts and culture programming and a farmer’s market, honoring the site’s history as the location for the Georgia Farmers Market in the 1940s and 1950s. Murphy Crossing by Culdesac will give residents proximity to the Oakland City and West End MARTA stations. Additionally, 25 percent of the residential units will be designated permanently affordable with an additional 5 percent of units deemed affordable for at least the next 30 years. The target rent restriction for the affordable units is between 60 and 80 percent of the area median …
ORLANDO, FLA. — Avanath Capital Management has purchased City View, a mixed-use development located at 595 Church St. in Orlando, for $62.5 million. The buyer purchased the asset using a combination of its commingled fund equity and debt financing from JPMorgan Chase and Fannie Mae. Marcus & Millichap’s Affordable Housing Advisors division brokered the sale. Nearly half of City View’s 266 apartments are designated affordable, with the property’s rent restrictions continuing until 2050. Avanath Capital has taken steps to preserve the current designations of 28 units at 50 percent of area median income (AMI), 79 units at 60 percent of AMI and 24 units at 120 percent of AMI. The property was 96.9 percent occupied at the time of sale. In addition to the apartments and resident amenities, City View houses 13 commercial tenants occupying nearly 25,000 square feet, including boutique retail, restaurant, deli and financial education/literacy users, as well as the Orlando Police Department. Avanath Capital plans to complete interior renovations of the market-rate units to bring finishes and rents in-line with those of market competitors. Additionally, the firm will upgrade City View’s common areas and retails spaces and replace the roof, HVAC and boiler.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Dallas-based developer Centergy Retail has sold Left Bank, a 114,120-square-foot shopping center in Fort Worth. Grocer Tom Thumb anchors the center, which was 98 percent leased at the time of sale. Other tenants include Hopdaddy Burger Bar, Crumbl Cookies, Nékter Juice Bar and Buffalo Wild Wings. Jim Batjer, Chris Cozby, Mark Witcher, Blaine Dozier and Harrison Tye of CBRE represented Centergy in the transaction. The buyer and sales price were not disclosed.