BOSTON —Gazit Horizons, a subsidiary of global real estate firm Gazit-Globe, has purchased a 50,000-square-foot office and retail building located at 1430 Massachusetts Ave. in Boston. University Common Real Estate sold the property for $45 million in an off-market transaction. The historic building is located within the Harvard Square area and was originally constructed in the 1830s as a dormitory for the Ivy League university. Gazit Horizons will implement a value-add program that will renovate the lobby, common areas and building systems and will operate the building in a joint venture with private investment firm Hennick & Co.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations were 18 percent lower in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to a year ago, and increased 76 percent from the third quarter of 2020, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations. A decrease in originations for hotel, retail, office and healthcare properties led the overall decline in lending volumes when compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. There was a 79 percent year-over-year decrease in the dollar volume of loans for hotel properties, 72 percent dip for retail properties, 6 percent decline for office properties and a 12 percent decrease for healthcare properties. Industrial property loan originations increased 15 percent, while multifamily property lending rose 14 percent. Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of commercial research, says that unsurprisingly the data shows that the property types most affected by the pandemic struggled to transact. “Borrowing and lending remain weakest for the property types most impacted by the pandemic — particularly hotel and retail buildings,” says Woodwell. “Multifamily, led by government-backed financing from FHA, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, continued to see the strongest commercial mortgage activity.” Among investor types, the dollar volume of loans …
VINELAND, N.J. — A joint venture between Aspen Real Estate and Devli Real Estate has purchased MainTree Shopping Center, a 138,000-square-foot retail property in the Southern New Jersey city of Vineland. The sales price was $13.7 million. The new ownership will implement a value-add program at the center, which houses tenants such as GNC and Hair Cuttery. Joe French led a Marcus & Millichap team that represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.
INDIANAPOLIS — In its fourth-quarter earnings report, Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG) says it is confident it has turned the corner on a difficult 2020 and expects “growth in earnings and cash flow in 2021,” according to David Simon, chairman, CEO and president of the Indianapolis-based mall owner. Net operating income in the fourth quarter was $1.2 billion, a year-over-year decline of 23.9 percent. Simon points out that domestic rent abatements and higher uncollectible rents, primarily associated with retail bankruptcies, were the components of the decline. In the fourth quarter, Simon completed its acquisition of an 80 percent interest in The Taubman Realty Group. The company is also opportunistic regarding its strategic investments in retail brands such as Lucky Brand and J.C. Penney that underwent bankruptcy in 2020. As of Dec. 31, occupancy at Simon’s U.S. malls and outlet centers was 91.3 percent. As of Feb. 5, Simon had collected 90 percent of its net billed rents for its U.S. retail portfolio for the second, third and fourth quarters combined. Simon’s stock price opened at $102.50 per share on Tuesday, Feb. 9, down from $143.06 per share one year ago.
FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, ILL. — Cannabis Facility Construction (CFC) is underway on the buildout of a new recreational dispensary for an affiliate of Ascend Wellness Holdings (AWH) in the St. Louis suburb of Fairview Heights. The 11,000-square-foot dispensary is located at 114 Commerce Lane. The project entails the interior and exterior transformation of an existing building. The dispensary will feature vaulted ceilings, multimedia display screens and product display cases. The project is slated for completion in approximately three months. AWH owns and operates facilities in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Massachusetts and New Jersey.
LAS VEGAS — Nadel Architecture + Planning, as architect and designer, has completed the 155,000-square-foot Phase IV expansion of Showcase Mall, a 481,400-square-foot retail and entertainment destination owned by Gindi Capital. Located at 3767 S. Las Vegas Blvd., the 155,000-square-foot phase includes the addition of a 50,000-square-foot Burlington and a 20,000-square-foot Target. Gindi Capital plans to add a rooftop bar and restaurant 75 feet above street level, offering views of the Las Vegas Strip.
PALMDALE, CALIF. — SRS Real Estate Partners’ Investment Properties Group West has brokered the sale of a 56,309-square-foot portion of Towne Square West, a retail property located at 2220 E. Palmdale Blvd. in Palmdale. A Los Angeles-based private investor acquired the property from another Los Angeles-based private investor for $9 million. Chris Tramontano and John Redfield of SRS Real Estate Partners represented the seller, while Joelle Kim of Westside Luxury Real Estate represented the buyer in the deal. Built in 1989 on eight acres, the value-add property was 83 percent occupied at the close of escrow. Current tenants include Goodwill, LA Care, Aaron’s, Tokyo Steakhouse and La Palma Restaurants. Other tenants at the center, but not included in the sale, are Superior Goods, 99 Cents Only and Crunch Fitness.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — GreenWise Market has opened a new location in Fort Lauderdale. The grocer occupies the ground floor of The Main Las Olas building on Southeast Third Avenue. The 27,758-square-foot store is the first GreenWise Market to be located in a multiuse high-rise. The owner of the tower is a joint venture between Fort Lauderdale-based Stiles Corp. and San Francisco-based Shorenstein Properties, according to South Florida Business Journal. GreenWise Market is a grocery concept owned and operated by Publix Super Markets. The new store is the eighth location in the United States and features health-conscious and gourmet foods, as well as vitamins, nutritional supplements, natural soaps and shampoos, meats, seafood, made-to-order meals and grab-and-go foods like sandwiches and pizza. The Fort Lauderdale GreenWise Market also features a mural by Steven Teller depicting a variety of tropical plants common to South Florida.
COLUMBIA, ILL. — Marcus & Millichap has negotiated the $4.1 million sale of a Walgreens-occupied property in Columbia, approximately 15 miles south of St. Louis. The net-leased asset, built in 2003, is located at 100 Admiral Weinel Blvd. Walgreens has 10 years remaining on its lease term. Nicholas Kanich of Marcus & Millichap’s Chicago office represented the seller, a private investor. Benedict Gutierrez, Drew Kristol and Kirk Olson of Marcus & Millichap’s Miami office secured and represented the buyer, an individual trust.
HIGH POINT, N.C. — Avison Young has brokered the sale of Eastchester Shopping Center, a 63,000-square-foot neighborhood retail center located at 274 Eastchester Drive in High Point. Grant Linderman and Gary Lyons of Avison Young’s investment sales team represented the seller, LSP Verris Eastchester LLC, in the transaction. Peters Development LLC purchased the shopping center for $9.5 million. Eastchester Shopping Center is situated on approximately 5.9 acres near NC Highway 68/Eastchester Drive. The property was fully leased at the time of sale to tenants including Office Depot, Dollar Tree, Hooters, Dunkin’, H&R Block and Plato’s Closet.