HAMMOND, LA. — The Home Depot has closed on its purchase of 9.7 acres of land for a new 106,000-square-foot store and 28,000-square-foot garden center as part of the redevelopment of Hammond Square, a 850,000-square-foot shopping center in Hammond developed and managed by Stirling Properties. Hammond Square is situated on nearly 100 acres at the corner of I-12 and US Highway 51 Business. Existing tenants include Target, AMC Theatres, Dillard’s, JC Penney, Academy Sports + Outdoors and Sears. The Home Depot is set to begin construction on the new store before the end of the year and open in 2017.
NEW ORLEANS — CBRE has arranged a $32.5 million loan to refinance 925 Common, a 15-story apartment building in downtown New Orleans. Built in 1952 as offices for Shell Oil, the building was converted to a 108-unit multifamily development in 2006. The sponsor, Belmont Commons LLC, recently completed extensive renovations at 925 Common, including adding 91 units, a new rooftop infinity-edge pool, new fitness center and an expanded parking garage. The property’s 10,400 square feet of ground-level retail space was also activated to include a Rooster Club Barber Shop and Goldberg’s Bagel Co. & Deli. Jonathan Rice of CBRE’s Atlanta office arranged the 10-year loan through Benefit Street Partners. 925 Common is situated in the central business district of New Orleans and is adjacent to The Roosevelt and across from Canal Street and the French Quarter.
BATON ROUGE, LA. — Blueprint Healthcare Real Estate Advisors has brokered the $11.5 million sale of Oakwood Village, a 77-unit independent living, assisted living and memory care community in Baton Rouge. Blueprint represented the seller, a regional owner-operator divesting its only seniors housing asset. The buyer was a subsidiary of Florida-based specialty insurer Fortegra Financial Corp., an affiliate of Tiptree Financial Inc. New York City-based Care Investment Trust LLC will serve as asset manager of Oakwood Village, and Traditions Senior Management of Clearwater, Fla., will provide management services. Jacob Gehl was the lead Blueprint advisor on the transaction, supported by Michael Segal. Clint Parker and Jeremy Joiner from Brown Gibbons Lang & Co. Real Estate Partners assisted in the transaction.
NEW ORLEANS — The 14th annual National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) Student Housing Conference & Exposition was held Sept. 28-30 at the New Orleans Marriott in Louisiana, with over 700 leaders from all facets of the sector convening to network, discuss and dine over a range of industry topics. The outlook throughout the conference was overwhelmingly bright. Each panel and session showed the sector to be robust, with reports of rising rental rates, a record year in asset sales in the sector, and increasing investor interest and capital entering the student housing market. The conference began on Wednesday, Sept. 28, with opening remarks by NMHC president Doug Bibby, followed by a panel titled “Keeping Count: The Public Company Perspective.” Led by CEO of Peak Campus Bob Clark, the panel went in-depth with the CEOs of the two public REITs in the industry — Bill Bayless, president and CEO of American Campus Communities (ACC), and Randy Churchey, chairman and CEO of Education Realty Trust (EdR). Clark began the panel with a variety of statistics on the sector today, as reported by Axiometrics. New supply deliveries for the last five years have been 61,000-beds in 2013; 62,000-beds in 2014; 47,000-beds in 2015; 48,000-beds in 2016; and 36,000 …
NEW ORLEANS — Kennedy Funding Financial has closed a $1.5 million acquisition loan for a 40,000-square-foot lot in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans. Fronting Charles Street and bounded by Mazant and Royal streets, the site houses a former seafood processing plant. The borrower, Pelican Royal LLC, plans to develop a 43-room, 32,000-square-foot hotel and hostel known as Stateside on the site. Slated to open in early 2018, Stateside will feature a laundromat, courtyard, pool, restaurant and bar and a coffee and juice shop.
NEW ORLEANS — New Castle Hotels and Resorts (NCHR) has opened a 103-suite Fairfield Inn & Suites in the French Quarter neighborhood of New Orleans. Rockbridge Capital provided financing for the project. The property is a $10 million renovation of the former Interstate Electric Co. building, built in 1910. John T. Campo Associates designed the project, which used historic tax credits and preserved the building’s façade.
HARVEY AND ALGIERS, LA. — G.S. Wilcox & Co. has arranged two loans totaling $44.2 million for apartment communities in Harvey and Algiers. David Fryer of G.S. Wilcox arranged the two loans through Legacy Texas Bank on behalf of an unnamed, repeat client of G.S. Wilcox. The financing includes a $24.2 million loan for the refinancing of a 408-unit garden-style community in Harvey and a $20 million acquisition loan for a 442-unit garden-style community in Algiers.
NEW ORLEANS — Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital LLC has arranged a $31.6 million HUD 221(d)(4) loan for the construction of Village of Versailles, a 50-building, 400-unit affordable and workforce housing community in New Orleans. Prior to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the site of the Village of Versailles housed two 200-unit, HUD-insured apartment developments. Set to open in late 2017, Village of Versailles will feature two community buildings and a leasing office. Jon Killough of Bellwether Enterprise’s Alabama office arranged the 40-year loan with 22 months of interest-only payments through HUD on behalf of the borrower, Mirus New Orleans LLC. The financing of the project also includes the issuance of short-term tax-exempt bonds, 4 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credits purchased by City Real Estate Advisors and HOME Funds provided by the Louisiana Housing Corp.
BATON ROUGE, LA. — Berkadia has arranged a $19 million Fannie Mae loan for Turnberry Place Apartments, a 272-unit property located at 10720 Linkwood Court in Baton Rouge. Built in 2002, Turnberry Place features one- and two-bedroom units with full-size washer and dryers, patios or balconies and walk-in closets. Community amenities include a 24-hour fitness center, resort-style pool, heated spa, digital business center and video-monitored, controlled access gates. Cameron Hart of Berkadia’s Austin office arranged the 12-year refinancing with a fixed 3.67 percent interest rate and a 30-year amortization schedule on behalf of the borrower, Belcher Management LLC.
WESTLAKE, LA. — Kicks Entertainment LLC, a newly formed entity owned by Albuquerque, N.M.-based Laguna Development Corp. and Eagle Holdings LLLP, has agreed to acquire Isle of Capri Casino Hotel Lake Charles in Westlake for $134.5 million. The casino is located in Southwest Louisiana, approximately midway between New Orleans and Houston, Texas. The property — to be acquired from Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. (NASDAQ: ISLE) — includes a 50,000-square-foot riverboat casino, a 493-room hotel, a variety of dining and beverage outlets and covered parking, according to reports by Albuquerque Business First. Isle of Capri Casinos has owned and operated the Lake Charles location for over 20 years. The sale is expected to close in late 2017 or early 2018. Isle of Capri Casino Hotel Lake Charles features 1,150 slot machines, 35 table games, 13 poker tables, two hotels totaling 490 rooms, three restaurants, 14,000 square feet of meeting/banquet space, an RV park and a concert venue. Laguna Development Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pueblo of Laguna. The Native American Pueblo also owns Dancing Eagle Casino, Route 66 Casino and Casino Xpress in New Mexico. Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. owns or operates a portfolio of 14 casinos …