LAKE CHARLES, LA. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of The Gardens and The Guardian, a 108-bed seniors housing property located at 1401 Country Club Road in Lake Charles. The sales price was undisclosed, but the list price was $9.6 million. Rod Llanos and Doug O’Toole of Marcus & Millichap’s Houston office represented the seller, a limited liability company, in the transaction. Llanos and O’Toole also secured the buyer, also a limited liability company. William Hoffpauir of Marcus & Millichap assisted in the transaction.
NEW ORLEANS — NewcrestImage, a Dallas-based hotel developer and operator, has purchased a 13-story office building located at 1600 Canal St. in New Orleans. The company plans to repurpose the vacant building into a 105-room TownePlace Suites by Marriott and a 78-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott. Built in 1960 and vacant for the past 10 years, 1600 Canal St. is located at the intersection of Canal Street and I-10, nine blocks from the French Quarter and adjacent to the new 1,500-acre, $1.2 billion BioDistrict development. The asking price for the office building was $6 million, but the sales price was undisclosed. The two hotels will share amenities, including a single lobby, registration desk, breakfast area and indoor bar. There will be a single management and sales team, as well as a single housekeeping staff. The rooftop will be renovated into an 8,000-square-foot garden overlooking Canal Street and will feature an outdoor bar, exercise room and laundry facilities. NewcrestImage plans to open the two hotels by December 2016. Upon completion, the dual-branded hotel building will be the first property to combine the TownePlace Suites and SpringHill Suites brands into one building.
COVINGTON, LA. — Gulf States Real Estate and Construction Services has begun construction on two new office buildings in the Tammany West Multiplex Business Park located along I-12 and Highway 1077 in Covington, roughly 41 miles north of New Orleans. The larger project is the 22,000-square-foot PSX Corporate Office Building, an owner-occupied project that will house PSX Corporate’s offices, a warehouse and an assembly facility. PSX Corporate provides visual arts and special effects for casinos and other entertainment venues. The second building is a 10,450-square-foot project that Gulf States is developing for Durham Properties LLC. This building will be available for lease. Gulf States expects to complete both buildings in late spring 2016. These buildings are the fourth and fifth office projects developed by Gulf States this year.
HAMMOND, LA. — CBRE has secured a $53 million, 10-year loan for Hammond Square located in Hammond. Jonathan Rice, C.J. Kelly and Porter McDonald of CBRE arranged financing through Morgan Stanley on behalf of the borrower, Stirling Properties. Tenants at the center include Sears, Target, T.J. Maxx, JC Penney, Dillard’s, Ulta Beauty, Best Buy, Academy Sports + Outdoors and AMC Movie Theater.
LAFAYETTE, LA. — Stirling Properties has purchased the Retreat at Acadian Point, a 384-unit apartment community located in Lafayette. Formerly known as South Point Apartments, the 80s-era property will begin upgrades including washer and dryers in all units, new appliances and flooring, electronically activated vehicular access gates, new roofs, new landscaping and a new fitness center. With the acquisition, Stirling’s portfolio spans 1,512 multifamily units. Des Moines, Iowa-based BH Management Services is the primary management firm for Stirling’s multifamily portfolio.
BATON ROUGE, LA. — Co-developers Continental Realty Corp. and Atlanta-based Palmetto Partners Inc. have broken ground on River House, a 224-unit luxury apartment community located at 1480 Nicholson Drive in Baton Rouge. The community is a component of the River District corridor’s redevelopment between Baton Rouge’s central business district and Louisiana State University. River House will include a 4,600-square-foot clubhouse, 15,000 square feet of retail and 34,000 square feet of office space. The project team includes general contractor Clark Construction, architect Humphreys & Partners, civil engineer Monroe & Corie, landscape architect Reich Associates and interior designer The Design Studio. FNBC Bank and Continental Americas Regional Center provided construction financing for the project. Continental Realty and Palmetto Partners have tapped Ty Gose of Latter & Blum to lease River House. The project’s legal team includes Phelps Dunbar and Tanner Law Firm.
SHREVEPORT, LA. — Lexington, Ky.-based BC Wood Properties has acquired North Market Place, an 88,205-square-foot shopping center located in Shreveport, for $7 million. Brookshire’s Grocery anchors the center. The grocer operates more than 150 stores in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. North Market Place is the first Louisiana shopping center in BC Wood’s portfolio, which includes 36 shopping centers comprising more than 5 million square feet.
NEW ORLEANS — Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the $15.5 million sale of a 358,060-square-foot distribution center located at 1420 Sams Ave. in Elmwood Business Park, a 33 million-square-foot industrial park in New Orleans. Built in 1984, the property was 95.6 percent leased at the time of sale. Mike Davis, Michael Lerner and Rick Brugge of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Columbus Nova, in the transaction.
NEW ORLEANS — Provenance Hotels, GB Lodging and Woodbine Development Corp. have partnered to co-develop and open the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery, a boutique hotel located in New Orleans’ historic Warehouse Arts District. Originally built in 1854, the historic property is located at the intersection of Tchoupitoulas and Lafayette streets, roughly four blocks from the French Quarter. The hotel features hardwood floors, exposed brick walls, an art collection courtesy of the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts and a new restaurant. Nina Compton is the head chef and owner of the restaurant, known as Compere Lapin. In August 2013, Provenance Hotels and GB Lodging purchased the historic hotel property, then known as the Ambassador Hotel. The companies partnered with Woodbine Development to renovate the hotel and expand the guest room count to 167. According to the hotel’s website, rooms rent for as low as $109 per night.
MONROE, LA. AND GARFIELD HEIGHTS, OHIO — Lancaster Pollard has arranged the refinancing of two seniors housing communities: one for Paramount Healthcare Consultants (PHC) in Monroe for $20.2 million and another for The Jennings Center for Older Adults in Garfield Heights for $12.6 million. The PHC refinancing is a HUD loan for three facilities — Avalon Place, a 115-bed skilled nursing facility (SNF); Leslie Lakes, a 150-bed SNF and 19-unit independent living facility; and Princeton Place, a 112-bed SNF. Scott Blount, healthcare banker out of Austin, Texas, led the transaction for Lancaster Pollard. Lancaster Pollard also assisted PHC with a corporate restructuring to ensure compliance with HUD’s single asset entity and master lease requirements. The existing indebtedness and swap termination fee were completely funded through the FHA Sec. 232/223(f) loans and no equity was required from PHC. The Jennings Center is a nonprofit community featuring 174 private suites of skilled nursing, 54 units of assisted living, 10 independent living units, adult day services, child day care, a wellness center, transportation services and community programs. The main campus was founded in 1942 and is sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Spirit. Lancaster Pollard arranged the refinance Jennings’ 2009 bonds using …