FREDERICK, MD. — ACRES Capital has provided an $83.7 million construction loan for Residences at East Church, a 350-unit multifamily project located on a 14.8-acre site at 605 E. Church St. in Frederick. The borrower, The Goldstar Group, is developing the five-story community to feature a clubhouse, swimming pool and fitness center, as well as 525 parking spaces. The construction timeline was not disclosed. Jamie Butler of Walker & Dunlop originated the loan on behalf of Goldstar. Principals involved in the loan transaction include Michael Brodsky of Goldstar and Drew Miller of ACRES Capital’s New York office.
Maryland
BALTIMORE — KLNB has arranged the sale of Church Square Shopping Center, a 44,252-square-foot retail center located at 923 N. Caroline St. in Baltimore. Andy Stape, Chris Burnham, Vito Lupo and Jake Furnary of KLNB represented the seller, a partnership between entities doing business as Burley Church LLC and Pinefield South-Kodiak LLC, in the $6.5 million transaction. The buyer was not disclosed. Originally built in 1986, Church Square recently underwent renovations including roof work, parking lot repairs and façade updates. The property was fully leased at the time of sale to tenants including DTLR Villa, Hip Hop Fish & Chicken and a Chase Bank ATM.
NORTH BETHESDA, MD. — Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT), a real estate investment trust based in Rockville, has topped out 915 Meeting Street, an office tower underway within the company’s Pike & Rose mixed-use development in North Bethesda. The building rises 16 stories and will comprise 250,000 square feet of office space upon completion, as well as 545 parking spaces and 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Choice Hotels International Inc. signed a lease last year to occupy nearly half of the office tower for its new corporate headquarters. Sodexo, a food services and facilities management company based in Paris, is another notable tenant that has preleased office space at 915 Meeting Street. General contractor Clark Construction Group and architectural firm Gensler lead the development team, which is targeting LEED Gold certification for the tower. “915 Meeting Street is our newest trophy building offering to the market,” says Jay Brinson, vice president of development at Federal Realty. “This collaborative effort with our partners at Clark and Gensler has resulted in a building that is 60 percent [preleased].” Clark Construction broke ground last December on 915 Meeting Street. With vertical construction complete, the firm is focused on building out …
ANNAPOLIS, MD. — Trademark Property Co. has completed the renovation of Annapolis Town Center, a mixed-use development in Annapolis spanning 2 million square feet. Whole Foods Market and Target anchor the property, which is also home to retailers including Anthropologie, RH and Paper Source. Trademark’s improvements included the addition of green space and a new community gathering area called Green Village; a climate-controlled paseo for improved connectivity and walkability; improved signage and wayfinding; and art installations from local artists. A number of new tenants are set to open within Annapolis Town Center this year, including True Food Kitchen, Tuscan Prime, Warby Parker, Life Time Fitness, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, GABBY Summer Classics Home, Urbano Mexican Fare, Tempur Sealy and VIBE.
COLUMBIA, MD. — Excelsa Properties has acquired Columbia Pointe, a 325-unit multifamily community located at 5764 Stevens Forest Road in Columbia, approximately 20 miles southwest of Baltimore. Newmark represented the seller, Morgan Properties, in the $78 million transaction. Built in 1972, the 18-acre property features one residential tower and 14 garden-style buildings with apartments in one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts. Excelsa plans to invest $3.2 million in the renovation of about half of Columbia Pointe’s units that will include kitchen and bathroom upgrades. Occupancy at the time of sale was 95 percent.
SUITLAND, MD. — OneWall Communities has acquired Gateway Station — formerly Allentown Apartments — a 178-unit affordable multifamily property located in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Suitland. CBRE Affordable Housing arranged the transaction, in which RailField Realty Partners sold the property for $23 million. Built in 1963 and renovated in 2007, Gateway Station features eight buildings comprising apartments in a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts. Community amenities include a swimming pool, onsite laundry facilities and a playground. The property currently operates under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, which reserves units at various income restrictions. Connecticut-based OneWall plans to preserve Gateway Station’s affordability during its ownership.
Ziff Purchases Six Self-Storage Properties in Southeast, Colorado Totaling 2,750 Units
by John Nelson
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. — Ziff Real Estate Partners has purchased six self-storage properties in the Southeast and Colorado totaling 2,750 climate- and non-climate-controlled units, including boat and RV rental spaces. The Mount Pleasant-based investor purchased the assets for an undisclosed price via its ZRP Storage Opportunity Fund. The assets in the portfolio include four existing properties: Morristown Self Storage in Morristown, Tenn.; J&S Self Storage in Fountain, Colo.; Mocks Hwy 20 Self Storage in Cumming, Ga.; and Atlas Business Center in Gainesville, Ga. The portfolio also includes two buildings in Roanoke, Va., and Waldorf, Md., that were acquired for conversion to self-storage properties branded under the StoreEase flag. Combined the six assets span 340,000 net rentable square feet. The sellers were not disclosed.
Topgolf to Open South Baltimore Venue at Walk at Warner Street Entertainment District
by John Nelson
BALTIMORE — Dallas-based Topgolf plans to open its first Baltimore venue and third location in Maryland this Friday, bringing its global count to 81. Located at the intersection of Stockholm and Warner streets in the newly branded Walk at Warner Street entertainment district, the three-level venue sits adjacent to Horseshoe Casino Baltimore and M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens. Local media outlets report that construction is underway for a concert venue at the district called The Paramount Theater. The new Topgolf will employ around 500 staffers and include 90 outdoor hitting bays, food, beverages, private event rooms, rooftop terrace with a skylit atrium and a large video wall.
Joint Venture Breaks Ground on Two Spec Industrial Facilities in Hagerstown, Maryland Totaling 2 MSF
by John Nelson
HAGERSTOWN, MD. — A joint venture led by an affiliate of Baltimore-based MCB Real Estate LLC has begun construction on Currwood Logistics Park, a 2 million-square-foot industrial park in Hagerstown. Set for delivery in late fall 2023, the 195-acre project will comprise two single-story buildings — one spanning nearly 1.7 million square feet and the other a 300,000-square-foot building that are being developed simultaneously on a speculative basis. Other members of the joint venture include Invesco Real Estate, Curated Development Group and Birchwood Capital Partners. The development is expected to generate nearly 1,500 new jobs for Washington County and the surrounding area. The development team is investing in the construction of a new signalized intersection at U.S. Route 40, as well as a new four-lane extension of Paul Smith Boulevard that extends to another new signalized intersection at Edgewood Drive that will serve as the project’s entrance. The concrete tilt-wall buildings will feature 36- to 40-foot clear ceiling heights, LED lighting, high-efficiency HVAC systems, 185-foot truck courts and segregated parking fields reserved for employee and visitor parking. The larger building will feature 196 dock doors and four drive-in doors, an alternate-energy-ready roof structure designed to accommodate a photovoltaic solar array …
MELVILLE, N.Y. — Melville-based A&G Real Estate Partners has secured the sales of 21 properties in Maryland, Delaware and Florida at a real estate bankruptcy auction. All assets were formerly owned by the late Zebulon J. and Beatrice Brodie. In the Aug. 16 bankruptcy auction, 19 properties in Maryland and one each in Delaware and Florida fetched a total of $18.4 million. The transactions included: the $6.7 million sale to different buyers of four contiguous, largely undeveloped properties in a busy commercial district on Legion Road in Denton, Md.; the $1.5 million sale of the Carter Building at 300 Market St. in downtown Denton; the $2.1 million sale of the Alexander Building at 315 High St. in Chestertown, Md.; and the $2.2 million sale of 300 Bulle Rock Farm Lane in Centreville, Md., which is a family compound formerly owned by John Raskob, builder of the Empire State Building in Manhattan. “A&G’s comprehensive marketing campaign for this middle-market disposition triggered inquiries from more than 560 prospective buyers across the country, and nearly 50 of those interested parties eventually placed baseline, qualifying and/or prevailing bids, some for multiple properties,” says Emilio Amendola, co-president of A&G. After two rounds of bidding, 13 …