There are two major trends affecting retailers across South Florida: the reduction of affluent foreign tourists in the market and the internet, which is forcing retailers to shift their concepts at an accelerating pace. Both factors have led to a slight decline in market conditions, specifically a deceleration of growth rates, but not significantly enough to cause great concern or to feel South Florida has become a “falling market.” Instead, much like origami, one must shape retail concepts to adapt to the new online reality. The American dollar is still very strong against Latin American and most foreign currency. This has created a downward spiral for hotel occupancy and retail sales in South Florida’s tourist driven areas such as South Beach and Lincoln Road. Miami-Dade County hotel occupancy was down 0.6 percent year-over-year to 83.5 percent in February/March 2017. This tourism decline has also created a shift in foreign investing. While large foreign investors are still active in the market, there has been a noticeable exit of smaller foreign investors. This has created an unusual twist in the South Florida market as now domestic (primarily from the Northeast) and Canadian investors are actively looking and purchasing retail opportunities given they …
RICHMOND, VA. — NorthMarq Capital has secured a $30 million loan for Reynolds South Tower, a 10-story, 213-unit apartment community located at 505 Porter St. in downtown Richmond. Mike Lowry of NorthMarq Capital arranged the construction loan through Union Bank & Trust. The loan features a variable interest rate that will convert to a fixed-rate, permanent loan upon completion.
SUMMERVILLE, S.C. — Wood Partners has broken ground on Alta Brighton Park, a 329-unit multifamily community in Summerville, roughly 25 miles northwest of Charleston. Located within Nexton, a mixed-use community, the Class A apartment property will feature a saltwater swimming pool, fitness center, resident library and business center. The apartment community is slated to begin leasing in summer 2018.
BLUFFTON, S.C. — Matthews Real Estate Investment Services has arranged the $22 million sale of Low Country Village, a 140,000-square-foot shopping center in Bluffton, roughly seven miles west of Hilton Head. Scott Henard of Matthews led the transaction on behalf of the seller, Retail Properties of America Inc. A private, California-based buyer acquired the property. At the time of sale, Low Country Village was fully leased to 14 tenants including Ross Dress for Less, Michaels, Cost Plus World Market, Big Lots and Pier 1 Imports. Constructed in 2001, the shopping center is situated between two Tanger Factory Outlet Centers.
FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has secured a $29.5 million loan for Sterling District, a 198-unit student housing community in Fayetteville, less than a half mile from the University of Arkansas campus. Caleb Marten of KeyBank structured the fixed-rate, first-mortgage loan with seven years of interest-only payments through a correspondent life company relationship. Sterling District features a swimming pool, hot tub, fitness center, study rooms, game rooms, cyber café and an outdoor courtyard with barbeque grills.
GAINESVILLE, GA. — Audubon Communities has purchased Lenox Park, a 292-unit apartment community in Gainesville, for $22 million. The Atlanta-based firm plans to invest approximately $3 million in renovations to the property, which will be renamed Peaks at Gainesville. Improvements will include upgrades to the leasing office, pool and other amenity areas; addition of a fitness center; renovation and expansion of the existing playground; new fiber-cement siding; new lighting, exterior paint, signage and landscaping. Constructed in 2000, the community includes two- and three-bedroom floor plans that average 1,100 square feet.
ATLANTA — PGIM Real Estate, the real estate investment business of PGIM, has purchased Regions Plaza, a 23-story office tower located at the northwest corner of West Peachtree and 14th streets in Atlanta’s Midtown district. Jim Mehalso led the transaction internally for PGIM on behalf of its institutional investor clients. Constructed in 2001, the 502,846-square-foot Regions Plaza is LEED Gold- and Energy Star-certified and features valet parking, a conference facility, on-site Flywheel and FlyBarre Studio, dry cleaning services, dining and on-site banking facility. The sales price and seller were not disclosed. PGIM is the global investment management business of Prudential Financial Inc.
HAGERSTOWN, MD. — PREIT has signed a lease with Belk to join Valley Mall in Hagerstown. The Charlotte-based department store is new to the Maryland market and will occupy 123,000 square feet, taking the place of Bon-Ton, which will close in February 2018. Slated to open in October 2018, Belk will join a mix of tenants including H&M, Pandora, Torrid and Mission BBQ. Valley Mall is also home to dining and entertainment options including Primanti Brothers, Red Robin, Noodles & Co., Starbucks Coffee and Regal Cinemas.
ATLANTA — Chicago-based Coyote, a logistics provider and subsidiary of UPS, has signed a lease for 47,986-square-feet of office space within Armour Yards, an adaptive reuse project situated between Atlanta’s Midtown and Buckhead districts. Coyote will lease the entire office portion at 255 Ottley, bringing the overall Armour Yards project to 86.4 percent leased. Gourmet coffee roaster East Pole Coffee Co. will also open at 255 Ottley later this month. Brooke Dewey of JLL represented the ownership group comprising Third and Urban and institutional investors advised by J.P Morgan Asset Management in the lease transaction. MB Real Estate’s David Burkards represented Coyote. The Armour Yards location will be the second Atlanta-area office for the logistics company and will create roughly 325 jobs. Coyote’s existing location is situated at 960 North Point Parkway in Alpharetta, roughly 25 miles north of Atlanta. Situated near the Atlanta BeltLine, Armour Yards comprises 28 buildings and is home to companies including Sweetwater Brewing Co., American Spirit Works, Atlanta Track Club and Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q. The project team includes Smith Dalia Architects and general contractor Gay Construction. Armour Yards’ loft-office portion is housed within four former industrial buildings totaling 190,000 square feet.
BEAUFORT, N.C. — Avison Young has arranged a $19.2 million construction loan for the development of a 133-unit Ascend Collection hotel in Beaufort. The hotel will be situated within the Front Street Village development on the coast of North Carolina. Bruce Whipple, Justin Piasecki and Ethan Blum of Avison Young structured the 18-month construction loan with interest-only payments and an interest rate of 5.5 percent. Following construction completion, the loan will convert to a three-year, fixed-rate, mini-permanent loan. At the end of the term, the loan will remain in place with a 25-year amortization schedule and the same interest rate of approximately 5.5 percent. Front Street Village is a 31-acre mixed-use property developed by Charles Oliver II, founder of Jetcraft. The three-story Ascend Collection hotel will feature an adjacent conference and special events space, bistro structure on the Front Street Village development, waterfront suites and 30,000 square feet of meeting space.