HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Foundry Commercial, in a joint venture with PGIM Real Estate, has acquired 48 acres of land in Huntersville for the development of Bryton Commerce Center, a 700,000-square-foot light industrial project. The development will be located within Bryton Town Center, a 425-acre mixed-use campus located roughly 15 miles north of Charlotte. The six-building project will deliver in two phases. Construction on the first phase will begin in early 2018 and is expected to complete by the end of the year. Bryton Commerce Center will feature 30-foot clear heights, tilt-wall construction, ESFR sprinkler systems, glass-heavy exteriors and high parking ratios. In addition to industrial space, the Bryton Town Center master plan will include more than 1 million square feet of retail space and 1 million square feet of office space, as well as multifamily and single-family residential units.
Southeast
BATON ROUGE, LA. — Greystone has provided a $24.4 million HUD-insured loan to refinance The Highland Club Apartments, a 247-unit multifamily property in Baton Rouge. Jason Stein of Greystone arranged the 35-year fixed-loan. Other terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Greystone previously refinanced the property in 2012, and the new loan enables a combination of phased renovations and continued investment back into the property. The Highland Club Apartments is located roughly 15 miles from downtown Baton Rouge, and features a swimming pool, stocked lakes, putting greens, dog park, business center, fitness center and an on-site personal trainer.
FOUNTAIN INN, S.C. — CBRE has arranged the $5.4 million sale of 110 Milacron Drive, a 182,534-square-foot industrial facility in Fountain Inn, a suburb of Greenville. Campbell Lewis of CBRE arranged the transaction on behalf of the buyer, 844 S.E. Main LLC. CBRE’s Marcus Cornelius and Nick Hollstegge represented the undisclosed seller. Constructed in 1980, the facility features 28-foot clear heights, motion-activated T-8 lighting in the warehouse, eight dock-high doors, 130 parking spaces and 26,941 square feet of office space. The new owner plans to improve the facility’s exterior and interior features, as well as parking and truck court surfaces.
PORT CHARLOTTE, FLA. — GBT Realty Corp. has acquired a 75-year ground lease, including a 108,500-square-foot retail building and nine-acre land site, in Port Charlotte, roughly 40 miles south of Sarasota. The Brentwood, Tenn.-based real estate firm acquired the asset from 19400 Cochran Boulevard Holdings LLC for an undisclosed price. GBT Realty plans to renovate and upgrade the building, which currently houses a vacant Kmart. The firm will also expand the building with new structures to accommodate retail, services and restaurant tenants. Best Buy, Walmart and The Home Depot anchor the corridor, located at the intersection of Tamiami Trail/US Highway 41 and Cochran Boulevard.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Trez Forman Capital Group has provided a $74.8 million construction loan for Church Street Plaza, a 26-story mixed-use development in downtown Orlando. Trez Forman is a joint venture between Palm Beach-based Forman Capital and Vancouver-based Trez Capital Group. Plans for the new development include 200,000 square feet of Class A office space, a 180-room hotel, a ground-floor restaurant and a rooftop bar/lounge area. Kolter Hospitality will acquire the hotel portion of the project, which is located on the northeast corner of South Garland Avenue and West South Street. The building’s parking garage will connect to the Church Street Station SunRail stop.
RICHMOND, VA. — StoneBridge Investments has acquired Copper Spring, a 366-unit apartment community located at 3301 Copper Mill Trace in Richmond, for $54.2 million. Eastdil Secured arranged the transaction on behalf of the seller, an affiliate of Atlanta-based Clarion Partners. Constructed in 1989 and renovated in 2006, the property features two resort-style pools, a fitness center, business center, lighted tennis courts, racquetball court, grilling stations, gaming area and a coffee bar. StoneBridge plans to upgrade the clubhouse and other common-area amenities, as well as some individual residences. ZRS Management, an affiliate of StoneBridge, will mange Copper Spring.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Blueprint Healthcare Real Estate Advisors has arranged the sale of a 119-bed skilled nursing facility in Nashville. A public REIT sold the undisclosed property to an owner-operator looking to grow in the area for $16 million. The multi–story facility was originally built in 1970, then renovated and expanded in 2013. The nearly 100,000-square-foot facility was later acquired in 2016 as part of a large portfolio transaction, and the lessee was retained to continue operating the portfolio. Ben Firestone and Michael Segal of Blueprint arranged the transaction.
CONWAY, S.C. — Frampton Construction Co. LLC has broken ground on a 46,028-square-foot manufacturing facility located within Atlantic Center in Conway, roughly 15 miles northwest of Myrtle Beach. Agracel Inc. is developing the project, which will be leased to Teknoware, a Finnish manufacturer of interior lighting systems for commercial vehicles. In addition to manufacturing space, the building will include 5,000 square feet of office space. The project is slated for a May 2018 completion.
JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. — Belk | Lucy, a Charleston-based real estate firm, has arranged the $3.6 million sale of Bees Ferry Landing, a 15,159-square-foot shopping center located at 3750 Savannah Highway on Johns Island, a suburb of Charleston. Chris Dion of Belk | Lucy arranged the transaction on behalf of the buyer, El Cid Alpha LLC. Genco Olive Oil Co. LLC sold the asset. The center currently houses tenants such as Domino’s Pizza, Chucktown Fitness and Subway.
Take a look at the current retail landscape, not only in New Orleans, but far beyond the Big Easy, and you will find this sector has changed drastically over the past decade. Some argue retail is dead, while others cling to the notion that every market goes through cycles, and this has been going on long before the dawn of any Tricentennial festivities. Somewhere between these two extremes is the confluence of trends, data, outliers, gossip and pontificating cries, that when carefully dissected, should provide the necessary context to obtain an understanding of the current retail market in New Orleans, as well as the opportunities that exist in the future. Make no mistake, retail in New Orleans is changing, but the restaurant sector is a bedrock, creating fresh concepts, diversifying the city’s food offering and strengthening the overall retail market. It’s futile to deny the impact technology has had on the overall retail market, and New Orleans is no exception. Retailers that derive a large portion of revenues from the sale of goods that can be purchased online are finding it difficult to compete due to the cost of operating a brick and mortar location. Of course, this is only …