WASHINGTON, D.C. — Natixis has provided a $25 million loan for the acquisition and renovation of a 95-room hotel in Washington, D.C.’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood. The hotel is situated adjacent to George Washington University. Natixis provided the loan to a joint venture between Westmont Hospitality and Varde Funds. Westmont Hospitality will continue to operate and manage the hotel. Natixis is the international corporate, investment, insurance and financial services arm of Groupe BPCE, the second-largest banking group in France.
Commonly referred to as the River Region, Montgomery is the second largest city in Alabama and the state capital. The Montgomery metropolitan area consists of Autauga, Elmore, Lowndes and Montgomery counties. With a population approaching 374,000, the River Region’s diverse economy, skilled workforce, business-friendly climate and Southern charm continue to attract new residents and commercial development. Key industries in the Montgomery metro area include automotive, manufacturing, fabricated metals, plastics, warehousing/distribution and state/regional government. As of June 30, total unit count in the Montgomery market is 6,588 with an average year built of 1997. According to the Axiometrics second-quarter 2016 report for Montgomery, annual effective rent growth has averaged 1.2 percent since the fourth quarter of 1996 with annual effective rent growth forecast to be 0.1 percent for 2016, 1.7 percent in 2017 and an average of 2.6 percent from 2018 to 2020. The Axiometrics report also states the market’s occupancy rate has averaged 92.2 percent since the fourth quarter of 1995. Currently, occupancy in the Montgomery market is 89.6 percent as of second-quarter 2016, which is a slight decrease from 91.1 percent in the first quarter of 2016 and 90.7 percent in second-quarter 2015. Axiometrics projects the market’s occupancy rate …
ATLANTA — SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI) has closed on its previously announced acquisition of all of the assets of the operating subsidiaries of Pillar Financial LLC, which includes receiving Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Housing Administration Agency license transfer approvals. The assets include Pillar’s multifamily lending business, which comprises affordable housing, healthcare properties, seniors housing and manufactured housing specialty teams. The assets also include Chicago-based Cohen Financial’s commercial real estate investor services business, advisory services and offering loan administration, as well as its mortgage banking business. The Pillar team has joined SunTrust’s Commercial Real Estate (CRE) division, which is part of the bank’s Wholesale Banking segment. CRE provides banking and capital markets services to commercial real estate developers, owners and operators through various lending platforms. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey served as financial advisor to SunTrust Banks for this transaction. Beekman Advisors acted as the strategic advisor for Pillar.
ATLANTA — Third & Urban and Trillium Management plan to redevelop the former Western Electric Building at 820 Ralph McGill Blvd. in Atlanta. The 85,000-square-foot asset is situated along the Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail and currently houses Two Urban Licks. Third & Urban and Trillium have signed a lease with a partnership between Mitch Steele, Carey Falcone and Bob Powers for a 20,000-square-foot brewery and restaurant that will include a BeltLine-facing biergarten and a rooftop bar. Steele is the former brewmaster at Stone Brewing, a brewery headquartered in Southern California. The co-developers have also signed a 7,000-square-foot lease with The Diligence Co., a hospitality concept that will be opening a Latin-inspired brasserie, or informal restaurant, at the project. Third & Urban and Trillium are marketing the remaining 23,000 square feet for office, retail or entertainment uses. The project features 600 linear feet of frontage on the BeltLine and is situated across from Fourth Ward Park. Architect ai3 is leading the design of the redevelopment, which will feature a BeltLine-facing façade and park space. The co-developers will break ground on the redevelopment in February with completion scheduled for next summer.
RALEIGH, N.C. — CBRE | Raleigh has arranged the sale of Marketplace at Lake Boone, a 76,253-square-foot mixed-use development located at the intersection of Lake Boone Trail and Gateway Access Road in Raleigh. The LEED Gold- and Platinum-certified property consists of office and retail space. Tenants at the fully leased center include Ashton Woods, AT Allen Co., Sirius Computer Solutions, Greystone, Saracare, Buffalo Brothers, Guasaca, Bottle Revolution, Traditions Bridal and The Oaks. Ben Kilgore, Jim McMillan, Elliott Brewer, and Leslie Holmes of CBRE | Raleigh represented the seller, Singerman Real Estate Partners, in the disposition of the property to Houston-based Griffin Partners.
ATLANTA — Ready Capital Structured Finance, a commercial real estate bridge and mezzanine lender, has closed on a $7.9 million, interest-only loan for Pharr Manor Residences, a Class B, 48-unit condominium property in Atlanta’s Buckhead district. The undisclosed borrower will use the financing to acquire Pharr Manor and convert the asset into a rental property. Ready Capital Structured Finance closed the non-recourse loan that features a two-year term with one extension option, flexible pre-payment and a facility to provide future funding for capital expenditures, interest and carry reserves.
LEXINGTON, S.C. — BC Wood Properties has purchased Town Square, a Food Lion-anchored shopping center located on the corner of West Main Street and Ellis Avenue in Lexington, a suburb of Columbia. Other tenants of the 75,763-square-foot shopping center include H&R Block, Badcock Furniture, Musician’s Supply, Terry’s Barber Shop, USA Nails, U.S. Tae Kwon Do and Liquor Depot. Town Square is BC Wood’s second shopping center acquisition in South Carolina. The sales price and seller were undisclosed.
TAMPA, FLA. — Citi, a global bank based in New York, has purchased Citibank Center, a 672,500-square-foot, six-building office campus located at 3800 Citibank Center in Tampa. Citi is the sole occupant of the Class A development, which was built in 1998 on a 92-acre site within Sabal Park, a 1,000-acre master-planned development. The sales price was undisclosed, but court documents show the sales price as $116 million. Citi purchased the campus from an affiliate of Zurich Alternative Asset Management. Situated near I-75 and I-4, Citibank Center features a full-service cafeteria, fitness center and wellness center. Christian Lee, Dale Peterson, Jose Lobon, Marcos Minaya, Andrew Chilgren and Amy Julian of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction. Lou Varsames, David Harris, James Garvey and Ryan Reynolds of Cushman & Wakefield represented Citi.
EAST POINT, GA. — The Atlanta office of Duke Realty Corp. has signed Armada Warehouse Solutions to a long-term lease for a new 447,606-square-foot, build-to-suit industrial facility at 3707 N. Commerce Drive in East Point, a southern suburb of Atlanta. Duke Realty had been designing its next speculative building on the site prior to inking the lease with Armada. The building will be located within Camp Creek Business Center, Duke Realty’s 400-acre, mixed-use business park situated 3.3 miles from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Armada’s new warehouse will be located near the north entrance of Camp Creek Business Center at the intersection of Camp Creek Parkway and North Commerce Drive just off I-285. The cross-dock building will feature 36-foot clear heights and include 82 dock doors, 100 automobile parking spaces and 87 trailer spaces. Additionally, the space will contain approximately 107,700 square feet of freezer/cooler space inside the building. Kris Bjorson, Chris Watts and Alan Clayton of JLL represented Armada in the lease deal, while Wes Hardy represented Duke Realty internally. Construction is expected to start this month with an expected delivery in July 2017.
DULUTH, GA. — Biscayne Atlantic, a South Florida-based real estate investment group, has sold the Gwinnett Commerce Center, a 213,600-square-foot, 10-story office building located in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth, for $26.8 million. The name of the buyer was undisclosed. The Class A office building’s tenant roster includes The College Board, Mutual of Omaha, Department of Veteran Affairs, Penske Truck Leasing, Faith & Freedom Coalition, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Travelsky. Biscayne Atlantic purchased the Gwinnett Commerce Center in July 2013 for $20 million and invested approximately $1 million in capital improvements to upgrade the building’s operations and modernize the lobby and common areas. During Biscayne Atlantic’s ownership of the property, occupancy increased from 73 percent to 85 percent and NOI jumped by 25 percent.