CORAL SPRINGS, FLA. — Continental Realty Corp. has purchased Cypress Run Marketplace, an 85,000-square-foot retail center located at 10599-10667 W. Atlantic Blvd. in Coral Springs, for $13.6 million. Continental Realty purchased the asset from Game Properties Inc. on behalf of Continental Realty Fund IV LP, a value-add retail and multifamily fund. This was the second acquisition for the fund. Anchored by Walmart Neighborhood Market, the shopping center was 79 percent leased at the time of sale. Continental Realty has tapped Aileen Messinger of Katz & Associates to lease the center. Dave Donnellan and Dennis Carson of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction.
Southeast
MONROE, N.C. — Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp., a publicly traded equity REIT specializing in net-leased industrial properties, has sold its 160,000-square-foot industrial building in Monroe to its tenant for $9 million. The tenant, Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Co., is a plumbing systems manufacturer based in Charlotte. Monmouth’s portfolio now spans 13.8 million square feet of single-tenant, net leased industrial assets with a current occupancy rate of 97.6 percent.
BRASELTON, GA. — Skyline Seven Real Estate has brokered the $5.1 million sale of Mulberry Walk, a 31,186-square-foot shopping center in Braselton, a northeast suburb of Atlanta. The property comprises three buildings located across from the Chateau Elan Winery and Resort. Elliott Kyle of Skyline Seven represented the seller, the shopping center’s developer, in the transaction. Franklin Adams of Adams Development Co., represented the buyer, a large private investor. Mulberry Walk was 97 percent leased at the time of sale.
Chattanooga is Enjoying a Boom of Office, Retail and Hotel Activity Amid its Urban Renewal.
by John Nelson
Chattanooga is situated at a U-turn of the Tennessee River amidst forests and mountains, hence the community’s nickname, Scenic City. Two of Chattanooga’s largest employers are Volkswagen, which has a plant here, and Amazon, which runs a distribution center in the city. Insurance firm Unum Group, a Fortune 500 Company founded in 1848, is headquartered here and is one of the larger occupiers of downtown office space. Long-known for its natural resources and as a tourism destination, Chattanooga is experiencing a real estate boom fueled by urbanization trends and its proximity to Atlanta (2 hours south) and Nashville (1.5 hours northwest), as well as its growing recognition as one of the South’s top tourism and entertainment venues. Key to the urban renewal is the conversion of dozens of properties — mostly from office uses to residential, retail or hotel uses. The combination of the Great Recession and a 2009 move by BlueCross BlueShield into a new $229 million downtown facility has led to the relatively high vacancy rate of 17.5 percent that persisted up until early 2014. Most of the 600,000 square feet of facilities vacated by BlueCross BlueShield were not suitable for multi-tenanted office use and the spaces would …
Akridge, Stars Investments to Convert Two Properties in D.C. into One Trophy Office Building
by John Nelson
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Akridge and its partner, Stars Investments, plan to redevelop 1101 and 1111 16th St. N.W. into one freestanding, 100,000-square-foot trophy office building. One block away from the new Fannie Mae headquarters and within view of the White House, the new property will feature a fitness center, rooftop terrace and parking. Akridge recently purchased the two assets from the American Beverage Association and the American Association of University Women. Eric Berkman, Steve Gichner and John Boland of Cushman & Wakefield brokered the transaction on behalf of the sellers. The new 1101 16th Street building will deliver in 2017.
JEFFERSON, GA. — Trammell Crow Co. (TCC) and Clarion Partners have formed a joint venture to purchase 122.5 acres of land along I-85 in Jefferson, roughly 60 miles northeast of Atlanta. The site will house Jefferson Mill Business Park, a new two-phase, Class A industrial park that will span nearly 1.8 million square feet. Phase I will feature an 822,257-square-foot bulk cross-dock warehouse and a 250,569-square-foot rear load distribution center. Construction will commence by the end of 2015 and be completed in 2016. Phase II of the park will be a 720,836-square-foot speculative or build-to-suit bulk cross-dock warehouse. Ben Logue and Price Weaver of Colliers International brokered the land sale and will also handle the leasing and marketing of the site on behalf of TCC and Clarion Partners.
BLACKSBURG, VA. — Berkadia has arranged a $48 million loan for The Edge Apartment Homes, a newly constructed student housing property near Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. John M.R. Reed of Berkadia secured the 20-year, fixed-rate loan on behalf of the borrower, Related Properties I LLC, an affiliate of SAS Builders Inc., through a life insurance company. The fully occupied, 252-unit property features two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments and townhomes. Units are fully furnished and contain a washer and dryer. Amenities at the student housing community include high-speed internet, a fitness center, yoga room, student center, heated swimming pool, picnic area and a two-story clubhouse.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Spencer/Hines Properties has brokered the $14.3 million sale of Bentley at Broad River Apartments, a 272-unit complex situated on 17.6 acres in Columbia. Scott Manhoff and Craig Jacobs of Spencer/Hines represented the seller, Intermark Bentley LLC, in the sale. The buyer was Salt Lake City-based RealSource Property Consulting LLC.
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — Kucera Properties has renamed One Progress Plaza, a 28-story Class A office tower in St. Petersburg, as Priatek Plaza. The office building was named after a tenant, Priatek, a startup tech firm that utilizes interactive kiosks in global mass marketing. Darin Kucera, managing partner of Kucera Properties, says that Priatek Plaza will be the only Class A office tower in the United States named for a technology startup. The tower spans more than 309,000 square feet of office and retail space and currently has a 90 percent occupancy rate. The terms of the renaming deal were not disclosed.
CHAMBLEE, GA. — CONNOLLY, its affiliate Spruce Street Partners and Terwilliger Pappas have begun construction on Parkview on Peachtree, a transit-oriented, mixed-use development in Chamblee. The first phase of construction includes the demolition of existing vacant buildings and site grading. Set to open in 2017, Parkview on Peachtree will be located at the intersection of Peachtree Boulevard and Clairmont Road adjacent to the 45-acre Keswick Park. The mixed-use project will feature 40,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, 14,000 square feet of loft office space and 503 multifamily units. Terwilliger Pappas will develop 303 multifamily units in Phase I at Solis Parkview, with another 200 planned for Phase II. Ed O’Connor of Lavista Associates Inc. and Mindy Elms of Vantage Realty Partners will handle retail and restaurant leasing, and Rob Binion and Brian Burks of Lavista Associates will handle office leasing.