MEMPHIS, TENN. — CBRE has arranged the $3.2 million sale of a 3.2-acre tract of land in downtown Memphis. The buyer, C&O Memphis LLC, an entity affiliated with Ceres Enterprises LLC and The Orlean Co., plans to build a 166-unit Cambria Hotel & Suites at the site. The seller of the vacant property was CCL Label. The land is located along Union and Gayoso avenues east of South Fourth Street and south of AutoZone Park. The parcel has been vacant since 2008. Choice Hotels International Inc., the parent company of the Cambria Hotels & Suites brand, provided a $3 million mortgage to fund the transaction. Lewis Miller of CBRE’s Atlanta office and Brian Whaley and Stephen Steinbach of CBRE | Memphis represented the buyer in the transaction.
Atlanta’s industrial market is hotter than the proverbial pistol. Second-quarter activity set a single-quarter record with more than 18.2 million square feet leased or sold. When added to the activity from the previous three quarters, Atlanta strung together more than 59.6 million square feet of completed transactions. This represents the second highest activity level ever recorded for a four-quarter period. There was more than 6.3 million square feet of positive net absorption. Combined with the previous three quarters, Atlanta shows a total of more than 19.7 million square feet of positive net absorption for the last four quarters. For the second quarter, the availability rate dropped one-tenth of a percent to 14 percent — the lowest it has been since the fourth quarter of 2000. And just four to five years ago, the overall availability rate was above 20 percent. Development and construction are absolutely booming. With more than 7 million square feet of new construction recorded during the second quarter, the market also set a record for new construction in a single quarter. When looking at the four-quarter total, we see more than 18.8 million square feet of new construction — a level not seen since 1998. Of that …
ATLANTA — Shorenstein Properties LLC, acting on behalf of Shorenstein Realty Investors Eleven, has acquired the 1.3-million-square-foot Bank of America tower in Atlanta. According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the plaza was appraised at $236.5 million and that someone close to the deal indicated a $220 million purchase price. CWCapital, which acquired the building in 2012 after BentleyForbes lost the tower to foreclosure, was the seller. The 55-story building is currently the 11th tallest building in the United States. Built in 1992, the Bank of America Plaza is located at 600 Peachtree St. NE. The building is currently 45 percent leased and provides over 1,200 parking spaces and floor plates that range from 20,000 to 25,000 square feet. The 1,023-foot building was designed by Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates. Amenities include a conference center, 4,000-square-foot auditorium, bank with ATMs, Gallery Café and a 17,000-square-foot health club and spa. Shorenstein plans to make investments to the lobby and amenity areas, as well as cosmetic improvements and upgrades throughout the building.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Bell Partners Inc. has completed the sale of three multifamily communities in late December 2015 for a cumulative sale price of $123.9 million. The properties include Bell BridgeMill in metro Atlanta, Bell Midtown in Nashville and Bell Wheeler Hill in metro Boston. Atlantic Pacific Real Estate Group purchased Bell BridgeMill, Olympus Property purchased Bell Midtown and CBRE Global Investors purchased Bell Wheeler Hill. In 2015, Bell Partners sold 24 properties for $800 million and acquired nine properties comprising 3,218 units for $670 million. This marks the second consecutive year that the Greensboro-based apartment investment and management firm was a net seller.
BOSSIER CITY, LA. — NorthMarq Capital has arranged a $16.3 million acquisition loan for Villaggio, a 239-unit apartment community located in Bossier City. Greg Duvall of NorthMarq Capital’s Kansas City office arranged the loan through Freddie Mac on behalf of the borrower. In addition to its apartment residences, Villaggio features retail and office space.
HILTON HEAD, S.C. — HFF has secured $13.4 million in acquisition financing for Fresh Market Shoppes, an 86,694-square-foot, grocery-anchored shopping center in Hilton Head. Redeveloped in 2004, the shopping center was 91.2 percent leased at the time of financing to 16 tenants, including anchor The Fresh Market, Bonefish Grill, Dollar Tree, Massage Envy and West Marine. Situated on 9.7 acres at 890 William Hilton Parkway, the shopping center is bounded by two golf courses: Long Cove Golf Club and Shipyard Plantation Golf Course. Travis Anderson and Cory Fowler led HFF’s debt placement team to arrange the loan through Synovus Bank on behalf of the borrower, Ferncroft Capital.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF) has arranged a 26,500-square-foot office lease at Washington Center, a 355,000-square-foot, Class A office building located at 1001 G St. N.W. in Washington, D.C. The new tenant is Optoro, a local tech firm serving the retail industry. The 12-story Washington Center office building has direct internal access to the newly renovated Grand Hyatt Hotel, as well as a private entrance to the Metro Center Metrorail station. Brendan Owen, George Vogelei and Rafael Notario of NGKF represented Washington Center’s ownership, Quadrangle Development Corp. and Oxford Property Group, in the lease deal. Harry Klaff, Jay Farmer and Andy O’Brien of JLL represented Optoro.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Crescent Communities has broken ground on a transit-oriented development at Lynx Light Rail’s Stonewall Station that will be anchored by Uptown Charlotte’s first Whole Foods Market. The mixed-use development will feature the 47,000-square-foot Whole Foods store, 459 luxury apartment residences and a parking deck. Expected to open in 2017, the development will span 5.4 acres and feature a public plaza that will offer food carts and gathering spaces for social events. Community amenities will include a heated, invisible-edge saltwater pool, fitness center, sky lounge, picnic areas and a rooftop dog park. Unit interiors will feature granite or quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, faux-wood flooring, designer lighting fixtures and USB outlets for connectivity. Crescent Stonewall Station’s financing includes an equity investment by Crescent Communities and the Melissaris family, as well as construction debt provided by JP Morgan Chase and Emigrant Realty Finance. The design team includes architect The Preston Partnership, interior designer Vignette Interior Design, civil engineer and landscape architect LandDesign and general contractor Whiting-Turner.
MEMPHIS, TENN. — Los Angeles-based CBRE Group Inc. has acquired CBRE | Memphis, a commercial real estate services firm that has served as CBRE’s affiliate firm in Memphis since 1996. The firm has more than 100 employees on staff and leases and/or manages roughly 14 million square feet of commercial property in the metro Memphis area, as well as Arkansas and Jackson, Miss. CBRE | Memphis and CBRE’s existing corporate staff in the Memphis region totals more than 500 employees. After acquiring affiliate firms in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville and Louisville, CBRE Group now has 14 offices in the Southeast totaling more than 3,200 employees.
GAITHERSBURG, MD. — Elion Partners has completed a major capital improvement program for Goshen Plaza, a 45,654-square-foot shopping center in Gaithersburg. Located at the corner of Goshen and Rothbury roads, the shopping center’s tenant roster includes CVS/pharmacy, McDonald’s, Subway, Paisano’s and Pizza Hut. The capital improvement program included repaving the front parking lot and painting the shopping center. New soffit and beams wrapped in stained wood were installed under the canopy and a new light line was installed along the roof. The landscaping also received a complete overhaul. Rappaport manages the leasing strategy, physical plant and construction activities for Elion Partners at Goshen Plaza.