PLANTATION, FLA. — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has closed a $28 million loan for Motorola Campus Building I and III, an office and research and development building in Plantation. The properties were built in 1982 and renovated this year. Michael Keach of KeyBank secured the loan, which was used to retire an existing KeyBank balance-sheet loan.
PENSACOLA, FLA. — One Palafox Place LLC, a group of investors managed by Robert Switzer, has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire a block of commercial space in the Palafox Historic District in downtown Pensacola. The 4.5-acre city corner is bound by Garden, Palafox, Romana and Baylen streets. The purchase includes a parking lot on the west side of Baylen Street and the historic Blount and Brent buildings. One Palafox Place LLC is purchasing the properties from Durnford Enterprises Ltd., which purchased the city block in 1980. The new ownership plans to honor all current tenants’ leases and contracts for their full term.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NorthMarq Capital has arranged $18.8 million in acquisition financing for Colonial Plaza, a 202,810-square-foot, Class A suburban office building in Charlotte. Colonial Plaza is located at 2101 Rexford Road in Charlotte’s SouthPark submarket. Keith Braddish of NorthMarq Capital’s New York metro office arranged the balance sheet loan through GE Capital on behalf of the borrower, a joint venture between Highbrook Investment Management LLC and LRC Properties LLC.
The Atlanta office market’s decline in vacancies continued in the third quarter of 2014, with the quarter ending at 17.9 percent, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield. This rate is the first drop below 18 percent since the first quarter of 2009. These gains in office occupancy represent a 130 basis point decrease in vacancy from the end of 2013 and a 150 basis point decrease year-over-year. The research presented by Cushman & Wakefield showed healthy absorption totaling more than 450,000 square feet during the third quarter of 2014, giving the Atlanta market 11 consecutive quarters of net occupancy gains. This quarterly absorption brings the total year-to-date to 1.7 million square feet, an increase of 54 percent compared to the pace during the same period in 2013. “Atlanta is seeing consistent momentum in terms of tenant activity and absorption,” says Logan Menne, the research manager of Cushman & Wakefield. “As vacancy continues to tighten, the supply of existing available options is becoming more and more limited. Additionally, due to the increased demand from tenants in the Atlanta market, many landlords are beginning to increase asking rents, particularly in high-demand submarkets like Buckhead and Central Perimeter.” Several large lease …
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Disney Store has opened its newest store location at St. Johns Town Center, a super-regional, open-air mall located at 4663 River City Drive in Jacksonville. The mall is operated by Simon Property Group. The store will include a path for guests known as the Pixie Dust Trail that guides shoppers through “storytelling neighborhoods” involving Disney, Marvel and Star Wars characters. The store also includes an interactive video library known as the Disney Store Theatre and a limited time Halloween Shop. The Disney Store retail chain, which debuted in 1987, is owned and operated by Disney in North America, Europe and Japan. Disney Store is the retail merchandising arm of Disney Consumer Products, the business segment of The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) and its affiliates. There are currently more than 200 Disney Store locations in North America; more than 40 Disney Store locations in Japan; and more than 100 Disney Store locations in Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.
DESTIN, FLA. — HFF has brokered the $32.8 million sale of the Shoppes at Paradise Isle, a 171,837-square-foot retail power center in Destin. Located at 34940 Emerald Coast Parkway, the shopping center is 89.7 percent leased to tenants such as Best Buy, Big Lots, Michaels, PetSmart, Ulta Beauty and Office Depot. Brad Peterson and Whitaker Leonhardt of HFF represented the seller, Weingarten Realty Investors, in the transaction. Stoltz Real Estate Partners purchased the center through its fifth U.S. diversified fund.
HAMPTON AND NEWPORT NEWS, VA. — ARA has brokered the sale of a three-property apartment portfolio in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia totaling 641 units. The assets include Bridgewater on the Lake and Lake Ridge Apartments in Hampton and the Reserves at Arboretum in Newport News. Mike Marshall, Drew White and Wink Ewing of ARA represented the seller, Berkshire Property Advisors, in the transaction. The buyer was Charlotte-based Ginkgo Residential.
MEMPHIS, TENN. — Cushman & Wakefield | Commercial Advisors has brokered the $13.5 million sale of The Horizon, a high-rise condominium development located at 717 Riverside Drive in Memphis. The property sits on a 5.9-acre lot overlooking the Mississippi River. The 16-story, 155-unit property features a covered/controlled-access garage and indoor and outdoor swimming pools. The site also includes developable land for 141 additional high-rise units and 54 terrace homes. Mike Kemether of Cushman & Wakefield’s multifamily advisory group and Shane Soefker and Jacob Biddle of Cushman & Wakefield | Commercial Advisors’ capital markets team represented the seller in the transaction. The buyer was Dawn Properties LLC of Hattiesburg, Miss.
INDIAN LAND, S.C. — Cassidy Turley has brokered the $5 million sale of Catawba Commons, a 40,261-square-foot, Food Lion-anchored shopping center located at 8175 Charlotte Highway in Indian Land, part of the Charlotte MSA. The property was fully leased at the time of sale. Egan Family Partnership purchased the asset from Indian Land-FL LLC. Sam Young, Jared Londry and Rob Cochran of Cassidy Turley represented the seller.
LOUISVILLE, KY. – Doster Construction Co. has broken ground on the $45 million The Clubhouse Student Apartments in Louisville. The project will be located adjacent to the University of Louisville campus and consists of three five-story wood frame buildings. The new complex will have 758 beds and more than 400,000 square feet of living space. Amenities will include two courtyards, a swimming pool, a club room, fitness area, a theater, computer/study room and a hammock garden. The project also includes a five-and-a-half level parking garage that will accommodate more than 625 spaces. Buck Development Louisville LLC, affiliated with The John Buck Co., is the project’s developer, Doster is the general contractor and Henneman Engineering Inc. is the architect of record. Peak Campus Management will manage the asset.