CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Ehmer Group has arranged the sale of the Country Inn & Suites by Carlson, Charlotte I-85 Airport, a 119-room hotel located at 2541 Little Rock Road in Charlotte. Richard Ehmer of The Ehmer Group represented the seller, Ra’s Hotels Inc., in the transaction. The buyer, Ye’s Hotels Inc., has retained Strand Development Co.’s Hospitality Services division to manage the hotel and oversee a $1.5 million property improvement plan that the hotel’s franchisor, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, implemented.
Southeast
Did Richmond get hip while you weren’t looking? If you missed all of the skinny jeans, slim-fit plaid, tattoos, beards and craft breweries, then you were not paying attention. Is there a correlation between the amount of breweries, luxury apartments and historic rehabs? Maybe, but something is happening here and it has little to do with Richmond’s former designation as the Capital of the Confederacy and more to do with a vibrant and diverse culture, native-brick buildings, the James River, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and a great quality of life. Millennials are flocking here and Richmond has gotten cooler (i.e. better) every year, albeit somewhat slowly. In terms of apartments, there are several hotspots in the area that continue to be, or are becoming, destinations to live, work, shop and play, and multifamily developments are leading the way. Shockoe Bottom is booming, Manchester is coming to life, Scott’s Addition & Boulevard could become Richmond’s SOHO, Short Pump is moving into Goochland County and does not seem to be stopping anytime soon, and Chesterfield County, once you get around the cash proffers, continues to surprise. Richmond has just over 70,000 units and a very stable vacancy rate of 4.5 percent. Class …
RALEIGH, N.C. — Dominion Realty Partners has begun developing Wade III, a four-story office building joining the existing Offices at Wade development in the PNC Arena district in west Raleigh. Dominion is seeking LEED-Gold certification for the project, which will include card access control systems, an outdoor plaza courtyard, underground parking, Wade park amenities, on-site management staff and an on-site restaurant. Dominion is partnering with Prudential Real Estate Investors on the 105,000-square-foot project. The project team includes architect Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio, general contractor Choate Construction, civil engineer Piedmont Land Design and leasing agent Avison Young. Regions Bank provided construction financing, and Dominion will provide on-site property management upon completion, which is slated for August 2015. The property is currently 25 percent pre-leased and building naming and signage rights are still available for the development.
SMYRNA AND NEWNAN, GA. — The RADCO Cos. has purchased two multifamily communities in metro Atlanta totaling 553 units from Fannie Mae. RADCO purchased the 439-unit Keeneland Farms in Smyrna and the 114-unit Brown Ridge in Newnan for a combined $33.2 million. Both properties include one- to three-bedroom apartments, as well as townhomes. RADCO financed the acquisition through a mixture of privately funded equity and bridge debt from Fannie Mae and Hamilton State Bank. RADCO plans to invest $5.8 million in capital improvements to the two properties, including adding a pool to Brown Ridge. The Atlanta-based multifamily investor also plans to rebrand Keeneland Farms and Brown Ridge as Ashford Woods and Ashford at Brown Ridge, respectively. Including these two properties, RADCO has purchased nine apartment communities spanning 2,264 units so far this year.
FALLS CHURCH, VA. — Hilton Worldwide has opened its 600th Hilton Garden Inn hotel: Hilton Garden Inn Falls Church in Falls Church, about seven miles from Washington, D.C. The hotel features a 24-hour business center, fitness center, indoor pool and in-house restaurant. Inns of Falls Church LLC owns and manages the asset.
JACKSON, TENN. — Phillips Edison & Co. has purchased Lynnwood Place, a 96,666-square-foot, Kroger-anchored shopping center located at 941 N. Parkway in Jackson, for an undisclosed price. The asset is 89 percent leased to Kroger, Charter Communications Inc., Cato Fashions and Youfit Health Clubs. Greg Hausfeld represented Phillips Edison & Co. internally in the transaction, and Fred Victor of Transwestern represented the Columbia, S.C.-based seller, EDENS.
APEX, N.C. — The Boulder Group has brokered the $2.3 million sale of a two-tenant strip center located at 720 W. Williams St. in Apex, part of the Raleigh MSA. The property is fully leased to Verizon Wireless and Yong-In Martial Arts. Both tenants have roughly five years remaining on their lease terms. Randy Blankstein and Jimmy Goodman of The Boulder Group represented both the seller, a North Carolina-based partnership, and the buyer, an East Coast-based private investment firm, in the transaction.
DORAL, FLA. — Miller Construction Co. breaks ground on Gateway Center Doral, an 84,000-square-foot mixed-use development in the metro Miami city of Doral. The $9 million project will feature retail and high-end boutique office space in Doral’s N.W. 87th Avenue retail and restaurant corridor. The project team includes developer DBH Properties Ltd. and architect DYNAMICA ARCHITECTURE + INTERIOR DESIGN. Miller Construction expects to deliver the property in spring 2015.
HYATTSVILLE, MD. — ECHO Realty LP and its partner The Bernstein Cos. have broken ground on The Gateway at University Town Center, an 83,400-square-foot mixed-use property in Hyattsville. The two-story asset will be located at the intersection of East-West Highway and America Boulevard. The property will be anchored by a 54,400-square-foot Safeway and feature tenants such as Unleashed by Petco, Phenix Salon and an undisclosed medical office practice. ECHO has selected Facchina Co. Inc. as the site work contractor for the development and will select a general contractor for the development in the near future.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Trinity Capital Advisors has purchased two office buildings in Toringdon Office Park (Toringdon 3 and 5), a six-building office park in south Charlotte. Trinity Capital now owns the entire office park, including 12 acres of land and a three-level parking garage. Trinity Capital purchased Toringdon 3 and 5 in a joint venture with Stockbridge Capital. The 527,392-square-foot park is leased to 16 tenants, including Nationwide Insurance, Ally Bank and Verizon Wireless. Trinity Capital also plans to develop a 175,000-square-foot, Class A office building at the park. Trinity Partners is responsible for the leasing and property management of Toringdon Office Park.