BALTIMORE — Eastern Union has arranged a $21.5 million CMBS loan for the conversion of the Equitable Building, located at 10 N. Calvert St. in Baltimore, into a 180-unit apartment building. The borrower, JK Equities, is investing a total of $32 million in the repositioning of the nine-story asset. Ira Zlotowitz and Meir Kennser of Eastern Union arranged the three-year loan with a fixed 4.91 percent interest rate through Natixis Global Asset Management.
Southeast
ATLANTA — PCCP LLC has provided a senior loan to Atlanta-based Portman Holdings for the acquisition and partial repositioning of a 27-story office building located at 230 Peachtree St. in downtown Atlanta. Portman Holdings plans to convert floors two through nine into a 200-room Hotel Indigo, an Intercontinental Hotel Group brand hotel. The rest of the 414,768-square-foot building will remain office space. The property was 46 percent occupied at the time of the sale. Hospitality Ventures Management will manage the Hotel Indigo upon completion.
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — The Allen Morris Co. has purchased two acres of undeveloped land at 700 First Ave. South in downtown St. Petersburg for approximately $5.3 million. The site, which spans a full city block, will be the location of the developer’s new 348-unit multifamily community, The Hermitage Apartment Homes. The apartment community will feature a rooftop pool and spa, fitness center, outdoor grilling area, demonstration kitchen and a private dining/meeting room. The Allen Morris Co. will break ground on the property in July and open for occupancy in the fourth quarter of 2015.
WILLIAMSBURG, VA. — Mid-Atlantic Commercial has arranged the sale of a 18.5-acre site at 6401 Richmond Road in Williamsburg. The existing Willamsburg Outlet Mall will be demolished to make way for a new grocery-anchored shopping center. Monty Spencer, Jim Carr and David Clarke of Mid-Atlantic Commercial represented the buyer, Lightfoot Marketplace Shopping Center LLC, in the transaction. The new shopping center, known as Lightfoot Marketplace, will be anchored by Harris Teeter, and Walgreens will be the property’s junior anchor. Lightfoot Marketplace is slated to open in the fall of 2015.
TUPELO, MISS. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Vista Ridge, a 160-unit multifamily community located at 699 Nation Hills Drive in Tupelo. Mason Green of Marcus & Millichap’s Fort Worth, Texas, office represented the seller, a Texas-based limited partnership, and the buyer, a Dallas-based REIT. The buyer assumed an existing 40-year HUD 221(d)(4) loan on the property, which was constructed in 2009. Anne Williams of Marcus & Millichap, the firm’s broker of record for Mississippi, assisted in the transaction. The terms of the sale were undisclosed.
Baltimore, long known as a city that wore its grit as a badge of honor, is now shining with high-end multifamily developments and new in-town retail destinations. This city of neighborhoods has hit Forbes’ “hipster” list thanks to a vibrant arts scene, established and trendy restaurants, vital retail destinations and world-class attractions and events. These quality amenities make it possible for residents to work, shop, play and stay in the city, appealing to a growing young professional population. Baltimore’s strong economic base of higher education and health, coupled with the unwavering trend for convenient, quality city living, is driving a strong multifamily market. Delta Associates reports that the Baltimore area economy is experiencing above average growth. Despite losses in the state and local government sector, the unemployment rate remained steady at 6.9 percent in October 2013 compared to the national rate at 7.3 percent in the same period. The region is poised to experience long-term growth as a result of growth in sectors based in the Baltimore area, namely cyber-security, education and health. From December 2012 to December 2013, Delta notes that Baltimore’s Class A rents increased an average of 6 percent and stabilized occupancy is at 95 percent. Baltimore …
LITTLE ROCK, ARK. — Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. has unveiled that its Aloft brand has begun an adaptive re-use project of the 12-story Boyle Building in downtown Little Rock. Aloft will convert the office building, which was first opened as the State National Bank Building in 1909, into a 140-room hotel by early 2016. The hotel, known as Aloft Little Rock Downtown, will be part of a mixed-use development that will include ground-floor retail, an upscale restaurant and a coffee shop. The hotel will be Starwood’s first hotel in Little Rock.
CONCORD, N.C. — Trinity Capital Advisors plans to develop a 277,253-square-foot industrial property located at 215 International Drive in Concord. The design team includes architect Merriman Schmitt Architects and general contractor Myers & Chapman. Construction will begin this month and wrap up in December. Terry Brennan of Trinity Partners is handling the marketing and leasing of the Class A, speculative industrial property.
ARLINGTON, VA. — Simon Property Group Inc. plans to update The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, a 170-store mall in Arlington, with a multi-phase renovation and expansion project. Phase I will include a 50,000-square-foot expansion along Hayes Street, which will include a new entrance, office lobby, valet parking area and two levels of new shops and restaurants with outdoor seating. Other improvements include new elevators and escalators, complete renovation of the property’s common areas and new bathrooms. The design team includes architect Omniplan Architects and general contractor VCC. Simon expects to wrap up the expansion and renovation project in 2015. The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City was built in 1989 and is anchored by Nordstrom and Macy’s.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hill Partners and an unnamed institutional partner have acquired Specialty Shops on the Park, an open-air shopping center in Charlotte’s SouthPark submarket. The property, originally built in 1979, is located across from SouthPark Mall and is surrounded by affluent neighborhoods such as Myers Park, Barclay Downs, Quail Hollow and Foxcroft. The shopping center’s tenants include Talbots, Williams-Sonoma, Brick Top’s, Elizabeth Bruns Jewelers and Toscana Ristorante.