JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — CBRE Hotels has arranged the sale of the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront, located at 225 E. Coastline Drive in Jacksonville. The 963-room property is northeast Florida’s largest convention hotel, according to CBRE Hotels. The property is located on a four-mile riverfront boardwalk and features 110,000 square feet of meeting space. The hotel comprises 28 percent of all hotel rooms in downtown Jacksonville. Christian Charre, Paul Weimer and Natalie Castillo of CBRE Hotels in Miami, along with Patrick Arangio, Jack Howard, Kurt Altvater and Dave Dorros of CBRE’s national loan sale advisory group, brokered the transaction.
Southeast
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Novare Group, Batson-Cook Development Co. and Grubb Properties, all Southeast-based companies, have started construction on SkyHouse Uptown at the corner of 10th and Church streets in Charlotte's Fourth Ward neighborhood. The 24-story luxury apartment tower will feature one-, two- and three-bedroom units with high-end finishes and floor-to-ceiling windows. Additionally the building with offer a clubhouse, fitness area and outdoor plaza, including a swimming pool, fireplaces, covered outdoor lounges and bird's eye views of the city. The project is designed to meet environmentally sustainable standards and obtain Energy Star certification. This development is the 11th in the SkyHouse program in the Southeast, which involves a joint venture between Novare Group and Baston-Cook Development Co., general contractor Batson-Cook Construction and architectural firm Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart. BBVA/Compass Bank is providing construction financing for the project, and NGI Investments LLC and Baston-Cook Development Co. are providing equity. Robert LaChappelle, Jonathan Rice and Paul Berry of CB Richard Ellis' Atlanta office advised on financing, while Ryan Clutter, also of CBRE, represented the seller in the land transaction.
SANDY SPRINGS, GA. — A joint venture between Kaplan Residential and George S. Morgan Development Co. plans to break ground in June on One City Walk, a mid-rise, mixed-use apartment community in Sandy Springs, a suburb of Atlanta. The new community will be the focal point of the new Sandy Springs City Center. Located at the corner of Roswell and Hammond roads, the property will include 203 luxury apartment units, 8,000 square feet of retail space and an amenity deck, which will feature a swimming pool, tanning deck, grill station and bocce ball court. The property, which is slated for completion in August 2015, will also feature a dog park, fitness center, club room, business center and green space. Niles Bolton Associates is designing the property and its interior, Choate Construction is the community’s general contractor, Greystar is handling the property’s management and leasing responsibilities and Crim and Associates is leasing the property’s retail space.
NEW ORLEANS — Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. plans to transform a 30-story building in downtown New Orleans into a new Aloft Hotel. The 188-room Aloft New Orleans Downtown will be located at 225 Baronne St. in the city’s Central Business District. The property will include 2,500 square feet of meeting space, an outdoor pool and 24-hour fitness center. 225 Baronne Complex LLC, an entity of HRI Properties, owns the hotel and HRI Lodging will manage it. The new hotel is slated to open in 2015. Starwood plans to complete two additional adaptive re-use projects for its Aloft brand this year — Aloft Detroit and Aloft Tampa Downtown.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — GBT Realty Corp. has closed on the purchase of more than 28 acres in Louisville for the $40 million development of Jefferson Commons, a 210,000-square-foot retail center. The property is more than 82 percent preleased a sports retailer anchor, as well as Shoe Carnival, H.H. Gregg, Liquor Barn, Michael’s Arts & Crafts and Men’s Wearhouse. GBT Realty will provide development, leasing, construction management and property management services for Jefferson Commons. The project team also includes architect MJM Architects, project engineer Gresham Smith and Partners and site-work contractor Louisville Paving & Construction.
ATLANTA — Physicians Realty Trust, a healthcare properties REIT, has purchased the Peachtree Dunwoody Medical Center in Atlanta’s Pill Hill hospital district for $36.6 million. The property spans 131,000 square feet and was 96 percent leased at the time of sale. Northside Hospital is the largest tenant in the building with 42,383 square feet, which includes clinical office space, an ambulatory surgery center with seven operating rooms, an imaging center and sleep medicine facilities. Peachtree Orthepedics is the second-largest tenant at 26,785 square feet. The property sold at a 7 percent capitalization rate.
CASSELBERRY, FLA. — CBRE has brokered the $40 million sale of the Harbor at Lake Howell, a 408-unit apartment community in Casselberry, about 13 miles north of Orlando. The apartment community features two swimming pools, a fitness center, tennis court and a private boat ramp for the onsite Lake Howell, a 450-acre recreational lake. The property was built in 1991 and was 94 percent occupied at the time of the sale. Shelton Granade, Luke Wickham and Justin Basquill of CBRE’s Orlando office represented the seller in the transaction. The Atlanta-based buyer plans to implement a value-add strategy for the property to increase rents.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $5.3 million sale of Chimneys at Brookfield, a 259-unit apartment community located at 7501 Brookfield Road in Columbia. Mark Boyce, Andrew Mays and Paul Vetter of Marcus & Millichap’s Atlanta and Charleston, S.C., offices represented the seller, a limited liability company, in the transaction. Chimneys at Brookfield features fully equipped kitchens and one-, two- and three-bedroom plans. The community, which was built in 1974, was 73 percent occupied at the time of sale.
MOBILE, ALA. — Homewood Suites by Hilton has opened a 99-suite hotel at 1388 W. I-65 Service Road S. in Mobile. The four-story hotel, known as Homewood Suites Mobile I-65/Airport Blvd., is expected to create 30 permanent jobs, according to Hilton Worldwide. Kana Hotel Group owns and manages the hotel. The property features complimentary breakfast and Wi-Fi, a restaurant, a 24-hour grocery shopping service, fitness center and a 24-hour business center.
MINT HILL, N.C. — HFF has arranged $11.5 million in financing for a 57,580-square-foot medical office building at 10545 Blair Road in Mint Hill, about 14 miles east of downtown Charlotte. The property is fully leased to Carolinas HealthCare System. HFF arranged the four-year, floating-rate loan through a national bank on behalf of the borrower, Chicago-based Harrison Street Real Estate Capital LLC.