ATLANTA — FelCor Lodging Trust Inc. has sold its 232-room Embassy Suites hotel in Atlanta for $17.2 million. FelCor is using the proceeds of the sale to assume an existing $11 million loan on the property. FelCor has also agreed to sell its 218-room Embassy Suites hotel in Bloomington, Minn., for $24 million. FelCor is a publicly traded real estate investment trust.
Southeast
PRATTVILLE, ALA. — GBT Realty has inked leases with several new tenants for Cobbs Ford Village, a new shopping center located off Interstate 65 on Cobbs Ford Road in Prattville, about 14 miles northwest of Montgomery, Ala. The new tenants include Firehouse Subs, Aspen Dental, Bama Fever Tiger Pride, Smashburger and Edible Arrangements. The new retailers will join existing tenants Starbucks Coffee and Gigi’s Cupcakes, as well as a new Chipotle Mexican Grill opening on Feb. 11.
ORLANDO, FLA. — ContraVest, a multifamily developer, has begun construction on two apartment developments in Orlando: The Courtney at Lake Shadow and The Courtney at Universal Boulevard. The combined construction cost for the two projects is $82 million. The Courtney at Lake Shadow is a 244-unit community located along Lake Shadow in Maitland, a northern suburb of Orlando. The Courtney at Universal Boulevard is located next to the Orange County Convention Center in south Orlando. The properties both feature a clubhouse, fitness center, resort-style pool, pet wash station, elevators and granite kitchen countertops. ContraVest will also provide general contracting and property management services for the projects. First move-ins are expected to begin in January 2015.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLA. — CIT Real Estate Finance, a subsidiary of CIT Group Inc., has provided a $26 million loan to redevelop the PGA Plaza Shopping Center, a retail center located in Palm Beach Gardens. The borrowing entity is a joint venture headed by Menin Development, a commercial real estate owner and developer. CIT Real Estate Finance provided the loan through CIT Bank, the U.S. commercial bank subsidiary of CIT Group.
KNOXVILLE, TENN. AND SAVANNAH, GA. — NorthMarq Capital has arranged $15.3 million to refinance Tillery Ridge Apartments in Knoxville and Buccaneer Trace Apartments in Savannah. Tillery Ridge is a 109-unit, affordable housing property located at 1716 Merchants Drive. Buccaneer Trace is a 208-unit apartment community located at 55 E. Deerwood Drive. Greg Duvall of NorthMarq Capital’s Kansas City regional office arranged both loans with 10-year terms and 30-year amortization schedules through Freddie Mac.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Calkain Urban Investment Advisors, a division of Calkain Cos., has brokered the sale of a retail condominium unit at 1401 R St. N.W. in Washington, D.C. The 1,278-square-foot unit sold for approximately $1.4 million, or $1,100 per square foot. The property is leased on a long-term, triple net basis to a local restaurateur who is operating a café. Andrew Fallon and Rick Fernandez of Calkain represented the seller, a developer based in Washington, D.C., in the transaction. The buyer was a Washington, D.C.-based real estate firm.
PLANTATION, FLA. — U.S. Capital Holdings Group has broken ground on the first phase of 321 North, a $300 million live-work-play development in Plantation. The first phase is the redevelopment of a seven-story, 160,000-square-foot office tower. The design team includes general contractor GHJ Construction Inc., a subsidiary of Beijing Construction Engineering Group International Co. Ltd. GHJ plans to finish construction in approximately one year. U.S. Capital Holdings has retained CBRE as leasing agent for the new office tower. The redevelopment is the first of five phases for 321 North, which is slated to finish construction in 2017.
CHARLESTON AND FLORENCE, S.C. — Faison Enterprises Inc., a private real estate developer and owner based in Charlotte, N.C., has acquired two retail centers in South Carolina. The properties include the 350,000-square-foot Ashley Landing in Charleston and the 113,922-square-foot Crossroads Center in Florence. Ashley Landing is 92 percent leased to tenants including Publix, Burlington Coat Factory, Dollar Tree, Big Lots, Wells Fargo, Harbor National Bank and First Federal of Charleston. Scott Adams of Adams and Wilson Properties represented Faison in the transaction. Crossroads Center is 96 percent leased to Hamrick’s, Planet Fitness, LifeWay and Dollar Tree. Berkeley Capital Advisors’ Charlotte office arranged the transaction.
WOODSTOCK, GA. — Grandbridge Real Estate Capital has closed a $27 million first mortgage loan to refinance a 308-unit apartment community in Woodstock, a northern suburb of Atlanta. Alan Tapie of Grandbridge’s Atlanta office originated the loan. The apartment community features a pool, fitness center with a yoga studio, cabanas, fire pits, business center, coffee bar and greenway access to downtown Woodstock.
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — CBRE has brokered the sale of Marina Village, a 61,775-square-foot retail center in south St. Petersburg. The property is located at 4701-4949 34th St. South and is 79 percent leased to Dollar Tree, Radio Shack, Beef O’Brady’s, JSA Healthcare, The UPS Store and Domino’s Pizza. The buyer, a partnership between Paradise Ventures and ADJ-DIG LLC, purchased the center from EBK Properties Inc. for approximately $3.9 million. CBRE represented the seller in the transaction.