RALEIGH, N.C. — Dominion Realty Partners LLC closed the $6.3 million purchase of the site for the $63 million Charter Square office building in downtown Raleigh office building. The 11-story high-rise office tower has begun vertical construction, which is slated for completion in 13 months. Dominion Realty purchased the site from the city of Raleigh. The 242,969-square-foot office building is pre-leased to HDR Engineers, CBRE, JDavis, Eschelon Hospitality and Dominion Realty Partners. The Class A office tower will also feature 9,000 square feet of ground-level retail space. A partnership between the buyer and Prudential Real Estate Investors capitalized the purchase with financing through Regions Bank. The design team for the office building, including architect JDavis Architects and general contractor Choate Construction, is hoping to achieve LEED Platinum certification. Law firms Ellis & Winters; Quarles & Brady LLP; and Lewis Roca Rothberger LLP provided legal counsel.
Southeast
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The JCR Cos. has acquired two properties in Washington, D.C., and Alexandria, Va., totaling nearly 50,000 square feet. JCR purchased a vacant 26,347-square-foot office building, located at 950 N. Washington St. in Alexandria, for $4.5 million. JCR purchased the asset, which has been vacant since 2011, from the American Association of Physician Assistants. Cardinal Bank provided acquisition financing for the transaction. NAI KLNB represented JCR, and Avison Young represented the seller. Lancaster Architects is overseeing the design for the building’s renovation. JCR also purchased a retail condominium and a two-level commercial underground parking garage at The Metropole in Washington, D.C.’s Logan Circle neighborhood. The 23,225-square-foot condominium houses Vida Fitness and Bang Salon. Eagle Bank financed JCR’s $6.3 million purchase. CBRE represented the seller, American Realty Advisors.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — MAC Realty Advisors has arranged a $27.4 million loan for the acquisition and development of a mixed-use project located at 1921 14th St. N.W. in northwest Washington, D.C. The borrower, Madison Investments, will rehabilitate the existing buildings at the site and construct a new nine-story high-rise apartment tower. The tower will feature 56 residential units and approximately 13,000 square feet of retail space. Construction is slated to begin in June and wrap-up in early 2016. Andrew McAllister, Bruce Levin, Ben Lazarus and Caren Garfield of MAC Realty Advisors arranged the private investment/senior construction loan.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Velocis, a private equity real estate fund, has purchased a pair of medical office buildings near UNC Health Care System’s Rex Hospital in the Research Triangle. The sales price was undisclosed. The properties, known as Sunset One and Two, are 82 percent leased and total 36,000 square feet. Velocis has tapped Lincoln Harris LLC to manage and lease the properties. Gary Lyon and Michael Vulpis of Avison Young represented the seller in the transaction.
MEMPHIS, TENN. — Exeter Property Group has purchased a 4.4 million-square-foot portfolio of industrial properties in Memphis, Nashville and Columbus, Ohio, for $132 million. Exeter purchased the eight-property portfolio from LNR Property LLC, the special servicer appointed to the portfolio upon its transfer from London-based Strategic Realty Advisors Ltd. in June 2013. Four of the properties, totaling more than 2.1 million square feet, are located in Memphis. Andrew Phillips of Colliers International’s Memphis office, along with Steve Timmel of the firm’s Cincinnati office, represented LNR in the transaction.
MARIETTA, GA. — The Connor Group has purchased Parkside at Town Center, a 234-unit luxury apartment community in Marietta, a northern suburb of Atlanta, for $27.2 million. The asset is located just north of Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. The Connor Group purchased the community from Sterling Parkside Apartments NF LLC. The acquisition is The Connor Group’s fifth transaction in Atlanta in the past 12 months — the previous four were property sales.
MIAMI — CBRE has arranged a $31 million refinancing loan for the River Oak Apartments, a 199-unit multifamily property located along the Miami River at 1951 N.W. S. River Drive in Miami. The apartment community was built in 2011, and its amenity package features a riverwalk, theater, business center, fitness center, pool and spa, clubroom, gated access with a 24-hour surveillance system and covered parking with controlled access. Charles Foschini, Christopher Apone, Christian Lee, Robert Given and Gerard Yetming of CBRE arranged the 10-year loan through Redwood Commercial Mortgage Co., a division of California-based Redwood Trust, on behalf of the borrower, AP SC River Oaks LLC.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Multi Housing Advisors (MHA) has brokered the $12 million sale of Hidden Creek, a 200-unit apartment community located at 2038 Quail Forest Drive in north Raleigh. The apartment complex, built in 1980, includes a business center, fitness center, playground, swimming pool and laundry facilities. Marc Robinson and Jordan McCarley of MHA’s Charlotte, N.C., office represented the seller, AB Merion Hidden Creek LLC, an affiliate of Merion Realty Partners, in the transaction. The buyer was FortCap Chatsworth LLC, an affiliate of Virginia Beach, Va.-based FortCap Partners. MHA was the sole brokerage firm in the transaction.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Trinity Partners has brokered the sale of a 27,418-square-foot medical office building located at 7825 Ballantyne Commons Parkway in Charlotte’s Ballantyne neighborhood. DHD Ventures purchased the asset from Trinity Partners’ sister company, Trinity Capital Advisors, for approximately $3.8 million. The property was 92 percent occupied at the time of sale. Mark Alviana and Sam DiFranco of Trinity Partners represented the seller in the transaction.
The year 2013 marked a turning point for the Triangle office market. While overall vacancy remains stubbornly high, ending the third quarter at 17.2 percent, Class A vacancy is rapidly approaching equilibrium, spurring increased investment and development activity in the region. A lack of new construction in recent years has led to a shortage of large blocks of prime office space. Class A vacancy ended the third quarter at 13.7 percent, down by 260 basis points year-over-year. As a result, owners of select properties are finding themselves with more leverage, and tenants are increasingly turning to their second and third choices when securing space. This lack of quality options kept a lid on absorption through most of 2013. Annual absorption stood at just 107,306 square feet through the third quarter, well below historical norms for a recovering market. This figure, however, is not a true reflection of leasing activity. Faced with limited choices, some growing and new-to-market tenants turned to developers, preleasing 700,000 square feet and driving a wave of new construction activity in the second half of the year. Duke Realty broke ground on two new office buildings in the I-40/RTP submarket. Perimeter Two and Perimeter Three will total …