ABERDEEN, MD. — Home2 Suites by Hilton has opened its third hotel in the Baltimore area, Home2 Suites by Hilton Baltimore/Aberdeen. The hotel is the brand’s 29th property and its second LEED Silver certified hotel. The five-story, 107-suite property features an indoor saline pool and gas grills for guest use. The hotel is also pet-friendly. Aberdeen Hotels Partners LLC owns the hotel and Cherry Cove Hospitality manages the asset.
Southeast
ALPHARETTA, GA. — Bull Realty has arranged the $3.8 million sale of Ellard Mercantile Exchange, a 33,461-square-foot shopping center located at 8470 Holcomb Bridge Road in Alpharetta, a northern suburb of Atlanta. The shopping center was 93 percent leased at the time of sale to Quest Women’s Health and Fitness Center, Josephine’s Antiques, Victoria’s Closet, Durden-Jones Furniture and Elle Couture. Darrell Chapman of Bull Realty represented the seller, New York City-based Northlight Investment Partners, in the transaction. Alpharetta-based QS America Real Estate purchased the property. Fergal Brady of Wells Fargo arranged acquisition financing.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Berger Commercial Realty has arranged the $1.2 million sale of a 17,800-square-foot industrial property, located at 840 N.W. 57th Place in Fort Lauderdale. The property features 18-foot clear ceiling heights, three docks, a drive-in ramp door and a fenced side yard. A marine engineering company will be the tenant at the property. St. George Guardabassi represented the seller, Baer Investment Management, in the transaction. The buyer was Mareleng Inc.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Jones Lang LaSalle has arranged a 15,559-square-foot lease at The Exchange, a 87,952-square-foot office building located at 101 S. Garland Ave. in downtown Orlando’s Church Street District. Technology firm PlanSource signed the lease to bring its headquarters to the property. Aaron Gray of Jones Lang LaSalle represented The Exchange’s ownership, Boston-based Tremont Realty Capital, in the lease transaction. Jason Schrago of CNL represented the tenant.
ROSWELL, GA. — Greystone has closed a $60.5 million bridge loan for a 664-unit multifamily community in Roswell, a northern suburb of Atlanta. Greystone is a New York-based provider of multifamily and healthcare loans. “We are grateful to have had the opportunity to perform for the borrower and the correspondent on this transaction,” says Martin Lanigan, head of Greystone’s portfolio lending group. “As we knew from the beginning, time was of the essence and we were able to get the execution done in a very efficient manner.”
HARRISONBURG, EMPORIA AND SOUTH HILL, VA. — American Hotel Income Properties REIT LP, a Toronto-based hospitality REIT, has acquired a portfolio of four hotels in Virginia for $37.1 million. The REIT plans to invest about $6 million in capital improvements for the hotels, including furniture upgrades, fixture replacements and equipment improvements. The hotels total 403 rooms and are located in Harrisonburg, Emporia and South Hill. The properties include Hampton Inn University and Hampton Inn South in Harrisonburg, Hampton Inn in Emporia and Fairfield Inn & Suites in South Hill. The average daily rate (ADR) for the hotels in 2013 was $92.21 and the revenue per available room (RevPAR) was $67.86.
SILVER SPRING, MD. — Bethesda, Md.-based Washington Property Co. has closed $35.5 million in financing for its 242,000-square-foot office building in Silver Spring. The office building is located at 8757 Georgia Ave. Walker & Dunlop arranged the loan on behalf of Washington Property Co. Tenants at the office building include Social & Scientific Systems Inc., Corinthian Colleges and Synergy Enterprises.
GAINESVILLE, VA. — The Peterson Cos., a commercial real estate developer, plans to open a new 29,000-square-foot Stein Mart store at Virginia Gateway, a 1.3 million-square-foot shopping center in Gainesville. The store is slated to open in October and will be Stein Mart’s third store in the Washington, D.C., area. Following Stein Mart’s lease and the opening of the 300,000-square-foot Promenade at Virginia Gateway lifestyle center in April, the total Virginia Gateway project is 98 percent leased.
ATLANTA — Choate Construction Co. has completed the $24.6 million, 11-floor renovation of office space at Phipps Tower in Atlanta. Choate completed the 275,000-square-foot project for Carter’s Inc., a children’s clothing retailer. The renovation includes a library/coffee bar on all 11 floors, glass wall systems, wood walls and ceilings, high-end lighting, more than 100,000 square feet of wood flooring and two grand staircases. Phipps Tower is located at 3438 Peachtree Road and is LEED certified but is still seeking LEED Gold certification.
MIAMI — Miller Construction Co. has begun site work for Flagler Global Logistics’ new 252,000-square-foot Building 34 at the 900-acre Flagler Station business park in Miami’s Airport West submarket. Miller Construction previously delivered the park’s 171,944-square-foot Building 31. The new property will be located at 9290 N.W. 112 Ave. and will feature 30-foot clear ceiling heights. Architectural firm Ware Malcomb designed the tilt-wall structure. The building is 87 percent preleased to Starboard Cruise Services.