WASHINGTON, D.C. — Akridge, a real estate services company, has signed law firm Brown Rudnick LLP to a 35,000-square-foot lease renewal at The Homer Building for seven years. The Homer Building, located atop Metro Center station a few blocks away from the White House, includes a rooftop terrace with views of the D.C. skyline, a full-service fitness facility and a 12-story atrium. The Homer Building is LEED Gold-certified, Energy Star-rated and has received a BOMA 360 Performance Building designation. The building also received BOMA's International Office Building of the Year award. Mitsui Fudosan America, a majority shareholder of Akridge, owns the Homer Building. Susan Thomas and Brittany Kalkstein of Cushman & Wakefield represented Brown Rudnick in the lease transaction. Wil Pace and Greg Tomasso of Akridge provided landlord representation. Akridge provides property management services at the building.
Southeast
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — 110 Tower, a LEED Gold-certified, Class A office building in downtown Fort Lauderdale’s Central Business District, has leased more than 40,000 square feet to a variety of commercial tenants. 110 Tower recently completed a comprehensive $15 million interior and exterior renovation, which included the addition of ground-floor retail, upgrades to the lobby and interior common areas, enhancement of primary mechanical systems and installation of a unique exterior lighting system. The building now hosts more than 800 full-time employees. Law firms Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith; Fort Lauderdale Executive Office Suites; the Broward Safety Council; and Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A. are among the established businesses at the tower. Subway is now open in 110 Tower’s ground floor and Trial Copy, a litigation consulting firm specializing in electronic data discovery, computer forensics custom trial graphics and heavy litigation copy services, sits in 110 Tower’s lobby level. Laurel Oswald of Cushman & Wakefield handles office-leasing responsibilities for 110 Tower.
CORAL GABLES, FLA. — HFF has arranged $74 million in financing for 4000 Ponce/ The Collection Building, a 295,088-square-foot trophy mixed-use property in Coral Gables. HFF, on behalf of the borrowers The Collection Properties LLC and The Collection LLC, arranged a 10-year, fixed-rate loan through a European-based insurance company. Proceeds will be used to repay the existing loan. The property, completed in 2002, is located at 4000 Ponce De Leon Blvd. It is 91 percent leased and includes 178,101 square feet of Class A office and retail space. The property also includes The Collection, an automotive dealership featuring the Ferrari, Maserati, McLaren, Aston Marin, Jaguar, Porsche and Audi brands. The HFF team representing the borrower included Paul Stasaitis, Jim Dockerty and Jose Carrazana. Bilzin Sumberg’s legal team, which consisted of Jim Shindell, Suzanne Amaducci-Adams and Alexandria Lehson, assisted in legal counseling.
MIAMI — InterContinental Hotels Group’s (IHG) Hotel Indigo plans to open its third location in Miami in late 2016. Hotel Indigo Miami Brickell, located at 145 S.W. 11th St., is near the famous Brickell Avenue and downtown Miami. The $48 million hotel will have approximately 2,000 square feet of meeting space, a full restaurant, fitness center and an outdoor pool with its own bar and grill. The 24-story, 140-room hotel is a joint venture between HES Group and Sunview Cos. An affiliate of IHG has franchised the hotel.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Grubb Properties, a Charlotte-based commercial real estate company, and Rubenstein Partners, a Philadelphia-based real estate fund manager, have sold Newcastle North, an 112,340-square-foot laboratory and office building at the Imperial Center Campus in Raleigh. The two-building portfolio was sold for $14.5 million to Capital Square Holdings, a real estate investment and advisory firm based in Glen Allen, Va. The building, located at 1035 Swabia Court at the intersection of I-40 and I-540, was originally acquired in September 2012 from GlaxoSmithKline. The building was fully leased to Reichhold Industries within its first year of ownership. Scot Humphrey, Chris Norvell and Bill Simerville of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer’s capital markets group, along with Samir Idris of Cushman & Wakefield’s Atlanta office, handled the negotiations on behalf of the seller. The building was 100 percent leased at the time of sale. The second building, Newcastle South at 1015 Swabia Court, features 86,895-square-feet of office space.
JOHNSON CITY, TENN. — Chase Properties, an Ohio-based owner and operator of shopping centers, has announced the acquisition of Johnson City Crossing, a 240,000-square-foot shopping center in Johnson City, from Ronus Properties. The shopping center, located on State of Franklin Road, is anchored by Ross Dress for Less, Bed Bath & Beyond, Michaels, PetSmart, HH Gregg, Stein Mart and Old Navy. Other tenants at the center include Shoe Carnival, Dress Barn, Lifeway Christian and Rugged Warehouse. David Webb with Berkeley Capital Advisors brokered the sale. Johnson City Crossing is Chase Properties’ first acquisition in Tennessee.
ALPHARETTA, GA. — Phillips Edison-ARC Grocery Center REIT II has announced the acquisition of its first grocery-anchored shopping center, Bethany Village, an 81,674-square-foot shopping center in Alpharetta, an affluent suburb of Atlanta. Bethany Village is anchored by a 51,674-square-foot Publix grocery store. Other tenants include Marco’s Pizza, Subway and Workout Anytime. Bentall Kennedy, a Canadian-based real estate advisory and services organization, sold the property to the public, non-traded REIT. The sales price has not been disclosed.
FORT OGLETHORPE, GA. — CBL & Associates Properties, a Chattanooga-based owner and developer of malls and shopping centers, plans to develop Parkway Plaza, a 134,100-square-foot retail property in Fort Oglethorpe. Construction on the property is set for June. Parkway Plaza, which is currently 90 percent pre-leased with committed retailers such as Hobby Lobby, Marshalls, Petco, Rack Room Shoes and Ross Dress for Less, is located at Battlefield Parkway next to the Walmart shopping center. A spring 2015 grand opening is set for the new development.
FRANKLIN, TENN. — Greystone has provided a $40.4 million HUD loan to refinance Viera Cool Spring Apartments in Franklin. The townhome community, built in 1987, is located in the Cool Springs submarket of Nashville. The loan is structured as a 35-year fully amortizing HUD 223(f) loan. Donny Rosenberg of Greystone originated the non-recourse loan.
KNOXVILLE, TENN. — JHD, a Knoxville-based real estate investor and developer, has purchased the historic John H. Daniel Building in downtown Knoxville for $2.9 million. John H. Daniel Co., which sold the 109,000-square-foot light industrial building, has been at the 114-124 W. Jackson Ave. building since 1928. George Brown and Brad Blackwell of Wood Properties Inc. represented the seller in the transaction. The mixed-use property has approximately 100 apartment units and several thousand square feet of retail/commercial space. John H. Daniel Co. will continue its operations in a facility north of downtown.