GREENVILLE, S.C. — ARA has arranged the sale of two apartment communities in Greenville totaling 559 units. The communities include the Crestmont at Thornblade and Thornblade Park. Blake Okland, John Heimburger, Dean Smith and Sean Wood of ARA represented the seller in the transaction. Levin Realty Advisors LLC, a Chicago-based multifamily acquisition and management consultant, purchased the portfolio.
Southeast
NAPLES, FLA. — Madison Marquette Retail Services has arranged three long-term lease transactions at Crossroads Market, a 126,834-square-foot shopping center in Naples. The new leases bring the center to 100 percent occupancy. The three new tenants joining anchors Publix and Walgreens are Physicians Regional Healthcare Group, Andis Insurance and Chase Bank. The new leases total 13,650 square feet. Also, Publix has renewed its 56,000-square-foot lease for five years.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Q Fort Lauderdale LLC, a member of the Qvale Automotive Group, has purchased two land parcels in Fort Lauderdale for approximately $7.9 million. The city of Fort Lauderdale has recently approved plans for a new $20 million Audi dealership and service center to be developed on the parcels, located at 1200 N. Federal Highway and 1400 Progresso Drive. The dealership will span 159,000 square feet and will feature a two-story glass showroom and a delivery/service center. The development will break ground in March and will employ approximately 90 people upon its opening, which is slated for December. Steve Hyatt of Berger Commercial Realty and Bill Rotella of The Rotella Group represented Q Fort Lauderdale in the land acquisitions. James Fazio sold the 1200 N. Federal Highway land parcel, and 13th Street Progresso and King Broward Holdings sold the 1400 Progresso Drive land parcel.
DURHAM, N.C. — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has closed a $28 million Fannie Mae loan for Century Trinity Estates, a 270-unit, garden-style apartment complex located in Durham. Jane Harrison and Joe Fadus of KeyBank arranged the 10-year, fixed-rate loan on behalf of the borrower, Centennial Holding Co.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NorthMarq Capital has arranged $10.7 million in refinancing for Sunset Village Apartments and Forestbrook Apartments, two apartment communities located in Charlotte. The apartment properties total 360 units. Bill Matone of NorthMarq’s Charlotte office arranged the 10-year, Freddie Mac loan with a 20-year amortization schedule.
JACKSON, MISS. — Multi Housing Advisors (MHA) has arranged the sales of two Jackson apartment communities totaling 316 units. The properties include the 296-unit Audubon Grove and the 20-unit River Bluff. Professional Equity Management purchased Audubon Grove, a Class C community built in 1974, for an undisclosed price. Belhaven Residential purchased River Bluff, a Class B community near Belhaven University, for an undisclosed price. Brian Savage and Jimmy Adams of MHA’s Birmingham, Ala., office represented the seller in both transactions.
MOODY, ALA. — Graham & Co., an industrial real estate developer, has completed a 31,200-square-foot industrial property in Moody, a suburb of Birmingham. The project is a build-to-suit development for SKF USA Inc., a Swedish-based ball bearing manufacturer. The design team includes contractor Cooper Construction and architect Designform.
With an economy that's normalizing with improving fundamentals, the Atlanta retail market is on the right track for sustained growth. Throughout 2013, Atlanta experienced a drop in vacancy rates along with the unemployment rate. In addition, retail sales rose nearly 3.5 percent over last year, provoking a rise in consumer confidence. The unemployment rate in Georgia fell from 9 percent in 2012 to 8.3 percent in 2013. This is still a full point below the national average. For 2014, the unemployment rate in Georgia is expected to reach well under 8 percent. During the last 12 months, Atlanta has experienced job growth of 2.5 percent. Retail payrolls are also expected to continue improving in 2014, pushing a near 3 percent gain as a result of both increasing existing stores sales as well as modest new store opening growth. Vacancy Rates, Rent Growth Since the beginning of the year, overall metro retail vacancy rates have dropped below 11 percent, which is a 50 basis point decrease over last year. Neighborhood and community retail centers still maintain the highest vacancy of just under 15 percent. Power centers have experienced a strong year-over-year recovery, averaging a 7.5 percent vacancy across the region. Tenant …
ATLANTA — Avison Young has acquired The Eidson Group, a privately held real estate services company based in Atlanta. Effective immediately, Douglas Eidson will join Avison Young as principal and Scott Perry will join the firm as an associate broker. Both Eidson and Perry will continue to focus on tenant representation. Eidson founded The Eidson Group in 1998. The Atlanta office of Avison Young has more than 75 employees with approximately 20 million square feet of space under property management.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Housing Trust Group (HTG) has broken ground on Village Place, a $15 million seniors housing development located at 720 N.E. 4th Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. Village Place will include 112 units with eco-friendly water fixtures, cable and satellite hookups, exercise room and a gated entrance with touchpad entry. The National Association of Home Builders is expected to designate Village Place a green building upon completion. Broward County Housing provided $125,000 toward the project, while U.S. Bank provided $38.6 million through its community development subsidiary. The loan amount includes a $13.2 million construction loan, $3 million permanent financing loan and more than $22.4 million of Low Income Housing Tax Credit equity, which was awarded by Florida Housing Finance Corp.