Population growth is a direct result of the lifestyle advantages we enjoy in the Triangle region, which include our mild climate as well as educational opportunities and future employment options. People continue to move to the area, with approximately 225,000 new citizens expected by 2015. These new citizens expect jobs and recent estimates indicated an increase of approximately 12,500 jobs in 2012. It’s not the high job growth of the late ’90s through mid-2000, but it was an improvement over the last three years. With so many new people coming to the Triangle, and many unable to sell their homes in depressed markets, the need for apartments has grown considerably. The Triangle apartment market has been on fire with the latest report indicating a vacancy rate of 5.5 percent. In addition almost 6,000 apartment units are currently under construction. The combination of population growth, housing demands and disposable income are key ingredients to our vibrant retail market. In 2011, there was an increase in retail construction of approximately 900,000 square feet, resulting in minimal absorption and continued vacancy at 6 percent. In 2012, construction dropped to just over 300,000 square feet and despite vacancies in strip centers, overall vacancy dropped …
SARASOTA, FLA. — Broadstone Net Lease has acquired a three-building medical office portfolio in Florida as part of a sale-leaseback deal. Gulf Coast Surgery Center Inc. was the seller. The portfolio includes a 20,138-square-foot property at 4947 Clark Road and a 24,896-square-foot property at 4937 Clark Road in Sarasota. The deal also included a 5,086-square-foot medical office building at 856 Indiana Ave. in nearby Englewood, Fla. Juan Vega and Pam Pester of Cassidy Turley represented the seller in the transaction.
GERMANTOWN, MD. — A joint venture between Trammell Crow Co. and NVCapital Advisors has completed the purchase of a 55-acre site in Germantown form Multi-Employer Property Trust. Trammell and NVCapital plan to transform the former Orbital Sciences Corporate Campus into a new mixed-use community called Century, which will feature 2.4 million square feet of Class A office space, townhome and apartment units, retail and two hotels. The owners are in final negotiations with a developer for the purchase of two hotel parcels, and expect to begin construction on those sites within a year. The venture has begun marketing the first two residential parcels, which will include 350 apartments and 110 townhomes. They plan to partner with developers for these two parcels in the upcoming weeks and immediately begin site plan approval with Montgomery County. Trammell Crow has already obtained full site plan approval for three office buildings totaling 455,000 square feet. According to the company, the approval positions the owners to quickly respond to build-to-suit and prelease opportunities as they arise in the I-270 office market.
KNOXVILLE, TENN. — 908 Development Group has received final zoning and site plan approvals to develop a pedestrian-to-campus, student housing community near the University of Tennessee. The Standard at Knoxville will offer 508 beds in an urban-infill area of Knoxville. Numerous existing retail establishments are located within walking distance of the project. Rental units will include a mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments, along with a 6,000-square-foot clubhouse. Construction is scheduled to begin in May, with completion and resident move-ins ready for the fall 2014 semester.
BRADENTON, FLA. — NXT Capital has arranged a $12.7 million acquisition loan for Fountain Lake Apartments, a 201-unit property in Bradenton. The property is 97 percent occupied. Charles Foschini of CBRE Capital Markets placed the loan.
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, VA. — ACHS LLC has acquired a former Hollywood Video property at 11420 Huguenot Road in Chesterfield County for $1 million. South River Pharmacy will occupy most of the 7,421-square-foot property, with Great Clips remaining as a tenant. Richard Thalhimer of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, The Salvation Army, in the transaction.
BOYNTON BEACH, FLA. — Global Fund Investments and MMG Equity Partners have acquired Whitworth Farms, an 88,424-square-foot, Publix-anchored retail center in Boynton Beach. Built in 2008, the center is located on Hagan Ranch Road, just east of the Florida Turnpike. An estimated 56,000 people live in a three-mile radius of the center, with an average household income of $87,000 per year. Acquired via a short sale, the shopping center is 71.8 percent leased with two available outparcels. Global will manage the center.
FORT MYERS, FLA. — Chico's FAS recently opened a new 146,000-square-foot store support center at 11215 Metro Parkway in Fort Myers. The building is located on the 60-acre Chico's National Support Center (NSSC) campus. The support center includes human resources, real estate, e-commerce, technology and store design, and will create as many as 450 jobs. The center will help the company support the nearly 1,400 women's specialty stores it operates across the country and help manage future growth. Brands under Chico's FAS include Chico's, White House | Black Market and Soma Intimates. Gora/McGahey Architects provided the architectural design, documentation and construction administration services for the project.
ROYAL PALM BEACH, FLA. — Marcus & Millichap has received the exclusive listing for a freestanding, 76,701-square-foot Regal Cinemas movie theater in Royal Palm Beach, a village in central Palm Beach County. The listing price of $18.5 million equates to $241 per square foot. The 18-screen theater is located at 1003 N. State Road 7, across from the Breakers Ree Jones Golf Course and the Mayacoo Lakes Country Club. Lori Schneider, Dean Zang and Mark Taylor of Marcus & Millichap are representing the seller in the transaction.
RUSTON, LA. — Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II has acquired five medical office buildings in Ruston, Greeley, Colo., and Abilene, Texas, for $47 million. Currently, the REIT's portfolio totals 148 buildings valued at $1.4 billion. The portfolio is 96.8 percent leased with a weighted average remaining lease term of approximately 9.4 years. American Healthcare Investors and Griffin Capital Corp. are the REIT's co-sponsors.