ATHENS, GA. — Benning Construction Co., a regional general contractor, has broken ground on Epps Bridge Centre, a 68-acre retail and entertainment project located in Oconee County, minutes away from the University of Georgia in Athens. The project is located at the intersection of Paul Broun Parkway and the Oconee Connector. Epps Bridge Centre is the largest retail development begun in Georgia in nearly a decade, according to Benning Construction. The project's developer is Atlanta-based The Bishop Co. Several retailers have agreed to anchor the development, including Dick's Sporting Goods, Marshalls, PetSmart, Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, Ulta and Georgia Theatre Co.'s new flagship theater — the 16-screen GTC University 16 Cinemas.
DURHAM, N.C. — ARA has arranged the sale of the 328-unit Artisan at Brightleaf apartment community in Durham. Boston-based AEW Capital Management purchased the property on behalf of one of its institutional clients for $43.8 million. Greystar, a Charleston, S.C.-based apartment owner, developer and manager, developed the property in 2012 through a partnership with Prudential. Sean Wood, Blake Okland, Dean Smith and John Heimburger of ARA represented Greystar in the transaction.
KISSIMMEE, FLA. —CBRE has arranged the sale of 210 units at Legacy Parc in Kissimmee for $16 million. The community was built in 1990 and was purchased for condominium conversion in 2005. A majority of the units were reverted to rentals, and the current buyer purchased 210 of the 320 units at the community. The 210 units were 98 percent occupied at the time of sale. Legacy Parc offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units averaging 1,001 square feet. The community's amenities include a swimming pool, fitness center, children's playground, two tennis courts and a sand volleyball court. Luke Wickham, Shelton Granade and Justin Basquill of CBRE's Orlando office represented the seller in the transaction.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cassidy Turley has arranged the sale of a Class A, 58,445-square-foot office building, located at 4500 Cameron Valley Parkway in Charlotte. The building is fully leased to several tenants, including Merrill Lynch, Grubb Properties, Yadkin Valley Bank and Trust Co., Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. and Scott & Stringfellow LLC. Rob Cochran, David Finger, Addison Montague and Jared Londry of Cassidy Turley represented the seller, a local investment group, in the transaction. The buyer was an affiliate of The Keith Corp.
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Atlanta-based Prominent Realty Group of Georgia Inc. has acquired The Registry at Windsor Parke, a 260-unit apartment community in Jacksonville. The community is situated on Hodges Boulevard west of Ponte Verde Beach. This is Prominent Realty's first multifamily acquisition in Florida.
NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FLA. — ZOM, a luxury multifamily real estate developer, will break ground this month on North Bay Village, a $73 million, 285-unit luxury apartment community in North Miami Beach. The community sits on a 4.5-acre peninsula with more than 1,400 linear feet of waterfront space overlooking Biscayne Bay. ZOM is developing the eight-story community through a joint venture with Clarion Partners. KAST Construction will serve as the general contractor for the project, and ZRS Management LLC will serve as the property manager.
LEXINGTON, KY. — Skanska, a construction and development firm based in Stockholm, Sweden, has signed a contract with the University of Kentucky for the expansion and renovation of its Gatton College of Business and Economic building on its Lexington campus. The contract is valued at $53 million. The project will consist of nearly 59,201 square feet of additions and about 139,931 square feet of renovations. Skanska is expected to begin work on the project in November and wrap up construction in March 2016.
NORFOLK, VA. — Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer has brokered the $1 million sale of a 21,300-square-foot industrial facility, located at 3700 Progress Road in Norfolk. Bill Throne and Eric Throne of Cushman & Wakefield's Virginia Beach office represented both the buyer, 3700 LLC, and the seller, Thirty Seven Hundred Progress Rd LLC, in the transaction. The buyer purchased the property as an investment for Bimbo USA Distribution Facility.
RALEIGH, N.C. — SoTHERLY Hotels, a lodging REIT focused on hotels in the southern U.S., has executed a $15.6 million loan, collaterized by a first mortgage on the DoubleTree by Hilton Raleigh Brownstone-University Hotel in Raleigh. CIBC Inc. provided the loan. The five-year loan is fixed at 4.78 percent and amortizes on a 30-year schedule. The proceeds from the loan were used to repay the existing first mortgage.
WANDO, S.C. — Avison Young has arranged a 49,600-square-foot lease for office/warehouse space, located at 2509 Clements Ferry Road in Wando, 22 miles north of Charleston. Todd Garrett and Ben Poblano represented the landlord, Yeros Investments LLC, in the lease deal. David Seay of Seay Development represented the tenant, The Tides Commodity Trading Group Inc.