GAINESVILLE, FLA. — The design-build team of Charles Perry Partners Inc., Ponikvar & Associates Inc. and Causseaux, Hewett & Walpole Inc. will break ground this month on the City of Gainesville’s $33 million Regional Transit System (RTS) Bus Fleet Maintenance & Operations Facility. The 140,000-square-foot project is funded by federal grants from the Federal Transit Administration. It will be located on Veitch Street and include dispatch, administrative and maintenance facilities.
Southeast
GREENVILLE, S.C. — A joint venture between Atlanta-based Kaufman Realty Group LLC (KRG); Charlotte, N.C.-based Lat Purser & Associates Inc. (LPA); and Ray Jones, an apartment development veteran also based in Charlotte, will develop The Rhett Street Apartments in downtown Greenville. The mid-rise, luxury apartment complex will include 150 units. The project will begin construction in February 2013 and is being financed by Bank of America and equity from the three joint venture entities and Columbia, S.C.-based Intermark Management Corp., which will manage the property.
ATLANTA — Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank Atlanta) has awarded $13.6 million to assist in the funding of 43 affordable housing projects in 10 states and Washington, D.C., as part of its 2012 Affordable Housing Program (AHP). Local for-profit and not-for-profit developers, in partnership with FHLBank Atlanta member institutions, will use $12 million of the AHP funds to assist in the acquisition, new construction, rehabilitation or preservation of 1,993 affordable rental and owned housing units in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
FORT MYERS, FLA. — The 74,286-square-foot Sanibel Beach Place shopping center has sold for $7 million in Fort Myers. Global Fund Investments purchased the Publix-anchored retail property from Sanibel Beach Place LLC. Mike Milano and Ron Schultz of Colliers International Tampa Bay represented the seller. Sanibel Beach Place is located at 20321 Summerlin Rd. and was 75 percent occupied at the time of the sale.
SWEETWATER, FLA. — Swedish home furnishings retailer IKEA has purchased a 14.6-acre land parcel fronting Florida’s Turnpike adjacent to the Dolphin Mall in Sweetwater for $31.5 million. The retailer is proposing to build a 417,000-square-foot store that would open as early as fall 2014 atop a two-level parking garage with 1,500 spaces. South Florida’s first IKEA store opened in 2007 in Sunrise, Fla. IKEA stores are also located in Orlando, Fla., and Tampa, Fla. Procacci Development Corp. sold the 14.6-acre Sweetwater land parcel to IKEA.
MIAMI — The 207-unit Park Towers, a multifamily property at 777 N.W. 155th Lane in Miami, has traded for $11.6 million. The 10-story, 198,335-square-foot apartment building sits on 5.86 acres and was built in 1973. Tal Frydman, Daniel Cunningham and Derek Gibbs of Marcus & Millichap’s Fort Lauderdale, Fla., office represented the seller, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based private firm. A Miami-based private investor purchased the multifamily property.
DURHAM, N.C. — The four-building, 72,944-square-foot Miami North Office Park, located in the Research Triangle Park at the intersection of I-40 and Miami Boulevard in Durham, has sold. The office property was built in 1997 and 1999 on a 6.43-acre site. Ben Kilgore of CBRE/Raleigh represented the unlisted seller. Raleigh, N.C.-based TME Investments purchased Miami North Office Park.
MCLEAN, VA. — Lemont, Ill.-based Englewood Construction’s retail group has completed the nation’s first Spanx store in the Washington, D.C., area. Spanx, a popular women’s undergarment provider, opened its first retail location in the country at Tyson’s Corner Center in McLean, which is the largest shopping mall in Virginia and in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., area. Spanx founder Sara Blakely was recently named one of the world’s youngest self-made billionaires by Forbes Magazine.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — CBRE has been selected to lease 820 First Street, a 298,533-square-foot Class A office building located across from Union Station in Washington, D.C.’s Union Center Plaza. The 11-story building includes CNN, Accenture, and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities as tenants in D.C.’s Capitol Hill North submarket. Affiliates of Norfolk, Va.-based Harbor Group International LLC purchased 820 First Street in October along with investment partners including affiliates of Capstone Equities and Image Capital. The building was built in 1990 and has approximately 53,552 square feet available for lease.
DAHLONEGA, GA. — Ambling University Development Group and North Georgia College and State University (NGCSU) have completed a four-year, $110 million transformation of the Dahlonega campus. It culminated in the renovation of Gaillard Hall, a 166-bed historic cadet residence hall. In addition to Gaillard Hall, other projects completed include the addition of 1,214 beds, a 1,080-space parking deck, a new multi-use building that houses the university bookstore, retail and health center as well as a 1,000-seat dining hall. Funding for the $110 million capital improvement initiative was provided through privately financed tax-exempt municipal bonds.