LITHONIA, GA. — Variant Commercial Real Estate has acquired the Oaks at Stonecrest, a 280-unit apartment property in Lithonia. Apartment units average 995 square feet and the property totals 270,000 square feet of living space. Variant plans to make minor exterior renovations to the property and CFLane will serve as the new property manager. The property is located minutes from metro Atlanta and is close to the newly built, 1.3 million-square-foot Mall at Stonecrest. Following the deal, Variant now has 7,000 units in its commercial portfolio.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — S&F Acquisitions Inc. has acquired the Britax Building, a 478,400-square-foot Class A industrial property in Charlotte, for $25 million. The build-to-suit facility is fully leased. Chris Norvell and Scot Humphrey of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer and Stewart Calhoun, Jim Carpenter and Mike Davis of Cushman & Wakefield's Industrial Advisory Group represented the the seller, The Keith Corp., in the transaction.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Shoreline Aerospace LLC, a global supplier of parts and services to the commercial airline industry and military forces, has signed a lease for 54,500 square feet at 1800 S.W. 34th St. in Fort Lauderdale. The company is expanding its business by establishing an airside parts distribution and maintenance and repair operation at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The company plans to employ 30 workers. Built in 1972, the cross-dock industrial facility includes its own airside access and an aircraft parking ramp. Harry Tangalakis, Larry Genet and Tom O'Loughlin of CBRE represented the owner, Airside Fort Lauderdale LLC, in the transaction.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Belgate Shopping Center, a new 900,000-square-foot power center, has opened in Charlotte. The property is anchored by IKEA and Walmart and additional stores include Marshalls, ULTA Beauty, Old Navy, Petco and Cost Plus World Market. Belgate is located along I-85, the primary thoroughfare connecting Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. The center is DDR Corp.'s first ground-up domestic development in more than four years.
ALPHARETTA, GA. — The first-ever Bocado Burger Bar, a spinoff of the Atlanta restaurant Bocado, has signed a lease to open at Avalon, a $600 million mixed-use project in Alpharetta. Vertical construction will begin on Avalon this September and 60 percent of the retail space has now been leased, with 20 percent in negotiations. According to North American Properties, the project developer, discussions are ongoing with retail tenants such as Antico Pizza Napoletana, Bantam & Biddy, Free People and Janie & Jack. Other retail tenants on the project will include Banana Republic, Whole Foods, C. Wonder and Regal Cinemas, which will open the first all-premium seating theater in the U.S. Avalon will open in October 2014.
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. — Harbor Group International has acquired Mayflower Seaside, a 265-unit apartment community in Virginia Beach. The property is located one block from the oceanfront and has easy access to major thoroughfares. Drew White, Mike Marshall and Wink Ewing of ARA represented the seller, Fairfield Mayflower Seaside LLC, in the transaction.
HOOVER, ALA. — Resource Real Estate Opportunity REIT has acquired the 196-unit Autumn Wood Apartments in Hoover for $8.5 million. The property consists of 12 buildings situated on 17 acres. Amenities include a swimming pool, clubhouse, fitness center, basketball court, playground and washer/dryer connections in all units. The company purchased the property in an off-market transaction.
HANAHAN, S.C. — Capital Advisors has arranged an $11.8 million Freddie Mac loan for the refinancing of The Channel at Bowen, a 136-unit Class A apartment complex at 1000 Channel Marker Way in Hanahan. Cooper Willis of Capital Advisors arranged the 3.8 percent fixed-rate loan on behalf of the borrower, The Channel LLC, through Walker & Dunlop LLC. The 10-year loan includes 24 months of interest-only payments and a 30-year amortization schedule. Units at Channel at Bowen range in size from 631 to 1,285 square feet and amenities include a swimming pool with poolside cabanas, a fitness center and an indoor golf pub.
DULUTH, GA. — Financial services and marketing firm Primerica Inc. has opened its new global headquarters in Duluth. The 365,000-square-foot facility will house 1,600 of the company's 1,700 Gwinnett County-based employees, and has the capacity for an additional 200 people. The three-story building includes 58 conference rooms, a theater and adjoining TV studio, a 248-seat cafe and an interactive tour named “Imagine,” designed to showcase the new headquarters to current and prospective representatives and employees. Duke Realty was the project developer.
DULUTH, GA. — Sonesta International Hotels Corp. has opened a new, 426-room hotel in the Atlanta area. The full-service hotel, named Sonesta Gwinnett Place, is located in Duluth and was formerly known as the Atlanta Marriott Gwinnett Place. The 17-story hotel includes 16,000 square feet of meeting and event space, the 8,000-square-foot Georgia Ballroom, a swimming pool, health club, sundeck and free parking. The hotel is located near major entertainment venues, including the Gwinnett Arena and the Performing Arts Centre.