MIAMI — Bar Invest Group, a Miami-based private capital group, has acquired three apartment properties on South Beach at 1348 Drexel Ave., 1135 8th St. and 951 Jefferson Ave. for $5.5 million. The properties total 39 units. The deal is the fourth multifamily transaction that CBRE Private Capital Group has brokered the sale of in the past 12 months. All of the sales were to foreign buyers. Calum Weaver of CBRE represented the seller, Bleu Lionn Capital, in the transaction. According to Weaver, pricing is on the rise due to limited investment opportunities on Miami Beach and a competitive appetite among investors.
NEW ORLEANS — A new 13,000-square-foot Walgreens has opened in New Orleans on historic Magazine Street. The store includes a drive-thru window, full-service pharmacy and a Look Boutique that specializes in high-end cosmetics. Located at 5518 Magazine St., the site is the original home of the Ed Brauner American Legion Post #307, and portions of the building date back to 1947. To pay homage to the war veterans, several American Legion symbols were incorporated into the new design. Stirling Properties constructed the property, and the firm is currently building two additional Walgreens stores in Terrytown, La., and Pass Road in Fulport, Miss.
ATLANTA — Solon Mack Real Estate has acquired Bethesda Walk, a 68,271-square-foot shopping center in the Lawrenceville submarket of Atlanta, anchored by a Walmart Neighborhood Market. The center is located at the intersection of Lawrenceville Highway and Bethesda School Road. Margaret Caldwell and Kris Cooper led the Jones Lang LaSalle team that represented the seller, DLC Management Corp., in the transaction.
MIAMI, FLA. — The Harvard House Apartments, a formerly distressed North Miami Beach complex, has reopened following a renovation. Developers Carrfour Supportive Housing and the National Housing Trust partnered to redevelop the property into a 140-unit affordable housing community using $8 million in federal funds supported by HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The program revitalizes communities that have been negatively impacted by properties that were foreclosed upon or abandoned as a result of the recession. Harvard House is located at 2020 N.E. 169th St.
POMPANO BEACH, FLA. — CBRE has arranged a $10.4 million Freddie Mac loan for the refinancing of Palm Island Apartments, a 402-unit multifamily property at 401 N.W. 34th St. in Pompano Beach. The property was constructed in 1974 and is fully leased. The community consists of 13 two-story buildings and one clubhouse spanning 17 acres. Amenities include a laundry facility in each building, swimming pool, two tennis courts and a playground. Charles Foschini, Christian Lee and Christopher Apone of CBRE arranged the 10-year loan with a fixed interest rate below 4 percent on behalf of the borrower, Sample APTS LLC.
NAPLES, FLA. — A joint venture between Ronto Group and Wheelock Street Capital has acquired a 19-acre development site in downtown Naples for $21.5 million. The site is located one block from Fifth Avenue South, between Tamiami Trial and Goodlette-Frank roads. In 2005, the property was approved and slated for development of a mixed-use project called Renaissance Village, which would include 300 residential units and 205,000 square feet of commercial space. Those plans were halted by the downturn in the real estate market and in May 2012, the property was foreclosed by the lenders. Manny de Zarraga, Jaret Turkell and Matt Mitchell led the HFF team that represented the seller, who had recently acquired the title via a foreclosure action, in the transaction.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — MAC Realty Advisors has arranged a $28.6 million construction loan for the development of Kalorama West, a 117-unit apartment building in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The borrower is a joint venture between Columbia General Corp. and Potomac Investment Properties. The sponsor developed and owned the adjacent 394-unit Dorchester House. Kalorama West is an expansion of the existing apartment building, which will be built on Dorchester House's surface parking lot. Construction of the five-story building is expected to begin next month, with completed slated for the first quarter of 2015. Andrew McAllister, Bruce Levin, Britton Browne and Nick Rubenstein led the MAC Realty team that arranged the loan through a national bank.
MIAMI — An investment group led by Miami-based Banyan Street Capital has acquired Brickell Bayview Centre, a 285,595-square-foot office tower in Miami, for $70 million. The buyers also included Boca Raton, Fla.-based Crocker Partners and Independencia, a Chilean investment fund. Brickell Bayview, located at 80 S.W. 8th St., is a landmark 33-story tower in the heart of Brickell's financial district. With 16 stories of structured parking below, the office space starts at the 17th floor. The property is 88 percent leased to 47 tenants. Christian Lee, Charles Foschini, Christopher Apone and Amy Julian of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction. No buyer's representative was involved in the deal.
LEWISBURG, TENN. — Marvin’s Building Materials and Home Centers has leased 30,000 square feet in the Parkway Shoppes Plaza at the intersection of Highway 431 and US31A/TN11 in Lewisburg. The store will feature a 30,000-square-foot home center, as well as an attached lawn and garden center and drive-through lumberyard. The store will offer a complete line of building materials, electrical, plumbing, paint, millwork, hardware, tools, and lawn and garden products. Marvin’s currently operates 27 stores in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee. The Shopping Center Group represented the owner, Hearthstone Properties LLC, in the transaction.
LITTLE ROCK, ARK. — Beech Street Capital has arranged a $9 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Block 2 Lofts, a 145-unit apartment property in downtown Little Rock. Built between 1921 and 1929, the property was converted to loft-style apartments in 2001. It includes 32,850 square feet of commercial space. Joel Mazur of Beech Street Capital originated the 15-year, fixed-rate loan, which includes a 30-year amortization schedule. The Block 2 Lofts consist of three buildings within blocks of the River Market District. The apartments were designed to attract Little Rock's business professionals.