COLUMBIA, S.C. — Stratus Development Group has broken ground on Pickens Corner, a 60-bed student housing development located at 480 S. Pickens St. near the University of South Carolina campus in Columbia. Located in the city’s Rosewood neighborhood, Pickens Corner will offer townhomes featuring three bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms. Completion on the project is scheduled for August 2025.
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — Swinerton has begun the $4.5 million renovation of a T-Mobile call center in Chattanooga. The facility houses desks and offices for 936 T-Mobile employees and will remain open during construction. The overhaul of the 13,161-square-foot facility is expected to last about six months. Kansas City-based Perspective Architecture + Design is overseeing the design of the renovation, which will include upgrading the security desk and surrounding area with new doors, millwork, flooring and ceiling; transforming underutilized space into a mother’s room, wellness room and additional restroom; adding two restrooms and upgrading an existing restroom for all-gender use; installing audio/visual equipment and a security system featuring video monitoring; upgrading the lobby with new front doors, lighting, ceiling, furniture and branding elements; improving the cafeteria and kitchen by expanding the back-of-house, upgrading finishes and installing new culinary and ventilation equipment; adding new furniture, grills, fans and lounge area to the outdoor patio; and installing two parking lot EV chargers.
MANASSAS, VA. — Penzance has acquired Gateway & Linden, a six-building industrial portfolio totaling 212,086 square feet in Manassas, for $55 million. The transaction includes two industrial flex parks, Gateway Centre and Linden Business Center, where Penzance plans to lease current and upcoming vacancies up to 33,000 square feet. Additionally, office suites will be converted for industrial use by raising dropped ceilings and adding dock doors. Built in 1988, Gateway Centre is located at 7201-7401 Gateway Court and totals 102,277 square feet. Linden Business Center, built in 2001, is situated at 7245-7795 Coppermine Drive and totals 109,809 square feet. JLL’s Metro D.C. industrial team will lead leasing efforts for the property and Penzance’s in-house property management team will oversee operations. Bill Putting, Craig Childs and Chris Dale of JLL’s Mid-Atlantic Capital Markets team served as the advisors for the transaction.
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Denver-based BMC Investments has acquired The Finley, a 312-unit apartment community located at 9541 103rd St. in west Jacksonville. The sales price was not disclosed, but the Jacksonville Daily Record reports the property traded for $37 million. The three-story property — which was 95 percent occupied at the time of sale — features one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 775 square feet to 1,305 square feet, according to Apartments.com. Amenities at the property include a swimming pool, fitness center, clubhouse, car wash area, package services and walking trails. BMC plans to renovate a quarter of The Finley’s units with new flooring and cabinets. This deal marks BMC’s first acquisition in the state of Florida. Erik Bjornson and Tyler Nilsson of Institutional Property Advisors (IPA) brokered the sale.
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — South Carolina-based Ziff Real Estate Partners (ZRP) has acquired Promenade at Northwoods, a 253,308-square-foot retail center in North Charleston, for $30.8 million. The seller and sales price were not disclosed, but The Post and Courier reports the seller was an affiliate of Charlotte-based Big V Property Group. Situated on 7800 Rivers Ave. across from Northwoods Mall, the property is anchored by Hobby Lobby and Ollie’s Bargain Outlet. Christian Chamblee, Brooke Frey and Paige Tompkins led the ZRP deal team in the transaction. This acquisition brings ZRP’s metro Charleston portfolio to 640,000 square feet across six properties.
ATLANTA — Swinerton has obtained a $23 million contract for construction at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on behalf of a partnership between the City of Atlanta and WEBMyers Construction. Swinerton will complete three projects at the airport. The first project — which is expected to be completed by the end of the year — will include the $21 million renovation of six pairs of restroom facilities located in the North Terminal and Concourses T, C and F, as well as several family restrooms. The second project, designed by Atlanta-based Brink Design, will include a $1 million renovation of the airport’s Security Badging Office, which is slated for completion in early spring. The space will nearly double in size and feature 15 desk-style, seated stations with data ports, card printers and fingerprinting machines. The final project, a $1.2 million expansion of all TSA breakrooms, will total 42,000 square feet of space and comprise 13 breakrooms upon completion in July. These projects follow the recently completed $600,000 renovation of the Department of Aviation Finance Office at Hartsfield-Jackson by Swinerton and WEBMyers.
FREDERICK, MD. — Matan Cos. has signed a 111,368-square-foot industrial lease at Riverside Research Park in Frederick, about 45 miles northwest of Washington, D.C. The research-and-development campus comprises two adjoining properties — 8484 Progress Drive and 8480 Progress Drive — that offer a total of 280,000 rentable square feet. The undisclosed tenant signed the lease at 8484 Progress Drive. Both buildings offer free, surfaced parking, several gazebos and five miles of walking trails. Matan was internally represented by Brad Benna in the lease transaction. Tim Shanklin of Tyler Duncan Real Estate represented the tenant.
The national office market continues to face headwinds in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Baltimore is no exception. Shifting tenant preferences and the city’s evolving economic landscape have created challenges, with rising vacancy rates in some submarkets. However, recent trends suggest that Baltimore’s office sector is stabilizing, with positive momentum in key areas. Changing office landscape For decades, Baltimore’s office market was defined by two primary submarkets: the traditional central business district (CBD) that is centered around Charles, Saint Paul/Light and Baltimore streets, and the Inner Harbor. The CBD was home to corporate giants such as Alex. Brown & Sons (now part of Deutsche Bank), USF&G (now part of St Paul Insurance), T. Rowe Price and Maryland National Bank (now part of Bank of America). In the 1980s, the Inner Harbor emerged as a national model for waterfront redevelopment, attracting major tenants and commanding some of the city’s highest occupancy rates. The early 2000s saw another shift with the rise of Harbor East and later Harbor Point, both of which drew high-end office tenants and further pulled demand toward the waterfront. More recently, Baltimore Peninsula has emerged as the next major office and mixed-use submarket. Historically, vacancies created …
WINTER HAVEN, FLA. AND NEW YORK CITY — JLL has arranged the sale-leaseback of 165 retail branches in six states that are occupied by SouthState Bank, a regional lender based in the Tampa area, in a transaction valued at approximately $467 million. The buyer is Blue Owl Capital (NYSE: OWL), and the transaction was executed through various funds managed by the New York City-based asset management firm. The bank branches are located throughout Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia and total approximately 1.2 million square feet. Terms of the sale-leaseback call for SouthState Bank to continue to occupy the branches on 15-year, triple-net leases with 2 percent annual rent increases. SouthState Bank will also continue to operate the branches without any changes to its product or service offerings. Alex Sharrin, Coler Yoakam, Brian Shanfeld, Jeffrey Cicurel, Josh Katlin, Michael Roberts, Josh Hirsch and Andrew Weir of JLL structured the transaction on behalf of SouthState Bank. The lender did not specify what the proceeds from the sale might be allocated toward, saying only that funds would “enhance its balance sheet.” Others involved in the deal commented on the appeal of the structure itself in today’s market. “Sale-leaseback transactions continue …
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — Doster Construction Co. has completed Attain at Bradford Creek, a $90 million, Class A multifamily development in Huntsville. Alexandria, Va.-based Bonaventure is the developer and property manager for the project. Located at 556 Martin Road, Attain at Bradford Creek comprises 350 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 839 square feet to 1,375 square feet in size. Monthly rental rates begin at $1,134, according to Apartments.com. Amenities include a resort-style pool, fitness center, clubhouse, Amazon package lockers, dog park and a pond.