ARLINGTON, VA. — Amazon has paused construction on the second phase of its 5.4 million-square-foot HQ2 development in Arlington, reports Bloomberg. The developer, JBG Smith, previously announced that the first phase of the headquarters, which comprises 2.1 million square feet, is scheduled for delivery this summer. The delay will affect the second, 3.3 million-square-foot Pen Place phase, plans for which include three office buildings and a biophilic, double-helix amenity center dubbed The Helix. The pause coincides with recent layoffs, and John Schoettler, the real estate chief for the company, did not disclose a new start date for construction, though he says Amazon remains committed to the National Landing area.
SHELBYVILLE, KY. — Northmarq has secured $25.3 million in financing for the construction of the first two phases of a bourbon barrel storage facility in Shelbyville. Randall Waddell of Northmarq’s Louisville office arranged the fixed-rate loan through a Kentucky-based bank on behalf of the borrower, a joint venture between The Spirits Group and K-RAX. The loan carries a five-year term with three years of interest-only payments followed by a 25-year amortization schedule. Upon completion, the development, situated on 107 acres at 2517 Vigo Road will feature seven rickhouses — each of which will have capacity for 19,800 barrels — and one blending/bottling building.
SILVER SPRING, MD. — 29th Street Capital (29SC) has purchased Solaire Apartments, a 232-unit multifamily community located in Silver Spring. Amenities at the six-building community include a 24-hour fitness center, swimming pool and sundeck, community room and a courtyard patio with a grilling station. 29SC plans to make upgrades to the property, which will be rebranded as Maven at Wheaton. Brian Crivella, Walter Coker, Bill Gribbin and Yalda Ghamarian of Berkadia represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Haven Residential, a company owned by 29SC, will oversee the leasing and management of the property. The sales price was not disclosed.
SUNRISE, FLA. — Azor Advisory Services has brokered the $13.9 million sale of The Sawgrass Home Design Center, a retail center located at 13001-13191 W. Sunrise Blvd. in Sunrise, approximately 30 miles northwest of Miami in Broward County. The 45,000-square-foot property was 83 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including DXL Casual Male, Bella Salon Suites, Lighting Outlet, Compass Research and Caremax. Beth Azor of Azor Advisory represented the seller, a partnership doing business as FVP Sawgrass LLC, which originally acquired the property in 2011. Apogee Realty Inc. and an entity doing business as Capital Group Realty 2004 LLC represented the buyer, Harvest International Investments.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Insite Properties has arranged the sale of a three-building flex portfolio in Charlotte on behalf of a joint venture partnership managed by the company. Located at 4324 Revolution Park Drive, 801 Clanton Road and 920 Blairhill Road in the city’s South End district, the properties comprise 106,000 square feet in total. A client of Manchester Capital Management purchased the portfolio, which was 97 percent leased at the time of sale. Insite will manage and lease the properties on behalf of the new ownership. The sales price was not disclosed.
BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. — Scout Motors Inc., the electric vehicle division of German automaker Volkswagen, has unveiled plans for an electric vehicle manufacturing plant on a 1,600-acre plot in Blythewood, South Carolina, a suburb of Columbia. The move represents a capital investment of approximately $2 billion and is expected to create about 4,000 jobs. Scout Motors intends to primarily use the plant for the production of trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs). At full capacity, the facility should be able to manufacture about 200,000 vehicles annually. Construction is scheduled to begin later this year, and Scout Motors expects the plant to be fully operational by the end of 2026. Of the total acreage of the site, which is bounded by I-77 and Blythewood Road, about 70 percent (1,100 acres) will be dedicated to the manufacturing facilities themselves. The location puts the facility within 20 miles of the state capital’s downtown area. Greg Lubar and Matt Jackson of JLL represented Scout Motors in its site selection efforts. The new trucks and SUVs will be built on a newly designed, all-electric platform. This approach will allow the company’s engineering teams to deliver vehicles with optimal ground clearance, approach angles and payload capacity, as …
Nashville’s economy experienced some of the healthiest growth in the nation in 2022, with an annual job growth rate of 5.8 percent, exceeding the U.S. growth rate of 4.1 percent, based on data from Oxford Economics. Nashville also received high marks from the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers, ranking as the No. 1 Market to Watch in their 2023 Emerging Trends in Real Estate report. The report credited Nashville’s tremendous and sustained population growth, and its economic diversity. Referred to as a “Supernova,” Nashville grew by an average of 5 percent since 2019 — four times faster than the national rate — due to rapid net in-migration. These fundamentals have helped boost the retail market in Nashville over the last several years. Post-pandemic, market-wide retail vacancy decreased to 3.3 percent at the end of 2022, which is two percentage points less than the rate at year-end 2020, but in line with the 15-year record low mark set in 2018. While Nashville’s retail sector took a hit along with others across the nation, it continues to rebound and perform due to a rise in dense communities where developers and owners are being strategic and thoughtful in retail curation. As such, the …
POMPANO BEACH, FLA. — Topgolf is underway on the construction of a three-level venue located at the intersection of Powerline Boulevard and Race Track Road in Pompano Beach, roughly 35 miles north of Miami. Scheduled to open late this year, the new location will anchor Live! Pompano Beach, a 223-acre, mixed-use project currently being developed by The Cordish Cos. and Caesars Entertainment. The new Topgolf will feature 102 climate-controlled hitting bays, a full-service restaurant, rooftop terrace, outdoor patio, music, private event space and family-friendly programs year-round.
ROCK HILL, S.C. — JLL Capital Markets has arranged the sale of Phase I of Rock Hill Commerce Center in Rock Hill, roughly 30 miles southwest of Charlotte. A MetLife Investment Management client acquired the 792,081-square-foot property, which comprises two industrial buildings, for an undisclosed price. Patrick Nally, Pete Pittroff, Dave Andrews and Michael Scarnato of JLL represented the seller, Strategic Capital Partners, in the transaction. Completed earlier this year, Phase I of Rock Hill Commerce Center was fully leased at the time of sale to Power Technique North America and Logistics Plus. Buildings A and B comprise 294,092 square feet and 497,989 square feet, respectively.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital LLC (BWE) has arranged a $21 million bridge loan for the acquisition of Nashville Christian Towers, an affordable seniors housing development in Nashville. Located at 101 Foothill Court, the property comprises 175 units. BWE secured the loan, which carries a 12-month term and an available 12-month extension, on behalf of the borrower, Envolve Communities. Envolve plans to redevelop the property with proceeds from a 4 percent LIHTC execution and tax-exempt bonds.