RICHMOND, VA. — CoStar Group has broken ground on an expansion to its corporate campus in Richmond that will bring two new buildings totaling 750,000 square feet. CoStar plans to add 2,000 new jobs to staff the new buildings, specifically in research, technology, operations, software development, marketing and sales roles. Situated on the banks of the James River, the new 21-story tower and five-story multipurpose building, which will house employee and community amenities, will expand the campus to 1 million square feet. CoStar’s current tower is located on the site at 501 S. 5th St. Planned amenities for the campus hub include conference space, fitness and wellness capabilities, an auditorium, more than 2.6 acres of outdoor green space and retail and restaurant options. The new tower is designed to achieve LEED certification and will feature 50,000 square feet of elevated green terraces. Once the site is fully complete, CoStar Group is poised to become the largest tech company and one of the largest private employers in Richmond. The firm currently employs more than 5,300 people in 80 cities across 14 countries.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Annex Group has plans to develop Union at Tryon, a 200-unit affordable housing community located at 614 Rocco Road in Charlotte. Situated on more than seven acres, the $44 million property will feature studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments that will target households earning up to 60 percent of the area median income (AMI). Amenities will include a community center, business center, fitness center, playground, walking trails, outdoor grilling area and community gardens. Annex Group’s partners on the project include architect KTGY, civil engineer Tarr Group and LIHTC consultant Shelter Investments Development Corp. Financial partners include Merchants Capital, which directly provided a $31 million construction loan and a $20.8 million Freddie Mac loan; tax credit equity partner Aegon Asset Management, which provided $18 million in equity; and INLIVIAN (Charlotte’s housing authority) that issued $20.8 million in bonds. The Annex Group is providing property management services for Union at Tryon, which is expected to open in spring 2025.
RICHMOND, VA. — Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the sale of Guardian Place, a 236-unit affordable seniors housing portfolio spanning two buildings located at 1620 N. Hamilton St. in Richmond. Fairfield Residential purchased the properties, known as Guardian Place I (121 units) and Guardian Place II (115 units), for $25.7 million. Jorge Rosa and T.J. Liberto of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, United Methodists Family Services, in the transaction. The Guardian Place communities are age-restricted assets that are encumbered with affordability covenants under the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. Amenities include parking, outdoor seating areas, a library, exercise room, community garden and a TV lounge.
KENNER, LA. — HREC Investment Advisors has arranged the sale of the Hilton New Orleans Airport, a 319-room hotel located at 901 Airline Drive in Kenner. Situated near the new terminal at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, the hotel features an onsite restaurant, airport shuttle, outdoor pool, fitness center, business center and meeting rooms. An entity doing business as NOLA Airport 319 LLC purchased the hotel for an undisclosed price. Scott Stephens, Len Wormser and Ketan Patel of HREC Investment Advisors represented the unnamed seller in the transaction. Greg Porter and Mike Armstrong of HREC Capital Markets Group arranged an undisclosed amount of acquisition financing on behalf of the buyer.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Landmark Properties has acquired Knightshade, a student housing community located near the University of Central Florida (UCF) campus in Orlando. Landmark originally developed the property in 2014 and will rebrand it as The Retreat West. The community offers two-, three-, four-, five- and six-bedroom units. Shared amenities include tennis, volleyball and basketball courts; green space; a dog park; golf simulator; sauna; technology center; fitness center; clubroom; and a resort-style swimming pool. Jaclyn Fitts, William Vonderfecht and Casey Schaefer of CBRE’s National Student Housing team and Chip Wooten and Jeff Gray of CBRE’s Multifamily Investment Sales team in Orlando arranged the transaction on behalf of the undisclosed seller. The sales price was not disclosed.
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Lee & Associates’ Third-Quarter 2022 Economic Rundown by Sector
Lee & Associates’ newly released 2022 Q3 North America Market Report examines third-quarter 2022 industrial, office, retail and multifamily outlooks throughout the United States. This sector-based review of commercial real estate trends for the third quarter of the year examines the difficulties facing each asset class and where opportunities in the commercial real estate landscape may be emerging. Lee & Associates has made the full market report available here (with further breakdowns of factors like vacancy rates, market rents, inventory square footage and cap rates by city), but the summaries below provide high-level considerations of the overall health and obstacles for the industrial, office, retail and multifamily sectors. Industrial Overview: High Rent, Low Vacancy Everywhere North American industrial space availability is tight everywhere while rent growth and property prices remain near or have moved beyond historic highs. Through the third quarter, the United States’ vacancy rate settled at 4 percent, up 10 basis points from second quarter 2022. Average rents increased 11.4 percent year over year with gains of 19 percent in Miami, 18.7 percent in Southern California’s Inland Empire, 16 percent in Phoenix and 14.6 percent in Atlanta. Since the COVID lockdown in March of 2020, developers of U.S. logistics space have been …
DANVILLE, KY. — Campari Group, a global spirits distributor based in Milan, has agreed to purchase Wilderness Trail Distillery, a bourbon and rye whiskey distiller based in Danville. Campari purchased an initial 70 percent stake in the company for $420 million, and in 2031 will have the option to purchase the remaining 30 percent interest for $180 million. Wilderness Trail was founded in 2012 and in 2018 launched two new whiskey brands: Wilderness Trail Bourbon and Wilderness Trail Rye Whiskey. The company operates a 168-acre campus in Danville and has approximately 100,000 barrels aging in its six rickhouses, according to the company’s website. This is the second largest acquisition for Campari, with its 2016 purchase of Grand Marnier being the largest, according to Reuters. The Wilderness Trail transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close before the end of 2022. Wilderness Trail will continue to operate independently until the transaction closes. William Blair & Co. acted as exclusive financial advisor to Wilderness Trail, and Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan and Aronoff LLP acted as its legal advisor. McDermott Will & Emery LLP acted as tax and legal advisor to Campari Group, whose other whiskey labels include Wild Turkey …
BUFORD, GA. — McShane Construction has completed Enzo at Ariston, a 265-unit apartment community that TPA Residential is developing in Buford, a northeast suburb of Atlanta. The property is one of the multifamily components within Ariston, a mixed-use development taking shape near the Mall of Georgia. Situated on eight acres, Enzo at Ariston features two four- and five-story wood-frame apartment buildings with a brick façade, as well as a precast concrete parking garage. Amenities include a heated saltwater swimming pool, outdoor grilling area and lounge, 24-hour fitness studio and power gym, enclosed dog park and a community lounge with a demonstration kitchen. Niles Bolton Associates designed Enzo at Ariston, which features one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans with rental rates ranging from $1,593 to $3,313 per unit, according to the property website.
SNELLVILLE, GA. — Atlantic Capital Partners has arranged the sale of Snellville Pavilion, a 311,093-square-foot shopping center located in the Atlanta suburb of Snellville in Gwinnett County. Fred Victor, Justin Smith and Chris Peterson of Atlantic Capital represented the seller, Kimco Realty, and procured the New York-based buyer, United Properties, in the $38.3 million deal. Snellville Pavilion was 99 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Kohl’s and Belk, both of which have anchored the center since 2000.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — 29th Street Capital (29SC) has purchased Ashton Brook Apartments, a 274-unit multifamily community located in Louisville. The seller and sales price were not disclosed. Built in 1979, the Class B property features a swimming pool, fitness center, dog park, outdoor grilling and picnic area, playground and a laundry facility. Ashton Brook is situated near the headquarters of Haven Residential, 29SC’s in-house property management company that is taking over operations of the pet-friendly community.