ORLANDO, FLA. — Dart Interests has unveiled plans to redevelop Villas at Grand Cypress in Orlando into a massive vacation rental resort and hotel project named Evermore Orlando Resort. The 1,100-acre resort is adjacent to Walt Disney World. At full buildout in 2023, the 10,000-bedroom project will represent an equity investment in excess of $1 billion. Evermore’s first phase will include nearly 1,500 rooms spread across single-family rental homes, villas, flats and hotel guestrooms. Plans call for 69 houses ranging in size from five to 11 bedrooms. “Dart is introducing an entirely new hospitality category that will change the landscape of vacation rental homes,” says Christopher Kelsey, president of Dart. “We are creating the first-ever wholly owned, large-scale community of purpose-built vacation rental homes and operating them with hotel-quality standards.” According to Kelsey, Dart’s approach to this project solves the main problem for vacation renters — uncertainty in the quality of the home. The centralized ownership model ensures the same quality for each residence, as opposed to most other vacation homes that are owned by individuals. In addition to vacation homes, the complex will also include 76 four-bedroom flats, 41 two- and four-bedroom villas and a Conrad hotel, which is …
Southeast
ABERDEEN, MD. — A fund sponsored by Los Angeles-based CBRE Global Investors has acquired a two-building, 1.4 million-square-foot industrial portfolio in Aberdeen for an undisclosed price. The two buildings are located at 521 and 531 Chelsea Road, 34 miles northeast of the Port of Baltimore and five miles east of Interstate 95. The buildings serve as warehouse/distribution centers and were fully leased at the time of sale to tenants including cosmetics retailer Sephora and home appliance manufacturer Electrolux. The building housing Electrolux spans 692,000 square feet and was originally developed in 2012. The building at 531 Chelsea Road totals 655,800 square feet and was completed in 2014. Both properties are LEED Silver-certified and feature 40-foot clear heights, 50-foot-by-50-foot column spacing and truck and car parking. Bo Cashman and Jonathan Beard of CBRE represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.
LYNCHBURG, VA. — Liberty University will redevelop the west end of River Ridge, a regional mall in Lynchburg that the university owns. The enclosed shopping mall is located less than one mile from campus. The university will demolish the Macy’s building in the first quarter of this year and plans to turn the area into an open-air shopping center with a food hall. The renovated shopping area will feature higher store elevations and urban-esque storefront designs, as well as an outdoor venue for family-themed community events. Liberty University plans to deliver the food hall in late 2021 and the rest of the project in 2022. JLL manages the mall on behalf of the owner.
AVENTURA, FLA. — JLL has provided a $50.4 million Freddie Mac refinancing loan for Lincoln Pointe Apartments in Aventura. JLL Real Estate Capital LLC, a Freddie Mac Optigo lender, will service the loan. The 285-unit property comprises four three-story buildings with one- and two-bedroom floor plans averaging 904 square feet. Communal amenities include a clubhouse, fitness center, business center and a pool. The complex is located at 17900 NE 31st Court, 19 miles north of downtown Miami. Elliott Throne and Steven Klein of JLL originated the loan on behalf of the borrower, a partnership between New York City-based firms LCOR and Madison International Realty.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the $18.5 million sale of Northridge Business Center, a four-building office and warehouse property in Charlotte. The buildings total 174,506 square feet and are situated at 5005-5035 W. W.T. Harris Blvd. in Charlotte’s West Sugar Creek neighborhood. Northridge Business Center was 92 percent leased at the time of sale. Nolan Ashton and Rob Cochran of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, SkyREM, in the transaction. SunCap Opportunity Fund LLC, a privately held, national commercial real estate investment firm, acquired the property.
Tiktin Real Estate Negotiates $4.9M Sale of Property Leased to 7-Eleven in Metro Orlando
by Alex Tostado
WINTER GARDEN, FLA. — Tiktin Real Estate Investment Services (TREIS) has negotiated the $4.9 million sale of a 4,794-square-foot building leased to 7-Eleven in Winter Garden. The freestanding building is located at 4200 Winter Garden Vineland Road, 16 miles west of downtown Orlando. A Mobil gas station on the property was not included in the sale. Stablewood Properties acquired the property from an entity doing business as 600 East LLC. Adam Tiktin, Alejandro Snyder and Michael Williams of TREIS represented both the seller and buyer in the transaction.
BOWLING GREEN, KY. — Ball Corp. plans to open a new 500,000-square-foot building in Bowling Green that will serve as a manufacturing facility for aluminum can tops. According to the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority, Ball will invest $305 million to develop the facility. The Westminster, Colo.-based company expects to create 200 jobs at the property, which is scheduled to open in early 2022. The project’s construction is also expected to support 391 jobs. The facility will be situated within Transpark, a 300-acre industrial development owned by the City of Bowling Green and Warren County. Ball will be the first tenant at the site. Transpark has CSX Railroad service through the southern end of the property and is located five miles from Interstate 65. A design team for the project was not disclosed. Ball supplies aluminum packaging solutions for beverage, personal care and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government.
CLAYTON, N.C. — Ardmore Residential has purchased 20 acres in Clayton to develop Ardmore at Flowers, a planned 396-unit apartment community in the Raleigh-Durham area. The property will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans with modern kitchens, designer cabinetry and wood-style vinyl flooring. Communal amenities will include a cyber café, two fitness centers, two pools, several grilling areas, a clubhouse and a dog park. The developer expects to break ground on the community in the spring. Greensboro, N.C.-based Ardmore acquired the land from Southwest Crossroads Holdings LLC for $6.5 million. Sarah Godwin and John Mikels of JLL worked in partnership with John Koonce of York Properties to represent the seller in the transaction.
Slate Grocery REIT to Acquire Five Grocery-Anchored Properties in Three States for $54.3M
by Alex Tostado
TORONTO — Slate Grocery REIT has entered into an agreement to acquire five grocery-anchored shopping centers in North Carolina, Florida and Georgia for $54.3 million. The five assets comprise 396,471 square feet and were 95 percent leased at the time of sale. The three North Carolina properties are Bells Fork, a 71,666-square-foot center in Greenville anchored by Harris Teeter; Tanglewood Commons, a 78,520-square-foot property in Winston-Salem anchored by Harris Teeter; and Westin Center, a 66,890-square-foot, Food Lion-anchored asset in Fayetteville. The Florida property is Mission Hills, an 85,078-square-foot property in Naples anchored by Winn-Dixie. The fifth property is Parkway Station, a 94,317-square-foot, Kroger-anchored retail center in Atlanta. The sale is expected to close in the first quarter of this year. The seller(s) was not disclosed.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) Rent Payment Tracker has found that 76.6 percent of residents made full or partial January rent payments as of Jan. 6. Washington, D.C.-based NMHC surveyed its network of 11.3 million professionally managed apartment units across the country. The most recent figure is a 120-basis point increase over Dec. 6, 2020, when 75.4 percent of households made partial or full payments. January 2021, however, showed a 170-basis point decrease — or 192,613 households — from January 2020. “While there is light at the end of the tunnel with the rollout of vaccines, the country and the multifamily industry continue to face steep challenges,” says Doug Bibby, president of NMHC. “The [U.S. Congress’] recently passed COVID relief package included $25 billion in desperately needed rental assistance, as well as expanded unemployment insurance. Now, it is critical that those funds reach those in need as quickly and efficiently as possible.” The NMHC Rent Payment Tracker is powered by Entrata, MRI Software, RealPage, ResMan and Yardi.