Southeast

CARY, N.C. — Hines and Columbia Development have broken ground on Fenton, a 69-acre mixed-use project in Cary that is expected to be complete in spring 2022. In addition to the groundbreaking, the developers also announced that Arhaus has preleased 17,974 square feet at Fenton. The retail portion is now 73 percent preleased and includes other retailers such as Wegmans, CMX CineBistro, Sephora, Free People and Bailey’s Fine Jewelry. Fenton is located at the intersection of Interstate 40 and Cary Towne Boulevard, three miles from downtown Cary and eight miles southwest of downtown Raleigh. At full buildout, the property will include approximately 345,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space, 170,000 square feet of office space, The Canopy at Fenton and a 175-room boutique hotel.

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BOWLING GREEN, KY. — Georgia-Pacific, a manufacturer of paper and wood products, has opened a $100 million Dixie manufacturing facility in Bowling Green. Georgia-Pacific began the expansion in 2019. The project included adding an 80,000-square-foot operations building, a new industrial printer and additional plate-forming presses. More than 70 full-time jobs were added due to the expansion, bringing the number of employees at the plant to more than 200. The plant was originally built in 1991. The facility accounts for approximately 25 percent of all paper plates and bowls that Georgia-Pacific produces. The Atlanta-based company also operates a plant in Lexington, Ky.

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ATLANTA — The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) has reported that its third-quarter sales reached $33.5 billion, a 23.2 percent increase over third-quarter sales for 2019. Net earnings for the third quarter were $3.4 billion, or $3.18 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $2.8 billion, or $2.53 per diluted share, in the same fiscal period of 2019. The Atlanta-based retailer’s third quarter ended on Oct. 31. Chairman and CEO Craig Menear cited demand for home improvement projects in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic as a steady driver for increased sales. Menear says sales have reached $15 billion through the first nine months of the company’s fiscal year. As of the end of its third quarter, Home Depot operated 1,986 stores in the United States and territories. In addition to reporting third-quarter earnings, The Home Depot also announced it will invest $1 billion in permanent compensation for hourly associates. Throughout the pandemic, the company has taken actions to support its employees, including temporary weekly bonuses and offering extended paid time off. The Home Depot’s stock price closed Monday at $279.96 per share, up from $238.85 a year ago.

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ATLANTA — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged an $89.7 million refinancing loan for Resurgens Plaza, a 26-story, 402,929-square-foot office tower in Atlanta’s Buckhead District. The property is 88 percent leased to 21 tenants. The borrower and landlord, a joint venture between Zeller Realty Group and Partners Group, acquired the asset in late 2017. The owners implemented an $8.2 million capital improvement program to enhance the elevators and conference spaces, add a rooftop deck and renovate the lobby. Other amenities include bike storage, a 6,000-square-foot fitness center, game lounge and a bistro. Aareal Capital Corp. provided the loan. Specific loan terms were not disclosed.

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BENTONVILLE, ARK. — Walmart (NYSE: WMT) has reported that its third-quarter e-commerce sales grew 79 percent from the same period a year ago. Comparable sales, defined as those from stores that operated during the entire 12-month fiscal year, went up 6.4 percent. The Bentonville-based retailer’s revenue during its fiscal third quarter reached $134.7 billion, a 5.2 percent increase over the same time period a year ago. Walmart’s third quarter ended on Oct. 31. The company’s stock price closed Monday at $152.69 per share, up from $120.25 per share one year ago.

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Like many industries, the U.S. affordable housing sector has undergone a sea change stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Processes and protocols have changed for affordable housing professionals, some perhaps permanently. Closings are conducted virtually and some of the front-end work such as appraisals and subsidy applications look completely different than a year ago. The “new normal” that industry professionals are navigating has had a few stops and starts since March, but the sector is now in a place of relative comfort, and that’s led to investment sales picking up, according to Kevin Morris, senior director of Colliers International’s Affordable Housing Services team. “By trial and error, we’ve had to figure out systems and programs to do business,” said Morris, who is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “We’ve gone through these couple of stages, and now we’re at a point where we can implement and have implemented systems and programs that will take us through this particular pandemic. We’re transacting now, and so in that regard it is kind of back to normal.” Morris was one of six panelists that comprised the broker and lender panel at Affordable Housing Southeast, a webinar hosted by Southeast Real Estate Business magazine. Kyle Shoemaker, …

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Berkadia has provided a $250 million Freddie Mac loan for the refinancing of Meridian at Mt. Vernon Triangle, a 783-unit apartment complex in Washington, D.C. The loan features 10 years of interest-only payments. The property offers studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans, which feature full-size washers and dryers. Communal amenities include underground parking, a fitness center, rooftop pool with sundeck, outdoor lounge and a grilling area. The 14-story community is located at 425 L St. NW, one mile east of downtown D.C. J. Tyler Blue and Paul Wallace of Berkadia originated the loan on behalf of the undisclosed borrower.

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GREENVILLE, S.C. — Michelin North America will invest $100 million in equipment and manufacturing over the next seven years in Greenville. Michelin North America has been headquartered in Greenville since 1985. The France-based tire company employs 9,700 workers in South Carolina, with more than 4,300 of those jobs in Greenville County. As part of the investment agreement with the County, Michelin will continue to pay a set fee rather than taxes for an additional five years. Since opening its first manufacturing facilities in Greenville in 1975, Michelin has invested more than $1 billion in Greenville County, according to County officials.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Office users across the United States added 42 million square feet of office space to the sublease market during the second and third quarters, according to a new report from CoStar Group. As of the end of September, the country’s inventory of office sublease space stood at approximately 157 million square feet, a 44 percent increase from third-quarter 2019. While office users added about 14 million square feet of office space to the sublease supply during the second quarter, growth was even more pronounced during the third quarter, when tenants put some 28.5 million square feet up for sublease. According to a Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas survey, 24 percent of employed Americans were working from home in August due to COVID-19 shutdowns. An additional 18 percent of workers went into the office some days. According to the survey, 8 percent of Americans worked from home full-time prior to the pandemic. CoStar reports that among the biggest users to put sublease space on the market were pharmaceutical giant Sanofi (415,000 square feet in Northern New Jersey); retailer Macy’s (309,660 square feet in New York); insurance company USAA (305,110 square feet in San Antonio); Ebay (212,110 square feet …

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SMYRNA, GA. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the $68.2 million sale of The Eddy at Riverview Landing, a 310-unit multifamily community in Smyrna. The property offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Communal amenities include a fitness center, bike storage, walking trails, dog park and a car charging station. The property is situated along the Chattahoochee River at 6255 Riverview Road SE, 10 miles west of downtown Atlanta. Watson Bryant, Paul Marley and Taylor Bird of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Prestwick Cos., in the transaction. JEM Holdings acquired the asset.

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