Southeast

HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — Choice Hotels Internationals Inc. has opened a new Everhome Suites Hotel in Huntsville. The project team includes architect Woolpert and general contractor Integrated Construction. An entity doing business as EHS Huntsville LLC was the developer. Located at 5581 Holmes Ave., Everhome Suites Huntsville offers access to the University of Alabama in Huntsville, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and the city’s medical district. The hotel features 98 rooms, including amenities such as fully equipped kitchens, spa-style bathrooms, weekly housekeeping services, a multipurpose lobby, an outdoor communal space with barbeque grills, firepits and green spaces, 24/7 fitness center and 24/7 laundry facilities. Additionally, the hotel offers a 24/7 self-serve Homebase Market with food, beverages and groceries. Everhome Suites Huntsville is one of three Everhome Suites opened by Choice Hotels recently, with other locations in Chandler, Ariz., and Temecula, Calif. Everhome Suites is on track to have 25 hotels open by the end of the year, with 20 currently under construction and more than 65 hotels in the development pipeline.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has reported that employment growth totaled 228,000 in March, rising above the 140,000-figure projected by Dow Jones economists, according to CNBC. March job growth nearly doubled the previous month’s total, which was revised down by 34,000 to 117,000. The BLS also revised January’s job growth down by 14,000, from 125,000 to 111,000. The U.S. unemployment rate in March was 4.2 percent, up slightly from 4.1 percent in February. In March, job gains were concentrated in the healthcare, social assistance and transportation and warehousing sectors. More specifically, the healthcare sector added 54,000 jobs, including gains in ambulatory health services (+20,000), hospitals (+17,000) and nursing and residential care facilities (+17,000). Social assistance increased by 24,000 jobs, higher than the average monthly gain of 19,000 over the previous 12 months. Retail trade added 24,000 jobs in March — as workers returned from strike — to contribute to a gain in food-and-beverage retailers (+21,000). On the contrary, general merchandise retailers lost 5,000 jobs since February. The transportation and warehousing sector contributed 23,000 overall jobs, roughly double the prior 12-month average gain of 12,000. Meanwhile, a job loss in warehousing and storage (-9,000) partially offset …

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Residences at The Streets of St. Charles

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA. — Morgan Properties has acquired a portfolio of 3,054 apartment units across 11 communities in eight states. Chicago-based Trilogy Real Estate Group was the seller in the deal, which was valued at $501 million. The communities — which are located in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma and Tennessee — were built between 1989 and 2018. Adam Doneger and Josh King of Newmark brokered the sale of 10 of the communities in the portfolio, while Walker & Dunlop brokered the sale of one property. Morgan Properties states that the firm plans to implement a value-add strategy to increase the marketability and comfort of the properties. Interior upgrades will include the installation of new flooring, appliances, cabinets and countertops, as well as smart home features. The new owner will also expand and refresh the onsite amenities. The acquisition expands Morgan Properties’ apartment holdings to more than 100,000 units across the nation. The Conshohocken-based development and investment firm now owns and operates roughly 360 communities in 22 states. “As we continue to strategically expand our national portfolio, we remain selective and opportunistic in this environment,” said Jonathan Morgan and Jason Morgan, co-presidents of Morgan Properties. “Morgan Properties has a proven …

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ATLANTA — HOA Restaurant Group, parent company of restaurant chain Hooters, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, entering into a Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) that will facilitate the continued operation of the company’s restaurants under new ownership. Hooters restaurants will continue to operate as usual throughout the bankruptcy process. A partnership between two existing Hooters franchisees, Hooters Inc. and Hoot Owl Restaurants, reached an agreement with Hooters of America (HOA) to acquire more than 100 HOA-owned Hooters restaurants, which, when added with the franchisees’ existing holdings, will account for approximately 70 percent of Hooters’ domestic locations. Upon completion of the Chapter 11 process, all Hooters locations will be franchisee-owned. Hooters Brand Management (HBM) will provide most of the franchise support for the company, including oversight of the national ad fund, the central purchasing organization and franchise development and support. North Point Mergers & Acquisitions represented the buying group, Hooters Inc. and Hoot Owl Restaurants, while Morrison & Foerster LLP is serving as their legal counsel.

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ATLANTA — Shorenstein Investment Advisors has begun capital improvements at 14th & Spring, a 12-story, 324,000-square-foot office building located at 1150 Spring St. NW in Midtown Atlanta. The renovations include a complete repositioning of the lobby and expanded first-floor amenities, including an onsite café and bar, fitness center, conference center and the connected outdoor terrace. The overhaul will also include the build-out of a full floor of speculative office suites on the third floor totaling 28,500 square feet. Locally based law firm Cushing, Morris, Armbruster, & Montgomery LLP has preleased one of the new spec suites, with plans to relocate from its current downtown office this summer. Additionally, Shorenstein has partnered with George Banks for a new eatery at 14th & Spring. Shorenstein has owned the office building since July 2024 and has since executed 100,000 square feet of leases, including HTNB Corp.’s three-floor lease last fall. The office building was delivered in 2022. ASD | SKY is serving as the design architect for the lobby repositioning and first-floor amenity package, while Murphy Meyers is the design architect for the spec suites. Jeff Keppen, Kyle Kenyon and Nicole Goldsmith of CBRE are the exclusive leasing agents for the property.

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MIAMI — Los Angeles-based Metrobloks has purchased four acres at 500 N.W. 137th Ave. in Miami’s Airport West submarket. The firm plans to develop a 15.2-megawatt data center at the site, which is situated at the intersection of Northwest 6th Street and 137th Avenue. Matthew Bittel and Stuart Gordon of Cushman & Wakefield represented Metrobloks in the land sale. Carlos Gaviria of Transwestern Real Estate Services represented the previous land owner, Sagard Real Estate. Metrobloks plans to begin operations at the new multi-tenant, AI-ready data center by the end of 2026.

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LAGRANGE, GA. — Ackerman/Pioneer Land Advisory Group has arranged the $1.5 million sale of a two-acre site within Selig Enterprises’ Sola mixed-use development in LaGrange. The buyer, Noble Investment Group, plans to develop a 124-room, four-story StudioRes by Marriott hotel at the site. Located at 101 Timberwolf Drive, which is 69 miles southwest of Atlanta via I-85, the property will be situated near Great Wolf Lodge Water Park. John Speros, J.T. Speros and Kyle Gable of Ackerman/Pioneer Land represented Noble Investment in the land acquisition.

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MCDONOUGH, GA. — Halpern Enterprises has completed a 6,486-square-foot, multi-tenant retail strip center located at 5905 E. Lake Parkway in McDonough, a southern suburb of Atlanta. The three-tenant property is part of the 20-acre North McDonough Village mixed-use development. The property features a 2,486-square-foot Starbucks Coffee with a drive-thru, a 2,000-square-foot available space and a 2,000-square-foot dentist’s office. Starbucks recently opened for business at the center on a 10-year lease. Brad Oppenheimer led the project on behalf of Halpern and secured the lease with Starbucks. Palmer Bayless of Emerge Real Estate Services represented Starbucks in the lease negotiations.

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MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Duke University Health System (Duke Health), a Durham, N.C.-based healthcare affiliate of Duke University, has acquired Lake Norman Regional Medical Center, an acute-care hospital in the Charlotte suburb of Mooresville, for $284 million. Formerly owned by subsidiaries of Tennessee-based Community Health Systems Inc., the 123-bed facility will now operate as Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital. “We have a bright future ahead and look forward to bringing the excellence and innovation of Duke Health to enhance the care offered at Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital and clinics,” says Craig Albanese, CEO of Duke Health. Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital offers 24-hour emergency care, labor and delivery services, cardiology, surgical and orthopedic care and an outpatient imaging center. The hospital has been operating since 1926 when it opened as Lowrance Hospital. The property comprises a main 171,000-square-foot hospital building and a separate 6,200-square-foot outpatient facility. Over the next several months, the hospital’s electronic medical records will be integrated into Duke Health’s system for patients to receive full access to the provider’s specialty care. Employees and providers at the hospital were also offered jobs with Duke Health to “enable a seamless transition for patients to have continued access to the providers, …

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ATLANTA — Atlanta Braves Holdings Inc., owner and operator of the Atlanta Braves MLB team, The Battery Atlanta mixed-use development and Truist Park in Cobb County, has purchased an adjacent 763,465-square-foot office complex. The property, called Pennant Park, is situated on approximately 34 acres and comprises six office buildings and more than 2,700 parking spaces. The seller, Rubenstein Partners, has owned Pennant Park since 2017, the year that the Braves began playing at nearby Truist Park (formerly SunTrust Park). The sales price was not disclosed. The campus was more than 80 percent leased at the time of sale to 24 tenants, including The Home Depot, Juneau Construction Co. and TK Elevator. The acquisition expands the Atlanta Braves Holdings’ real estate portfolio by 30 percent. Pennant Park comprises two components: Pennant Commons (four buildings and a communal plaza known as The Quad) and Pennant View (two buildings). Amenities at the office park include 24-hour security, onsite engineering, a 48-person conference center, two fitness centers, onsite car detailing services, two cafés, Social Kitchen tenant lounge and cafe, a bocce ball court, putting green, multi-sport game court, helipad, lake with jogging trail and a Cobb Community Transit System bus stop.

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