WASHINGTON, D.C. — Another 900,000 Americans have filed first-time unemployment insurance claims for the week ending Jan. 16, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. The most recent figure is a decrease of 39,000 claims from the previous week’s revised level of 926,000, but still remains higher than pre-pandemic levels. Initial weekly claims hovered around 200,000 in January and February of last year. The four-week moving average increased by 23,500 claims to 848,000 for the week ending Jan. 16. Continuing claims — for which data lags a week — totaled just under 5.1 million for the week ending Jan. 9. The number is a 127,000-claim decrease from the week ending Jan. 2.
BOCA RATON, FLA. — North American Development Group will construct 252 for-rent single-family homes at the former site of Mizner Trail Golf Course in Boca Raton. The West Palm Beach, Fla.-based developer acquired the 127 acres from residential and resort developer Concord Wilshire Capital for $33.2 million. Concord Wilshire will have a participation interest in the development, which will be located on the west and east sides of Camino Del Mar between Camino Real and SW 18th Street. The single-family homes and townhomes will be divided into seven gated communities supported by one common amenity center. Kevin O’Grady of Concord Summit Capital advised Concord Wilshire in the land sale. A timeline for construction was not disclosed.
TOWN N’ COUNTRY, FLA. — Ready Capital has closed a $12 million acquisition loan for a 176-unit fractured condominium community in Town N’ Country. The undisclosed borrower will use the funds to acquire 110 units and buy out the remaining units, as well as renovate and de-convert the property into a market-rate multifamily property. Capital improvements include upgrading countertops, appliances and lighting, in addition to upgrading the roof, landscaping, amenities and exterior paint. Ready Capital closed the non-recourse, interest-only, floating-rate loan which features a 36-month term, two extension options and flexible prepayment options.
PORT ST. LUCIE, FLA. — Sansone Group and Argos Capital Partners will develop Legacy Park at Tradition in Port St. Lucie. The distribution park will comprise 375 acres that will house eight industrial buildings and span 3.2 million square feet upon full buildout, which is slated for 2023. In December, the developers acquired the first piece of land for the project. The first building in the park will be a 245,000-square-foot, build-to-suit distribution center for an undisclosed tenant. St. Louis-based Sansone Group expects to deliver the asset by the end of the year. Arco/Murray is the general contractor and architect for the park. Culpepper & Terpening Inc. is the civil engineer.
BOCA RATON, FLA. — ODP Corp. (Nasdaq: ODP), the parent company of Office Depot, has rejected USR Parent Inc.’s off-market transaction offer to acquire the Boca Raton-based retailer. USR, the parent company of office products retailer Staples and affiliate of Sycamore Partners, offered to buy ODP for $40 per share in an all-cash deal that would equate to roughly $2.1 billion. In a letter to Stefan Kaluzny, managing director of Sycamore Partners and a member of the board of directors at USR, ODP’s chairman of the board of directors Joseph Vassalluzzo said the company is not opposed to selling, but “what we do not plan to do, however, is engage in a transaction that, as history has shown, would likely result in a prolonged and expensive regulatory review process with no guarantee of success.” In the letter, Vassalluzzo did not rule out the merger altogether, stating: “In addition, we are open to combining our retail and consumer-facing ecommerce operations with Staples under the right set of circumstances and on mutually acceptable terms.” ODP owns Office Depot, OfficeMax and IT-services business CompuCom. ODP has been in the process of selling CompuCom since November 2020. According to The Wall Street Journal, USR …
CLEMSON, S.C. — University Partners has acquired Grandmarc, a 494-bed student housing community located near Clemson University in South Carolina. The property was built in 2017 and offers two- and four-bedroom units with bed-to-bath parity, as well as 9,000 square feet of retail space. Communal amenities include a pool and hot tub, 24-hour fitness center, clubhouse, private study rooms and a sand volleyball court. University Partners will oversee management of the community. Ryan Lang, Jack Brett and Ben Harkrider of Newmark brokered the transaction. The seller and terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
ORLANDO, FLA. — JLL has negotiated the $9.1 million sale of Southgate Shopping Center, a 144,052-square-foot retail property in Orlando. Aldi anchors the center, which was 92 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including AutoZone, dd’s Discount’s, Aaron’s and Value Pawn. Additionally, the property can be expanded with the addition of a 6,000-square-foot pad site and drive-thru ATM development opportunity. The asset spans 17 acres and is located at 4649 S. Orange Blossom Trail, four miles south of downtown Orlando. Brad Peterson, Whitaker Leonhardt and Tommy Isola of JLL represented the seller, Marx Realty, in the transaction. An undisclosed Texas-based real estate company purchased the property.
WYNNE, ARK. — Goldman Investment Advisors has brokered the $4.1 million sale of Handy Rentals, a 96,455-square-foot self-storage property in Wynne. The property spans nine acres and is located at 1306 S. Falls Blvd., 49 miles west of downtown Memphis. Milwaukee-based Bank Five Nine provided acquisition financing to the buyer, Wynne Properties Group. Larry Goldman of Goldman Investment Advisors represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Goldman Investment Advisors is an affiliate of Denver-based Argus Self Storage Advisors.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Berkadia has arranged the sales of two apartment communities totaling $68.7 million in Charlotte. Miami-based One Real Estate Investment bought the 310-unit Kelston Apartments and the 240-unit Avalon Apartments from an undisclosed seller(s). Kelston was built in 1986 and is located at 1207 Kelston Place, seven miles east of downtown Charlotte. The property offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. The buyer plans to upgrade the clubhouse, fitness center, cyber café and pool. Built in 1999, Avalon Apartments is situated at 6000 Regal Estate Lane, less than one mile from Kelston Apartments. Avalon also offers one- through three-bedroom floor plans. Shared amenities include a renovated clubhouse, coffee and tea bar, media and entertainment lounge, pool table, fitness center and a dog spa. Voya Financial provided a three-year, interest-only loan with a floating interest rate for the Kelston acquisition. Berkadia provided a 10-year, fixed-rate Fannie Mae loan for the Avalon purchase. Mitch Sinberg and Brad Williamson of Berkadia originated both acquisition loans, which totaled $51.4 million. Additionally, Noam Franklin, Chinmay Bhatt and Cody Kirkpatrick of Berkadia arranged MLG Capital as a joint venture equity partner for One Real Estate Investment’s acquisition of Avalon. MLG Capital invested $13.1 million …
GAITHERSBURG, MD. — Alfred Weissman Real Estate LLC has completed the renovation of DoubleTree by Hilton Washington, D.C. North/ Gaithersburg, a 298-room hotel in Gaithersburg. The renovations included reconfiguring the lobby, introducing farm-to-table restaurant Knife & Fork, adding a Hertz car rental office on the premises and reconfiguring parking to eliminate certain parking restrictions. The developer also upgraded the hotel’s 16,356 square feet of meeting space with new vinyl flooring, carpeting and lighting. The hotel also features a 24/7 fitness center, pool and dry-cleaning services. Marshall Hotels & Resorts manages the property.