ACWORTH, GA. — Dermody Properties will break ground in July on LogistiCenter at New McEver, a 176,463-square-foot industrial building in Acworth. Dermody recently acquired the 12.3-acre plot on New McEver Road, two miles southeast of downtown Acworth and 30 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta. The Cobb County property will offer build-to-suit office space and feature 34 dock-high doors, two drive-in doors, 32-foot clear heights, 168 car parking spaces, a 130- to 185-foot truck court, six-inch reinforced concrete floor, tilt-up concrete panel construction and an ESFR fire protection system. Austin Brannen and Matt Bentley of NAI Brannen Goddard represented Dermody Properties in the acquisition of land and will be the leasing brokers for the project. Terms of the land sale were not disclosed.
Southeast
Housing Trust Group Breaks Ground on 96-Unit Affordable Housing Property in Tallahassee
by Alex Tostado
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. — Housing Trust Group (HTG) has broken ground on Lafayette Gardens, a planned 96-unit affordable housing community in Tallahassee. The property will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans with rents ranging from $315 to $930 per month. The units will be reserved for residents earning at or below 33 percent of area median income (AMI) or 60 percent of AMI. Units will range in size from 709 square feet to 1,159 square feet. Communal amenities will include a clubhouse, pool, playground, media center, fitness center and a biking/walking trail. Residents will also have access to employment assistance, financial management and literacy services onsite. Hennessy Construction Services is the general contractor, Fugleberg Koch is the architect, Inovia Group is the civil engineer, Stiles Interiors is the interior designer and Wood + Partners is the landscape architect. HTG expects to open the community in June 2021. Chase Bank provided an initial $15 million construction loan, Raymond James provided $16.1 million in 9 percent low income housing tax credit (LIHTC) equity and Walker & Dunlop provided a $4.8 million Freddie Mac permanent loan for the development.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Law firm Wiley Rein LLP has signed a 166,000-square-foot office lease for its new headquarters at 2050 M St. in Washington, D.C. The law firm will occupy the third through seventh floors of the 11-story, 340,000-square-foot building, which is now 81 percent leased. The owner of the property, Tishman Speyer, delivered the asset earlier this year. The office space is part of the larger CBS Washington, D.C. bureau. As part of the development process, new CBS studios were constructed with a separate entrance. The building is located less than one mile from downtown D.C. and Dupont Circle. Lou Christopher, Jordan Brainard, Tim Dempsey and Greg Maurer-Hollaender of CBRE represented the tenant in the negotiation.
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — CBRE has negotiated the $10.6 million sale of the Old Southeast Portfolio, a seven-property multifamily portfolio in St. Petersburg. The portfolio traded at $83,730 per unit, or a 5.3 percent cap rate. The buyer, Otto Investment Group, is planning both interior and exterior renovations across all seven properties. The seller, Second Half Properties, maintained 95 percent rent collection in April and May, according to CBRE. The properties include Old Southeast Apartments, Tropical Shores, The Palms Apartments, Bayside Apartments, Park View Apartments, Lakewood Apartments and Uptown St. Petersburg. The communities are roughly 25 miles southwest of downtown Tampa. Joseph Thavis and Cameron Barbas of CBRE represented both the buyer and seller in the transaction.
Cushman & Wakefield Arranges 152,390 SF Industrial Lease in Royal Palm Beach, Florida
by Alex Tostado
ROYAL PALM BEACH, FLA. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged a 152,390-square-foot industrial lease renewal for Millwork Sales in Royal Palm Beach. The property spans 24 acres and is located at 700 103rd Ave., 13 miles west of downtown West Palm Beach. The building features 40-foot-by-48-foot column spacing, a 60-foot-by-48-foot loading bay, energy-efficient lighting and hurricane impact-resistant windows. Christopher Thomson, Rick Etner Jr., Chris Metzger and Matthew McAllister of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the transaction. Millwork Sales is a producer of doors, millwork and other interior housing products. The landlord was not disclosed.
ATLANTA — Hunt Development Group has started construction of Phase I of Herndon Square, a 12-acre, mixed-use project in downtown Atlanta. Upon full build-out, the project will feature 700 residential units, 40,000 square feet of retail space and 20,000 square feet of community space open to the general public. The site is located on Northside Drive, approximately one mile north of Mercedes-Benz Arena, Philips Arena, Centennial Olympic Park and the other attractions in the heart of the city. The project, a redevelopment of the former Herndon Homes affordable community, will feature a mix of affordable and market-rate apartments and for-sale townhomes. Development costs are estimated at $166 million. Phase I of the project will include a five-story affordable housing building for seniors totaling 97 units, as well as an associated surface parking lot. Phase II will include a residential building and mixed-use building with a grocery store as the ground-floor anchor. Phase III will add another residential building and a second mixed-use building with ground-floor retail and apartments above, as well as the Herndon Green public outdoor area and a community supportive services building. Phase IV will add a final apartment building, while the fifth and final phase will add …
D.C.’s Tax Rate Maze: An Imperfect System Has Increased Property Taxes for Many Real Estate Owners
by John Nelson
By Sydney Bardouil, Esq. If you own or manage real property in the District of Columbia and are wondering why your real estate tax bill has gone up in recent years, you are not alone. One common culprit is rising assessed value, but that may not be the main or only source of an increase. A less obvious contributor may be a new, different, or incorrect tax rate. Since tax rates vary greatly depending on a property’s use, staying diligent when it comes to your real estate’s tax class and billed rate is critical. The District of Columbia applies differing tax rates to residential, commercial, mixed-use, vacant and blighted properties. Why is this important? Because the classification can make a considerable difference in annual tax liability – even for two properties with identical assessment values. For example, a multifamily complex assessed at $20 million incurs a tax liability of $170,000 per year while the same property, if designated as blighted, incurs an annual tax liability almost twelve times greater at $2 million. Therefore, the assessed value is just one piece of the puzzle. Keeping a sharp eye on a property’s tax bill for the accuracy of any tax rate changes …
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Albany Road Real Estate Partners has sold an industrial portfolio comprising four properties in metro Charlotte for $75.5 million. The first property, Overlook 77, totals three buildings at 5521 Lakeview Road in Charlotte. The portfolio includes two parks on the north side: International Corporate Center, a five-building property located at 4601 Corporate Drive in Concord, and the three-building Lakefield Corporate Center located at 307 Oates Road in Mooresville. The final property is the two-building SouthCross Corporate Center in Rock Hill, S.C. The property is situated at 3042 SouthCross Blvd., 21 miles southwest of downtown Charlotte. Patrick Gildea, Matt Smith, Anne Johnson, Bryan Crutcher, and Grayson Hawkins of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction. The buyer, CIP Real Estate, retained Anne Johnson and Bryan Crutcher of CBRE to handle leasing efforts for the portfolio.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) Rent Payment Tracker found that as of June 6, 80.8 percent of apartment households paid rent for the month of June. The Washington, D.C.-based organization reports that the June figure is a 0.6 percent increase over May 6, but it is a 0.7 percent decrease from this point in June 2019. Nearly 20 percent of households with at-risk wages in small multifamily apartments may have difficulty paying rent, according to a study published June 11 by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. In addition, 32 percent of renter respondents to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, conducted from May 28 to June 2, reported “no or slight confidence” in their ability to pay next month’s rent. “While our Rent Payment Tracker metric continues to show the resilience and strength of the professionally managed apartment industry, it does not necessarily tell the whole story, as it doesn’t capture rent payments for smaller landlords or for affordable and subsidized properties,” says Doug Bibby, president of NMHC. The organization surveyed apartment management companies responsible for 11.4 million units nationwide. There are 21.4 million apartments nationwide in buildings with more than five units, …
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — CBRE has arranged the $17 million sale of Riviera Parkway Apartments, a 134-unit waterfront community in Jacksonville. Situated along the St. Johns River, the property, which was origianlly built in 1937, offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Communal amenities include a pool, dog park and laundry facilities. The asset is located at 2798 St. Johns Ave., four miles southwest of downtown Jacksonville. Joe Ayers and Cliff Taylor of CBRE represented the seller, KAE Apartments, in the transaction. Maryland Management Co. acquired the property.