At the mid-year mark, industrial occupancy in the greater Richmond area remains strong, closing with an overall occupancy rate of 92 percent in the categories being tracked (Classes A and B, as well as select Class C vacant and investor-owned product with a minimum of 40,000 square feet). Class A occupancy decreased slightly to 95 percent at the end of the second quarter, down 100 basis points from 96 percent at the end of the first quarter. The largest addition to the vacant Class A inventory is a 226,000-square-foot former GSA facility in Chesterfield County. Class B occupancy experienced an increase to 92 percent, up from 90 percent at the end of the first quarter. CoStar Group reports overall industrial occupancy at 95 percent for product of all sizes, including investor-owned facilities but excluding flex space (minimum 50 percent office). Richmond’s strategic Mid-Atlantic location along Interstate 95 provides access to 55 percent of the nation’s consumers within two days’ delivery by truck. In addition to being the northernmost right to work state on the Eastern seaboard, Virginia has been ranked as the top state for business by CNBC. Richmond is located approximately 90 miles from the Port of Virginia in …
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Pratt & Whitney, a division of Raytheon Technologies Corp., will invest $650 million for its new turbine airfoil production facility in Asheville. East Hartford, Conn.-based Pratt & Whitney designs, manufactures and services aircraft and helicopter engines, as well as auxiliary power units for the aerospace industry. The new facility will span 1 million square feet and is expected to house 800 employees by 2027. According to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, the annual salary at the facility can reach $68,000 per year. The current average salary in Buncombe County is $43,134 per year. North Carolina is the second fastest growing aerospace hub in the United States, according to the Economic Development Partnership o North Carolina. Companies that operate in the Tar Heel State include GE Aviation, Lockheed Martin, Honeywell and Spirit AeroSystems. The North Carolina Economic Investment Committee approved a job development investment grant (JDIG) for the project. Under the JDIG, the state could reimburse Pratt & Whitney up to $15.5 million over the next 12 years. Additionally, under the JDIG, the firm will transfer $5.2 million into the state’s Industrial Development Fund — Utility Account for use by rural communities elsewhere in the state. A timeline …
RESTON, VA. — A joint venture between Enterprise Community Development (ECD) and Fellowship Square Foundation has broken ground on Lake Anne House, an $86 million affordable seniors housing community in Reston. The property will offer 240 units, with floor plans ranging from studio to two-bedroom layouts. The units will be available to seniors who earn at or below 60 percent of the area median income (AMI). Each resident will pay no more than 30 percent of their income toward their housing costs, including rent and a utility allowance. Communal amenities will include a fitness center, arts and crafts room, social hall, game room and an outdoor terrace. The developers expect to deliver the community in summer 2022. Financing for Lake Anne House comes from $46.5 million in tax-exempt bond financing from Virginia Housing, as well as a $700,000 loan from the Virginia Housing Trust Fund. Enterprise Housing Credit Investments (EHCI) and Capital One provided $21.5 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity, the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA) provided $3 million in Blueprint Funding and EHCI affiliate Enterprise Community Loan Fund provided $7.2 million in bridge financing. Virginia Community Capital provided $1 million in predevelopment financing early in …
TAMPA, FLA. — Two SIOR veterans have launched NAI THOR Commercial Group in Tampa. Brad Berzins and Andy Georgelakos, former executives with NAI KLNB in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. corridor, are leading the office. NAI THOR will service the Tampa and Southwest Florida region, namely Tampa, Sarasota, Fort Myers and Naples. Also joining the Tampa office is Kevin Fitzgerald, the former head of NAI Southwest Florida. Fitzgerald has more than 35 years of commercial real estate experience. NAI THOR is the 12th NAI Global office in Florida. “Our research and instincts have pointed us to this section of the country and we firmly believe economic, infrastructure and societal forces have aligned to bring unprecedented growth to this region,” says Georgelakos. “We intend to be extremely aggressive in attracting the top brokerage talent to our team and quickly mobilizing to capitalize upon emerging real estate opportunities.” Berzins has worked in the Mid-Atlantic region for 20 years and has completed transactions valued at more than $1 billion throughout his career. Georgelakos served as president of NAI KLNB from 2000 to 2017. He helped grow the company from two to four offices throughout the Baltimore-Washington, D.C.-Northern Virginia region. The firm also grew to more …
ATLANTA — QTS Realty Trust has completed the expansion of QTS Atlanta-Metro Data Center 2 (DC2), a 495,000-square-foot data center in Atlanta. The facility features 240,000 square feet of data hall space. QTS began the expansion in November 2019. DC2 is situated on QTS’ 95-acre campus and adjacent to Atlanta-Metro Data Center 1 (DC1), four miles northwest of downtown Atlanta. QTS signed two undisclosed tenants for the facility. DC2 supports 72 megawatts of power capacity, bringing the QTS campus to a more than 200-megawatt capacity. At full buildout, QTS expects to support more than 275 megawatts of power capacity.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Lebolo Construction Management Inc. will open a new branch office in Orlando. The company will focus on the retail, office, educational, industrial, medical and hospitability sectors. Lebolo Construction has worked with private clients such as Wells Fargo and Divine Savior Academy, as well as public clients such as Palm Beach International Airport and Palm Beach State College. Boynton Beach, Fla.-based Lebolo is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. This is Lebolo’s third office overall, having opened its first branch location in Tampa in 2011.
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. — A joint venture between The Preiss Co. and a private equity fund advised by Crow Holdings Capital has acquired Quantum on West Call, a 752-bed student housing community located near Florida State University in Tallahassee. The property offers one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom, fully furnished units with bed-to-bath parity. Communal amenities include a 24-hour fitness center, pool, yoga center, clubhouse, theater, cyber lounge, individual study nooks, group study spaces and a sundeck with hammocks and grilling stations. The new ownership plans to begin renovations on half of the 225 units to upgrade vinyl plank flooring in the common areas and improve internet connectivity. Terms of the transaction and the seller were not disclosed.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment insurance fell to 787,000 for the week ending Oct. 17, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The most recent figure is the lowest weekly total since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March but is still about four times higher than February of this year when totals hovered around 200,000. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected claims to reach 875,000 for the week. The four-week moving average fell by nearly 1.1 million claims to just over 10 million. Continuing claims, for which data is a week behind, decreased by 1 million to 8.4 million.
RINCON, GA. — Chesterfield and development partner Stonemont Financial have signed Pacific Cycle Inc. to a 1.1 million-square-foot industrial lease within Georgia International Trade Center in Rincon. Pacific Cycle is the parent company of bicycle brands including Schwinn, Mongoose and Kid Trax. The tenant fully occupies Building 2B of the property, which is situated at 2004 Trade Center Parkway, 16 miles from the Port of Savannah. Chesterfield and Stonemont recently delivered Phase I of Georgia International Trade Center, which comprises four buildings totaling 2.4 million square feet. Building 2B is the largest facility in Phase I. The developers are underway on Phase II, which will comprise three buildings spanning nearly 2 million square feet.
DUNWOODY, GA. — Atlantic | Pacific Cos. (A|P) has purchased The Parc at Dunwoody Apartments, a 312-unit complex in Dunwoody. The property offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans ranging from 718 to 1,346 square feet. Communal amenities include a pavilion, fitness center, playground and two pools. The asset is situated at 1067 Pitts Road, 17 miles north of downtown Atlanta. The Miami-based buyer purchased the community via its equity fund, Blue Atlantic Partners Fund III. A|P affiliate Atlantic | Pacific Management will manage the property and handle the leasing efforts. A|P plans to implement a multimillion-dollar renovation to upgrade unit interiors with quartz countertops, enhance amenity spaces and improve the exterior of the community. The sales price and seller were not disclosed.