WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Biden Administration has announced a $3 billion investment from the Inflation Reduction Act to improve port infrastructure and support an estimated 40,000 “good-paying and union jobs” at 55 ports across 27 states. According to The White House press, U.S. ports employ more than 100,000 union workers. The initiative, named The Clean Ports Program, is headlined by a $147 million investment for the Maryland Port Administration via grants and awards that will support 2,000 jobs, as well as fund the installation of zero-emission equipment, charging infrastructure and power improvements. Biden made the announcement yesterday at the Port of Baltimore, site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in March. The Clean Ports Program is expected to increase the demand for American manufactured electric cargo handling equipment and eliminate more than 3 million metric tons of carbon pollution over the first 10 years of implementation, which is equivalent to 391,220 homes’ energy use for one year. The program will fund new battery-electric and hydrogen-powered cargo handling equipment, drayage trucks, locomotives and vessels, as well as charging/fueling infrastructure and solar power installation.
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — Olympus Property has acquired 930 Central Flats, a 218-unit apartment community located in downtown St. Petersburg. The seller and sales price were not disclosed, but Tampa Bay Business Journal reports the property traded for $81 million. Developed in 2019, the six-story property is situated within the Central Avenue entertainment corridor and adjacent to the $6.5 billion Gas Plant District redevelopment. This transaction marks Olympus Property’s second acquisition in the Tampa Bay area, bringing the owner-operator’s Florida portfolio to 5,500 units. “The property’s unmatched location and upscale amenities align seamlessly with our long-term investment approach,” says Chase Bennett, chief acquisitions officer at Olympus Property.
BLUFFTON, S.C. — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap, has brokered the $18.8 million sale of Bluffton Target Center, a shopping center located in Bluffton, approximately seven miles west of Hilton Head Island. Built in 2001, the property totals 100,314 square feet and was fully leased at the time of sale to tenants including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Staples and Starbucks Coffee. Zach Taylor of IPA represented the seller, an entity doing business as Stafford Bluffton LLC, in the transaction and procured the buyer, Tarantino Properties Inc.
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — Crunch Fitness has opened a new location at Hamilton Place, a shopping mall and mixed-use campus in Chattanooga. The property is owned by locally based and publicly traded CBL Properties. The new fitness venue is one of the final components of the mall’s Sears redevelopment project, which commenced in 2019. Other tenants that have backfilled the former Sears department store include The Cheesecake Factory, Mean Mug Coffeehouse, Malone’s, Dave & Buster’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods and an Aloft by Marriott hotel. Since March, CBL Properties has welcomed eight new concepts at Hamilton Place, including Taco Mamacita, Texas Roadhouse, Mr. Cow, Malone’s, Miniso, Vintage Stock, Dry Goods, Shoe Station, as well as a newly remodeled and expanded Buckle store. Additional openings are expected in 2025.
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — Ballard Designs has opened its first Alabama location in downtown Birmingham. Situated along the city’s Rotary Trail, Ballard’s newest location occupies the street level of the historic Hardwick Building, with restaurants and offices filling the remaining floors and spaces of the former steel factory. Locally based Bayer Properties owns the Hardwick Building and will soon welcome restaurants Epice and Lapeer Steak and Seafood to the property, according to Bham Now. The new Ballard Designs store is set up with several vignettes staged with the brand’s living room and dining room furniture, lighting, rugs, bedding and home décor. The store also includes a fully staffed design center where patrons can meet with one of the retailer’s design consultants. Additionally, Ballard designed and furnished the Hardwick Building’s shared entryway to serve as a waiting area for restaurant goers.
LYNN HAVEN AND TALLAHASSEE, FLA. — CBRE Capital Markets’ Debt & Structured Finance team has arranged three loans totaling $99.7 million for the refinancing for two apartment communities in Lynn Haven and one property in Tallahassee. David Borge of CBRE’s Orlando office secured three 10-year, fixed-rate, non-recourse loans on behalf of the borrower, Tallahassee-based Arbor Properties Inc. The loans included a Fannie Mae loan for Arbor Trace Apartment Homes, a 336-unit multifamily community in Lynn Haven that was built in 2007; a Fannie Mae loan for Arbor Crossing at Buck Lake, a 208-unit multifamily community in Tallahassee that was built in 2017; and a Freddie Mac loan for the construction loan take-out for Arbor Landing at Mill Bayou, a new 178-unit property in Lynn Haven. The loans had full-term interest-only payments and fixed interest rates in the mid-5s, according to CBRE.
CHARLOTTE AND RALEIGH, N.C. — Charleston-based Spandrel Development Partners has delivered two apartment communities in North Carolina totaling 562 units. The properties include Enclave at Radius Dilworth, an eight-story multifamily high-rise in Charlotte’s Dilworth district spanning 274 units, and Mira Raleigh, a 288-unit luxury mid-rise community in the state’s capital. Enclave at Radius Dilworth is the first community to open within the Radius Dilworth development, with the other project including a 26-story high-rise called The Overlook. Spandrel’s development partners on the project include Atalaya Capital Management and Partners Group. The firm has begun leasing Enclave and plans to have first move-ins begin in the fourth quarter. Mira Raleigh is situated on the southern border of the city’s central business district, with first move-ins occurring in June. Monthly rental rates range from $1,534 to $3,153 at Enclave and $1,349 to $3,926 at Mira Raleigh, according to Apartments.com.
MORROW AND DORAVILLE, GA. — JLL has negotiated the sale of two infill industrial properties in the Atlanta suburbs of Morrow and Doraville totaling 253,545 square feet. Jim Freeman, Matt Wirth, Dennis Mitchell and Britton Burdette of JLL represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Faropoint purchased both facilities for an undisclosed price. The properties include a 163,524-square-foot, cross-dock facility located at 48-50 Best Friend Road in Morrow that was fully leased at the time of sale to Currey & Co. Inc., as well as a 90,012-square-foot, rear-load facility located at 1056 Personal Place in Doraville that is fully leased to MWD Logistics Inc.
PORT RICHEY, FLA. — Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the sale of Regency Crossings, an 85,865-square-foot shopping center located in Port Richey, roughly 40 miles northwest of Tampa. Publix anchors the property, which was 90 percent leased at the time of sale. The center was originally built in 1985 and renovated in 2021. PMAT Cos. sold the property to Essential Growth Properties for an undisclosed price. Mark Gilbert, Adam Feinstein and Mitchell Halpern of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction.
PIKESVILLE, MD. — Colliers has secured a $24.5 million loan for the refinancing of Milford Station, a multifamily community located at 19 Warren Park Drive in Pikesville, approximately 15 miles northwest of Baltimore. Bob Beckman of Colliers arranged the non-recourse financing, which features a 30-year term and fixed interest rate of 5.1 percent, on behalf of the borrowers, Gelfund RE Opportunities and GY Properties. Milford Station totals 199 apartments within controlled-access buildings and features complimentary parking.