ASHLAND, VA. — Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans Food Markets Inc. will invest $175 million to establish a new regional distribution operation in Hanover County, 13 miles northeast of Richmond. Located along Sliding Hill and Ashcake roads in Ashland, the new campus will allow the grocer to expand its distribution network on the East Coast and grow its retail footprint, while creating 700 new jobs. Wegmans currently has over 100 stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts and North Carolina. No construction timeline was given for the new Virginia campus. The economic development agency Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) worked with Hanover County and a second economic development agency, the Greater Richmond Partnership, to secure the project. VEDP will administer a $2.4 million grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Hanover County with the project. According to Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s office, the state of Virginia competed directly with the state of North Carolina for the project.
DURHAM, N.C. — Starwood Real Estate Income Trust Inc. a non-traded REIT managed by Starwood Capital Group, has purchased the Exchange on Erwin for $111 million from an affiliate of Ram Realty Advisors. Located at 2610 Erwin Road in Durham, adjacent to Duke University, the mixed-use property contains 265 multifamily units and 96,949 square feet of commercial space. The multifamily property was completed in 2018 and the commercial property, consisting primarily of medical office space, was completed in 2007. The medical office space is fully leased to Duke University medical tenants. The Exchange on Erwin multifamily units were 99 percent occupied and the commercial space was 95 percent leased on the date of sale, resulting in overall occupancy of 98 percent. CBRE|Raleigh’s Howard Jenkins and Ben Kilgore, as well as Kevin Kempf and Mike Burkard of CBRE, represented Ram Realty’s affiliate in the deal.
MIAMI — Aztec Group Inc. has arranged $142 million in agency debt financing for the developer Melo Group’s new Art Plaza development in Miami. Berkadia’s Miami office will act as seller-servicer for the Freddie Mac loan. The 10-year loan features full-term interest-only payment and a fixed interest rate under 3.5 percent. Aztec’s Peter Mekras arranged the financing on behalf of Melo, which is using the loan to refinance an $85 million construction loan for the project. Located at 58 NE 14th St. in Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District, the Art Plaza multifamily tower consists of 667 rental apartments and 15,000 square feet of retail space. The building, which opened in June, is now 95 percent occupied. Located one block from the Metromover School Board station, Art Plaza features a pool, fitness center, social lounge and covered parking.
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Atlanta-based OA Development has sold a five-building office portfolio in Huntersville to Arizona-based healthcare REIT, Healthcare Trust of America Inc., for $81.5 million. The nearly 400,000-square foot office portfolio is located within The Park Huntersville, a mixed-use development situated 12 miles north of Charlotte. JLL’s Ryan Clutter represented OA Development in the sale. OA Development purchased the campus two years ago for $62.5 million. Located adjacent to Novant Hospital, the portfolio was 90.4 percent occupied at the time of sale to tenants including Ensemble Health Partners, Black & Decker Corp. and Covia Holdings Corp. The office portfolio includes a four-story, 123,000-square-foot building; two three-story buildings at 101,500 and 45,000 square feet; and two two-story buildings at 68,000 and 59,000 square feet. The five buildings were developed between 1990 and 2001. The Park Huntersville overall spans 2.6 million square feet.
HIALEAH, FLA. — Terra plans to break ground early next year on 1,369 multifamily units across three master-planned subdivisions in Hialeah, about 20 miles northwest of downtown Miami. Prologis sold the land to Terra for $52 million. The 70-acre development site is situated along NW 170th Street near the border of Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The project will include a series of garden-style apartment buildings with each subdivision centered around a communal clubhouse with pools, resident amenities and fitness centers, while a network of green spaces will create outdoor recreation areas. Pascual, Perez, Kiliddjian Architecture (PPK) is designing the development’s master plan. Brian Smith of JLL represented Prologis in the land transaction. Jason Shapiro and Sean Harrington of Aztec Group arranged a $43 million acquisition loan through Synovus on behalf of Terra.
TYSONS, VA. — Pacific Coast Capital Partners LLC (PCCP) has provided a senior construction loan for a joint venture between Foulger-Pratt and USAA Real Estate to finance the speculative development of Tysons Central. The property is a 25-story, 388,077-square-foot office tower in the Tysons Corner submarket of Washington, D.C. Construction has begun on the fully entitled project, located at 1750 Tysons Central St., and completion is scheduled for March 2022. Details of the financing were not disclosed. Tysons Central is a LEED Gold-certified, Gensler-designed office tower near the Greensboro Metro station. Amenities will include a sky lobby, fitness center, lounge and shared conference spaces. The property will also offer 14,738 square feet of ground floor retail space, as well as three floors of below-grade parking and six floors of above-grade parking totaling 754 spaces.
ATLANTA — California-based Passco Cos. has purchased Avana Lenox, a 423-unit apartment community in the Buckhead district of Atlanta. The firm purchased the asset from Greystar for $106.5 million. CBRE’s Paul Berry represented Greystar in the transaction. Avana Lenox was built in 1998 and offers units with one-, two-, and three-bedroom floorplans, as well as units with two-story loft floor plans and townhomes with attached garages. The property located at 925 Canterbury Road has nearby access to Interstate 85 and Ga. Highway 400. Amenities include a newly renovated fitness center, pool, club rooms, a fire pit, game room, shuffleboard, conference room, package locker system and tennis courts. Greystar will continue to manage the property. Capital improvements were made recently to Avana Lenox’s common areas and some units. Passco has plans for more unit updates. The acquisition brings Passco’s Atlanta multifamily portfolio to more than 1,800 units.
PORT WENTWORTH, GA. — Chesterfield, a Winter Park, Fla.-based real estate developer, has completed a 778,000-square-foot facility for carpet manufacturer Shaw Industries Group Inc. in Port Wentworth, 12 miles northwest of downtown Savannah. Built in just seven months, the Shaw facility is now part of Chesterfield’s Georgia International Trade Center (GITC), a light industrial and manufacturing park spanning 1,150 acres. The general contractor for the Shaw facility is Omega Construction and the project architect is Atlas Collaborative. Stonemont Financial Group served as Chesterfield’s capital partner. The GITC is master planned for up to 7.2 million square feet. Located less than 10 miles from the Port of Savannah, the GITC has nearby access to the CSX Railway.
MEBANE, N.C. — Illinois-based medical supply manufacturer and distributor Medline Industries Inc. has purchased 220 acres in Mebane for a planned 1.2 million-square-foot distribution center. The $65 million distribution center will be built on West Ten Road in Orange County, approximately 17 miles northwest of Durham. It will be located in the Buckhorn Economic Development District, near Interstates 40 and 85. Medline paid a total of $8.1 million for all eight parcels involved in the transaction. Medline says the distribution center will initially create 250 new full-time jobs and at full capacity the company anticipates creating as many as 600 jobs. Pickett Sprouse’s Mark O’Neal represented the sellers of five of the eight sites involved in the transaction.
MIAMI — UrbanX Group has inked new lease agreements with fast casual restaurant Chick-fil-A and clothing retailer Old Navy to occupy a total of 19,000 square feet along the Miami River. The tenants will join River Landing Shops & Residences, the 8.1-acre mixed-use development currently under construction. Chick-fil-A and Old Navy are both scheduled to open in spring 2020 and join already signed tenants Publix, Burlington, T.J. Maxx, Ross Dress for Less, GNC, Chase Bank, AT&T and Hobby Lobby. The $425 million River Landing in the Mid River district, west of downtown Miami, is scheduled to open in early 2020. UrbanX Group’s Andrew Hellinger and Coralee Penabad are River Landing’s lead developers. The project will consist of approximately 345,000 square feet of retail space, 135,000 square feet of office, 528 apartments, more than 2,000 parking spaces, a 25,500-square-foot restaurant row and a landscaped riverwalk.