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.
Southeast
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.
ATLANTA — It’s something that everybody wants: Increased cash flow. Multifamily operators gave a tutorial on the 20 best ways in which their firms are boosting net operating income (NOI) during France Media’s 10th annual InterFace Multifamily Southeast conference. The event took place on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at The Whitley hotel in Atlanta’s Buckhead district. The full-day conference attracted nearly 400 multifamily professionals from across the Southeast. Ed Wolff, chief revenue officer for multifamily lease insurance firm LeaseLock Inc., moderated the operations discussion. The panelists included Sharon Hatfield, chief operating officer of CF Real Estate Services LLC; Lisa Taylor, senior managing director of client services at Greystar; and Marcie Williams, president of RKW Residential. The discussion was bifurcated between how these operators are driving NOI by increasing/creating revenue and minimizing expenses. Hatfield said that operators can experience the most immediate results by focusing on the revenue stream at the property level. “In today’s challenging environment, it’s better to try to approach the revenue side than it is expenses,” said Hatfield. “Revenue can impact the value of the asset so much.” The panelists’ best revenue-boosting methods ranged from the practical to the futuristic. Greystar’s Taylor said that her firm has partnered …
Erickson Living Starts Construction of $300M Seniors Housing Community in Richmond’s Short Pump Area
by Alex Tostado
RICHMOND, VA. — Erickson Living has started construction of Avery Point, a large-scale continuing care retirement community in the Short Pump area of Richmond. Upon full buildout, the community will feature 1,160 independent living units, 120 assisted living units, 60 memory care units and 60 skilled nursing beds. The property will comprise 14 individual buildings totaling 2 million square feet of space. Total development costs are estimated at $300 million. Phase I is currently under way, which is scheduled to deliver 200 independent living apartments and a 43,000-square-foot amenity building in 2022. The development was first reported by the Richmond-Times Dispatch, and Erickson has since confirmed the details to REBusinessOnline. The newspaper also reported that Erickson bought the 94-acre plot in 2018 for $23.5 million, and that entrance fees will start around $200,000 and be 80 percent refundable.
CONWAY, ARK. — Structurlam Mass Timber Corp., a British Columbia-based mass timber manufacturer, has unveiled plans for a plant in Conway, approximately 30 miles from Little Rock. The mass timber manufacturer will spend $90 million to purchase, retrofit and equip a former steel plant. Set to open in mid-2021, the plant will create 130 new jobs and will source lumber from nearby Arkansas forestland. Conway is located near multiple transportation corridors, including Interstate 40, U.S. Routes 60 and 64 and Arkansas Highway 365. The Structurlam plant will produce mass timber building products and industrial matting products for the Southern, Central and Eastern United States, including providing building materials for Walmart’s new 350-acre Home Office campus in Bentonville.
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — CBL Properties plans to redevelop Coastal Grand in Myrtle Beach. As part of the redevelopment, the Chattanooga-based shopping center owner will relocate Dick’s Sporting Goods, which will include Golf Galaxy, to a building near Dillard’s and a new 53,000-square-foot Flip N Fly that will occupy Dick’s current space. Flip N Fly will bring a trampoline park as well as other family attractions to Coastal Grand. Construction on the new Dick’s/Golf Galaxy store will begin in early 2020. More information about a grand opening date will be announced as plans are finalized.
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Consolidated-Tomoka Land Co. has acquired The Strand, a 212,000-square-foot retail center in Jacksonville, for $62.7 million in a 1031 tax exchange. The Strand was 95 percent leased at the time of sale to 20 tenants, including four anchors: Hobby Lobby, PGA Superstore, 2nd & Charles and Best Buy. The property is located at 1401 Riverplace Blvd., 12 miles southeast of downtown Jacksonville and adjacent to St. Johns Town Center, home to more than 150 retailers. Colliers International’s Northeast Florida office will handle leasing efforts on behalf of the new owner. The seller was not disclosed.
Dougherty Mortgage Provides $8.2M Fannie Mae Green Loan for Multifamily Property in Louisville
by Alex Tostado
LOUISVILLE, KY. — The Atlanta office of Dougherty Mortgage recently provided an $8.2 million Fannie Mae acquisition loan for Newberry Parc Apartment Homes, a 132-unit, market-rate multifamily property in Louisville. Borrower Durham Hill Properties II LLC obtained the 12-year loan with a 30-year amortization schedule utilizing Fannie Mae’s Green Rewards program. Located at 250 Olde English Court, the apartment complex was constructed in 1971 and renovated in 2017. One- and two-bedroom units are located in six three-story residential buildings. Newberry Parc offers picnic and grilling areas, a pool, business center and onsite laundry.
InterFace Design Panel: Multifamily’s Luxury Standards are Shifting Away from Amenities to Unit Interiors, Services
by Alex Tostado
ATLANTA — Multifamily developers’ definition of luxury is constantly changing, causing general contractors and architects to plan for the unforeseen and possibly change up designs when it comes to unit finishes, community amenities, parking structures or retail space within the communities they help build and design. “A big component of luxury now is creating an environment for community and location within the social hub of the market,” said B.J. Laterveer, principal at Alpharetta, Ga.-based Dwell Design Studios. “The amenity spaces got so big and cavernous, but now they are rightsizing.” Laterveer’s comments came during a panel titled “Developing Apartment Buildings for Today, but with an Eye on Tomorrow: An Architectural, Design & Construction Update,” at the 10th annual InterFace Multifamily Southeast conference hosted by France Media. Joining Laterveer on the panel were Paul Bertozzi, president and CEO at Live Oak Contracting; Ben Hudgins, principal at Brock Hudgins Architects; JoAnn McInnis, vice president at Carlyn & Co. Interiors & Design; Royce Elliott, chief operating officer at Juneau Construction; and moderator Nick Olaya, director of asset management at Alliance Residential. The conference took place Tuesday, Dec. 3 at The Whitley in Atlanta’s Buckhead district and attracted 384 attendees. Laterveer said developers are planning …