MARYLAND — Star Real Estate Ventures LLC has acquired a five-property multifamily portfolio totaling 2,566 units in Maryland for approximately $500 million. Most of the communities are located in suburban Baltimore. The properties include Charleston Place in Ellicott City, Morningside Heights in Owings Mills, Top Field in Cockeysville, Tamarron in Olney and Village Square in Glen Burnie. All of the communities feature pools and playgrounds, while four of the five have tennis courts. Home Properties recently operated all five communities. Financing for the transaction included five separate Fannie Mae loans for a total of $320 million, as well as equity from Related Fund Management. David Webb, Maxi Leachman, Brynn Wendel and Robert LaChapelle of CBRE arranged the financing. Bill Roohan, Michael Muldowney, Robert Dean and Malcolm McComb of CBRE represented the seller, a global private equity firm. Star Real Estate Ventures is a real estate investment and management firm that owns and manages 14,500 apartment units in 11 states. The company is headquartered in New York City with offices in Boca Raton, Fla. and Okemos, Mich. This is the firm’s second acquisition of 2019, following the purchase of an 852-unit portfolio in Cincinnati in February. Star is actively looking for …
Southeast
BOWIE, MD. — New Market Properties LLC has acquired Free State Shopping Center, a 264,000-square-foot retail center in Bowie, for $72 million. The Giant Food-anchored center is situated 19 miles east of downtown Washington, D.C. Tenants include Ross Dress for Less, Tuesday Morning, Starbucks Coffee, T.J. Maxx, Office Depot and Sakura Japanese Steakhouse. Federal Investment Realty Trust sold the property.
ATLANTA — Wood Partners has opened Alta Dairies, a 312-unit multifamily community in Atlanta. Alta Dairies is the multifamily component of the Atlanta Dairies project, Paces Properties’ redevelopment in East Atlanta that will include direct access to the Atlanta BeltLine upon completion this summer. Alta Dairies offers one- and two-bedroom floor plans and communal amenities including a rooftop sky lounge with a double-sided fireplace, outdoor biergarten with bocce and yard games, outdoor kitchens with gas grills, saltwater swimming pool with a tanning shelf, bicycle storage room and repair center, 24-hour fitness center with power gym and yoga studio, pet spa and wash room, and a business center and conference room with rentable office spaces.
MARIETTA, GA. — Plethora, an on-demand manufacturer specializing in custom prototypes and end-production in various industries, will invest $17 million in a new 57,000-square-foot facility in Marietta. The move will add 250 new jobs to the area. Plethora is working with Lanier Technical College, Kennesaw State University and Georgia Institute of Technology to connect with a potential workforce in metro Atlanta. A timeline for Plethora’s move was not disclosed, though multiple news outlets report the facility will open at the end of the month.
LAKE MARY, FLA. — CBRE has arranged the $15 million sale of Contact Pointe, a 92,127-square-foot office building in Lake Mary. The building was fully occupied at the time of sale to tenants including AT&T and Falck USA. The asset is situated 17 miles north of downtown Orlando. Ron Rogg and Chip Wooten of CBRE represented the sellers, Orlando-based Tower Realty Partners and Dallas-based TriGate Capital Partners, in the transaction. Exeter Property Group acquired the property.
MIAMI — Key International and 13th Floor Investments have sold Highland Park Center, a fully occupied, 44,740-square-foot office building in Miami’s Health District, for $13.9 million. TopMed Realty, a healthcare real estate private equity firm, acquired the property. Highland Park Center was built in 2011 and is situated two blocks from the Miami-Dade Courthouse and less than one mile from the intersection of Dolphin Expressway and Interstate 95. The partnership acquired the then-vacant building in 2014 for $7.9 million. Douglas Mandel and Benjamin Silver of Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap, represented the seller in the transaction.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The current U.S. economic expansion — 120 months and counting — is poised to become the longest in modern U.S. history come July. Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities, says the runway is clear for additional growth until at least 2021 before the start of the next recession. The last time the U.S. economy expanded for such a long duration was from 1991 to 2001. Post World War II, the average length of economic expansions has been 58 months, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. “We don’t have a recession in our forecast. We put it in 2021 because we won’t forecast 2021 until September,” said Vitner. “We’ll likely put the recession in 2022. It’s hard to predict a recession years out. It doesn’t feel like there’s a recession right around the corner, but it never feels that way.” Vitner’s comments came during the keynote address at the 10th annual InterFace Carolinas, a networking and information conference that took place on May 30 at Hilton City Center in Uptown Charlotte. Hosted by InterFace Conference Group and Southeast Real Estate Business, the event brought together more than 240 attendees and featured six panels on …
BOCA RATON, FLA. — American Landmark has acquired Alister Boca Raton, a 448-unit multifamily community in Boca Raton, for $91.5 million. American Landmark will invest $6.2 million in capital improvements and rebrand the property as Cielo Boca. The property was originally developed between 1986 and 1988 and was renovated in 2018. Capital improvements will include glass backsplashes, new cabinets, updated lighting and USB ports for the unit interiors. Community area upgrades will include improved landscaping, parking lot repairs and new pool furniture. Existing amenities include a recently renovated clubhouse, fitness center, leasing office and two swimming pools. The property was 96 percent occupied at the time of sale. A joint venture between Mill Creek Residential and AIG sold the complex. Avery Klann, Hampton Beebe and Jonathan Senn of Newmark Knight Frank represented the seller in the transaction.
ATLANTA — Invesco will invest $70 million to expand its global headquarters presence in Atlanta. The investment manager firm will occupy 300,000 square feet of office space at Midtown Union in August 2022. The move will also add 500 jobs, bringing Invesco’s Atlanta workforce to nearly 1,200 employees. MetLife Investment Management and Granite Properties are currently co-developing Midtown Union, which will be situated at the corner of 17th and Peachtree streets in Midtown Atlanta. Upon completion, the project will comprise two towers totaling 600,000 square feet of office space. Invesco moved its global headquarters to Atlanta in 2007.
PINEVILLE, N.C. — Beacon Partners will break ground this summer on a speculative 230,614-square-foot industrial building southwest of Charlotte. The project will be situated at 12115 Downs Road in Pineville, about 12 miles southwest of downtown Charlotte. The building will accommodate one or two tenants and include 32-foot clear heights and access to Interstates 77 and 485. The design team includes InterCon Building Corp. as the general contractor, Merriman Schmitt Architects as the architect and Orsborn Engineering Group as the civil engineer. Fifth Third Bank provided construction financing.