BATON ROUGE, LA. — Audubon Communities has completed the restoration of St. Jean Apartments, a vacant 624-unit multifamily property in Baton Rouge. In 2016, Louisiana experienced flooding that left 312 ground-level units at St. Jean with serious water damage and the property was abandoned. In 2017, Atlanta-based Audubon purchased the community for $33.3 million and launched a $20 million restoration and renovation effort. Audubon has since rebranded the 50-acre property as The Reserve at White Oak and is now leasing the community, which is 30 percent occupied.
Southeast
ROCKVILLE, MD. — HFF has arranged the sale of Hanover Shady Grove, a 366-unit apartment complex in Rockville. The five-story building was completed in 2016 and offers studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans averaging 970 square feet. Community amenities include a swimming pool, outdoor grilling areas, 24-hour fitness center, private media room, conference room and a catering kitchen. The property was 95 percent occupied at the time of sale. The property is situated at 9305 Corporate Blvd., 24 miles north of downtown Washington, D.C. Walter Coker and Brian Crivella of HFF and Stephen Conley, a private real estate agent based in Maryland, represented both the sellers, Hanover Co. and Berkshire Residential Investments, and the buyer, Equity Residential. The sales price was not disclosed.
ATLANTA — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged a 16,000-square-foot lease for Piedmont Internal Medicine P.C., a private healthcare practice based in Atlanta, to join Northwest Medical Center in Atlanta’s Buckhead district. Harrison Street and HealthAmerica Realty Group began renovations on Northwest Medical Center, which is situated at 3280 Howell Mill Road, in 2015. Piedmont Internal Medicine is expected to move into the space this September. The first-floor space will include access to wheelchair ramps, patient drop-off and covered pathways from the parking garage. George Olmstead and Brandon Wallace of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Tommy Tift III, James McClintock and Wheeler Briggs of HealthAmerica Realty represented the landlord internally.
ARLINGTON, VA. — Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: PK) has entered into an agreement to acquire Chesapeake Lodging Trust (NYSE: CHSP) in a stock-and-cash transaction valued at approximately $2.7 billion. Both companies are Virginia-based hotel REITs, with Park headquartered in Tysons and Chesapeake headquartered in Arlington, just seven miles apart in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. The deal, which is expected to close during the late third or early fourth quarter of this year, would create a company with an estimated enterprise value of $12 billion. Upon closing, Park stockholders will own roughly 84 percent of the new company, and Chesapeake shareholders will own roughly 16 percent. Park’s current portfolio includes 52 hospitality properties totaling more than 30,000 rooms, mostly located in the U.S. with a handful in South America and the U.K. The company, which spun off from Hilton in 2017, focuses on high-end hotels. Chesapeake’s current portfolio includes 20 properties totaling 6,288 rooms in eight states and Washington, D.C. The company also focuses on “upper-upscale” hotels. Park has secured $1.1 billion in financing from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Proceeds will be used to fund the cash component of the deal, as well as to cover some …
Memphis is currently undergoing an evolution that has been experienced by many markets in the region: increasing activity among office tenants moving with more confidence. In Memphis, this is manifesting itself in a flight to quality among office-using companies. While East Memphis is considered the most attractive office submarket in the region, the Downtown submarket has experienced significant leasing over the past 24 months and is gaining momentum. This focus on urban office is another trend that is just now hitting the Memphis market. Memphis’ most significant win in 2018 was Indigo Ag’s announcement that it will relocate its North American headquarters for its commercial operations to downtown Memphis. Indigo Ag, a high-tech agriculture firm whose primary service includes coating seeds with protective microbes, will expand its current downtown Memphis office at Toyota Center. With the expansion, the firm intends to increase its workforce by 700 corporate employees and invest $6.6 million over the next three years. Upon its completion, Indigo Ag will occupy 103,500 square feet in the eight-story Toyota Center, which will be renamed “Indigo Plaza.” The move represents the most recent and significant corporate investment in the Downtown submarket, following the relocation of ServiceMaster and its 1,200 …
LAUREL, MD. — Sage Management has acquired the 484-unit Modera Westside Apartments in Laurel, according to CBRE, which arranged the sale. Dallas-based developer Mill Creek Residential sold the property for $119 million, or $245,868 per unit. Modera Westside is situated 20 miles northeast of downtown Washington, D.C., and 20 miles southwest of downtown Baltimore. The asset offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans, as well as a clubhouse with a coffee bar, business lounge, swimming pool, game room, fireside lounge, pet spa, jogging trail and barbecue grills.
Americold Acquires Georgia-Based Lanier Cold Storage for $82M, Adds 14 Million Cubic Feet to Portfolio
by Alex Tostado
ATLANTA — Americold Realty Trust has acquired Lanier Cold Storage for $82 million. Lanier Cold Storage has two temperature-controlled facilities northeast of Atlanta along Interstate 985. The two facilities total 14 million refrigerated cubic feet and have 51,000 pallet positions. The assets are designed to serve poultry and other products to markets across the country. According to GeorgiaInfo, an online almanac, the poultry industry contributes more than $18.4 billion to the state’s economy each year. Atlanta-based Americold currently has a 3.8 million-cubic-foot facility in Gainesville, one of its 155 temperature-controlled warehouses in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Argentina.
MURFREESBORO, TENN. — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has provided a $79.9 million refinancing loan for LC Murfreesboro, a 580-unit apartment community in Murfreesboro, about 34 miles southwest of Nashville. The Freddie Mac loan features a fixed interest rate with an 11-year term, five years of interest-only payments and a 30-year amortization schedule. Built in phases between 2015 and 2018, LC Murfreesboro comprises19 three-story buildings offering one- and two-bedroom floor plans. Amenities include green spaces, a fitness center and a swimming pool. Jon Reible of KeyBank originated the loan on behalf of the borrower, Columbus, Ohio-based Lifestyle Communities to refinance existing debt.
ALEXANDRIA, VA. — Sunrise Senior Living has completed demolition of the former National Association of Professional Insurance Agents buildings in the Old Town neighborhood of Alexandria, with plans to build a 93-unit assisted living property on the land. Located south of Washington, D.C. along the Potomac River, this will be Sunrise’s second community in Alexandria. Rust | Orling Architecture is designing the project. SunTrust Bank provided a $45.5 million loan to finance the construction.
Savannah’s Industrial Market, Port Among Fastest Growing in Nation, Says Local Economic Development Head
by John Nelson
SAVANNAH, GA. — The Port of Savannah and the surrounding industrial market are both growing exponentially. That trend was reinforced with the $172 million investment announced last week by Plastic Express to build two new manufacturing facilities in nearby Pooler. “They’re going to export plastic resins out of our port to the tune of 100,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) per year,” said Hugh “Trip” Tollison, president and CEO of Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA). “Plastic Express has instantaneously become one of the port’s largest customers.” Tollison was one of the featured speakers at a luncheon hosted by SEDA on Wednesday, May 1 at 5Church restaurant in Midtown Atlanta’s Colony Square. The event brought together several of Savannah’s top businesses, including Savannah Bourbon, Visit Tybee Island, Georgia Grown, The Salt Table and Leopold’s Ice Cream, which is turning 100 years old this year. Tollison highlighted many economic drivers in the Savannah region, including aerospace giant Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. hiring its 12,000th employee; healthcare system St. Joseph’s/Candler opening a new hospital in Pooler last month; and the film industry that last year doubled its 2017 economic spend thanks to productions of films like the upcoming “Gemini Man” starring Will Smith. The straw …