ELKINS, W.VA. — Busy Beaver, a home improvement store, will open a location in Elkins, West Virginia on April 10. The 33,000-square-foot store will be its fourth in the state. It will be situated at 731 Beverly Pike and will feature a lumber yard and farm and ranch departments. The new site will house 20 full-time and 10 to 15 part-time employees. This is Busy Beaver’s 22nd location, with three stores in Ohio and 15 in western Pennsylvania.
ATLANTA — Cortland has acquired Domain at Phipps, a 319-unit apartment community situated near Phipps Plaza in Atlanta’s Buckhead district. Cortland will rebrand the property as Cortland at Phipps. The complex was 94 percent occupied at the time of the sale and offers amenities such as a pet play area, courtyard, dog grooming station, fitness center, swimming pool, grilling area and an outdoor yoga space. Atlanta-based Cortland now operates more than 11,000 apartment units in Atlanta. Jason Nettles and Megan Thompson of HFF arranged the sale. The sales price was not disclosed.
CHICAGO — Net absorption in office markets across the United States exceeded new construction in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to Cushman & Wakefield. This enabled the national office vacancy rate to drop to 13.2 percent. Nationwide absorption during the fourth quarter totaled 20 million square feet and marked the 33rd consecutive quarter of positive absorption since 2010. The total volume of space under construction increased slightly to 114.2 million square feet in the fourth quarter, up from 113.2 million in the third quarter. A total of 13.7 million square feet of new office projects delivered in the fourth quarter, bringing the total for 2018 deliveries to 52.7 million square feet, the second-highest amount of new space completed since 2010. Relative to inventory, the markets with the highest construction figures are San Mateo, Calif.; Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; Seattle; and Midtown Manhattan. On the west side Office markets in the Western United States performed the strongest in 2018 and accounted for 22.6 million square feet of net absorption, the highest volume since 2015. The lowest vacancy rates were seen in tech-driven markets like Seattle (6.2 percent vacancy) and San Francisco (6.4 percent). According to Cushman & Wakefield, the western …
TYSONS, VA. — The Meridian Group has announced retail tenants that will join The Boro, a planned mixed-use development in Tysons. The new tenants include a two-story Ethan Allen furniture store, French bakery Paris Baguette, Verizon Wireless, a hair studio, nail lounge and restaurants Akira Ramen and Poki D.C. Dave Ward and Geoff Mackler of H&R Retail represented Meridian Group in the lease negotiations. The Boro’s first phase will feature 2 million square feet of office, retail, entertainment and residential space. Nine retailers have already committed to The Boro, including Whole Foods Market, ShowPlace ICON Theaters, MyEyeDr., Tasty Kabob, Fish Taco and Tropical Smoothie Café. The Boro is situated about nine miles northwest of downtown Arlington. The Meridian Group expects The Boro to open this year.
SAVANNAH, GA. — Americold, a global owner and operator of temperature-controlled warehouses, has acquired PortFresh Holdings for $35 million. PortFresh is a privately owned operator servicing produce mainly out of the Port of Savannah. Americold’s acquisition includes 163 acres of land adjacent to PortFresh’s Savannah site, on which, Americold plans to build an approximately 60,000-square-foot warehouse. The planned building is expected to feature 37,000 pallet positions, advanced blast freezing capabilities and space and infrastructure to support refrigerated-containerized trade. Atlanta-based Americold plans to open the facility in early 2020 and expects it to cost between $55 million and $65 million to develop.
DURHAM, N.C. — InvenTrust Properties Corp. has acquired Commons at University Place, a 92,100-square-foot retail center in Durham, for $23.3 million. The center is anchored by Harris Teeter and CVS/pharmacy. The asset is situated about four miles south of Duke University and about five miles southwest of downtown Durham. The seller was not disclosed.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Middleburg has acquired Arcadia Park, a 418-unit apartment complex in Louisville that is mostly abandoned. The sales price was not disclosed, though Middleburg is planning a $16 million renovation for the asset, which will be rebranded as Vesta Derby Oaks. The property currently offers two-bedroom floor plans. Middleburg plans to renovate all 418 units to offer a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Further renovations include new siding, windows, roofs, interiors, plumbing, HVAC and electrical systems, new Energy Star-rated appliances, LED lighting and improved sidewalks and landscaping. The name Vesta Derby Oaks is a tribute to Churchill Downs, which is situated less than one mile from the apartment complex.
CARY, N.C. — Beacon Properties Group has broken ground on a two-story, 28,231-square-foot mixed-use building located at 150 Wellesley Trade Lane in Cary. The building will feature 16,000 square feet of medical office and office space and 10,000 square feet of retail space, including 3,400 square feet for a restaurant. The project is situated about 18 miles west of downtown Raleigh and about 17 miles south of downtown Durham. Picket Sprouse Commercial Real Estate is handling leasing for the building. The project team also includes architect Barber Architects and civil engineer EarthCentric Engineering. The building is expected to be complete this summer.
Washington, D.C.’s multifamily market has enjoyed success in recent years, and 2018 has been no exception. The regional economy continues to function at an extremely healthy level, adding 77,100 new jobs in the trailing 12 months ending July 2018, much more than the annual average of 41,000 since 2010. The region has outgrown its previous dependence on the federal government, which contracted by 4,800 jobs over the same period, further highlighting the strength of the region’s private sector. This sustained economic upside is only further enhanced by the looming possibility of Amazon’s HQ2, Apple and other large tech contracts. The strong job growth has been matched by a steady increase in population, which has grown 10.44 percent since 2010, to roughly 6.25 million people. To accommodate such growth, the supply pipeline has been equally as robust, delivering nearly 13,000 units per year for the past five years. In addition to all the recent deliveries, absorption has remained steady and strong, with the market absorbing a net positive of 7,570 units over the trailing 12 months. Furthermore, Class A rents have still managed to grow 1.4 percent over the past year, while overall market rent growth has grown an even higher …
Matt Rocco, president of Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, realizes this year may not maintain the exact same lending velocity as last year. However, he sees plenty of opportunities in workforce and affordable housing, as well as in industrial real estate. This, combined with plenty of capital, may keep competition fierce for strong commercial assets in the foreseeable future. Many believe lending velocity may slow this year compared to 2018. What is your take on this? Rocco: We expect transactional velocity will be flat or down slightly as compared to 2018. This year and 2020 only have modest maturity activity. As a result, many new refinancing assignments will come from floating-rate loans that are converting into fixed-rate loan terms. Given the very flat yield curve, we anticipate many clients will move from these floating-rate loans to match their ownership objectives. They will likely seek fixed-rate loan terms at the same coupon rate as their floating-rate alternatives. We also expect lending volume from CMBS, agency and life insurance companies to be flat or slightly down in 2019 compared to the record year in 2018. Are there any specific product types that seem particularly attractive in 2019? Rocco: We expect to see robust …