WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — Domino’s Pizza has signed a 68,000-square-foot lease for a new processing and distribution facility in West Columbia. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of this year. Domino’s plans to add 75 jobs to the area. Hiring is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of this year, with the facility being delivered in the second quarter of 2020. Ken Ashley, John Wilkinson and Whitney Hembree of Cushman & Wakefield, along with Lee Warfield of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. The developer and landlord were not disclosed.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Beacon Partners, a Charlotte-based mixed-use developer, plans to build a 15-acre project in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood. Named LoSo Station, the project will include more than 500,000 square feet of creative office space, 30,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, 350 multifamily residences and a 150-room boutique hotel. The master plan also calls for rooftop entertainment, meeting space, outdoor retail plazas and other athletic amenities for tenants and residents. The transit-oriented development will be situated at the Scaleybark station for the LYNX Blue Line light rail system, as well as along Charlotte Rail Trail, a 3.5-mile long public trail for walking, biking and scooter access through South End. South End is an up-and-coming neighborhood in Charlotte, with nearby attractions including Queen Park Social, Victory Brewery and OMB (The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery). “The LoSo Station master plan is such a unique and rare opportunity to plan and develop a transit-oriented development at the convergence of South End and ‘LoSo,’” says Mike Harrell, senior partner at Beacon Partners, referring to the lower portion of South End (LoSo). “We are looking forward to bringing forth the mixed-use amenities that will enhance and complement the already existing business and merchant base …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freedom Forum has sold 555 Pennsylvania Ave., the building that houses Newseum, to John Hopkins University for 372.5 million. The private research university plans to use the 475,000-square-foot property as a consolidated center for its D.C.-based graduate programs. Freedom Forum is the creator and primary funder of Newseum, and in August 2017 announced that it was open to multiple options to fund or sell the museum focused on increasing public understanding of the importance of a free press and the First Amendment. Newseum will remain open through the end of the year.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Branch Properties LLC and Crosland Southeast have sold One Bellevue Place, a 355,240-square-foot power retail village in Nashville’s Bellevue neighborhood. MetLife acquired the asset for $93 million. Located at 7620 Highway 70 South, the shopping center is part of a redevelopment of the former Bellevue Center mall that now includes retail, entertainment venues, hotel rooms, office space, residential units and the training facility for the NHL’s Nashville Predators. The retail asset is anchored by Carmike Cinemas, Burlington Coat Factory, Sprouts Farmers Market, HomeGoods, Michaels, Ross Dress for Less, PetSmart, Off Broadway Shoes, Ulta Beauty and Kirkland’s. In December, Southeast Real Estate Business reported that Novel Bellevue Place, the 337-unit residential community within One Bellevue Place, was sold. CBRE represented the sellers in the transaction.
RALEIGH, N.C. — A joint venture between The Preiss Co. and Nuveen Real Estate has acquired Signature 1505, a 525-bed student housing community located near North Carolina State University in Raleigh. The property offers one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units with bed-to-bath parity. Shared amenities include a resort-style swimming pool, fitness center and 24-hour study and conference areas. Terms of the transaction and the seller were undisclosed.
DURHAM, N.C. — CBRE Capital Markets has arranged $33 million in acquisition financing to Chaucer Creek Capital LLC for 54 Station, a 264-unit apartment community that was delivered in 2018. The buyer plans to add a 24-unit building, bringing the total number of buildings to 12 and the unit count to 288. Kristen Reilly and Nate Sittema of CBRE Capital Markets’ Debt & Structured Finance team arranged a bridge loan for the borrower through MF1, a mortgage REIT focused on the multifamily sector. Amenities at 54 Station include a swimming pool, outdoor kitchens, fitness center and a fire pit with lounge seating.
ORLANDO, FLA. — O’Connor Capital Partners has signed Alamo Drafthouse Cinema to be the anchor tenant of the third phase of Vineland Pointe, a 450,000-square-foot retail development in Orlando. Phase III is expected to be complete in 2020, Phase II is on schedule to open by this holiday season and Phase I was delivered in December. This will be Austin, Texas-based Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s first Florida location and will offer a 10-screen theater with 942 recliners, a full-service bar and a restaurant. The retail project is situated adjacent to Orlando Vineland Premium Outlet Mall, and is being designed by Eleven18 Architecture, with Harris Civil Engineers serving as project engineer.
Todd Harrop, executive vice president and national director of capital markets at Bellwether Enterprise in Columbus, Ohio, believes 2019 will be another opportunistic year for lenders and intermediaries. REBusinessOnline discussed with Harrop the abundance of capital in this market – and how discipline and changes in capital providers’ programs have put these funds to work. What is the biggest challenge you anticipate in 2019 as an intermediary in commercial real estate? Much like 2018, we continue to be optimistic about the commercial real estate finance market in 2019. In 2018, we were challenged with a variety of market disruptors including rising interest rates, market volatility, geopolitical risks, and signs of an overall slowing global economy. In 2019, we expect these disruptors to continue. Furthermore, the debt space remains very crowded as capital flows continue to rise and opportunities have declined due to fewer refinance opportunities. The good news is capital is far from complacent and underwriting remains very disciplined, which should enable the markets to continue to function well. Where do you see the biggest opportunity for your company in 2019? In general, I believe there is an increased opportunity for mortgage bankers/intermediaries in 2019. This is due to the fact …
Investors have renewed their interest in office properties in the Washington, D.C. central business district (CBD) based on increasing tenant demand. The market is putting a higher value on the built-in amenities that exist in the CBD, like dining and entertaining options, transportation accessibility and architecturally timeless buildings. We can always tell the center of gravity of a city by where the brokerage shops locate. In D.C., CBRE’s latest move to the CBD from the East End puts all of the agency brokerage shops within feet of each other. With a healthy stock of historically significant, well-built office properties with value-add potential, the CBD is primed to continue its office renaissance. Transportation Infrastructure While the existing public transportation infrastructure in the CBD is an important factor driving businesses back to the submarket, shaving 20 to 30 minutes from commute times — whether by car, bus or train — is decidedly attractive to today’s employers. Combined with the variety of established dining, entertainment and hospitality options in the CBD, transportation is vital to attracting high-profile employers. The city’s law firms in particular have taken note. Over 20 notable practices have relocated their offices to the CBD in the last year alone. …
Records were meant to be broken. That’s a phrase commercial lenders have become fairly familiar with over the past few years. Multifamily lending, in particular, has enjoyed a good run. In the fourth quarter of 2018, the Mortgage Bankers Association released the MBA Annual Report on Multifamily Lending. According to the report, strong market conditions helped fuel a 6 percent increase in multifamily lending in 2017. Lenders provided a record high of $285 billion in new mortgages for apartment buildings with five or more units. Jamie Woodwell, vice president of commercial real estate research for MBA, cited a few reasons for this uptick in activity. “The multifamily lending market in 2017 benefited from improving fundamentals, rising property values and low interest rates,” he says. “The result was larger loan sizes and record levels of overall borrowing and lending…Demand came from borrowers and lenders of all sizes, with loan amounts ranging from thousands of dollars to hundreds of millions.” This breakneck pace continued last year as low unemployment, job growth and overall economic strength gave investors and lenders confidence in the market. Freddie Mac had its best year ever in terms of multifamily production in 2018. The government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) closed …