RICHMOND, VA. — Apple Hospitality REIT Inc. has acquired The Berkeley Hotel, a 55-room hotel in downtown Richmond. Apple Hospitality will upgrade the property to include services and amenities that are consistent with the rest of the company’s portfolio, although The Berkeley will remain an independent hotel. The property is located at 1200 E. Cary St., four blocks from Apple Hospitality’s headquarters. The seller was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY, LOS ANGELES, MIAMI AND CHICAGO — Queensgate Investments has acquired Freehand Hotels from a seller consortium including The Yucaipa Cos. and Sydell Group for approximately $400 million. Freehand is a lifestyle hotel brand, owner and operator of hotel assets with 922 rooms across four hotels in Manhattan’s Flatiron District, downtown Los Angeles, Miami Beach and River North Chicago. The brand advertises itself as combining the social culture of a hostel with top-shelf design, food and beverage. Included in the acquisition is the Broken Shaker bar concept that operates within the hotels. Generator, a hostel business that Queensgate acquired in 2017, will manage Freehand. Generator seeks to appeal to millennial customers, focusing on capital city addresses, design-led interiors and shared social spaces. “The acquisition of Freehand is of strategic importance to Generator, and the combined portfolio represents one of the largest asset-rich lifestyle hospitality platforms globally with 19 hotels in 17 gateway cities,” says Puneet Kanuga, investment director at Queensgate. “There is now a significant push to grow the presence of both Freehand and Generator across the United Kingdom and Europe, with opportunities currently being evaluated in London, Edinburgh, Milan, Amsterdam and other gateway European cities.” London-based Queensgate …
Orlando’s retail market happens to be a really good representation of the national market. By every metric, Orlando is doing well as both rental rates and occupancy rates have been increasing. Orlando is one of the fastest growing cities in America, adding roughly 1,000 new residents each week. Tourism numbers continue to climb with 75 million visitors in 2018, according to Visit Florida. Downtown is experiencing an economic resurgence with a new collegiate campus (more on this later). As a result of the city’s overall growth, Orlando is also experiencing suburban growth with noteworthy developments such as Lake Nona. However, it can be overwhelming in the sense that the industry and consumer demands continue to evolve. There are all kinds of new and different concepts so to be a player in today’s dynamic market, retailers have to be innovative. While there is news of retailers shrinking in size or filing bankruptcy, it is important to keep up with the evolving market and create retail concepts that are relevant to today’s consumer’s demands. One consumer demand is retail tourism, which is a hotspot for retail development, especially with Disney Springs, the I-Drive corridor and theme parks in the surrounding area. What …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — CoStar Group will acquire STR, which tracks hotel data, for $450 million in an all-cash deal. The sale is expected to close by the end of this year. STR was founded in 1985 as Smith Travel Research to provide performance benchmarking and comparative analytics to hotels. Henderson, Tenn.-based STR aggregates data from more than 65,000 hotels worldwide. The company employs 370 people in 15 countries. Washington, D.C.-based CoStar plans to use STR to create new products that provide building data, income level and trend reports, sales comps and for sale information.
ATLANTA — Lenbrook, an independently owned and operated continuing care retirement community in Atlanta’s upscale Buckhead neighborhood, has broken ground on a 53-unit independent living expansion at the community. Named Kingsboro at Lenbrook, the four-acre expansion project is scheduled for completion in 2022. Development costs were estimated at $115 million. The expansion is split into two buildings. The Flats comprise 39 residences in a five-story building with a variety of floor plans ranging from 1,700 to 3,200 square feet. The Villas will consist of three buildings, each with four to five residences between 2,000 and 3,200 square feet. The project will bring Lenbrook’s total number of residences to 479, including independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing.
AUGUSTA, GA. — A joint venture between BCDC and Novare Group has broken ground on Alexander Heights, a 252-unit apartment community in Augusta. The property will offer one- and two-bedroom floor plans. Communal amenities will include a clubhouse, swimming pool, community pavilion, car care center, walking trails and a pet park. It will be located on Alexander Drive, four miles north of downtown Augusta. Texas Capital Bank provided construction financing for the property, which is slated to open in late 2020.
HAMPTON, VA. — Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital LLC has provided a $22 million Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) construction loan for Monroe Gates Apartments, a planned 162-unit residential complex in Hampton. The property will offer eight two-story townhomes, four carriage homes and 150 one- and two-bedroom floor plans, 20 percent of which will be priced as affordable housing. The site is located at 200 S. Mallory St., two miles east of downtown Hampton and two miles west of the 409-year-old Fort Monroe. Communal amenities will include a clubhouse, fitness center, media room, conference facilities, dog park and a swimming pool. Kelly Martone of Bellwether originated the 35-year loan on behalf of the borrower, The Whitmore Co.
TAMPA, FLA. — Birtcher Anderson has sold Park 6, a 184,500-square-foot industrial property in Tampa, for $15.8 million. Park 6 was previously part of the 676,735-square-foot Tri County Business Park that Birtcher Anderson purchased for $40.4 million in December 2017. The property was subdivided for sale and includes six of Tri County Business Park’s 20 buildings. Park 6 was 93 percent leased at the time of the sale. Ryan Vaught and Robyn Hurrell of Colliers International represented the seller in the transaction. The buyer was not disclosed.
ATHENS, GA. — A joint venture between Fickling & Co., Novare Group and BCDC has broken ground on Lullwater at Athens, a 252-unit apartment complex in Athens. The property will offer one- through three-bedroom floor plans. Communal amenities will include a clubhouse, swimming pool, community pavilion, car care center and a pet park. It will be located at 225 Jennings Mill Parkway, nine miles west of downtown Athens and six miles west of the University of Georgia. Lullwater at Athens is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2020.
BLACKSBURG, VA. — A joint venture between Core Spaces and Kayne Anderson Real Estate is set to break ground on Hub on Campus Blacksburg, a 1,530-bed student housing community serving students at Virginia Tech. The project will be delivered in two phases, with the first scheduled for completion in fall 2021. The second phase of development is set to open in fall 2022. The community will feature amenities such as a swimming pool, fitness center, weight room, study lounges, walking paths and a 1,110-space parking garage. TSB Capital Advisors consulted on the formation of the joint venture. TSB Realty arranged the sale of the development site to the new venture on behalf of the seller, The Reliant Group.
