Chattanooga is situated at a U-turn of the Tennessee River amidst forests and mountains, hence the community’s nickname, Scenic City. Two of Chattanooga’s largest employers are Volkswagen, which has a plant here, and Amazon, which runs a distribution center in the city. Insurance firm Unum Group, a Fortune 500 Company founded in 1848, is headquartered here and is one of the larger occupiers of downtown office space. Long-known for its natural resources and as a tourism destination, Chattanooga is experiencing a real estate boom fueled by urbanization trends and its proximity to Atlanta (2 hours south) and Nashville (1.5 hours northwest), as well as its growing recognition as one of the South’s top tourism and entertainment venues. Key to the urban renewal is the conversion of dozens of properties — mostly from office uses to residential, retail or hotel uses. The combination of the Great Recession and a 2009 move by BlueCross BlueShield into a new $229 million downtown facility has led to the relatively high vacancy rate of 17.5 percent that persisted up until early 2014. Most of the 600,000 square feet of facilities vacated by BlueCross BlueShield were not suitable for multi-tenanted office use and the spaces would …
Tennessee
KNOXVILLE, TENN. — Rockport Mortgage Corp. has provided $17 million for the acquisition and rehabilitation of Pinnacle Park Apartments, a 200-unit low- and moderate-income multifamily property in Knoxville. The community was originally developed under the Section 236 Program in the early 1970s. In 1994, the property was preserved as affordable housing under The Low-Income Housing Preservation and Resident Homeownership Act (LIHPRHA) for a term of 50 years, and was recapitalized in 2004 using Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs). Dan Lyons of Rockport Mortgage utilized the HUD 221(d)(4) program for the loan, which was structured using 4 percent LIHTCs, short-term tax-exempt bonds and multiple tranche financing. Working with Rockport and HUD, the borrower was able to obtain a Section 8 rent increase and approval of the creative financing structure under the Section 221(d)(4) Substantial Rehabilitation Program.
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — Capstone Apartment Partners has brokered the $6.5 million sale of Forest on Frazier, a newly constructed, 30-unit apartment community located at 207 Delmont St. in Chattanooga’s NorthShore neighborhood. Enclave Holdings purchased the fully occupied asset from Boehm Real Estate & Investment Co. for $215,200 per unit, the highest price per unit sale in Chattanooga’s history. Built in 2014, the apartment community is located a couple blocks from the Tennessee River and offers views of Lookout Mountain and the downtown Chattanooga skyline. Adam Klenk and Eric Conklin of Capstone’s Nashville office, along with Andrew Klenk of Capstone’s Raleigh-Durham office, represented the seller in the transaction.
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — Berkadia has brokered the sale of six apartment communities in Tennessee totaling 1,110 units for a combined $96.4 million. Marcus Lyons of Berkadia’s Chattanooga office led the investment sales team in representing the sellers with help from other Berkadia offices. The transactions include Quarry Trail in Knoxville, which sold for $42 million to an investment group based in Atlanta; a trio of Middle Tennessee State University apartment communities that sold for $32.1 million to another Atlanta-based investment group; King’s Crossing and Tara’s Place in Murfreesboro, a combined 184 units, which sold for $11.3 million; and Waterview, a 160-unit property in Henderson that sold for $10.9 million. The Berkadia team for the transactions includes Kevin Larimer, David Oakley, Aaron Hargrove, Eric Taylor and Royce Emerson.
MEMPHIS, TENN. — Colliers International has arranged the $21.5 million refinancing of Poplar Plaza, a 351,419-square-foot shopping center in Memphis. A 85,000-square-foot Kroger anchors the center, which comprises 50 tenants, five restaurants and a 40,000-square-foot fitness center. The property is currently 95.4 percent leased to tenants such as Petco, Old Navy and Dollar Tree. Jeff Black of Colliers International’s Boston office secured the 10-year, fixed-rate loan through Prudential Mortgage Capital Co. on behalf of the borrower, an affiliate of Boston-based Finard Properties LLC.
OAK RIDGE, TENN. — Adobe Properties has purchased Centennial Village Apartments, a 252-unit, Class A apartment community in Oak Ridge, roughly 25 miles northwest of Knoxville. The property sits on the shores of Melton Hill Lake and features a saltwater swimming pool, fitness center and cyber café. The apartment community is also adjacent to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which employs more than 4,400 scientists and engineers. Abode Properties is a subsidiary of Transcontinental Realty Investors Inc. (NYSE: TCI), a Dallas-based real estate investment company.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Passco Cos. has acquired The Lexington Apartments, a 598-unit, Class-A garden-style multifamily community located in the Bellevue submarket of Nashville, for $93.5 million. According to Passco, The Lexington Apartments has maintained an average occupancy rate above 95 percent for the past three years. Located at 510 Old Hickory Blvd., the community comprises one-, two- and three- bedroom units and its community amenities include an indoor swimming pool, three outdoor pools, a fitness center, clubhouse, tennis courts, tanning beds, coffee bar and an outdoor grilling area. Vince Lefler of JLL’s Nashville office brokered the sale. The Lexington community was developed in two phases in 1997 and 1999, and all of the units were then remodeled between 2008 and 2012. The former owner began a new round of upgrades in 2012, which are still in progress today. Chris Black of KeyBank Real Estate Capital arranged $60.8 million in acquisition financing on behalf of Passco Cos.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Batson-Cook Construction has begun building SkyHouse Nashville, a luxury mixed-use tower in midtown Nashville. Upon completion in the summer of 2016, the 25-story property will feature 352 luxury apartment residences, more than 10,000 square feet of retail space and a rooftop amenities deck. The property will be situated along Broadway, 17th Avenue and Division Street and offer panoramic views of downtown Nashville. The development’s amenity package will include an upscale clubhouse, fitness center, swimming pool and an outdoor kitchen. The design team includes co-developers Batson-Cook Development Co. and Novare Group and architect Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart. SkyHouse Nashville is the 15th SkyHouse-branded project that Batson-Cook has constructed since 2001. Earlier this year, the company delivered SkyHouse Buckhead in Atlanta, SkyHouse Channelside in Tampa and SkyHouse Raleigh in Raleigh.
COLLIERVILLE, TENN. — Ziff Properties Inc. has purchased The Shops at Collierville, a 60,000-square-foot retail center located in Collierville, a Memphis suburb, for $7.4 million. The property’s tenant roster includes Starbucks Coffee, Medpost Urgent Care, Back Yard Burgers, Pizza Hut, Baskin Robbins and The UPS Store. Sheldon Griffin of Baker Storey McDonald Properties represented Ziff Properties in the transaction.
JACKSON, TENN. AND HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — RCG Ventures Fund III has purchased West Towne Commons, a 168,210-square-foot shopping center in Jackson, and Madison Plaza, a 99,108-square-foot center in Huntstville, for an undisclosed price. Located at the intersection of Highway 45 and Oil Well Road, the West Towne Commons’ tenant roster includes T.J. Maxx, Stein Mart, OfficeMax and Petco. Target is also a tenant but was not involved in the transaction. RCG Ventures was represented internally by Jeff Miller, and Johnny Lamberson and Terry Radford of CBRE represented the seller. Located across from Madison Square Mall at Old Monrovia Road and University Drive, Madison Plaza is anchored by Haverty’s and Mission Thrift Store. RCG Ventures was represented internally by Scott Tarbet in the transaction, and Margaret Caldwell of JLL represented the seller.