HAMPTON, VA. — MCR Development LLC has completed the renovation of the 149-room Hilton Garden Inn Coliseum Central in Hampton. The renovation included updates to the hotel’s guestrooms and common areas. Each unit received new furniture and design décor, and the pool, meeting rooms, event space and fitness center were updated. The hotel is located off I-64 and in close proximity to the Boo Williams Sportsplex, NASA’s Langley Research Center and the headquarters of Riverside Health System.
FREDERICKSBURG, VA. — Coldwell Banker Commercial Elite has brokered the $5.6 million sale of The Free Lance-Star’s headquarters in downtown Fredericksburg. The 90,000-square-foot office building is located at 616 and 620 Amelia St., and the property’s 2.9-acre parking lot, which is part of the sale, is located at 700 and 710 William St. Local developer William Vakos Jr. purchased the property. Sandton Capital Partners, owner of Free Lance-Star Publishing Inc., says the newspaper plans to continue to operate out of the building for another year. Ben Keddie and Heather Hagerman of Coldwell Banker Commercial Elite brokered the transaction.
This year is shaping up to be very exciting and productive for the Richmond retail market. The Richmond retail market has started at a brisk pace for the first half of 2015, similar to the end of 2014 as it absorbed 111,889 square feet. The vacancy rate has continued to decline over the past 12 months as well. The overall retail vacancy rate in Richmond tightened to 6.6 percent, a 50 basis point improvement over last year. The main drivers of retail activity throughout the Richmond MSA continue to be grocery stores, fitness centers and restaurants. Early this year we saw the commencement of construction at two Wegmans-anchored developments in Richmond, one in Short Pump and another in Midlothian. The Midlothian Wegmans will anchor the new Stonehenge Village and is on pace to open in early 2016. The Short Pump Wegmans will join Cabela’s in the new West Broad Marketplace, a 400,000-square-foot development on the western edge of Short Pump. There has also been solid activity in the market from several other grocers, including Walmart Neighborhood Market and Aldi. Each of these concepts has opened four new stores in the market. Another grocer poised to enter the market is LIDL, …
The Richmond metropolitan area, with a population of 1.3 million, is bursting with multifamily development. The growing MSA contains more than 72,000 apartments units (45 percent Class A) and has 2,018 units under construction with another 5,826 in various stages of pre-development. On top of all this activity, the overall market occupancy remains at 96 percent. The fuel for these conditions comes from the many amenities in the market, from the University of Richmond and a robust sports scene to the proximity to Atlanta, the Atlantic coast and Washington, D.C., as well as the encouraging employment picture. The city’s unemployment stands at 5 percent compared to the U.S. average of 6.3 percent; since 2000 the city’s population has grown by nearly 15 percent. These conditions allow property owners to leverage this diverse and sustainable market for multifamily investments. Richmond development also benefits from the attractive interest rates, which remain low despite having climbed 80 basis points since late January. Along with monitoring this upward trend, news earlier this month from the Federal Reserve of a rate hike will serve as a caution sign for investors. Whether we see this hike in the next couple of months, or not until 2016, …
TYSONS, VA. — Akridge and the Ronald D. Paul Cos. have acquired 1690 Old Meadow Road in Tysons, a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., for $7.6 million. The pair plans to redevelop the existing 13,000-square-foot training facility for GEICO into a 250,000-square-foot office building. Upon completion, the 11-story project will sit atop a five-story parking garage and offer ground-floor retail space and on-site amenities such as a conference facility, in-building wireless, a restaurant and a landscaped terrace with common space and bocce ball courts. The property sits directly across the street from the McLean Metro Station and planned Wegmans grocery store. KGD Architecture is designing the redevelopment. The sale of 1690 Old Meadow Road resulted from a tri-party agreement with GEICO and Merritt Properties. GEICO is relocating its current training facility to a new build-to-suit facility in Merritt’s Ashbrook business park in Ashburn, Va. Jeff Groh and Michael Blyumin of JLL represented GEICO, and Joseph Svatos of Akridge represented the buyers in the transaction. Andrei Ponomarev of Akridge represented GEICO in the development and construction phase of the project.
Richmond has become a multifamily safe haven with unemployment rates below the national average and the second-best annual rental returns in the nation at 20.42 percent. Richmond’s high annual returns are due in large part to its population. The city has become a mecca for young adults as 32.2 percent of the population is in its 20s and 30s — well above the national average of 22 percent. This population’s drive for an urban, walkable lifestyle is generating a great deal of development in the CBD, as well as the Manchester submarket where Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) Institute for Contemporary Art is located. VCU’s art institute is the No. 1 art and design school in the country, and continues to draw in Millennials looking to take advantage of the open and historic downtown district surrounding the James River. Richmond’s flourishing, younger population is demanding adaptive re-use and new development and developers in Richmond are answering the call. Areas such as Scott’s Addition, Shockoe Bottom and Manchester have all seen new mid and high-rise developments in recent months that are attracting a plethora of new tenants. Highlights of Richmond’s apartment market include: • 1,000 units are currently under construction with an …
ATLANTA — Marcus & Millichap’s Atlanta office has brokered the $54.9 million sale of a portfolio of five Walmart Neighborhood Markets. Three of the stores are located in Roanoke, Va., one is in Lawton, Okla., and one is in Dell City, Okla. Russell Malayery, Drew Hines and Walter Chapman of Marcus & Millichap’s Atlanta office represented the buyer, a Florida-based private investor, in a 1031 exchange. The seller is a merchant developer. Tom Mann of Marcus & Millichap’s Tulsa, Okla., office is Marcus & Millichap’s broker of record in Oklahoma. Bryn Merrey of Marcus & Millichap’s Washington, D.C., office is the firm’s broker of record in Virginia. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has a 20-year lease at all five stores.
FAIRFAX, VA. — An affiliate of Atlanta-based Songy Highroads LLC has purchased the Hyatt Fairfax at Fair Lakes in Fairfax, roughly 19 miles west of Washington, D.C. The 14-story hotel was constructed in 1989 and features 316 guestrooms, a 24-hour fitness center, heated indoor pool, jogging trails, the NoVa Market convenience store, patio for outdoor events and 9,000 square feet of meeting space, which includes a 4,140-square-foot ballroom. The hotel also features the NoVa Grill and NoVa Bar as dining options for guests. Songy Highroads plans to implement a $14 million renovation to the hotel, which will include updating the pool and fitness center, upgrading rooms and corridors to Hyatt Regency standards and converting 30 to 60 of the guestrooms into extended stay rooms. Future improvements could include enhancing the hotel entrance and adding new meeting space. Songy Highroads hired Ambridge Hospitality to manage the hotel.
WOODBRIDGE, VA. — Pearlmark has closed a $14.8 million mezzanine loan that provided financing for Penzance in the acquisition of Elan Potomac Heights, a recently constructed 288-unit, Class A apartment complex located in Woodbridge, Va. At the time of acquisition, the property was 93 percent leased. The investment was made on behalf of Pearlmark Mezzanine Realty Partners IV (Mezz Fund IV), a fully discretionary investment fund. A major life insurance company provided fixed-rate senior financing. Mark Witt of Pearlmark arranged the transaction. Mezz Fund IV announced its initial closing in June. Mezz Fund IV serves as the firm’s exclusive mezzanine investment vehicle.
FAIRFAX CITY, VA. — NAI KLNB has brokered the $15.3 million sale of Mosby Tower, a six-story, 114,000-square-foot office building located in Fairfax City in northern Virginia. The seller, Premier Suites LLC, recently invested $250,000 to transform the former apartment community into a small office suite complex. The buyer, Korth Investment Properties Group, was self-represented. Christopher Kubler, Brad Berzins and Josh Simon of NAI KLNB represented the seller in the transaction.
