Virginia

First Potomac Realty Trust Sells Industrial Park in Metro D.C. for $32.5M

by John Nelson December 22, 2015

LORTON, VA. — First Potomac Realty Trust has sold Newington Business Park Center, a seven-building, 256,000-square-foot industrial development in Lorton, roughly 20 miles south of Washington, D.C. An affiliate of Velsor Properties LLC purchased the industrial park for $32.5 million. The sale is part of First Potomac’s disposition strategy to sell at least $200 million of assets to improve the REIT’s balance sheet. HFF represented First Potomac in the transaction. As of Sept. 30, the industrial park was 83.3 percent leased.

December 22, 2015

Office Southeast Virginia

Columbia Property Trust Sells Office Property in Suburban Virginia for $65M

by John Nelson December 14, 2015

RESTON, VA. — Columbia Property Trust has sold a 244,565-square-foot office property in Reston, a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., for $65 million. The Class A office building is located at 1881 Campus Commons. Columbia Property Trust sold the office property to a real estate advisor based in Boston. Columbia Property Trust acquired the office building as part of a portfolio in January 2015 and since has increased the property’s occupancy from 79 percent to 91 percent. Columbia Property Trust, a publicly traded REIT, has a roughly $5 billion portfolio spanning 27 office properties in San Francisco, New York and Washington, D.C.

December 14, 2015

Loans Multifamily Southeast Virginia

Capital One Leads Group Providing $5.1B Freddie Mac Warehousing Facility for Lone Star’s Acquisition of REIT

by John Nelson December 11, 2015

MCLEAN, VA. — Capital One served as a co-lender and the administrative and collateral agent for a $5.1 billion, adjustable-rate Freddie Mac warehousing facility. The borrower, Berkadia Commercial Mortgage, will use the loan to bridge the timing gap between the origination of 107 individual loans needed to fund Lone Star Funds’ acquisition of Home Properties Inc., a multifamily REIT, and the sale of these loans to Freddie Mac. Home Properties’ 107 communities are located in Illinois and on the East Coast from Maine to Virginia, and total 38,965 units. TD Bank and Wells Fargo participated alongside Capital One in the facility.

December 11, 2015

Loans Mixed-Use Southeast Virginia

HFF Arranges $65M Refinancing Loan for Mixed-Use Development in Arlington

by John Nelson December 8, 2015

ARLINGTON, VA. — HFF has arranged $65 million in financing for Tellus, a 254-unit, 16-story mixed-use development in Arlington’s Courthouse neighborhood. Tellus is located at 2009 14th St. N. two blocks from the Courthouse Metro. Completed in 2014, the transit-oriented property offers views of downtown Washington, D.C., and has studio, one- and two-bedroom units averaging 789 square feet each. The LEED Gold-certified property features a rooftop swimming pool, indoor yoga studio, fitness center, business center, oversized courtyard, cyber café, 273-space parking garage and more than 13,300 square feet of street-level retail and office space. At closing, the residential portion of the property was 93 percent occupied. Sue Carras, Walter Coker and Brian Crivella of HFF worked on behalf of the developer, a joint venture between Jefferson Apartment Group and Erkiletian Development Co., to secure the 15-year, fixed-rate loan through TIAA-CREF. Loan proceeds were used to replace construction debt on the property, which is managed by JAG Management Co.

December 8, 2015

Office Southeast Virginia

Cambridge Property Group Brokers $21.5M Sale of Office Building in Tysons Corner

by John Nelson December 7, 2015

TYSONS CORNER, VA. — Cambridge Property Group LLC has brokered the $21.5 million sale of a 101,440-square-foot office building located at 1760 Old Meadow Road in Tysons Corner. Built in 1999, the Class A office building features a two-story marble lobby and a five-level parking garage connected to the building via a covered breezeway. The buyer, Galaxy Metro LLC, plans to make capital improvements to the property and rename the building Cambridge Metro Outlook. Galaxy Metro has also retained Cambridge Property Group to manage and lease the five-story property. Galaxy Metro purchased the asset from TIAA-CREF. HFF represented the seller, and Cambridge Property Group represented the buyer in the transaction.

December 7, 2015

Industrial Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports Virginia

Richmond’s Industrial Market Fires on Most Cylinders, Save for Large Spec Projects

by John Nelson December 7, 2015

Greater Richmond’s industrial market is as strong as it has been in a generation. Given the overall growth of the economy, including industrial employment and investment, it appears that the engines driving industrial economic growth will remain steady and the need for industrial real estate will continue to be steady. Greater Richmond’s industrial market is moving fast and on most cylinders, with the only laggard being pure speculative development of high-bay large block industrial and small incubation flex product. All other cylinders are pumping, including industrial and flex leasing, design build-to-suits, land sales, freestanding occupier building sales and investment sales. Absorption and general growth activity is coming not only from local existing companies and start-ups, but also by companies outside of the area looking to relocate or open additional facilities here. The flavor of the demand has been relatively diverse reflecting the Greater Richmond area’s stable economy and Mid-Atlantic location with its superior logistic opportunities. Economic Trends Greater Richmond’s population is nearly 1.3 million people, and total employment is more than 650,000 in the Richmond metro area. The diverse economy includes 10 Fortune 1000 headquarters; pharmaceutical, chemical, biotech and other 21st century manufacturers; financial and information technology services; Fifth District …

December 7, 2015

Hilton Garden Inn Coliseum Central Hampton

Hospitality Southeast Virginia

MCR Development Renovates Hilton Hotel in Hampton Roads Area

by John Nelson December 4, 2015

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.

December 4, 2015

Office Southeast Virginia

Coldwell Banker Brokers $5.6M Sale of Free Lance-Star’s HQ Office Building in Fredericksburg

by John Nelson December 4, 2015

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.

December 4, 2015

Market Reports Retail Southeast Southeast Market Reports Virginia

Grocery Stores, Restaurants, Fitness Are Driving Richmond’s Retail Market

by John Nelson November 30, 2015

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, …

November 30, 2015

Market Reports Multifamily Southeast Southeast Market Reports Virginia

Richmond’s Multifamily Market Couldn’t Look More Attractive to Investors

by John Nelson November 23, 2015

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, …

November 23, 2015

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