MCLEAN, VA. — In its 2019 Midyear Outlook, Freddie Mac projects the multifamily rental market to have strong volume growth in the second half of 2019. Combined with a strong labor market and low interest rate, the McLean-based agency believes loan originations will reach $336 billion for the year, which would be an 8 percent increase from the prior year’s total. “A strong labor market and a persistent housing shortage have continued to fuel a robust rental market,” said Steve Guggenmos, who leads Freddie Mac’s multifamily research and modeling team. According to the report, vacancy rates are expected to inch upward as new supply comes on line. The U.S. Census Bureau reports five-plus unit multifamily completions are on pace in 2019 to exceed the previous few years. Freddie Mac’s updated forecast calls for multifamily developers to add up to 365,000 units in 2019, compared with the 345,000 units completed in each of the prior two years. RealPage reports multifamily absorption has averaged about 290,000 units per year over the past three years. Rent growth is also expected to grow approximately 4 percent for the year.
LYNCHBURG, VA. — Montecito Medical has bought an 88,000-square-foot medical office building (MOB) in Lynchburg from OrthoVirginia in a sale-leaseback. Constructed in 2008, the facility was a build-to-suit for OrthoVirginia, which fully occupies the MOB. The building is located at 2405 Atherholt Road, less than a mile from Lynchburg General Hospital. OrthoVirginia provides services including general orthopedics, physical therapy, sports medicine and care for joint replacement patients. The sales price was not disclosed.
CHANTILLY, VA. — Minkoff Development has acquired a five-building flex/industrial portfolio within Avion Business Park in Chantilly. The portfolio includes office buildings at 14500 Avion Parkway and 14520 Avion Parkway; and flex/industrial buildings at 14700 Avion Parkway, 3635 Concorde Parkway and 3650 Concorde Parkway. Minkoff will add a shared conference facility and tenant lounge at 14500 Avion Parkway overlooking a pond. These new amenities, along with an existing fitness facility, are open to all tenants within the portfolio. Minkoff will also be introducing modern spec suites to the office buildings. Avion Business Park is located adjacent to Dulles International Airport and 25 miles west of downtown Washington, D.C. Andy Klaff, Jeff Tarae and Dominic Orcino of Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) will handle the leasing of the office buildings. Larry FitzGerald and Cole Spalding, also with NKF, are overseeing the leasing of the flex buildings. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.
HERNDON, VA. — Griffin Capital has signed a 270,000-square-foot office lease with a Fortune 100 company in Herndon. Griffin did not release the name of the tenant, though several media outlets report it is Amazon Web Services. The 12-year lease is expected to commence in April 2020 when Griffin completes renovations at 13820 Sunrise Valley, a 10-story office building. Situated about 25 miles west of downtown Washington, D.C., the office building has been undergoing renovations since 2018 when its previous tenant, Time Warner Communications, consolidated its space and broke its lease. Griffin was able to use the money from Time Warner’s buyout to immediately begin upgrading the building. Furthermore, the property is situated about 20 miles northwest of National Landing, where Amazon’s announced HQ2 will be located.
RICHMOND, VA. — Ashley Capital has acquired 7000 Hardware Drive, a 798,786-square-foot vacant distribution center in Richmond from Ace Hardware Corp. Ashley Capital plans to immediately begin updating the property to include installing a new roof, replacing all 84 dock doors, replacing the lights with high-efficiency LED fixtures, removing an internal mezzanine and painting the interior and exterior. Ashley Capital will rebrand the property as Virginia Gateway Logistics Center. Evan Magrill and Bobby Phillips of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer represented the buyer in the transaction. The sales price was not disclosed.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lee & Associates has named Josh Simon president of the firm’s new Washington, D.C/Northern Virginia regional office. Simon previously served as a partner with NAI KLNB. Pierce Kruetzer — also formerly of NAI KLNB — joins Simon as a principal with the new Lee & Associates office. Simon expects to grow the office with eight to 10 brokers to assist clients in need of office landlord representation, office tenant representation, retail leasing, industrial leasing, debt services and investment sales services. “Establishing a presence in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia is an extremely critical component of the Mid-Atlantic expansion strategy outlined by Lee & Associates several years ago, given the continued strength and momentum of the commercial real estate sector surrounding the Nation’s Capital,” notes Allan Riorda, Lee & Associates Board Member and President of the Maryland office. “This program most recently initiated in central Pennsylvania with the opening of the Harrisburg office. Over the next several years, we intend to establish locations in Baltimore, Frederick, Hagerstown and points throughout northern Virginia including Dulles and Tysons Corner.” Simon says, “With its business model, Lee & Associates is able to offer more competitive commission splits, backed by similar tools …
TYSONS, VA. — Washington Property Co. (WPC) has acquired 5.2 acres of land in Tysons with plans to construct a 700-unit Solaire-branded multifamily community. An undisclosed global private equity firm sold the land to WPC for $21 million, according to someone with knowledge of the transaction. John Sheridan of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction. The parcel is part of the 19-acre Arbor Row neighborhood, a mixed-use development situated on Westpark Drive, 15 miles west of downtown Washington, D.C. WPC plans to break ground on the twin mid-rise buildings in the next 12 to 24 months. Plans for unit interiors include quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, wood flooring, large windows and private balconies. The property will also include 8,000 square feet of retail space. WPC has not yet selected a design team for the project.
RICHMOND, VA. — M&T Realty Capital Corp. has provided a $16.1 million Freddie Mac acquisition loan for Berkeley & Warwick Place, a 265-unit townhome community in Richmond. The borrower, Walde Enterprises, plans to improve the property’s energy and water usage as part of Freddie Mac’s Optigo Green Up program. Details of the improvement plan were not disclosed. The 10-year loan is structured with three years of interest-only payments and a 30-year amortization schedule. Berkeley & Warwick Place offers one-, two- and three-bedroom townhomes for rent. Communal amenities include package services, laundry services and a playground. Matthew Hodson and Debra Goldstein of M&T Realty Capital arranged the loan on behalf of Walde Enterprises. The seller was not disclosed.
LEESBURG, VA. — KLNB has brokered the $9.7 million sale of a portion of Shenandoah Square Shopping Center in Leesburg. The two parcels included in the sale are located at 932 and 952 Edward Ferry Road NE and total 29,480 square feet. Tenants include Sherwin Williams, Cosmo Prof, Jenny Craig, Domino’s and Regional Finance. Shenandoah Square also includes a Walmart, Exxon gas station, Taco Bell, IHOP and 83,240 square feet of office space. The shopping center is situated 37 miles northwest of Washington, D.C. Kevin Goeller, Ryan Goeller, Veronica Kamara, Billy Kelly and Chase Stewart of KLNB represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. David Weber and Kenneth Tamres, also of KLNB, represented the undisclosed private buyer.
FISHERSVILLE, VA. — Berkadia has provided a $22.6 million construction loan for the development of Goose Creek Apartments, a multifamily community planned along Goose Point Lane in Fishersville. The project is Phase II of the apartment community being developed by Virginia-based Denstock. Amy Gay of Berkadia’s Richmond office originated the 40-year loan through HUD’s 221(d)(4) program on behalf of Denstock. The loan was underwritten with a fixed 4.49 percent interest rate and an 85 percent loan-to-cost ratio.