BOSTON — IQHQ Inc., a developer of life sciences real estate with offices in Boston and San Diego, has begun construction on Fenway Center, a $1 billion project in Boston. IQHQ is co-developing the project with locally based firm Meredith Management. The initial phase of construction centers on the development of a 90,000-square-foot air rights deck that overlooks the Massachusetts Turnpike between Beacon Street and Brookline Avenue. The construction of the air rights deck will be the largest air rights structure built in Boston since Copley Place in 1980 and will take approximately 24 months to complete. Upon completion, Fenway Center will consist of more than 960,000 square feet of life sciences space with 10,000 square feet of retail space across two towers. Construction of the life sciences buildings is expected to be complete in early 2025. The campus will also feature 1.6 acres of landscaped green space and a parking garage that will be accessible from both buildings. The green space will include a large plaza and a public pedestrian walkway. The site is adjacent to BOWER, a new 312-unit luxury apartment complex that contains 38,000 square feet of amenity-oriented retail, the Lansdowne MBTA Commuter Rail Station, Fenway Park …
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MIAMI — The Estate Cos. (EIG), a private developer of multifamily properties, has sold Soleste Twenty2 in west Miami for $97 million. The locally based developer completed the eight-story luxury apartment community in February 2020. An entity doing business as Westdale Twenty2 LLC purchased the 338-unit community. The buyer is an affiliate of Westdale Real Estate Investment Management, according to South Florida Business Journal. “This transaction stabilized during the difficult times of COVID-19, which further affirms the solid fundamentals of our business plan and our ability to perform for our investors,” says Robert Suris, managing principal at The Estate Cos. “We are glad Westdale will own and capture the value of this amazing asset moving forward.” Located at 2201 Ludlam Road, Soleste Twenty2 is situated 9.1 miles south of Miami International Airport and 17 miles west of South Beach. The property was approximately 95 percent occupied at the time of sale. Soleste Twenty2 features studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units with stainless steel appliance packages, porcelain floors and designer-tiled bathrooms. Rents range from the $1,500s for studio apartments to the $2,600s for three-bedroom units. Community amenities include a pool deck with spa and private cabanas, relaxation lounge with saunas, athletic …
JERICHO, N.Y. AND HOUSTON — Kimco Realty Corp. (NYSE: KIM) has announced plans to acquire fellow retail REIT Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE: WRI) for roughly $3.9 billion. The combined company is expected to have a pro forma equity market capitalization of $12 billion and a pro forma total enterprise value of $20.5 billion. The merger will create a national operating portfolio of 559 open-air, grocery-anchored shopping centers — one of the darlings of commercial real estate during the COVID-19 pandemic — and mixed-use assets comprising 100 million square feet of gross leasable area. In its reasoning for the acquisition, Kimco cited enhanced asset diversification and quality; expanded geographic reach in high-growth, first-ring suburbs of core markets; greater tenant diversity; a more compelling value creation pipeline; operational savings and corporate synergies; earnings accretion and NOI growth opportunities; and an increase in the company’s financial strength and flexibility. “We believe this transaction is a win-win for shareholders of both companies, who will benefit from the upside potential associated with owning the preeminent open-air, grocery-anchored shopping center and mixed-use real estate REIT in the U.S.,” says Conor Flynn, Kimco’s CEO. “This combination reflects our conviction in the grocery-anchored shopping center category, which has …
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — WSS Development LLC has broken ground on 2020 at Providence, a $100 million luxury apartment project in Huntsville. The development is situated within the larger 305-acre Village of Providence master-planned community. Located at the intersection of Providence Main Street and Town Center Drive, 2020 at Providence will feature 360 luxury apartment units and 20,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. More than 70 percent of the retail space has been leased to Starbucks, The Cajun Steamer, Oh Crepe and an unnamed breakfast and lunch concept. Amenities will include a rooftop pool, rooftop fitness center, covered parking deck, high-speed elevators and an electronic package delivery system. The project team includes Humphreys & Associates Contractors LLC, Riverstreet Architects, Goodwyn Mills Cawood and Geo Solutions. BancorpSouth provided financing and Spaces Management will serve as property manager. Completion is slated for the end of 2022. The surrounding Village of Providence, which Duany, Plater-Zyberk & Co. designed and WSS developed, is home to hundreds of single-family homes, townhomes and a town center that includes more than 800,000 square feet of office, restaurants, retail and hotels. “The broader Huntsville market is experiencing unprecedented growth from both a rent and employment standpoint,” says Marc …
BAAR, SWITZERLAND — Partners Group has sold an industrial portfolio on the East Coast in excess of $1 billion on behalf of its institutional clients. The 8.6 million-square-foot portfolio comprises 88 shallow-bay and bulk distribution centers located across five markets: Raleigh-Durham, Atlanta, Nashville, Norfolk and Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. “We are proud to see the transformational results of the work we have done during the past three years and believe this exit represents an excellent outcome for our clients,” says Ron Lamontagne, managing director and co-head of private real estate for the Americas at Partners Group. Partners Group originally purchased the portfolio across three separate investments with Equus Capital Partners, an investment management firm based in metro Philadelphia. The buyer, an undisclosed life insurance company, is entering into two joint ventures with Equus Capital Partners to recapitalize the portfolio. The recapitalization will include one joint venture that holds assets within the portfolio with a long-term, income-focused return profile. The second joint venture will include assets suited to a shorter term, total return-driven strategy. The shallow-bay portion of the portfolio totals 3.8 million square feet and comprises 54 buildings within six industrial parks in Raleigh-Durham, as well as 19 buildings in …
COLTON, CALIF. — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap, has negotiated the $88 million sale of District at Grand Terrace, a 352-unit apartment community located in the Inland Empire city of Colton. The sales price equates to $250,000 per unit. Built in phases between 1980 and 1986, District at Grand Terrace is located near the San Bernardino Freeway, just off Interstate 215 and about seven miles from downtown San Bernardino. The property features one-, two- and three-bedroom units that average 872 square feet. Units are furnished with stainless steel appliances, tile backsplashes, walk-in closets, individual washers and dryers and private balconies and patios. Communal amenities include multiple resort-style pools, a 24-hour fitness center, coworking lounge, resident clubhouse with a demonstration kitchen and media center, package lockers and outdoor grilling areas. Alexander Garcia Jr. and Christopher Zorbas of IPA, along with Tyler Martin of Marcus & Millichap, represented the seller, California-based investment firm Tower 16 Capital Partners, in the transaction. The trio also procured the buyer, investment and management firm MG Properties Group. “The Inland Empire’s shutdown-resistant, medical- and logistics-heavy job market and limited new apartment construction support apartment owners,” says Zorbas, who serves as executive managing …
ALAMEDA, CALIF. — NorthMarq has arranged $166 million in joint venture equity and construction financing for The Launch, a 368-unit waterfront apartment community in Alameda. The Launch will be located at 1777 Clement Ave. at the northern edge of Alameda Island along the Oakland Estuary. The property is located 16 miles from San Francisco and 39 miles from San Jose. The project will feature a mix of market-rate, below-market-rate and work-live units along with an onsite leasing office. Amenities will include four interior courtyards with a pool, spa, dog runs, barbecue area, fire pits, lounge seating, rooftop decks, a fitness room and a club room. The Launch will have 416 off-street parking spots provided for residents, along with bike parking. The building offers a street-level connection from Clement to the Bay Trail and other marina amenities through a double-height, 20-foot-wide pedestrian corridor. John Kerslake, Briana Harney and Griff Whitlock of NorthMarq secured the debt and joint venture equity for the development of The Launch. The financing package totaled $166 million, of which $62 million is joint venture equity and $104 million is construction financing. Bay West Group/Pacific Development and the investor, an institutional real estate manager, formed a joint venture …
Cordish Cos. to Break Ground on Two Multifamily Developments in Kansas City’s Power & Light District
by Katie Sloan
KANSAS CITY, MO. — The Cordish Cos. has announced plans to break ground on two multifamily developments in Kansas City’s Power & Light District. Projects include Three Light Luxury Apartments, a $140 million, 26-story tower set to offer 288 units at the corner of Truman Road and Main Street; and Midland Lofts, a repositioning of the historic Midland office building to offer 139 affordable housing units. Three Light Luxury Apartments will feature 19 floors of studio, one- and two-bedroom units alongside penthouse-style apartments; a seven-story garage with 472 parking spaces; and 7,600 square feet of ground-floor retail. Amenities are set to include a deck overlooking 14th Street, an infinity pool, bar, demonstration kitchen, theater room and a sky bridge above Walnut Street linking to the company’s Two Light multifamily community, allowing residents of both towers to share building amenities. The groundbreaking for the project to be built by JE Dunn Construction is scheduled to take place this May, with completion slated for May 2023. The Midland office building has been vacant for more than 20 years. Following renovations, Midland Lofts will offer a mix of studio and one-bedroom units with rents starting at $700 per-month. Amenities will include a coffee …
BURLINGAME, CALIF. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged $750 million for the refinancing of Burlingame Point, a Class A office, R&D and life sciences campus located on the San Francisco Peninsula in Burlingame. The property includes four buildings totaling approximately 771,000 rentable square feet, along with a 33,000-square-foot amenity building and more than 2,300 onsite parking spaces. The waterfront property is centrally located between Silicon Valley and downtown San Francisco. The LEED Gold-certified asset is situated on 18 acres and provides tenants with common areas and open green space. Affiliates of Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank and Athene Annuity & Life Co. (via Apollo Global Management) provided the 9.3-year, fixed-rate financing. Steve Kohn, Chris Moyer, Terry Daly, Rob Rubano, Keith Padien, Alex Lapidus and Meredith Donovan of Cushman & Wakefield represented the borrower, Kylli Inc. The new financing retires construction financing that Cushman & Wakefield arranged on behalf of Kylli in April 2019. Mike Moran and Clarke Funkhouser of Cushman & Wakefield served as leasing agents for the property, which is fully leased to Facebook. Gensler was the project architect. Kylli is a full-service investment holding firm focused on the development, operation and management of institutional-quality real estate assets …
BioMed Realty Wins Municipal Approval for 910,000 SF Expansion of Life Sciences Campus in Bay Area
by John Nelson
EMERYVILLE, CALIF. — The City of Emeryville in Northern California’s Bay Area has approved BioMed Realty’s proposal to expand its Emeryville Center of Innovation life sciences campus. The 12-acre property is located about four miles north of Oakland and 10 miles east of San Francisco. The expansion will add 910,000 square feet of Class A laboratory and office space to the development. Phase I of the expansion, which BioMed Realty expects to begin in 2022, will span 265,000 square feet. “We are grateful for our partnership with the City of Emeryville to develop purpose-built lab research facilities that support the growth of the industry and help our business partners attract and retain talent,” says Salil Payappilly, vice president of BioMed Realty. BioMed Realty is currently modernizing an existing 303,000-square-foot building at Emeryville Center of Innovation. The building, which is not part of the newly announced expansion, will be fully occupied by Zymergen Inc., a biomanufacturing company and Emeryville’s largest employer. Zymergen signed a lease in 2019 for its new corporate headquarters and to accommodate the expansion of its operations. BioMed Realty expects to complete Zymergen’s building in early 2023. Emeryville Mayor Dianne Martinez says that the origin of the life …