Top Stories

Ford Plans $11.4B in Electrical Vehicle Manufacturing Developments in Tennessee, Kentucky

by Jeff Shaw September 28, 2021

STANTON, TENN., AND GLENDALE, KY. — Ford (NYSE: F) has unveiled plans to build Blue Oval City, a massive manufacturing campus for its electric vehicles in the tiny town of Stanton, approximately 50 miles northeast of Memphis and with a population of fewer than 500 people. In addition, the car builder is planning the BlueOvalSK Battery Park manufacturing campus in Glendale, approximately 50 miles south of Louisville, to produce the lithium-ion batteries that power those electric vehicles. Ford estimates development costs for Blue Oval City at $5.6 billion and BlueOvalSK Battery Park, which will comprise two separate manufacturing facilities, at $5.8 billion. Both plants are scheduled to begin production in 2025. The auto maker predicts the Stanton location will create 6,000 jobs, while the Glendale location will create 5,000 jobs. Blue Oval City will span 3,600 acres — nearly six square miles — and focus on producing F-Series electric pickup trucks. The company noted that it will work with Redwood Materials on domestic battery recycling and that the facility will be carbon neutral, producing zero landfill waste once fully operational. In addition to the new plant, Ford said it will make a new investment to increase production of the F-150 …

September 28, 2021

Acquisitions Hospitality Nevada Top Stories Western

Blackstone Agrees to Sell Cosmopolitan Hotel, Casino in Las Vegas to MGM for $5.6B

by Taylor Williams September 27, 2021

LAS VEGAS — Blackstone (NYSE: BX) has entered into an agreement to sell The Cosmopolitan hotel and casino in Las Vegas to locally based hospitality and entertainment owner-operator MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) for $5.6 billion. Blackstone originally acquired The Cosmopolitan in 2014 for approximately $1.6 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. The firm subsequently invested more than $500 million in capital improvements to renovate the property’s 3,000 existing hotel rooms; add 67 new rooms and suites; enhance and expand the food and beverage offerings; and upgrade common areas and amenity spaces. Under the terms of the agreement, MGM will acquire the operations of The Cosmopolitan and sign a long-term net lease with a partnership between Cherng Family Trust, alternative investment firm Stonepeak Partners and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc. The deal is expected to close in early 2022. The Journal also reported that as of Friday, Sept. 24, The Cosmopolitan’s hotel rooms had been 87 percent occupied during the current month, with an average daily room rate of $448. The Cosmopolitan originally opened in 2010. In addition to its 3,000-plus hotel rooms, the development features a 110,000-square-foot casino; 300,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space; 150,000 …

September 27, 2021

Acquisitions District of Columbia Life Sciences Retail Southeast Top Stories

JLL Arranges $168.3M Sale of Retail Portfolio Across Mid-Atlantic

by Julia Sanders September 24, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. — JLL Capital Markets has arranged the sale of a portfolio of eight infill neighborhood retail assets totaling 695,991 square feet in Washington, D.C., northern Virginia and southern Maryland. Stephen Conley, Danny Finkle, Jordan Lex and Kim Flores of JLL represented the D.C.-based seller, WashREIT (NYSE: WRE), which sold the portfolio for $168.3 million. The buyers were Rosenthal Properties and an undisclosed institutional partner, according to the Washington Business Journal. The news outlet also reports the seller had acquired the eight properties over the span of five decades. The portfolio includes two properties in Washington, D.C., two in Northern Virginia and four in Maryland. The properties in D.C. include Chevy Chase Metro Center and Spring Valley Village. The Virginia properties are 800 S. Washington St. in Alexandria and Concord Centre in Springfield. The southern Maryland properties are Montrose Shopping Center and Randolph Shopping Center in Rockdale; Takoma Park Shopping Center in Takoma; and Westminster Shopping Center in Westminster. The properties are 82 percent leased collectively. Four of the shopping centers are grocery-anchored by stores such as Mom’s Organic Market at Montrose Shopping Center and Aldi at Springfield’s Concord Centre. Other grocery anchors include Food Lion and Giant. The …

September 24, 2021

Company News Development Industrial Top Stories

Brookfield Asset Management, Elion Partners Form $1B Industrial Development Partnership

by Katie Sloan September 23, 2021

TORONTO AND MIAMI — Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) and Elion Partners have announced a $1 billion strategic partnership. The venture will expand Toronto-based Brookfield’s logistics portfolio across core infill markets in the U.S. Through the investment, Brookfield recapitalized Elion Logistics Park 55, a master-planned industrial park in Wilmington, Illinois, approximately 60 miles southwest of downtown Chicago. Located adjacent to the BNSF railway, the property features five Class A, fully leased industrial buildings totaling 4 million square feet. The site offers the potential to develop up to 15 million square feet of additional industrial space. Park Madison Partners acted as advisor for the recapitalization. Brookfield has also committed $80 million to Elion’s latest affiliated value-add fund — Elion Real Estate Fund V — which held its final closing last month, achieving a capitalization of $500 million. A majority of the fund’s portfolio was pre-specified prior to Brookfield’s investment and includes 3.2 million square feet of logistics properties across infill coastal markets in the U.S. “Industrial logistics real estate continues to experience positive momentum and now is the logical time to seek long-term capital,” says Juan DeAngulo, managing partner at Miami-based Elion. “This partnership structure and Brookfield’s support will enable Elion …

September 23, 2021

Acquisitions California Development Office Top Stories Western

Joint Venture Acquires Pacific Gas & Electric Campus in Downtown San Francisco, Plans $2.5B Redevelopment

by Kristin Harlow September 22, 2021

SAN FRANCISCO — A joint venture between Hines and the National Pension Service of Korea (NPS) has acquired the historic Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) campus in the South Financial District of downtown San Francisco. The purchase price was $800 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. The buyers plan to completely reimagine the campus with a $2.5 billion redevelopment project. The first of two office projects will consist of the restoration and renovation of a 600,000-square-foot office complex dating back to the early 1900s. Hines plans to retain the historic architecture of the building façade and the original lobby. The building systems and technological capabilities will be upgraded in order to achieve the modern functionality of a Class A property. Secondly, 77 Beale is an existing 1 million-square-foot, 34-story tower that will be repositioned and renamed 200 Mission. The building will receive new systems and aesthetics. Architectural firm Pickard Chilton is leading the design. Lastly, Hines plans to develop 50 Main, a new apartment complex with more than 600 units. A timeline for construction was not released. Upon completion, the PG&E campus will represent the largest deal along Market Street in San Francisco over the last 10 years, …

September 22, 2021

Acquisitions Development New York Northeast Office Top Stories

Google to Acquire St. John’s Terminal Office Redevelopment in Manhattan for $2.1B

by John Nelson September 21, 2021

NEW YORK CITY — Google has announced plans to acquire St. John’s Terminal, a 1.3 million-square-foot office redevelopment underway in Manhattan that will anchor the search engine giant’s Hudson Square campus. Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) intends to purchase the development site at 550 Washington St., which the company signed a lease agreement for in 2018, for approximately $2.1 billion. The company is exercising its purchase agreement with the landlord and developer, an ownership group comprising Toronto-based Oxford Properties Group and CPP Investments, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Journal also reports the transaction is the most expensive sale of a single U.S. office building since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, citing data from research firm Real Capital Analytics. The sale is also among the priciest for a single office property in U.S. history. Google plans to open its offices at 550 Washington by mid-2023. Although the company expects to operate the office with a flexible hybrid approach to in-office versus work-from-home concepts in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Google says that “coming together in person to collaborate and build community will remain an important part of our future.” The St. John’s Terminal transaction is expected to close in …

September 21, 2021

Loans Office Top Stories Washington Western

JLL Arranges $468.7M Construction Loan for Amazon-Leased Office Tower in Metro Seattle

by Taylor Williams September 20, 2021

BELLEVUE, WASH. — JLL has arranged a $468.7 million construction loan for The Artise, a 25-story office tower that will be located in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue. The 609,000-square-foot building is 100 percent preleased to a global e-commerce tenant, which Bloomberg reports is Amazon. New York City-based global investment firm KKR provided the loan to the borrower, a joint venture between developer Schnitzer West and Boston-based The Baupost Group. Specific loan terms were not disclosed. Slated for a fourth-quarter 2023 completion, The Artise will house 4,783 square feet of retail space and 1,158 parking spaces. The building’s location at 788 106th Ave. in the downtown area puts it one block north of Bellevue’s main pedestrian corridor and the site of the future East Link Light Rail extension. Additionally, The Artise will be located two blocks from Bellevue Transit Center and three blocks from the Interstate 405. Global architecture firm NBBJ designed the building, which will seek LEED Gold certification. Mike Tepedino, Geoff Goldstein and Tom Wilson of JLL arranged the debt. “The Artise will cultivate Bellevue’s position as a critical business hub in the Puget Sound area and deliver in-demand, Class A office space with features that allow the …

September 20, 2021

California Development Mixed-Use Top Stories

Partnership Breaks Ground on $1.8B Arena for Los Angeles Clippers in Inglewood, California

by Julia Sanders September 17, 2021

INGLEWOOD, CALIF. — A public-private partnership between Murphy’s Bowl LLC and the City of Inglewood has broken ground on Intuit Dome, a 915,000-square-foot basketball and events arena in Inglewood that will serve as the home of the Los Angeles Clippers. Murphy’s Bowl is a development entity backed by the Los Angeles Clippers. San Francisco-based developer and investor Wilson Meany is also part of the project, which is expected to cost $1.8 billion, according to the Los Angeles Times. Named Intuit Dome, the arena will be the future home of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) LA Clippers, which is led by chairman and former Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer. The venue is slated for completion by the 2024-2025 NBA season. The Clippers hosted a ceremony today to celebrate the start of construction on the arena. Star Clippers players Kawhi Leonard and Paul George attended the groundbreaking, as well as Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue. The Intuit Dome will host Clippers’ home games as well as non-Clippers sporting events, family shows, concerts, conventions and corporate events. Intuit Dome will have an 85,000-square-foot team practice and athletic training facility, approximately 71,000 square feet of offices for the Clippers’ staff and a 25,000-square-foot sports medicine …

September 17, 2021

Midwest Minnesota Mixed-Use Office Retail Top Stories

Joint Venture Receives $250M in Financing for 1.2 MSF Dayton’s Redevelopment Project in Downtown Minneapolis

by Katie Sloan September 16, 2021

MINNEAPOLIS — The Telos Group and 601W Cos. have received $250 million in financing for The Dayton’s Project, a historic redevelopment of 700 Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. The 12-story property was previously occupied by Dayton’s department store, which rebranded as Macy’s in 2004 before closing its doors in 2017. The 1.2 million-square-foot project will include office space, 200,000 square feet of dining and retail, and a 45,000-square-foot food hall and market. Office amenities will include a rooftop terrace with views of the Minneapolis skyline, private lounge and library spaces, and a 10,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art health club. Over the past few months, the development has been at the center of legal drama between developer 601W Cos. and Monarch Alternative Capital, which holds the mezzanine loan on the project, according to reports by Twin Cities Business (TCB). 601W sued Monarch in June of this year, with Monarch countering through the advertisement of a foreclosure sale of 601W’s equity interests in the property under technical default for not meeting leasing obligations, according to TCB. Hennepin County District Judge Susan Burke granted 601W a temporary injunction to secure new financing, thereby stopping the foreclosure sale that had been set for Aug. 23. Jaime Fink, …

September 16, 2021

Development Mixed-Use Southeast Top Stories Virginia

JBG Smith Breaks Ground on $1B Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in Alexandria, Virginia

by Taylor Williams September 15, 2021

ALEXANDRIA, VA. — JBG Smith (NYSE: JBGS), a Maryland-based developer and REIT, has broken ground on the first building within the $1 billion Virginia Tech Innovation Campus at the university’s satellite campus in the Washington, D.C. area. The development is located about 275 miles from Virginia Tech’s main campus in Blacksburg. The 300,000-square-foot building will be situated on a 3.5-acre site within the Potomac Yard development. Construction of the first building is scheduled to be complete in advance of the fall 2024 academic semester. Plans for the campus call for the construction of two more academic buildings spanning 150,000 square feet each. When completed, the new academic building will provide instruction, research, office and support spaces for graduate-level programs in computer science and computer engineering, as well as other select programs. The building will also house experiential learning spaces, including flexible multipurpose areas and research and testing labs. Sasaki and SmithGroup led the design of the academic structure. JBG Smith is the master developer of the Innovation Campus and will also serve as the property manager and leasing agent for subsequent commercial and residential buildings within Potomac Yard. “This is a vibrant district, anchored by a new Virginia Tech campus, …

September 15, 2021

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