Top Stories

Tesla Selects Development Site Near Austin for $1B Vehicle Manufacturing Plant

by Katie Sloan July 23, 2020

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Electric automaker Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has selected a 2,000-acre site near Austin for the development of its latest $1 billion ‘Gigafactory.’ The vehicle manufacturing plant will build Tesla’s new Cybertruck pick-up truck and will be the second U.S. manufacturing site for the Model 3 and Model Y automobiles, distributing largely to the eastern half of North America. The development site is located in southeast Travis County, five minutes from the Austin International Airport and 15 minutes from Downtown Austin, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The project is set to receive $60 million in tax breaks from the county and a local school district over the next decade, according to reports by the Associated Press. “We’re going to make it a factory that is going to be stunning,” said Musk on the company’s second-quarter earnings call held Wednesday. “It’s right on the Colorado River [with] a boardwalk where there will be a hiking and biking trail. It’s going to be an ecological paradise — birds in the trees, butterflies, fish in the stream — and it will be open to the public as well.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott echoed Musk’s excitement, noting that Tesla is, “one of …

July 23, 2020

Development Midwest Missouri Office Top Stories

McCarthy Breaks Ground on 1 MSF Forsyth Pointe Mixed-Use Development Near St. Louis

by Kristin Harlow July 22, 2020

CLAYTON, MO. — McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. has broken ground on Forsyth Pointe, an office and retail development in the central business district of Clayton, just west of St. Louis. Developed by US Capital Development, the project will include two Class A office towers with more than 20,000 square feet of street-level retail space. The office portion will rest atop a seven-story parking structure, bringing the project’s total square footage to nearly 1 million square feet. A 10-story, 265,000-square-foot east tower will occupy the corner of Forsyth Boulevard and Meramec Avenue. An eight-story, 210,000-square-foot west tower will reside at Brentwood and Forsyth boulevards. In addition to a 45,000-square-foot garden terrace, amenities will include a 10,000-square-foot fitness center and an arts and entertainment venue. Completion is slated for summer 2022. Project costs were not disclosed. “Forsyth Pointe will add prime office space and innovative retail space, increasing street vitality and the pedestrian experience on a prominent corner across from Shaw Park, one of our city’s crown jewels,” says Clayton Mayor Michelle Harris. Established in 1935, the 47.5-acre Shaw Park is the city’s oldest and largest park. The Forsyth Pointe project team includes Christner Architects, Cedergreen LLC, Alper Audi, Stock & Associates, …

July 22, 2020

California Company News Leasing Activity Retail Top Stories Western

Parent Company of Men’s Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank to Shutter Up to 500 Stores, Cut Staff by 20 Percent

by John Nelson July 21, 2020

FREMONT, CALIF. — Tailored Brands, the parent company of professional menswear retailers Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank, has announced a corporate restructuring that entails closing up to 500 stores. The Fremont-based firm says the “unprecedented and industry-wide” disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak was the catalyst behind the move. Tailored Brands has identified the 500 stores but did not disclose the retailers, locations or timing of those closures. Other brands in Tailored’s umbrella include K&G and Moores Clothing for Men. The company had 1,445 U.S. stores as of May 2, 2020 totaling 9.1 million square feet. Additionally, Tailored Brands (NYSE: TLRD) plans to cut expenses by reducing its staff by 20 percent by early August. The company expects severance payments and other termination costs to total $6 million. The economic harm stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic is having an outsized impact on the company’s revenue stream. In its first-quarter fiscal business update, Tailored Brands reported that for the period between Feb. 1 and May 2, net sales were down 60.4 percent year-over-year. Its e-commerce revenue, which includes rental services, was down 31.9 percent during the same period. Going forward the company will focus on its e-commerce platform and revised …

July 21, 2020

California Company News Texas Top Stories Western

Chevron Agrees to Acquire Noble Energy for $5B in Oil Industry Merger

by Taylor Williams July 20, 2020

SAN RAMON, CALIF. — Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) has agreed to acquire Houston-based exploration firm Noble Energy (NASDAQ: NBL) in an all-stock transaction valued at $5 billion, or $10.38 per share. Under the terms of the agreement, Noble Energy shareholders will receive 0.1191 shares of Chevron common stock for each share of Noble Energy stock they own. Inclusive of debt, the deal carries a total enterprise value of $13 billion. The price represents a premium of roughly 12 percent on the weighted average of Noble Energy’s closing stock prices for the 10-day period ending July 17. Following the closing of the deal, which is expected to occur in the fourth quarter, Noble’s shareholders will own about 3 percent of the new entity. Executives at San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron cited access to Noble’s assets in key domestic production sites like Colorado’s D-J Basin and Texas’ Permian Basin, as well as its international facilities in Israel and West Africa, as major incentives behind the acquisition. For example, Noble’s portfolio includes nearly 92,000 contiguous acres for drilling and exploration in the Permian Basin . In addition, in June, the company was awarded exploration rights to 800,000 acres of drillable land in the Western …

July 20, 2020

Development Hospitality Illinois Midwest Mixed-Use Multifamily Retail Top Stories

Sterling Bay Secures $174.5M Construction Financing for Mixed-Use Tower on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue

by Katie Sloan July 17, 2020

CHICAGO — Sterling Bay has received $174.5 million in financing for the construction of 300 North Michigan Avenue, a 47-story mixed-use tower located between Chicago’s Riverwalk and Millennium Park. Sterling Bay will develop the project in partnership with Magellan Development Group. The tower is set to include a 280-room hotel, 289 apartments and 25,000 square feet of retail space. Boutique hospitality chain citizenM will acquire the hotel component of the property upon completion. Financing for the development includes senior secured financing from Bank OZK, as well as mezzanine financing from Pearlmark Real Estate and Monroe Capital, and a crowd-sourced equity component fundraised through CrowdStreet. “This development will serve as a striking new addition to Chicago’s Michigan Avenue,” says Andy Gloor, CEO of Sterling Bay. “We are extremely proud that financing has successfully crossed the finish line despite the pandemic.” Chicago-based general contractor Linn-Mathes will oversee the construction process, which is slated to begin in August. Local design firm bKL Architecture will serve as lead architect. A timeline for completion was not yet released. The 300 North Michigan Avenue project is estimated to create over 500 on-site construction jobs and approximately 70 permanent on-site jobs in residential and hotel operations once …

July 17, 2020

Development Midwest Minnesota Mixed-Use Top Stories

Ryan Cos. Breaks Ground on Massive Mixed-Use Redevelopment of Former Ford Plant in St. Paul

by Alex Tostado July 16, 2020

ST. PAUL, MINN. — Ryan Cos. has broken ground on the redevelopment of a 122-acre former Ford plant in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood. Named Highland Bridge, the project has a focus on residential, featuring seniors housing, market-rate multifamily housing and 760 units of affordable housing, as well as for-sale row homes. In addition to the project’s 3,800 housing units, Highland Bridge is slated to include 150,000 square feet of retail space, 265,000 square feet of office space and 50,000 square feet of civic or institutional spaces. More than 55 acres of public space will include four new parks, biking and walking paths and two little league fields. Ryan Cos. completed the purchase of the former Ford plant in December 2019. Ford began production of the Model T at the site in 1925, but the plant closed in 2011. Total project costs for the redevelopment were not disclosed. An estimated 14,500 construction jobs will be created for the project. Once complete, an estimated 1,000 employees will be employed at the site. “We’ve paid particular attention to what makes Highland Park special, and our goal is to uphold those unique qualities, to expand upon them, and to create a place where …

July 16, 2020

New York Northeast Retail Top Stories

PVH to Close 162 Outlet Stores, Reduce Office Workforce by 12 Percent

by Kristin Harlow July 15, 2020

NEW YORK CITY — In a move to streamline its North American operations and adapt to an evolving retail landscape that has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH) announced Tuesday that it will close all of its 162 Heritage Brands outlet stores and reduce its office workforce by approximately 450 positions, or 12 percent. PVH’s Heritage Brands include Van Heusen, Izod, Arrow, Warner’s, Olga and Geoffrey Beene. The Heritage Brands retail locations are expected to operate through mid-2021. The workforce reductions, which are spread across all three brand businesses of Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Heritage Brands, are expected to result in annual cost savings of approximately $80 million. “The structural changes occurring in the North American retail landscape have required us to take a hard look at our North American operations and identify where we can optimize costs across our business model,” says Manny Chirico, chairman and CEO of PVH. “We did not take these decisions lightly, as our Heritage Brands retail business is our oldest retail business, yet no longer met appropriate return metrics.” Stefan Larsson, president of PVH, says that the COVID-19 crisis is dramatically reshaping the retail landscape for the long term …

July 15, 2020

Development Mixed-Use North Carolina Southeast Top Stories

Charlotte City Council Gives $600M Mixed-Use Project in Uptown District First Approval to Move Forward

by John Nelson July 14, 2020

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Seventh and Tryon, a planned $600 million mixed-use project in Charlotte’s Uptown district, has cleared a critical hurdle with the Charlotte City Council. The proposed development will include a 160,000-square-foot mixed-use building, 450,000-square-foot office tower, market-rate and affordable multifamily units, retail space and below- and above-ground parking. At a virtual meeting yesterday, the council unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that allows Marcus Jones, city manager of Charlotte, to negotiate and execute with the Virginia-based developer, Metropolitan Partnership Ltd., on behalf of the city and the landowners of the 3.1-acre site in Uptown. The landowners include Bank of America, City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County and Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. Atlanta-based DaVinci Development Collaborative is the development manager on behalf of the landowners. “North Tryon needs a facelift, I believe this project moves us in that direction,” said councilmember Malcolm Graham, representative of Charlotte’s District 2, during the proceedings. The council also moved to allow the use of city funds to be negotiated for the project to move forward. The MOU includes the sale of the land from the four landowners to Metropolitan Partnership for a price of $21.5 million. The key terms of the MOU also include …

July 14, 2020

Loans Multifamily Southeast Top Stories Virginia

CBRE Provides $161.5M Freddie Mac Loan for Refinancing of Apartments Near Washington, D.C.

by Taylor Williams July 13, 2020

ARLINGTON, VA. — CBRE has arranged a $161.5 million Freddie Mac loan for the refinancing of Crystal House, an 825-unit apartment community in Arlington, just south of Washington, D.C. Crystal House is located in the Crystal City neighborhood near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and the site of Amazon’s future second headquarters. The property was originally built in 1965 and renovated in 2017. Crystal House offers studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units that are furnished with stainless steel appliances, hardwood-style flooring, granite breakfast bars and walk-in closets. Select units also feature private balconies. Communal amenities include two rooftop decks with lounge seating, TVs and fireplaces, a clubhouse with billiards and a cyber lounge, pool with cabanas and a sundeck, fitness center, convenience store and outdoor picnic areas. The property also offers valet dry cleaning and 24-hour concierge services. Michael Sherman, Irene Lu, Michael Riccio, Susan Larkin and Anna Pfau of CBRE originated the loan. The borrower was a partnership between Roseland Residential Trust, which is a subsidiary of New Jersey-based REIT Mack-Cali Corp., and an investment fund advised by UBS Realty Investors LLC. “This is among the largest multifamily refinancings to occur completely during the COVID crisis, as lenders have …

July 13, 2020

Company News Retail Top Stories Washington Western

Sur La Table Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Plans to Close 56 Stores

by Katie Sloan July 10, 2020

SEATTLE — Privately held kitchenware retailer Sur La Table has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Seattle-based company is set to close 56 of its 121 stores, according to reports by The New York Times, making it the latest retailer to struggle under strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Following store closures and bankruptcy proceedings, Sur La Table has entered into a stalking horse agreement — or an initial bid on the assets of a bankrupt company — to affiliates of New York City-based Fortress Investment Group. The private equity firm is working with Los Angeles-based STORY3 Capital Partners, a private equity and debt investor that has previously invested in retailers such as Hot Topic, Nordstrom, Oakley, True Religion and West Marine. Jason Goldberger, CEO of Sur La Table, says the company will focus on its successful stores, online platform and in-person cooking classes post-sale. “This sale process will result in a revitalized Sur La Table, positioned to thrive in a post-COVID-19 retail environment,” says Goldberger. “Sur La Table will have a balance sheet and retail footprint optimized to position the company for a bright future that continues our nearly 50-year tradition of offering high-quality cooking products and experiences …

July 10, 2020

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