Top Stories

Google to Invest $7B in Offices, Data Centers Across the U.S.

by Katie Sloan March 18, 2021

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. — Google has announced plans to invest $7 billion in offices and data centers across the U.S. this year, creating 10,000 new full-time jobs across 19 states. The investment will include over $1 billion in the state of California; office expansions in Atlanta, Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C.; and data center expansions in Nebraska, South Carolina, Virginia, Nevada and Texas. Further details on planned investments across the U.S. are below: South In the Southern U.S., Google will increase its investment in an existing South Carolina data center and its existing office campuses in Atlanta and Washington, D.C.; establish a new cloud engineering site in Durham, N.C.; open its first U.S. Google Operations Center in Southaven, Miss.; open a new office in Reston, Va.; and expand its data center in Virginia’s Loudon County. Midwest Earlier this year, Google established its first Minnesota office in Rochester and its new data centers in New Albany, Ohio, and Papillion, Neb., became operational. The company plans to expand its data center footprint in Nebraska over the course of 2021 and will begin further improvements at its Detroit, Chicago and Ann Arbor, Mich., offices. Texas Google’s new data center in Midlothian, …

March 18, 2021

Acquisitions Hospitality Texas Top Stories

Host Hotels & Resorts Acquires Hyatt Regency Austin for $161M

by Kristin Harlow March 17, 2021

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NASDAQ: HST) has acquired the fee simple interest in the 448-room Hyatt Regency Austin for approximately $161 million in cash. The purchase price represents a capitalization rate of 10 percent and a 20 to 25 percent discount to pre-COVID pricing, according to HST. Hyatt will continue to manage the hotel under a long-term agreement. The seller was undisclosed. Situated on nearly six acres along Lady Bird Lake, the waterfront property is located near the city’s South Congress District and Zilker Park. The hotel’s rooms were renovated in 2015 and its meeting space was expanded in 2018. The property features 45,000 square feet of meeting space, including two ballrooms. There are also two food and beverage outlets as well as an outdoor pool and a fitness center. “As travel resumes, we expect the well-located Hyatt Regency Austin to benefit from a strong rebound led by Austin’s multiple leisure and business demand drivers that are anchored in world-renowned music festivals, sporting events and blue-chip corporations,” says James Risoleo, president and CEO of HST. “Additionally, we are encouraged by the reported contraction in Austin’s hotel construction pipeline relative to pre-pandemic levels and by the market’s …

March 17, 2021

Development Hospitality Industrial Texas Top Stories

Royal Caribbean, Port of Galveston Move Forward with $100M Cruise Ship Terminal in Texas

by Taylor Williams March 16, 2021

GALVESTON, TEXAS — A public-private partnership between Royal Caribbean International and the Port of Galveston, located in Southeast Texas, is moving forward with development of a new $100 million cruise ship terminal. The partnership will develop the two-story property within an eastern section of the port known as Pier 10 and will harbor one of the Miami-based cruise line’s largest ships, the Allure of the Seas. Construction of the facility, which will span approximately 170,000 square feet and 10 acres, is set to begin in April for completion in fall 2022. The project was originally announced in December 2019. At that time, construction was expected to begin in April 2020 and wrap up in fall 2021. Those plans were significantly delayed by the outbreak of COVID-19, which hurt the cruise industry as part of the larger hospitality sector. The facility will feature state-of-the-art technology, including mobile check-in and facial recognition platforms to expedite guests’ arrival. The plans also include a staging and loading area; bus and taxi staging areas; and substantial parking space. The terminal is designed to meet LEED certification standards. The partnership between Royal Caribbean and the Port of Galveston dates back to 2002, when the luxury cruise …

March 16, 2021

Acquisitions Company News Hospitality North Carolina Southeast Top Stories

Blackstone, Starwood Capital Agree to Purchase Hotel Giant Extended Stay America for $6B

by John Nelson March 15, 2021

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Blackstone Real Estate Partners and Starwood Capital Group have agreed to form a 50/50 joint venture to acquire Extended Stay America (NYSE: STAY) in a deal valued at $6 billion. Barry Sternlicht, CEO of Starwood Capital (NYSE: STWD), cited Extended Stay America’s performance amid the COVID-19 pandemic as a key factor behind the acquisition. “Extended Stay has demonstrated resilience over the past year despite persistent challenges due to government lockdowns and travel restrictions,” says Sternlicht. “We are excited about the company’s growth opportunity as restrictions ease and we’re confident that, in partnership with Blackstone, our team has the right experience to drive continued success.” “Travel and leisure is one of Blackstone’s highest conviction investment themes, and we have confidence in the extended stay model,” adds Tyler Henritze, Blackstone’s head of U.S. acquisitions. The Charlotte-based hotel owner operates 649 Extended Stay America hotels in the United States spanning over 69,000 rooms. The company’s subsidiary, hospitality REIT ESH Hospitality Inc., owns 563 of those hotels. The remaining 86 properties are franchised, according to Extended Stay America’s fourth-quarter 2020 earnings report. Blackstone and Starwood Capital’s cash offer is for $19.50 per share, a premium of 15.1 percent to Extended Stay …

March 15, 2021

Development Multifamily Seniors Housing Top Stories

Maplewood Senior Living, Omega Healthcare Investors Open 23-Story Senior Living Community in Manhattan

by Julia Sanders March 12, 2021

NEW YORK CITY — Maplewood Senior Living and Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. have opened Inspīr Carnegie Hill, a high-rise senior living community in Manhattan’s Upper East Side neighborhood. Inspīr Carnegie Hill rises 23 stories at 1802 Second Ave. The property features 215 units of assisted living and memory care with a range of studio to two-bedroom options and over 50,000 square feet of amenity spaces. Community amenities include a salon, an open-air SkyPark, a lounge, library, fitness center, heated saltwater pool, screening room, two fine dining options with meals included, a 24-hour attended lobby, concierge, Mercedes-Maybach house car available daily and limousine service available upon request. Additionally, the community will offer residents Stage Access, an on-demand streaming platform that delivers performing arts content directly to residents via television or virtual reality. The seniors housing community also has a partnership with The Actors Fund, which integrates entertainment and arts professionals into the rhythm of each day through dance, music, storytelling and acting. Claire Davenport has joined the property’s integrated care team as house geriatrician through a collaboration with the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which was recently ranked the No. …

March 12, 2021

Arizona Multifamily Top Stories Western

Institutional Property Advisors Brokers $117M Sale of Montreux Multifamily Community in Phoenix

by Katie Sloan March 11, 2021

PHOENIX — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA) has brokered the $117 million sale of Montreux, a 335-unit luxury multifamily property located within the master-planned community of Desert Ridge in Phoenix. Montreux offers a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units averaging 1,058 square feet with 9-foot ceilings; sound-absorbing mechanisms that assist in mitigating sound transfer; fiber-optic high-speed internet; keyless entry; and motion sensor management. Shared amenities at the property include a clubhouse, rooftop terrace, creative workshop, game room, fitness center, dog park, two resort-style swimming pools, a business center, and tennis, bocce and pickleball courts. Completed in 2020, Montreux is located adjacent to Loop 101, State Route 51 and Interstate 17 — three of the most traveled freeways in Arizona. It is also near the corporate headquarters for Sprouts Farmers Market and offices for American Express, Vanguard, Nationwide, Axon and the Mayo Clinic Hospital. The community was 60 percent occupied at the time of sale. Steve Gebing and Cliff David of IPA represented the seller, The Statesman Group, in the transaction and procured the buyer, Pacific Development Partners. “The Phoenix MSA continues to be among the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the nation with a wide range of industries that attract a …

March 11, 2021

Colorado Development Multifamily Top Stories Western

Crescent Communities Plans $181M Apartment Project in Denver’s RiNo Art District

by Kristin Harlow March 10, 2021

DENVER — Crescent Communities has started development of NOVEL RiNo, a $181 million apartment project in Denver’s River North (RiNo) Art District and Cole neighborhood. Located at 1300 40th St., the community will feature 483 multifamily units, 15,800 square feet of retail space with a 2,702-square-foot rooftop cocktail lounge. The property will feature a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans, with a portion of the units designated as affordable housing. Community amenities will include a sixth-floor pool deck, three outdoor courtyards, a covered outdoor pavilion and a food truck reserved for resident use. The project will embrace the artistic and industrial history of the neighborhood through art installations by local artists and industrial-inspired architecture, according to the developer. Crescent and its equity partner, Dart Interests, acquired the development site in February from EXDO Development. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. is providing project financing. “Denver is a place we identified years ago for its long-term potential, and we are excited to find an opportunity that matches our investment criteria,” says Jonathan Winson, senior vice president of investments for Dart. The first residences are slated to open in spring 2023. JLL is managing the retail leasing, additional details of which will …

March 10, 2021

Acquisitions California Office Top Stories Western

Kilroy Realty Agrees to Sell Dropbox-Anchored Office Campus in San Francisco for $1B

by John Nelson March 9, 2021

SAN FRANCISCO — Kilroy Realty Corp. (NYSE: KRC) has agreed to sell The Exchange on Sixteenth, a 750,000-square-foot office campus located at 1800 Owens St. in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood. The buyer was not disclosed, but the San Francisco Chronicle reported it was KKR, a private equity firm based in New York. The agreed purchase price is a little more than $1 billion, equating to approximately $1,440 per square foot. Kilroy Realty says this is the highest per-square-foot sales price for a “major property” in the history of San Francisco’s commercial real estate market. The Chronicle reports the sale represents the second largest transaction for a single property in the city’s history. “This transaction demonstrates that quality assets in quality locations remain highly attractive to buyers, and in this case generated a record price,” says John Kilroy, chairman and CEO of Kilroy Realty. Software storage giant Dropbox Inc. (NASDAQ: DBX) signed a 15-year lease for its corporate headquarters at the campus in 2017. The San Francisco Business Times reported last summer that the company listed 270,000 square feet of its space at the campus for sublease as the COVID-19 pandemic caused most of its staff to work remotely. Kilroy …

March 9, 2021

Acquisitions California Office Top Stories Western

CIM Group Sells Uptown Station Office Building in Oakland for $419M

by Taylor Williams March 8, 2021

OAKLAND, CALIF. — Los Angeles-based investor and developer CIM Group has sold Uptown Station, a 397,000-square-foot office building in Oakland. Local media outlets including the East Bay Times report that the sales price was $419 million, and that the property sold to Mapletree Investments, which is based in Singapore. The price equates to roughly $1,057 per square foot, which the Times reports would be a record for an Oakland office building. Newmark brokered the deal. Square Inc., a locally based provider of financial services like mobile payments that is headed by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, occupies the entire eight-story building. The property was originally built in 1929 to house a Sears department store. CIM Group acquired the asset in December 2017 from Uber, which was in the process of redeveloping the building into an urban office campus. Uptown Station is situated at the nexus of three arteries — Broadway, Telegraph Avenue, and 20th Street — in Oakland’s Uptown district. The property is located directly above a BART station, offers outdoor roof decks and includes 35,000 square feet of retail space that is leased to Shake Shack and One Medical. “CIM Group delivered on its vision for Uptown Station, bringing a …

March 8, 2021

California Development Mixed-Use Top Stories Western

Pacific Equity Properties Receives $130M Construction Financing for Mixed-use Development in Malibu, California

by Julia Sanders March 5, 2021

MALIBU, CALIF. — Pacific Equity Properties Inc. has received $130 million in construction financing for Cross Creek Ranch Malibu, a 112,000-square-foot mixed-use development in Malibu, a beach city just west of downtown Los Angeles. Cross Creek Ranch is the largest development to be approved since Malibu incorporated in 1991, according to the developer. The property will offer 70,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, including 10,000 square feet of interior dining, and 42,000 square feet of Class A office space. More than 80 percent of Cross Creek Ranch’s 12.9-acre grounds will be dedicated to landscape architecture, water treatments and gathering places. The development will also feature subterranean and perimeter surface parking. The project is slated for completion in 2023. “As opposed to focusing exclusively on the shopping experience of the center, we have put an emphasis on the communal aspect of Cross Creek Ranch. Our aim is to create an intimate, rural village atmosphere,” says Bryan Gordon, CEO of Pacific Equity Properties. The site is located near shopping destinations such as Malibu Country Mart, Malibu Village, The Park at Cross Creek and Malibu Lumber Yard, immediately adjacent to a new expansion campus of Santa Monica College. Integrated Capital Management …

March 5, 2021

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