Top Stories

Investcorp Acquires 11 Multifamily Properties Across U.S. for $370M

by Taylor Williams June 10, 2019

NEW YORK CITY — Global asset manager Investcorp, which is based in Bahrain and has its U.S. office in New York City, has acquired 11 multifamily properties totaling 2,615 units across the United States. The sales price was $370 million. The properties are located throughout six primary markets: Orlando, Tampa, Raleigh, Atlanta, Philadelphia and St. Louis. Madison Apartment Group, an affiliate of the seller, Philadelphia-based Equus Capital Partners, will continue to manage the communities after overseeing capital improvement programs at each property. The portfolio was approximately 95 percent leased at the time of sale with an average construction date of 1994 and an average unit size of 1,020 square feet. Equus acquired the properties between 2013 and 2015 and collectively spent about $20 million upgrading them. “The portfolio is positioned to deliver an attractive, stable and predictable cash flow for the new venture with Investcorp, while at the same time the markets continue to support further enhancement opportunities and ability to push rents higher,” says Christopher Locatell, senior vice president and director of dispositions for Equus. Investcorp executives noted that the deal marked the firm’s largest real estate acquisition in the United States in the last decade, and was appealing …

June 10, 2019

Development Loans Office Top Stories Washington Western

Capstone Partners Receives $154.7M Construction Financing for Office Building in Metro Seattle

by Amy Works June 7, 2019

REDMOND, WASH. — Capstone Partners has received $154.7 million in construction financing for One Esterra Park, a transit-oriented office development in Redmond, approximately 15 miles east of Seattle. The investment banking firm plans to break ground sometime this month. The Class A project is the next phase of the 3 million-square-foot Esterra Park live-work-play master-planned community. One Esterra Park will rise six stories and total 245,000 square feet. Being built to LEED Silver standards, the property will feature average floor plates of 40,000 square feet, robust amounts of power and mechanical infrastructure and collaborative common areas. The 2.2-acre site is immediately adjacent to Microsoft’s world headquarters and near many of the area’s large and expanding economic drivers such as Facebook, Amazon and Google. Additionally, the project is adjacent to the future Overlake Village Transit Station and the future State Route 520 off-ramp, providing connectivity to major area thoroughfares, including Interstates 405 and 90. Capstone expects One Esterra Park to be ready for occupancy in late 2020. Ben Bullock, Charles Halladay, Bruce Ganong, Zach Goodwin, Michael Leggett and Tom Wilson of HFF arranged the debt and equity for the project. US Bank provided the construction loan while a private equity investor …

June 7, 2019

Development Northeast Office Pennsylvania Top Stories

Discovery Labs to Develop $500M Coworking Campus in Metro Philadelphia

by Alex Tostado June 6, 2019

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA. — The Discovery Labs has unveiled plans for a $500 million healthcare, life sciences and technology coworking campus at the 1 million-square-foot GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Upper West Merion campus and the 640,000-square-foot Innovation at Renaissance Campus. The two campuses, which are located across the street from each other in the Philadelphia suburb of King of Prussia, will be known as The Discovery Labs. The collaborative lab, office and lifestyle space, will span 1.6 million square feet. The Discovery Labs called the campus the “world’s largest coworking community” in a press release. “The Discovery Labs is 20 times larger than the average coworking space, and provides the mission critical infrastructure needed to operate healthcare, life sciences and technology-enabled companies,” says Audrey Greenberg, chief financial officer of The Discovery Labs. “The size of each Discovery Labs enables enterprise level companies to work side by side with startup and emerging companies and enjoy the benefits of the coworking phenomenon.” IQ Connect, Discovery Labs’ 100,000-square-foot incubator project developed in partnership with The Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center, will sit at the center of the campus. The purpose of IQ Connect is to “bring together researchers, entrepreneurs and product development startups, along with human …

June 6, 2019

Acquisitions Maryland Multifamily Southeast Top Stories

Star Real Estate Ventures Acquires 2,566-Unit Multifamily Portfolio in Maryland for $500M

by Kristin Harlow June 5, 2019

MARYLAND — Star Real Estate Ventures LLC has acquired a five-property multifamily portfolio totaling 2,566 units in Maryland for approximately $500 million. Most of the communities are located in suburban Baltimore. The properties include Charleston Place in Ellicott City, Morningside Heights in Owings Mills, Top Field in Cockeysville, Tamarron in Olney and Village Square in Glen Burnie. All of the communities feature pools and playgrounds, while four of the five have tennis courts. Home Properties recently operated all five communities. Financing for the transaction included five separate Fannie Mae loans for a total of $320 million, as well as equity from Related Fund Management. David Webb, Maxi Leachman, Brynn Wendel and Robert LaChapelle of CBRE arranged the financing. Bill Roohan, Michael Muldowney, Robert Dean and Malcolm McComb of CBRE represented the seller, a global private equity firm. Star Real Estate Ventures is a real estate investment and management firm that owns and manages 14,500 apartment units in 11 states. The company is headquartered in New York City with offices in Boca Raton, Fla. and Okemos, Mich. This is the firm’s second acquisition of 2019, following the purchase of an 852-unit portfolio in Cincinnati in February. Star is actively looking for …

June 5, 2019

Acquisitions Massachusetts Net Lease Northeast Retail Texas Top Stories

Hospitality Properties Trust Buys National Net-Lease Retail Portfolio for $2.4B

by John Nelson June 4, 2019

NEWTON, MASS. AND DALLAS — Hospitality Properties Trust (NASDAQ: HPT) has purchased a portfolio of net-leased retail assets from Spirit MTA REIT (NYSE: SMTA) for $2.4 billion. The portfolio consists of 774 service-oriented retail properties in 43 states that are occupied by tenants including AMC Theatres, Academy Sports + Outdoors and CarMax. The portfolio was 98 percent occupied as of March 31 and has a weighted average remaining lease term of 8.6 years. The portfolio includes all of SMTA’s owned properties held in its “Master Trust 2014” segment and excludes approximately 100 assets leased to Shopko Stores Inc., a Wisconsin-based general merchandiser that filed for bankruptcy in January. The portfolio also includes three Pilot Travel Centers that are currently owned by Spirit Realty Capital Inc., a Dallas-based net-lease REIT that owns single-tenant retail assets subject to long-term leases. Spirit Realty externally manages SMTA after spinning off the REIT from its holdings last summer. “Ultimately, we concluded that a sale to Hospitality Properties Trust represented the best possible outcome for our shareholders,” said Richard Stockton, lead independent trustee of SMTA, in a statement. “We will continue our work to close the transaction in the coming months and realize cash value for …

June 4, 2019

Acquisitions Industrial Top Stories

Blackstone Agrees to Acquire GLP’s Entire U.S. Logistics Portfolio for $18.7B

by Taylor Williams June 3, 2019

NEW YORK CITY — Blackstone Real Estate, a division of private equity behemoth Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX), has agreed to acquire the entire U.S. logistics portfolio of Singapore-based investment manager GLP for approximately $18.7 billion. The portfolio of distribution and fulfillment centers spans roughly 179 million square feet of urban infill space across 36 major markets, nearly doubling New York City-based Blackstone’s volume of U.S. industrial real estate holdings. The sale is expected to close sometime after Labor Day. Blackstone cited a growing demand for e-commerce and the need by retailers to reconfigure their supply chains as the primary driving forced behind the deal. “Logistics is our highest conviction global investment theme today,” says Ken Caplan, global co-head of Blackstone Real Estate. “We look forward to building on our existing portfolio to meet the growing e-commerce demand.” According to the Financial Times, GLP will use proceeds from the sale to return value to shareholders and to reinvest in other U.S. real estate assets. GLP, which has more than $64 billion in real estate and private equity assets under management, first entered the U.S. market in 2015 and quickly became one of the country’s largest owners of industrial real estate. Blackstone has been …

June 3, 2019

Development Industrial Southeast Tennessee Top Stories

LG Electronics Opens $360M Washing Machine Factory in Northern Tennessee

by Alex Tostado May 31, 2019

CLARKSVILLE, TENN. — LG Electronics USA has opened its new $360 million, 1 million-square-foot home appliance factory in Clarksville. DPR Construction served as the general contractor for the 13-month project. Gresham, Smith and Partners was the architect. DPR employed more than 800 workers on-site to complete the plant, which sits on 310 acres. South Korea-based LG employs 550 workers at the facility with plans to house up to 700 employees when the factory becomes fully operational. LG will incorporate robotics, automation and engineered systems into the production of up to 1 million washing machines per year at the warehouse. “We are proud to bring state-of-the-art, home appliance production technology and even more U.S. jobs to the great state of Tennessee,” says Dan Song, president of the LG Home Appliance and Air Solutions Co. “Thanks to the support of local officials and the Montgomery County community, LG is expanding our business investments in the United States to better serve our customers and, ultimately, American consumers seeking the best washing machines in the market.” Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee was on-hand at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the factory, which is located about 50 miles northwest of downtown Nashville. “LG is known around the world for its innovative appliances …

May 31, 2019

Acquisitions Retail Top Stories

Sansome Pacific Acquires 11 Cabela’s Stores for $324.3M

by Jeff Shaw May 30, 2019

SAN FRANCISCO — A joint venture led by Sansome Pacific, a real estate investment firm based in San Francisco, has acquired 11 locations of outdoor sports retailer Cabela’s for $324.3 million. The transaction was structured as a sale-leaseback with the seller, Bass Pro Shops, which owns the Cabela’s brand. Much like Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s is known for its sprawling retail campuses. The 11-property portfolio spans 1.6 million square feet on 227 acres of land. Bass Pro Shops is based in Springfield, Missouri, while Cabela’s is based in Sidney, Nebraska. The specific locations of the 11 stores were not disclosed. B+E brokered the deal, claiming it as the largest transaction ever brokered by a digital sales platform. Co-founders Camille Renshaw and Scott Scurich are longtime real estate brokers that founded the company in 2017 after a stint with Ten-X, another digital real estate sales platform. The program “uses artificial intelligence to track the most active buyers in the real-time, net-lease market, much as stock and bond software tracks institutional investors,” according to the company. “The algorithm evaluates a buyer’s past purchases, as well as current acquisition criteria and dollars raised that must be allocated within a given year.” Bass Pro …

May 30, 2019

Affordable Housing Development Hawaii Multifamily Top Stories Western

State of Hawaii, Standard Communities Unveil $223.9M Plan to Rehabilitate 1,221 Affordable Housing Units

by Kristin Harlow May 29, 2019

HAWAII — Standard Communities, in partnership with the State of Hawaii and Honolulu-based Stanford Carr Development, has unveiled a $223.9 million public-private partnership that will reposition 1,221 affordable housing units across six properties on the islands of Oahu, Hawaii and Maui. “Leveraging private funds through partnerships like this is a more efficient use of state resources,” says Gov. David Y. Ige. “It’s more cost effective to sell the leasehold interest and have Standard Communities and Stanford Carr Development bring private capital to pay for renovations and other capital improvements through the sale.” In the first transaction, Standard Communities acquired five of the six properties for a total of 995 units. The sixth is expected to close in the coming months. The seller was Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. (HHFDC), a state-run agency. The new partnership preserves all the units as affordable housing for the long-term, though the exact length of that deal was not disclosed. The portfolio will undergo an $85 million rehabilitation. Residents will receive project-based rental assistance. As part of the rehabilitation, unit interiors will be renovated, building systems will be modernized and the common areas will be updated to house a comprehensive offering of services and …

May 29, 2019

Acquisitions New York Northeast Office Top Stories

Savanna Acquires Office Tower in Midtown Manhattan for $381M

by John Nelson May 28, 2019

NEW YORK CITY — Savanna, a real estate owner and developer based in New York City, has purchased a 39-story office tower in Midtown Manhattan for $381 million. The nearly 500,000-square-foot building is located at 521 Fifth Ave., which is near the corner of 43rd Street and one block from Grand Central Station in New York City. The seller is a joint venture between SL Green Realty Corp., Quantum Global Real Estate and LaSalle Investment Management. Bill Shanahan, Darcy Stacom, David Fowler and Doug Middleton of CBRE represented the joint venture in the sale. Built in 1929, the office tower is LEED Gold-certified and Energy Star-rated, but Savanna plans to make significant capital improvements to the asset. More specifically, the renovation includes a complete entrance and lobby overhaul, new signage, selective systems upgrades and common corridor work. “After we make a few select cosmetic improvements, we believe this property will be well-positioned for a successful leasing campaign,” says Andrew Fichte, managing director of Savanna. Savanna has selected a CBRE team led by Peter Turchin and David Hollander as the leasing agent for the office tower. At year-end 2018, the build was more than 96 percent leased to tenants including China …

May 28, 2019

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