NEW YORK CITY — Locally based real estate giant Tishman Speyer has completed the $3.5 billion refinancing of Rockefeller Center, a 7.3 million-square-foot mixed-use campus in Midtown Manhattan. Bank of America and Wells Fargo led the consortium of lenders that provided the CMBS financing, which carries a fixed interest rate of approximately 6.23 percent. Tishman Speyer will use the proceeds to pay off a 20-year, $1.7 billion CMBS loan and additional mezzanine financing that will mature in May 2025, as well as to fund reserves for contractual leasing costs. Dechert LLP advised Bank of America and Wells Fargo on the transaction. Rockefeller Center was originally developed in the 1920s and comprises more than a dozen buildings across 22 acres between 48th and 51st streets. The campus features office, retail, restaurant and entertainment space, as well as a 24,000-square-foot park atop Radio City Music Hall. Tishman Speyer is currently nearing completion of a redevelopment of the property. The office component of Rockefeller Center is currently 93 percent leased to global occupiers such as Deloitte, Lazard, Christie’s, Simon & Schuster and J.P. Morgan Chase. Retail and entertainment users include LEGO, Banana Republic, Anthropologie, Michael Kors, Catbird, FAO Schwarz and Nintendo. The lineup of …
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SAN DIEGO — Breakthrough Properties, a joint venture between Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital, has completed the development of Torrey View, a 520,000-square-foot life sciences campus located in the Del Mar Heights neighborhood of San Diego. The 10-acre property was fully preleased and is home to the oncology division of biopharmaceutical company Pfizer, which occupies 230,000 square feet across two buildings; and the innovation center for the biosciences division of BD, a global medical technology company, which occupies a 220,000-square-foot-building. Additional tenants include Charles River Laboratories, Actio Biosciences and Architect Therapeutics. Torrey View offers expansive ocean views and a full suite of amenities, including a client clubhouse, multiple dining options, a fitness center and pickleball court, 400-person conference facility, bike and surfboard storage and a partially below-grade parking garage covered by open green spaces and gardens. The joint venture acquired the development site for the campus, which has achieved LEED Gold certification, in October 2020. Equity partners in the project included Mitsui Fudosan America, Investment Management Corp. of Ontario and AP2. The development team included life sciences architectural firm Flad Architects and general contractor Clark Construction, and leasing for the project was handled by JLL. Formed in 2019, Breakthrough Properties …
ATLANTA — The Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority, owner and operator of the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, has selected a team of locally based firms to manage the expansion and renovation of the convention center. Impact Development Management will serve as the authority’s representative and project manager for the overhaul, Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio will serve as the project architect and Holder Construction will be the construction manager. The development team plans to break ground on the project in fall 2025, with completion slated for early 2027. The Cobb Galleria Centre was originally built by the authority in 1994. The facility currently totals 320,000 square feet, including 144,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 25,000-square-foot ballroom, 20 meeting rooms and four executive boardrooms. Also on the campus is Galleria Specialty Shops, an enclave of small retail shops that currently houses tenants including HOKA Shoes and a Subway kiosk. The master plan for the expansion project includes: Cobb Galleria Centre is centrally located near the intersection of I-75 and I-285 in Atlanta’s Cumberland-Galleria submarket. The convention center is connected via two elevated walkways to Simon’s Cumberland Mall and The Battery Atlanta, the mixed-use village surrounding Truist Park, home of the Atlanta …
BOSTON — Azora has acquired an office and retail building located at 149 Newbury St. in Boston for $101 million. The property offers 45,495 rentable square feet across five floors. Certified LEED Gold, the building is situated along the Newbury Street commercial corridor, surrounded by luxury shops and restaurants in the city’s Back Bay neighborhood. The asset was 81 percent leased at the time of sale. The ground floor is fully occupied by two tenants: Google, which operates its first high-tech store in New England; and Alo, an athletic apparel retailer. The third floor offers 9,586 square feet available for lease. Azora plans to convert this space into “ready to move in” offices, citing demand for this type of product in the area. Ignacio Gil-Casares, managing partner of Azora Exan, says the acquisition aligns with a strategy that the company began implementing in the U.S. last year. “We continue to believe in the value of trophy office assets in major U.S. cities, and 149 Newbury is the perfect example, combining an excellent location, high occupancy by top-tier tenants and the potential to achieve higher returns by leasing the remaining space through the creation of speculative spaces,” he says. “We are …
CHICAGO — Hardware retailer True Value Co. LLC has initiated voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The Chicago-based retailer has also entered into an agreement to sell substantially all of its business operations to Do it Best Corp., another entity within the home improvement retail sector and former rival. According to Reuters, Do it Best will serve as the stalking horse bidder for True Value with an acquisition price set at $153 million in cash and the assumption of $45 million in contracts and other obligations. “After a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives, we determined that the sale of our business was the path forward to maximize value and best serve our retail partners and other stakeholders into the future,” said Chris Kempa, CEO of True Value. “We believe that entering the process with an agreed offer from Do it Best, who has a similar decades-long history in the home improvement space and also operates with a focus on supporting members and helping them grow, is the most beneficial next step.” True Value stores — of which there are roughly 4,500 — are independently owned, aside from one company-owned store in Palantine, Ill. …
RALEIGH, N.C. — Barings has provided a $134 million loan for the refinancing of Smoky Hollow, a mixed-use property located in Raleigh. Travis Anderson, Colby Mueck and Warren Johnson of JLL arranged the five-year loan on behalf of the owner, a joint venture between locally based Kane Realty Corp., Williams Realty & Building Co. and Lionstone Investments. Smoky Hollow was completed in 2020 and is located in the state capital’s Glenwood South neighborhood. The property comprises The Line, a 283-unit apartment community, as well as a 229,000-square-foot office building known as 421 North Harrington and roughly 40,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. The Line features studio, one-, two and three-bedroom apartments and amenities such as a pool, clubroom, social lounge, coworking space, fitness center, outdoor grilling and dining stations and a package delivery room. The office building rises nine stories and offers bike storage space and multiple outdoor terraces. Food-and-beverage users at Smoky Hollow include barbeque restaurant Midwood Smokehouse, ice cream and tea concept Milklab and cocktail bar The Crunkleton. The retail component houses other wellness-based users, such as Dose Yoga & Smoothie Bar, JetSet Pilates and FastMed Urgent Care. “Smoky Hollow is well-positioned to benefit from Raleigh’s …
POMONA, CALIF. — CP Capital has sold The Gabriel, a 312-unit apartment community in Pomona, approximately 30 miles west of Los Angeles. The property is situated at 2771 N. Garey Ave., adjacent to the Pomona North Metrolink Station. The buyer and sales price were not disclosed. The Gabriel was completed in 2022. The four-story development offers apartments featuring stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops, plank flooring and smart home technology such as Honeywell Wi-Fi thermostats, community video intercoms, Brivo keyless entry in common areas and ButterflyMX virtual keys. According to Apartments.com, units come in one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans with monthly rental rates starting at $2,285. Community amenities include a pool and spa, fitness center, onsite retail, four courtyards with fruit trees and outdoor seating, fire pits, outdoor grills, a clubroom, rideshare lounge, entertainment lounge, dog park, pet wash station, package lockers and covered bike storage. The property was 94 percent occupied at the time of sale. “The multifamily sector has faced challenges in recent years, but we remain optimistic due to its resilience amidst economic uncertainty and the heightened levels of renter demand that should persist long after the current wave of new supply is fully absorbed,” says Kristi …
Fidelis Breaks Ground on 105-Acre Mixed-Use Redevelopment of San Jacinto Mall in Metro Houston
by Katie Sloan
BAYTOWN, TEXAS — Fidelis Realty Partners has broken ground on the redevelopment of San Jacinto Mall, a regional shopping mall located roughly 25 miles east of Houston in Baytown. Dubbed San Jacinto Marketplace, the current phase of development will include 500,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space alongside Pelican Green, a public green space. The development in total is expected to span 105 acres and include residential, hospitality and office components upon completion. Fidelis originally purchased 40 acres of the mall property, which opened in 1981, in July 2015 with a goal of owning 100 percent of the land for redevelopment. This process took Fidelis six years, with the final buildings — which were occupied by JCPenney and Macy’s — acquired by the locally-based firm in 2021. The mall officially stopped operations in 2022, and Fidelis concurrently signed an agreement with the City of Baytown to pay $3.5 million as compensation and reimbursement as the project is being redeveloped. A timeline for the development was not announced, but Fidelis notes that the property will be home to somewhere between 15 and 20 restaurants with 10 major leases currently being negotiated. “We have been faced with a number of challenges …
MIAMI — JLL Capital Markets has arranged the $443 million sale of 701 Brickell, a trophy office building totaling 685,279 square feet in the heart of downtown Miami’s Brickell financial district. The sale marks the second-largest office transaction in Florida history, according to JLL. Morning Calm Management and its partner purchased the asset from Nuveen Real Estate. Manny de Zarraga, Matt McCormack, Ike Ojala and Hermen Rodriguez of JLL represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction. Fronting Brickell Avenue and Biscayne Bay, the property is home to tenants such as Bank of America and Holland & Knight LLP. Amenities include a fitness center, onsite café, in-house beauty salon and conference facilities. The 33-story building was constructed in 1985. Nuveen Real Estate, formerly TIAA Real Estate, acquired 701 Brickell in 2002. Charles Russo led the sale effort on behalf of Nuveen, which completed a $30 million capital renovation plan in 2021. Miami’s Brickell submarket is currently the top performing office market in the United States in terms of occupancy and rent growth, according to JLL. Nuveen Real Estate is one of the largest investment managers globally with $147 billion of assets under management. Morning Calm Management is an …
U-Haul Acquires 3,345-Unit Self-Storage Portfolio in Midwest, Plans New 1,150-Unit Project in Twin Cities
by John Nelson
PHOENIX — U-Haul (NYSE:UHAL.B), a national provider of moving and storage services, has acquired a four-property portfolio of self-storage facilities in the Midwest totaling 3,345 units. NexPoint Storage Partners, the self-storage arm of Dallas-based NexPoint, sold the portfolio for an undisclosed price. Three of the facilities are concentrated in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota, and the fourth is located in Kansas City, Kan. The properties include 101 American Blvd. W and 3216 Winnetka Ave N in Minneapolis; 631 Transfer Road in St. Paul, Minn.; and 500 Southwest Blvd. in Kansas City. U-Haul has begun operating the assets under its own brand of self-storage and moving services. Extra Space Storage formerly operated the facilities. The portfolio totals 327,791 net rentable square feet of climate-controlled space. Overall, the portfolio was 88 percent occupied at the time of sale. JLL represented NexPoint Storage Partners in the transaction. In addition to the acquisition, U-Haul is growing its footprint in the Twin Cities area via a new U-Haul Moving & Storage location in Ramsey, located northwest of Minneapolis. The facility represents U-Haul Co. of Northern Minnesota’s first ground-up build. U-Haul acquired the 8.7-acre property at Highway 10 and Riverdale Drive last week. The lot was …