KEENE, N.H. AND GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — C&S Wholesale Grocers, a New Hampshire-based food supplier whose brands include Piggly Wiggly and Grand Union, has agreed to acquire Michigan-based SpartanNash (NASDAQ: SPTN), owner of brands such as Our Family and Full Circle Market, in a merger valued at nearly $1.8 billion. The figure represents a purchase price of $26.90 per share of SpartanNash common stock in cash and includes the assumption of SpartanNash’s existing debt. The price marks a 52.5 percent premium over the company’s closing price of $17.64 per share on June 20 and a premium of 42 percent over the company’s 30-day volume-weighted average stock price as of that date. The merger, which has been unanimously approved by both companies’ boards of directors, is expected to close before the end of the year. Upon closing, the new company will operate more than 200 corporate-run grocery stores and almost 60 complementary distribution centers throughout the country. The distribution centers will supply more than 10,000 independent retail locations. “For our customers, this transaction creates the necessary scale, efficiency and purchasing power needed to enable independent retailers to compete more effectively with larger big box chains,” says Tony Sarsam, president and CEO …
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NYC Planning Commission Approves Midtown Manhattan Rezoning Proposal to Add Thousands of New Residences
by Abby Cox
NEW YORK CITY — The New York City Planning Commission has approved the Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan (MSMX), a rezoning initiative that could ultimately facilitate the creation of as many as 9,700 new residences across a 42-block section of Midtown Manhattan. The MSMX plan covers four areas centered around Herald and Greeley Square, located between West 23rd and West 40th streets, as well as Fifth and Eighth avenues. The area today is largely defined by commercial and industrial uses, with current land-use rules restricting new housing development. Midtown South is currently home to more than 7,000 businesses, 135,000 jobs and various public transportation hubs, but the neighborhood has struggled to rebound in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic as hybrid work schedules have become more entrenched. In addition to these commercial vacancies, the submarket is subject to restrictive zoning rules that limit opportunities for New Yorkers to live near their jobs. “For far too long, outdated zoning policies have limited the potential of this well-resourced area to help address New York City’s urgent housing needs,” says Rachel Fee, executive director of the New York Housing Conference, nonprofit affordable housing policy and advocacy organization. “In the midst of a dire housing crisis, …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Walker & Dunlop has arranged $106.3 million loan for the refinancing of Agora, an apartment community located in Washington, D.C. The borrower is locally based owner-operator WC Smith. Completed in 2018, Agora totals 334 units across 11 stories. The community marks the second phase of the larger development known as The Collective, which totals 1,138 apartments in the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood. The Collective also includes Park Chelsea, a 429-unit community, and The Garrett, which features 373 apartments and 5,000 square feet of coworking space. Amenities at The Collective include a Whole Foods Market, fitness center, spa rooms and an indoor golf simulator. The development is located within walking distance of Nationals Park, Audi Field and the Navy Yard. “Agora is a standout asset within their exceptional portfolio, and the swift rate lock, secured within 24 hours of the signed application, demonstrates our dedication to providing timely, customized solutions that ensure the best possible outcomes for our clients, says Connor Locke, managing director of multifamily finance at Walker & Dunlop. Walker & Dunlop also arranged financing for the other two phases of The Collective. In 2024, the firm originated more than $30 billion in debt financing. — Hayden Spiess
COLLEGE PARK, MD. — Harrison Street and LV Collective have formed a joint venture to develop Rambler College Park, a 1,003-bed student housing project located less than a quarter-mile from the University of Maryland campus in College Park. Completion of the 288-unit, 340,000-square-foot development is slated for fall 2027. Rambler College Park is designed to provide 13,715 square feet of retail space, including businesses that were previously tenants of Campus Village Shoppes, a shuttered shopping center on the project site. In addition, LV Collective worked with the Lakeland Civic Association and the Lakeland Community Heritage Project to plan a community center within the development. Plans call for a library and archive to preserve and share the history of the Lakeland community, as well as a flex space to be used for presentations, art galleries and gatherings. Amenities at the project will include Daydreamer, a coffee shop owned by LV Collective, as well as a second-floor coworking mezzanine, outdoor terrace, hot tub, fitness center, yoga studio and cold plunge. “This development reflects our commitment to creating environments that go beyond housing — places where students, residents and the community alike can thrive, connect and grow,” says Jonathan Reyes, president of student …
RICHARDSON, TEXAS — Telecommunications giant AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) has signed a 186,000-square-foot lease at The Tower at Lakeside, an office building located within the 807,354-square-foot Lakeside Campus in Richardson. The transaction marks the largest new lease signed in Richardson in seven years and one of the largest leases signed in metro Dallas year-to-date, according to Newmark, which negotiated the deal. Specifically, Nathan Durham of Newmark represented the landlord, Provident Realty Advisors, in the lease transaction. Troy McDonald of CBRE and Lawrence Gardner of OMS Strategic Advisors LLC represented AT&T. Provident acquired Lakeside Campus last fall, a deal in which Newmark was also involved. AT&T, which is headquartered in Dallas, will occupy seven floors of the 16-story, 412,000-square-foot building located at 2221 Lakeside Blvd. The new space will consolidate multiple regional locations for AT&T and is expected to triple the company’s current workforce in Richardson — from approximately 400 to nearly 1,400. The Tower at Lakeside features a full-service café, high-end fitness center and a modern tenant lounge and lobby. Lakeside Campus is situated along North Central Expressway (U.S. Highway 75), near the University of Texas at Dallas and corporate campuses of State Farm, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Raytheon and Texas …
ATLANTA — Invesco Commercial Real Estate Finance Trust Inc., a REIT backed by the real estate arm of Atlanta-based global investment manager Invesco (NYSE: IVZ), has provided a $354.6 million loan for the refinancing of a national portfolio of 24 industrial properties totaling roughly 2.4 million square feet. The borrower was Bridge Logistics Properties, an affiliate of Salt Lake City-based Bridge Investment Group (NYSE: BRDG). Information on tenancy, years of construction and existing lease terms of the portfolio was not disclosed, nor were specific loan terms, outside of the debt being structured with a sub-70 percent loan-to-value ratio. The portfolio’s locations are scattered across six states, and the geographic breakdown is as follows: “This financing aligns with our strategy of originating high-quality, income-generating loans secured by institutional-quality assets in what we consider to be the most liquid markets around the United State and Europe,” says Yorick Starr, managing director of Invesco Real Estate.” “This loan is complementary to our existing portfolio of moderate leverage loans made to the highest quality institutional sponsors in the industry,” adds Charlie Rose, global head of credit at Invesco Real Estate. — Taylor Williams
JetZero to Open $4.7B Airplane Manufacturing Facility in Greensboro, North Carolina, Create 14,500 Jobs
by Abby Cox
GREENSBORO, N.C. — JetZero, a California-based aerospace startup company, will open a $4.7 billion manufacturing facility at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro. Construction on the facility is expected to begin in the first half of 2026, with the first deliveries beginning in the early 2030s. The facility will house production of the company’s commercial all-wing design airplane titled Z4. Once the site is operational, the company’s headquarters will be relocated from Long Beach, Calif. to Greensboro. JetZero projects that the facility will account for the creation of about 14,500 new jobs by 2063, providing opportunities for collaboration with academic and vocational training institutions. “North Carolina offers the ideal combination of talent, infrastructure and forward-thinking leadership to support our mission to reshape aviation,” says Tom O’Leary, CEO and co-Founder of JetZero. JetZero has partnered with the smart infrastructure, electrification and automation divisions of German congolomerate Siemens to design a “factory of the future” that will be fully digital and AI-driven in order to increase speed, cut costs and improve quality to outpace original equipment manufacturers. Z4 planes will be able to accommodate 250 passengers with up to 50 percent better fuel efficiency than today’s commercial tubes and wing jets, according to JetZero. By …
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Roper St. Francis Healthcare has broken ground on a $1.2 billion hospital campus in North Charleston, roughly 10 miles outside of downtown Charleston. Completion is scheduled for 2029. Upon completion, the complex will total 805,000 square feet and feature inpatient beds, an emergency department, critical care beds, operating rooms, a comprehensive imaging department and a hemodialysis unit. The project team includes E4H Environments for Health Architecture; architecture, design, engineering and planning firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM); and general contractor Barton Malow | Edifice. “Connectivity and resilience are central to the vision for Roper Hospital’s future campus,” says Anthony Treu, healthcare practice leader at SOM. “As the design architects, we’re transforming a constrained suburban site into a cohesive healthcare destination inspired by the landscapes of the Lowcountry. The result is a future-ready, resilient campus that enhances access and fosters a supportive, patient-focused environment — setting a new standard for the next century of care.” This marks the fourth Roper Hospital location in Charleston since the first facility opened in 1856. Roper St. Francis Healthcare is the Lowcountry region’s largest private employer, with roughly 7,000 staff members. St. Francis currently operates more than 120 facilities across four …
NEW YORK CITY — Newmark has arranged a $675 million loan for the refinancing of Independence Plaza, a 1,328-unit apartment complex located at 40 Harrison St. in the Tribeca area of Manhattan. A consortium of lenders consisting of Deutsche Bank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley provided the debt to the borrower, a partnership between Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO) and Stellar Management. Jordan Roeschlaub, Nick Scribani, Jonathan Firestone and John Caraviello led the transaction for Newmark. Independence Plaza consists of three 39-story residential towers, a series of townhomes, an onsite parking garage and four contiguous blocks of retail frontage for a total footprint of 1.4 million square feet. Units come in studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans, as well as and duplexes, and many apartments are newly renovated and feature walk-in closets, large balconies and washers and dryers. Amenities include a pool, fitness center and a children’s play area. According to the property website, there are currently five units available for rent. — Taylor Williams
Amazon to Invest Minimum of $20B in AI-Based Data Center Campuses Throughout Pennsylvania
by John Nelson
SEATTLE — Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) plans to invest “at least $20 billion” in future cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) innovation campuses in Pennsylvania. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant has identified Salem Township in Luzerne County and Falls Township in Bucks County as the first communities that will host these campuses, with other Pennsylvania communities also under consideration. “I’m proud to announce that we have secured the largest private sector investment in the history of Pennsylvania,” said Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. “Pennsylvania is competing again.” Upon completion, the campuses will house data centers with computer servers, data storage drives, networking equipment and other technology infrastructure used for cloud computing capabilities and generative AI. Specific details about the sites and construction timelines were not released. Last week, Amazon made a similar announcement for a $10 billion data center innovation campus in Richmond County, N.C., which followed an $11 billion investment in Georgia that Amazon announced in January. Amazon stated that the Pennsylvania investment will create at least 1,250 new jobs, as well as thousands of jobs in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center supply chain. The new jobs will range from data center engineers and network specialists, to engineering operations managers, security …