Top Stories

Penn-Florida Cos. Receives $398M in Project Financing for Resort in Boca Raton, Florida

by Jeff Shaw October 6, 2017

BOCA RATON, FLA. — Penn-Florida Cos. has received $398 million in project financing for the second phase of Via Mizner, a five-star resort in downtown Boca Raton. Lotus Capital Partners arranged the majority of the financing, which Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies provided. The U.S. Immigration Fund provided the balance of the financing, which was approximately $80 million. Via Mizner’s second phase of construction includes the Mandarin Oriental Boca Raton, additional retail suites at The Shoppes at Via Mizner and Via Mizner Golf & City Club. The 164-room luxury hotel will feature two rooftop pools, spa services, an athletic club and dining venues. The Shoppes at Via Mizner will offer a mix of brand names, artisan boutiques, dining and nightlife. Via Mizner Golf & City Club will include two venues — a golf club featuring a new Jack Nicklaus Signature Championship golf course and a downtown city club, which will offer member access to the hotel amenities. Completion is slated for early 2020. The Residences at Mandarin Oriental Boca Raton will feature 85 homes with ocean and golf course views. Owners will receive access to all the amenities of Mandarin Oriental. The first residential rental tower, 101 Via Mizner Luxury Apartments, is already complete. …

October 6, 2017

California Industrial Top Stories Western

Duke Realty Buys 3.5 MSF Industrial Portfolio for $515M

by Nellie Day October 5, 2017

CHICAGO — Duke Realty Corp. (NYSE: DRE) has purchased a 10-building industrial portfolio totaling nearly 3.5 million square feet, plus two additional land parcels, for $515 million. The assets are situated in Southern California, Northern New Jersey and South Florida. The two parcels will eventually contain two buildings totaling 852,745 square feet. Construction on these projects will commence later this year. The total value of the portfolio will be approximately $700 million once construction is completed. The seller, Bridge Development Partners, has completed more than $2 billion in developments and acquisitions since its joint venture with Dallas-based Banner Oak Capital Partners in 2013. Bridge’s current pipeline contains more than 10.3 million square feet valued at $1.3 billion in the most supply constrained U.S. core industrial markets, including Chicago, Miami, New Jersey, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. “This portfolio sale is part of the $1.1 billion of new state-of-the-art industrial assets Bridge will sell in 2017,” says Steve Poulos, the company’s founder and CEO. “The portfolio includes a mix of fully stabilized, partially stabilized and completely vacant assets.” Though the exact properties included in this transaction were not disclosed, some of Bridge’s assets include the 306,466-square-foot Bridge Point I-95 in …

October 5, 2017

Conference Coverage Features Seniors Housing Southeast Top Stories

Labor Issues, Growing Competition Are Top Seniors Housing Concerns, Say InterFace Panelists

by Kristin Harlow October 5, 2017

ATLANTA — Pressures for seniors housing owners come from many sources, but the top two are labor issues and increasing numbers of communities in a market, according to panelists at InterFace Seniors Housing Southeast. The comments were made during the “State of the Industry” panel at the event, which was held in late summer at the Westin Buckhead in Atlanta and drew more than 400 industry professionals. Katie Davis, chief strategy officer for Sherpa, moderated the panel, which included Doug Schiffer, president and COO of Allegro Senior Living; Scott Stewart, managing partner of Capitol Seniors Housing; Joe Weisenburger, vice president of seniors housing for Welltower; Andy Isakson, managing partner at Isakson Living; and Alan Plush, president and senior partner at HealthTrust. Schiffer cited a recent time when a competing property opened near an Allegro community and immediately offered pay raises to any employee who would switch communities. “People want to mine our fort and take our staff,” said Schiffer. “Everyone was offered a $2 per hour raise, which is a 20 percent increase for some. No matter how much you like us, that’s hard to turn down.” Allegro kept most of its employees by matching the offers, but this significantly …

October 5, 2017

Midwest Ohio Retail Top Stories

QIC to Acquire Forest City’s Interest in Regional Mall Portfolio for $1.55B

by John Nelson October 4, 2017

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA AND CLEVELAND — QIC, an Australian institutional investment management firm, has agreed to purchase Forest City Realty Trust Inc.’s (NYSE: FCE.A) interest in a 10-property regional mall portfolio. The overall transaction values the portfolio at approximately $3.18 billion, or $1.55 billion for Forest City’s share. The assets include: The Shops at Northfield Stapleton in Denver; Westchester’s Ridge Hill in Yonkers, N.Y.; The Shops at Wiregrass in Tampa, Fla.; Mall at Robinson in Pittsburgh; Antelope Valley Mall in Palmdale, Calif.; South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach, Calif.; Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.; Galleria at Sunset in Henderson, Nev.; Promenade Temecula in Temecula, Calif.; and Short Pump Town Centre in Richmond, Va. One additional mall, Charleston Town Center in Charleston, W.Va,, was originally part of the negotiations, but QIC subsequently made the decision not to acquire Forest City’s ownership interest. “This transaction is a win-win for all parties, as we continue to focus our business on urban residential, office and mixed-use assets, and QIC acquires full ownership of a U.S. retail presence with high-quality regional malls in strong markets,” says David LaRue, president and CEO of Forest City. Forest City provided $150 million of seller financing to QIC for a …

October 4, 2017

California Office Top Stories Western

CBRE Global Investors Acquires 940,564 SF Office Campus in Silicon Valley on Behalf of JV

by Katie Sloan October 3, 2017

SANTA CLARA, CALIF. — CBRE Global Investors has acquired The Campus @ 3333 – Phase III, a 940,564-square-foot, four-building office campus located at 3333 Scott Blvd. in Santa Clara. Situated within the prestigious Silicon Valley district, the property was acquired on behalf of a joint venture between Korea Post and another undisclosed client. The sales price and seller were undisclosed, but media outlets are reporting that Menlo Equities and Beacon Capital Partners, co-developers of The Campus, sold Phase III for $610 million. The newly constructed LEED Silver-certified campus is fully leased to Palo Alto Networks, a cybersecurity firm, and serves as its headquarters. The property features a dedicated 30,485-square-foot amenity building with a full-service cafeteria, conference center, outdoor amphitheater, dedicated open space, outdoor dining and collaborative meeting space, 200 electric vehicle charging stations, bicycle storage, a grass picnic area and access to a fitness center. “The San Jose market has experienced broad-based growth primarily driven by the rapid and sustained technology boom in Silicon Valley,” says Gardner Ellner, senior director of Commercial Acquisitions-Americas at CBRE. “As a result, vacancy rates have dramatically declined to the lowest levels since 2000, and tenants are actively moving to submarkets such as Santa Clara …

October 3, 2017

Features Top Stories

How Big Data, Mobility Impact Property Values

by Kristin Harlow October 3, 2017

Without a shot fired, the Mobility Revolution has begun. Big Data, smart transportation and new mobility technology are affecting property owners and communities in myriad ways. Projecting the effects of these changes on future property values is difficult, but a look at recent innovations suggests where we are headed. Many property investors associate the Mobility Revolution strictly with driverless, interconnected autonomous cars. This view misses the larger, unfolding disruption story. Indeed, the shift is transforming the transportation of goods and people. Paraphrasing former U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, “smart transportation” is not about concrete and steel alone; it’s about how people want to live. Mobility is more than a transportation issue. It involves the digital marketplace that now competes with retail real estate, with growing implications for retail property values. Offices offering shorter and alternative commuting options to workers are more valuable than those that don’t. Mobility also involves ride-sharing services and the personal choices we make to get from one place to another. Deloitte researchers wrote in 2015 that change is coming to transportation whether we’re ready for it or not. “You can see it in public-sector investment, intelligent streets and digital railways, automakers’ focus on next-generation vehicles and …

October 3, 2017

Retail Top Stories

ShopOne Launches New REIT With 46 Assets Across Eight States

by Camren Skelton October 2, 2017

NEW YORK CITY — ShopOne Centers REIT Inc. has launched a new shopping center ownership entity under the leadership of retail real estate veteran Michael Carroll. The private real estate investment trust will focus on acquiring, operating and managing grocery-anchored shopping centers in dense, geographically diverse areas. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP owns a majority of ShopOne’s equity. “We have a really good capital partner in Davidson Kempner, which has been an active investor in the space from both the debt and asset level,” says Carroll, who serves as CEO of ShopOne. Carroll is the former CEO of Brixmor Property Group. “We are the first platform/portfolio company investment that Davidson Kempner has made.” ShopOne is entering the retail sector with a portfolio of 46 shopping centers spread across eight states, including more than 4.7 million square feet of gross leasable space, the majority of which were acquired from Devonshire REIT Inc. “There were properties that were housed in the operating partnership of Devonshire, and we bought that operating partnership,” says Carroll. “There are Devonshire entities out there that still have a business, but we have migrated the assets that were in their operating partnership into a new entity under the ShopOne banner.” …

October 2, 2017

District of Columbia Mixed-Use Southeast Top Stories

Madison Marquette, PN Hoffman to Open Phase I of $2.3B Mixed-Use Project in Washington, D.C.

by Kristin Harlow September 29, 2017

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Co-developers Madison Marquette and PN Hoffman will open The Wharf on Oct. 12 in Washington, D.C. Phase I of the $2.3 billion project will deliver two office buildings, two apartment towers, two luxury condominium buildings and three hotels, as well as restaurants and retail space. The Wharf is a mixed-use waterfront community that stretches across 24 acres of land and more than 50 acres of water. The development features 3.5 million square feet of new residential, office, hotel, retail, marina and public uses including waterfront parks, promenades, piers and docks. Madison Marquette and PN Hoffman broke ground on the project in March 2014. Phase II construction will begin in the coming months, with delivery scheduled for 2021. Four entertainment piers extend into the Potomac River, one of which will be used as an ice rink in the winter. The Transit Pier will accommodate water taxis. Anthem, a 6,000-seat concert hall, will open with a launch concert by the Foo Fighters. David Rockwell designed the interiors of the venue. Washington, D.C.-based Madison Marquette is a private real estate investment manager, developer, operator and service provider. PN Hoffman is a real estate developer also based in D.C. — Kristin …

September 29, 2017

California Retail Top Stories Western

Westfield to Open $1B Westfield Century City Redevelopment in Los Angeles on Tuesday

by John Nelson September 28, 2017

LOS ANGELES — Westfield Corp., a mixed-use developer based in Sydney, Australia, is opening its $1 billion redevelopment of Westfield Century City mall in the Century City district of Los Angeles on Tuesday, Oct. 3. Westfield expects the open-air development to have the majority of its more than 200 shops and restaurants open for the event, including a new three-level Nordstrom. The 1.3 million-square-foot development will also feature a remodeled, three-level Bloomingdale’s, a new two-level Macy’s and an Equinox fitness club and spa. The center’s new and existing dining options include Bibigo, California Pizza Kitchen, Chick-fil-A, Chipotle, Everytable, Lifehouse Tonics + Elixirs, Panda Express, Randy’s Donuts, See’s Candies, Shake Shack, Wexler’s Deli and the West Coast’s first Eataly, an Italian market concept that will open later in the month. Eataly will feature multiple restaurants, food and beverage counters, retail items and cooking classes. In addition to the department store anchors and existing AMC movie theater, new and existing retailers include Apple Store, Banana Republic, Disney Store, J. Crew, Kate Spade New York, Madewell, Microsoft, SUITSUPPLY, Tory Burch and Warby Parker. Westfield’s in-house design studio worked with Los Angeles-based designer Kelly Wearstler to redesign the project’s outdoor plazas, landscaped terraces and …

September 28, 2017

Features Multifamily Southeast Feature Archive Top Stories

Industry Growth Highlighted at NMHC Student Housing Conference

by Jeff Shaw September 28, 2017

TAMPA, FLA. — The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) Student Housing Conference wrapped up Sept. 27 at the Marriott Waterside hotel, highlighting the industry’s productivity and progress in the second and third quarters, and providing a forecast for a strong fourth quarter. The tone of the conference was bolstered by Monday’s news that American Campus Communities (ACC), the industry’s largest owner, had purchased a 3,776-bed portfolio from Core Spaces and DRW Real Estate for $590.6 million, the largest transaction to date in 2017 in the sector. Also setting a strong tone was attendance of this year’s conference; more than 850 industry professionals, according to NMHC. The conference kicked off its educational sessions Monday afternoon with a panel featuring five industry leaders — Randy Churchey, CEO of EdR; Bill Bayless, CEO of ACC; Donna Preiss, CEO of The Preiss Company; Brian Dinerstein, CEO of The Dinerstein Company; and Wes Rogers, CEO of Landmark Properties. The panel, moderated by Peter Katz, executive managing director of Institutional Property Advisors, was very bullish on the sector as a whole. They emphasized that the increased sophistication of the sector is gaining the attention of the investment community. What’s more, the growth of the sector is …

September 28, 2017

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