Top Stories

Gramor Secures Construction Financing for Phase I Component of $1.5B Waterfront Vancouver Project

by John Nelson June 8, 2017

VANCOUVER, WASH. — Gramor Development Inc., a privately held firm based in Oregon, has secured a round of construction financing for Phase I of its $1.5 billion mixed-use project along the Columbia River in Vancouver. Known as The Waterfront Vancouver, the project will span 20 city blocks and 32 acres and feature residential, office, retail and restaurant space, as well as a Hotel Indigo. U.S. Bank provided a $42.5 million construction loan to Gramor Development for Block 6 Office and Block 6 Residential — a seven-story office building and a six-story, 63-unit apartment building. The street level of both assets will house the Shops at Waterfront Way, which will include retail and restaurants. Committed tenants include M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust at Block 6 Office and Cascade Sotheby’s International Realty and MidiCi The Neapolitan Pizza Co. at Block 6 Residential. The project team for Block 6 includes architect Ankrom Moison and general contractor Robertson & Olson. “Gramor is a driving force in revitalizing Vancouver’s waterfront and the local community,” says Ann Young, senior vice president, and Oregon market manager of U.S. Bank. “U.S. Bank is excited to be part of the project and to help bring this vibrant and unique development …

June 8, 2017

Features Office Top Stories

NAIOP Forecasts Solid Office Space Demand for All of 2017 as Business, Consumer Confidence Rise

by Kristin Harlow June 8, 2017

HERNDON, VA. — A new forecast released by the NAIOP Research Foundation calls for approximately 39.7 million square feet of net absorption of office space in 2017. That is about 10 million square feet per quarter — similar to the 41.4 million square feet absorbed in 2016. Greater than expected hiring in the office-using sectors of the economy led to 14.8 million square feet of positive net absorption in the fourth quarter of 2016, well above the 7.8 million square feet that had been projected. The annualized growth rate in office-using jobs was 2.52 percent in the first quarter of 2017, compared with 1.58 percent growth in overall nonfarm payroll employment, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If growth in office-using employment continues at such a pace, the need for office space will expand rapidly and thus cause actual absorption to come in near or above the 39.7 million square feet of total absorption projected for all of 2017. However, prior experience suggests that growth in the number of office-using jobs will likely decelerate as it moves closer to the overall employment growth average over the long term, according to NAIOP. The forecast is also driven, in part, by …

June 8, 2017

Loans Massachusetts Northeast Office Top Stories

Oxford Properties Provides $180M Loan for Refinancing of Mixed-Use Asset in Boston

by Nellie Day June 7, 2017

BOSTON — Oxford Properties Group has provided a $180 million loan for the refinancing of One Congress Street and the Government Center Garage in Boston. The 11-story, mixed-use asset includes a 1,960-space parking garage with 202,854 square feet of office space and 23,212 square feet of retail space. The borrower was a joint venture between National Real Estate Advisors LLC and its Boston-based development partner, The HYM Investment Group LLC. HFF worked on behalf of the borrower to arrange the short-term, floating-rate loan. The property is centered among many of Boston’s most popular neighborhoods and destinations, including the Financial District, TD Garden, Faneuil Hall Market District, the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, North End, West End and Beacon Hill. The development draws a diverse set of parkers, ranging from commuters to event attendees to residents seeking overnight parking. This location also offers immediate access to entrance ramps for Interstate 93, as well as two on-site subway lines (MBTA Green Line and Orange Line), providing connectivity to greater Boston. The property is also the site of Bulfinch Crossing, a 2.9 million-square-foot mixed-use development project that will consist of residential, office, hotel and retail uses. Led by the borrower, the Bulfinch Crossing project …

June 7, 2017

California Multifamily Student Housing Top Stories Western

Mapletree Investments Acquires $1.6B Student Housing, Multifamily Portfolio from Kayne Anderson

by Katie Sloan June 6, 2017

LOS ANGELES — Singapore-based Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd. has acquired a portfolio of eight student housing communities and four multifamily properties from Los Angeles-based Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors for $1.6 billion. The student housing portion of the portfolio consists of 3,611 beds in the United States and 140 beds in Canada. Properties include: WaHu — an 825-bed community located near the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis The District at Campus West — a 659-bed community located near Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo. SkyVue — a 627-bed community located near the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania 4th Street Commons — a 562-bed community located near Florida International University in Miami 930 NoMo — a 430-bed community located near the College of Charleston in Charleston, S.C. Todd — a 351-bed community located near the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. 700 on Washington — a 157-bed community located near the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis Parc Cite — a 140-bed community located near McGill University in Montreal, Canada The eight student housing properties are located an average of 0.2 miles away from campus, and have occupancies above 90 percent. The four multifamily properties total 1,388 units, and include: Mint Urban …

June 6, 2017

Features Top Stories

Underwhelming Job Growth in May Raises Question on Fed’s Next Move

by Taylor Williams June 6, 2017

Are the below-average monthly job gains recorded in May due to a labor shortage, or is there weakness emerging in the employment market? That’s the crucial question in the wake of the latest job figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which showed employers added 138,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in May, well below the 12-month average of 181,000 positions. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell from 4.4 percent in April to 4.3 percent in May. “Most evidence points toward the former, and that should keep the Fed on track to lift rates two additional times in 2017, even if it waits until September,” says Steve Hovland, director of research for Irvine, California-based HomeUnion, an online real estate management firm that specializes in helping investors acquire and manage single-family home rentals. “Job openings remain near record-high levels, indicative of a skills gap rather than hesitant employers. Furthermore, the stock markets regularly flirt with record highs, job growth has been positive for the longest post-war stretch and home prices have soared,” adds Hovland. Members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will need to weigh whether the lowest unemployment rate in 16 years is sufficient to justify a rate hike despite …

June 6, 2017

Features Retail Top Stories

Retailers Need ‘Wow’ Factor to Stay Competitive, Says CEO of Lee & Associates

by Kristin Harlow June 6, 2017

LAS VEGAS — Amid a throng of more than 37,000 convention-goers at RECon — the world’s largest retail real estate trade show — Heartland Real Estate Business sat down with veteran Chicago broker Rick Scardino and CEO Jeff Rinkov of Lee & Associates on the show floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center in late May. Scardino, a principal with the Chicago office, spearheads the retail division at Lee & Associates of Illinois. Rinkov serves as CEO and chairman of the board. The two discussed the overall health of the retail market in the Windy City and beyond, the emergence of “grocerants” and the driving factors behind the recent rash of retail bankruptcies and store closures. What follows is an edited version of that conversation. Heartland Real Estate Business: Does the old saying that the grocery sector is recession-proof because everyone needs to eat still hold true? Rick Scardino: I just hate painting anything with a broad brush. I don’t think anything is recession-proof. I grew up with family retail and the restaurant business. Sometimes people move from one category to another, they’ll go from an Aldi when things are tighter to a Jewel. HREB: Who do you think is …

June 6, 2017

Hospitality Top Stories

Summit Hotel Properties to Acquire Five-Hotel Portfolio for $163M

by Taylor Williams June 5, 2017

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Summit Hotel Properties Inc. (NYSE: INN) has agreed to acquire a portfolio of five hotels totaling 812 guestrooms across four markets from Xenia Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: XHR). The purchase price is approximately $163 million, or $201,000 per room. The purchase, which will be made through an undisclosed Summit affiliate, is expected to close within the next 30 days. The portfolio includes the 203-room Courtyard Fort Worth Downtown/Blackstone; 123-room Courtyard Kansas City Country Club Plaza; 182-room Courtyard Pittsburgh Downtown; 116-room Hampton Inn & Suites Baltimore Inner Harbor; and 188-room Residence Inn Baltimore Downtown/Inner Harbor. As of April 2017, the average evenue per available room (RevPar) across the portfolio was $115.52. The year-to-date RevPar industry average for April 2017 was $78.26, a 3 percent increase from average RevPar of $76.02 in April 2016, according to hospitality research firm STR. “This transaction will represent the continued execution of our strategy of acquiring premium-branded hotels with efficient operating models,” says Daniel Hansen, Summit’s chairman, president and CEO. “All five of these hotels are in prime locations in strong markets and exhibit many of the upside characteristics that are important to our investment criteria.” Coming on the heels of Xenia’s …

June 5, 2017

California Mixed-Use Top Stories Western

Shapell Liberty Investment Properties Breaks Ground on $150M Mixed-Use Project in Los Angeles

by Kristin Harlow June 2, 2017

LOS ANGELES — Shapell Liberty Investment Properties has broken ground on The Vineyards at Porter Ranch, a $150 million mixed-use project in Los Angeles’ Porter Ranch neighborhood. In addition to restaurants and shops, the 345,000-square-foot development will include a movie theater, Whole Foods Market, Kaiser-Permanente medical office building, hotel and 266-unit luxury apartment complex. The project is a joint venture between Shapell Properties Inc. and Liberty Building Co. The Vineyards is being developed on the north and south sides of Rinaldi Street at the western intersection of Porter Ranch Drive. The design includes a main street and central green area that will host community events. Other features include a 4,000-square-foot community meeting room, solar panels on rooftops to help supply power to the complex, a rainwater capture and irrigation recycling system, and electric car charging stations. “The Vineyards will be a sophisticated, pedestrian-oriented retail experience that not only will serve as a central gathering spot for Porter Ranch residents, but also as the prime choice for higher-end shops and restaurants serving this entire region,” says John Love, vice president of Shapell Properties. Completion of the main shopping center is expected in late 2018. Additional phases, including the hotel and apartment community, are …

June 2, 2017

Massachusetts Mixed-Use Northeast Top Stories

HYM Purchases Racetrack Near Boston for $155M, Plans Mixed-Use Development Project

by John Nelson June 1, 2017

EAST BOSTON AND REVERE, MASS. — The HYM Investment Group LLC, a mixed-use developer based in Boston, has purchased Suffolk Downs, a 161-acre horse racetrack located in East Boston and Revere. Sterling Suffolk Racecourse LLC sold the asset in a sale-leaseback transaction to HYM’s affiliate, The McClellan Highway Development Co. LLC, for $155 million. The under-utilized horse racing facility will officially close after the summer of 2018, according to HYM. The Boston Globe reports that the racetrack is only planning on hosting six live races this season. HYM plans to redevelop Suffolk Downs into a transit-oriented, mixed-use project, including office, retail, housing and open space. HYM expects to develop street-level retail and housing in the redevelopment’s first phase. No timeline for construction was given. “In our dozens of preliminary meetings with elected officials and local community stakeholders in Revere and East Boston recently, we consistently heard that local residents want retail, restaurants and new job opportunities. This development will provide all, while also setting aside a significant amount of the site for open space and providing better connections to the neighborhood,” says Thomas O’Brien, founding partner and managing director of HYM Investment Group. “We are looking forward to engaging the …

June 1, 2017

Features Top Stories

Investors View Anchored Centers as Best Source of Opportunity in Changing Retail Landscape, Real Capital Markets Reports

by Katie Sloan June 1, 2017

An evolution is taking place in the retail sector today. Big box retailers are no longer in vogue with today’s active and experience-driven consumer, and the growth of e-commerce continues to spark a need for change throughout the retail landscape. Bankruptcies and store closures may be topping the headlines, but the sentiment in the sector remains cautiously optimistic, according to Real Capital Market’s May 2017 Retail Sentiment Report. For the May report, RCM surveyed its database of principals and brokers from across the country to gauge their sentiment on investing in today’s market, the greatest threats to the industry, the factors most influencing their acquisition decisions and where they see the greatest opportunities. Investors point towards anchored retail centers — particularly those with grocery tenants — as one of the greatest avenues for growth, with the category cited by more than 40 percent of investors. “Anchored centers, whether highlighted by a grocery store or another strong big box retailer, remain the category where the majority of investors see the greatest opportunity,” says Steve Shanahan, executive managing director of Real Capital Markets. “Though e-commerce is highly disruptive for so many businesses, grocery stores may be among the least vulnerable.” Shifting consumer buying habits were …

June 1, 2017

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