Top Stories

Darden Restaurants to Acquire Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen for $780M

by Nellie Day March 29, 2017

ORLANDO, FLA. — Darden Restaurants has agreed to purchase Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen for $780 million in an all-cash transaction. Cheddar’s was founded in 1979 in Arlington, Texas, and now has 165 locations, including 140 owned and 25 franchised, across 28 states with average annual restaurant volumes of $4.4 million. “We are excited about the opportunity to be a part of Darden,” says Ian Baines, CEO and president of Cheddar’s. “Our operating philosophy and values are similar. Additionally, Darden’s expertise will enable us to further capitalize on our growth potential.” Baines will remain as president of Cheddar’s. He will report to Gene Lee, Darden’s president and CEO. The transaction is expected to be complete in Darden’s fiscal 2017 fourth quarter. It is subject to customary closing conditions. “Cheddar’s is a great fit in the Darden portfolio because it complements our existing brands,” says Lee. “This addition will also enable Darden to further strengthen two of our most important competitive advantages: our significant scale and our extensive data and insights.” Orlando, Fla.-based Darden Restaurants Inc. owns and operates more than 1,500 restaurants. Darden’s portfolio currently includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V’s.

March 29, 2017

Mixed-Use Multifamily New York Northeast Retail Top Stories

XIN Development International Receives $108M Construction Loan for Mixed-Use Development in Hell’s Kitchen

by Katie Sloan March 28, 2017

NEW YORK CITY — XIN Development International Inc. — the U.S. development arm of Chinese developer Xinyuan Real Estate Co. Ltd. — has received $108 million in financing for the construction of a mixed-use property at 615 Tenth Ave. in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. The seven-story development will offer 82 residential units and 36,053 square feet of retail space. The retail portion of the property is currently 76 percent pre-leased to an undisclosed national credit tenant. Adam Hakim and James Murad of Eastern Consolidated secured the construction financing on behalf of the borrower through Bank of the Ozarks. Hakim also arranged a $27 million bridge loan with Bank of the Ozarks on behalf of XIN Development to finance the acquisition of the property last year. An expected completion date for the development has yet to be announced. Xinyuan Real Estate Co. Ltd. (NYSE: XIN) is the only Chinese real estate developer listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company focuses on the development of large-scale residential projects. The company’s stock price closed at $4.44 per share on Monday, March 27, up from $4.40 one year ago. — Katie Sloan

March 28, 2017

Features Top Stories

Online Versus Inline: Success Demands Retailers Focus on Enhancing In-Store Experience

by Katie Sloan March 28, 2017

For anyone in the industry, it’s impossible to avoid the topic of online sales and the “dramatic” impact of the internet on traditional brick-and-mortar retail. Many retailers are clearly worried, and others are uncertain about how they should respond to the growth of online retail. That combination of concern and confusion has led to some questionable decision making about how and where to allocate resources. The mainstream media does its part to perpetuate the notion of the online behemoth, with attention-getting headlines and a persistent media narrative that reinforces the internet is taking over mentality. Every time a brand closes stores or cuts jobs, and every time a company announces weaker-than-anticipated sales numbers, the impact of online competition is not only cited, it is more than often blamed. But rhetoric is not reality. Conventional wisdom is often wrong. The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that “e-commerce sales in the third quarter of 2016 accounted for 8.4 percent of total sales,” a number that is consistent with the approximately 8 percent figure that ICSC and other organizations have reported in recent years. While that number isn’t stagnant, the growth of online sales as a percentage of overall retail sales has slowed …

March 28, 2017

Massachusetts Northeast Office Top Stories

LaSalle Acquires 10 Post Office Square in Downtown Boston for $188M

by Kristin Harlow March 27, 2017

BOSTON — LaSalle Investment Management has acquired an interest in 10 Post Office Square in Boston’s CBD. The purchase price was $188 million, according to the Boston Business Journal. LaSalle acquired the 450,000-square-foot office building in a joint venture with Synergy Investments and on behalf of its U.S. value-add fund, LaSalle Income & Growth Fund VII. Synergy will continue to act as the operating partner. Known as 10 PO, the 14-story building is located at the corner of Milk and Pearl streets in Boston’s Financial District. The property features two interconnected towers. The office building is home to 36 tenants, with an average remaining lease term of six years. LaSalle plans to reposition the asset through strategic capital investment, including upgraded building systems, new tenant amenities, renovated common areas and the addition of a ground-level restaurant. Newmark Grubb Knight Frank provided brokerage services on behalf of LaSalle, Synergy and the undisclosed seller. Chicago-based LaSalle maintains approximately $60 billion of private and public equity and private debt investments under management across all of its operating subsidiaries. Fund VII seeks to acquire under managed, undercapitalized or mispriced assets to be repositioned as core assets. —Kristin Hiller

March 27, 2017

Industrial Mississippi Southeast Top Stories

Core5 Acquires 173 Acres to Develop 2.5 MSF Industrial Business Park in DeSoto County, Mississippi

by Kristin Harlow March 24, 2017

DESOTO COUNTY, MISS. — Atlanta-based Core5 Industrial Partners has acquired a 173-acre land site to develop DeSoto 55 Logistics Center, a 2.5 million-square-foot business and logistics park in DeSoto County, located just across the state border from Memphis, Tenn. Anticipated development costs will exceed $125 million, according to a news release from the developer. Core5 will immediately begin construction on two speculative buildings of office and warehouse space totaling 883,720 square feet. Both buildings are planned for delivery this fall. The 582,400-square-foot Building A is expandable up to 1.5 million square feet and will offer 36-foot clear heights, 98 trailer storage spaces and 342 car parking spaces. Building B, totaling 301,320 square feet, will feature 32-foot clear heights, 80 trailer storage spaces and 270 auto spaces. Located at U.S. Highway 51, the park will offer close proximity to the I-55 transportation corridor. Upon planned completion by the end of 2019, DeSoto 55 Logistics Center will accommodate over 2.5 million square feet in up to five separate buildings. The acquisition marks Core5’s entry into the greater Memphis market. “After an extensive review of potential development sites and interviews with local employers, it was clear that the location of DeSoto 55 Logistics …

March 24, 2017

Bob Kramer, National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care

Features Healthcare Multifamily Seniors Housing Top Stories Western Feature Archive

Seniors Housing Industry Looks for New Ways to Bend Cost Curve, Improve Health Outcomes

by Jeff Shaw March 24, 2017

SAN DIEGO — Breaking down the silos between the traditional real-estate-based seniors housing providers and the growing number of health, wellness and supportive services providers will lead to better health outcomes for residents and slow the long-term growth of medical costs. But it’s a shift that won’t happen overnight. That’s one of the key messages Bob Kramer, founder and CEO of the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC), aims to deliver. The 2017 NIC Spring Investment Forum, which happened March 22 through March 24 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, drew more than 1,600 industry professionals, a record number for the show, including more than 350 first-time attendees. The title of this year’s program was “Unlocking New Value Through Senior Care Collaboration.” Industry leaders are feeling a sense of urgency to tackle this issue. Five percent of Medicare recipients consume half of the federal program’s total expenditures, or about $60,000 per beneficiary, according to Kramer. By comparison, the bottom 20 percent account of Medicare recipients account for under $1,000 per beneficiary. “In terms of bending the cost curve — a favorite phrase in healthcare reform — the initial target is very much understandably on the high-need, high-cost population. They …

March 24, 2017

California Hospitality Mixed-Use Retail Top Stories Western

Urban Commons Unveils Plans for $250M Mixed-Use Development in Long Beach, Calif.

by Katie Sloan March 23, 2017

LONG BEACH, CALIF. — Urban Commons has unveiled plans for a $250 million mixed-use development surrounding the Queen Mary, a retired cruise ship docked in Long Beach, Calif. The 700,000-square-foot project — designed by Gensler and titled Queen Mary Island — will include a main lobby plaza; 2,400-foot boardwalk alongside marinas, eclectic retail shops, cafes and bars; 200-room hotel; and outdoor amphitheater. Urban Commons assumed the master lease of the ship in April of last year, and subsequently began a renovation program to restore the ship to its former glory. The company is also collaborating with London-based Urban Legacies to develop Urban Adventure, a 150,000-square-foot entertainment facility. The building will offer 20 interactive and experiential activities including an indoor ice climbing wall, surfing, skydiving, zip lining and a trampoline park. An expected date of completion for the development has yet to be announced. Urban Commons is a Los Angeles-based real estate investment and development firm with a portfolio of assets across the United States. — Katie Sloan

March 23, 2017

Features Texas & Oklahoma Feature Archive Top Stories

Building To Suit Population Growth

by Taylor Williams March 23, 2017

Commercial real estate construction follows increases in population, and Texas has hit a growth spurt. In May 2016, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that five of 11 of the nation’s fastest-growing cities — Georgetown, New Braunfels, Frisco, Pearland and Pflugerville — are in Texas. The state’s metro areas, and the surrounding suburbs fueling this growth, are seeing construction in several sectors. High-end multifamily is popular throughout Texas. In Houston, hotels were being constructed in anticipation of the Super Bowl. In North Dallas, multifamily and retail are expanding to serve corporate growth, while industrial and manufacturing buildings are being constructed to serve transportation hubs south of the Metroplex. “We are seeing a lot of growth all over the state,” says Srinath Pai Kasturi, vice president and general manager of the central Texas division of Cadence McShane Construction. “Over the past four to five years, Texas has been fortunate to have seen a large influx of people from other states, and that has stimulated growth.” Texas added more than 1.8 million jobs from 2004 to 2014 —the most in the United States and 2.5 times California’s total change, according to Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts’ analysis of data from Economic Modeling Specialists, International. …

March 23, 2017

Georgia Kentucky Multifamily Southeast Top Stories

The Scharf Group, Besyata Investment Group Acquire Multifamily Portfolio in the Southeast for $74M

by Nellie Day March 22, 2017

LOUISVILLE, KY., AND LITHONIA, GA. — The Scharf Group and Besyata Investment Group have acquired a two-property multifamily portfolio in the Southeast for $74 million. The portfolio boasts a total of 1,033 units. Properties included in the portfolio include the 689-unit Park at Hurstbourne in Louisville and the 344-unit Woodcrest Village in Lithonia. Park at Hurstbourne is a garden-style apartment complex situated on 44 acres at 5555 Big Ben Drive. It was built in 1972. Community amenities include an indoor pool, basketball court, two clubhouses and a daycare. Park at Hurstbourne is situated near notable employers such as GE, Ford and UPS, which have been expanding operations within the area. Woodcrest Village is a garden-style apartment complex situated on 34 acres at 2325 Woodcrest Walk in the Atlanta suburb of Lithonia. The community is about 20 miles east of downtown Atlanta. It was built in 1990. Besyata and Scharf Group plan to modernize the amenities and undertake gradual unit renovations at both properties. The buyers invest in value-add, Class B multifamily communities in suburban markets near growing cities. BH Management, Besyata’s longstanding partner, will oversee the day-to-day property management and leasing for both assets. The groups also partnered with national real …

March 22, 2017

Multifamily Northeast Pennsylvania Top Stories

Natixis Provides $102.8M Loan to Transform Historic Office Building in Philadelphia into Luxury Apartments

by Jeff Shaw March 21, 2017

PHILADELPHIA — Natixis has provided a $102.8 million first mortgage loan to Post Brothers, which will use the capital to redevelop the historic Atlantic Building in Philadelphia as a 268-unit luxury apartment complex. The Atlantic Building is a 330,000-square-foot, 21-story office building located at 260 S. Broad St. in Philadelphia’s Center City submarket. World-renowned architect Rafael Viñoly designed the building, which was completed in the 1920s. Post Brothers will rename the building The Atlantic. Once the redevelopment is complete, amenities will include a business lounge with conference rooms, clubhouse, fitness center including yoga studio, rooftop swimming pool, roof deck with dog park and grilling areas, and a three-story, 205-space parking garage. “The Atlantic will be another premier residential building that will be similar to previously delivered first-class Post Brothers buildings and will take full advantage of the vibrant and growing Center City market,” says Greg Murphy, head of Natixis Real Estate Finance Americas. Post Brothers acquired the building in 2012 for $27 million, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. The Philadelphia-based multifamily developer and operator attempted to sell the building to Jefferson Apartments for $50 million in 2014, but decided to proceed with the apartment redevelopment project when that deal …

March 21, 2017

Newer Posts

Older Posts