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LAKELAND, FLA. — Brennan Investment Group has purchased approximately 112 acres of land in Lakeland, with plans to build approximately 1.2 million square feet of Class A distribution space on a speculative basis. Brennan is investing about $100 million in the project, according to the Business Observer, a weekly business publication in Florida. Rosemont, Illinois-based Brennan will construct the newly named CenterState Logistics Park in two phases. Phase I will consist of two buildings totaling 720,000 square feet. Phase II, consisting of approximately 480,000 square feet, will begin upon the completion and leasing of Phase One. The company purchased the land from New York-based Rockefeller Group for $6.25 million, according to the Business Observer. Rockefeller paid $9.3 million for the property in 2008. “The Florida industrial markets are resurgent with strong tenant demand,” says Bob Krueger, managing principal for the Southeast region at Brennan. “The Interstate 4 corridor in particular, given its central location within Florida, is seeing a significant rise in big-box leasing as Florida’s in-migration of permanent residents and job growth leads the nation in most economic indicators.” The site is bordered by Old Polk City Road on the north and State Route 33 on the south and …

NEW YORK CITY — Square Mile Capital Management LLC has provided a $205 million loan for the development and construction of a 618-room Marriott Moxy Hotel in Times Square. Two institutional investors provided an additional $125 million in loans. Lightstone Group, a real estate investor and developer, is repositioning a 16-story property located at the intersection of 37th Street and 7th Avenue. The building was originally constructed in 1907 as an 1,885-room residential building and was converted in the 1980s into a retail and office property. For the conversion, Lightstone vacated the former tenants and the interior has been demolished. “Marriott is the leader in defining the next generation travel and lifestyle space, and Moxy hotels are fun lifestyle hotels with smartly designed and technologically advanced rooms, coupled with generous socially activated public space,” says Mitchell Hochberg, president of Lightstone. “Our partnership with Marriott puts Lightstone at the forefront of the rapidly growing lifestyle hotel sector in the New York City area,” continues Hochberg. “Square Mile’s leading support of this project is a testament to Lightstone as a developer of choice for budget lifestyle hotels in the New York market.” The building consists of H-shape floorplate that would not be …

NEW YORK CITY — Colliers International has arranged a 99-year ground lease on behalf of the Benider Co. at 136-62 Roosevelt Ave. in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens in New York City. Private real estate firm Crown Acquisitions signed the long-term lease at the 250,000-square-foot property, which is fully occupied by Macy’s. Over the course of the 99 years, the aggregate value of the ground lease will exceed $1 billion, marking the largest real estate transaction in the history of Flushing, according to Colliers. “This transaction is a game-changer for Flushing,” says Robert Freedman, tri-state co-chairman for Colliers, who noted that the property is at the terminus for the 7 train transportation hub, which also connects to the Hudson Yards as its Manhattan terminus, creating a multi-borough corridor. “We no longer characterize Flushing as an emerging market. It has arrived.” Crown Acquisitions is a commercial real estate investment firm focused on the New York metro area. The new lessor eventually plans to redevelop the property, according to Colliers, but the Macy’s store is not one of the 36 national locations slated for closing. “This property has incredible, long-term potential as a retail destination or for mixed-use redevelopment,” says Steve Chasanoff, …

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Stratus Properties Inc. (NASDAQ: STRS) has completed the $150 million refinancing of its mixed-use development in downtown Austin, which includes W Austin Hotel & Residences and Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater. The W Austin Hotel is a high-rise luxury hotel located in downtown Austin’s Second Street District and a half-mile from the Austin Convention Center. Amenities at the hotel include a spa, business center and multi-room lobby bar. The hotel is also located next door to Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater, a music venue and production facility with a 2,700-seat capacity. Concerts at the theater are taped and aired each year on PBS affiliates nationwide. Goldman Sachs Mortgage Co. provided the 10-year, non-recourse term loan with interest fixed at 5.58 percent and payable monthly based on a 30-year amortization. In September, Stratus purchased the interest in the property of its former partner, Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund II. The purchase was based on a net price of approximately $187.2 million. The trailing 12-month net operating income (NOI) for the W Austin Property at the time Stratus purchased Canyon’s interest was $15.6 million, which equates to a capitalization rate of 8.33 percent. Stratus refinanced …

IRVINE, CALIF. — With online real estate transactions becoming increasingly competitive, Auction.com is rebranding as Ten-X and will expand its platform in the coming months to include options that will give sellers the choice of executing transactions using an online auction or a non-auction process online. When it relaunches in March, the company will feature three websites, including Ten-X Commercial, a dedicated site for commercial real estate. Ten-X Homes will be dedicated to residential real estate. Auction.com will continue, but will focus on investment properties for residential real estate buyers. “We’re shifting from a disposition platform for distressed assets into a marketplace where people can come and buy traditional, high-quality properties,” says Rick Sharga, the company’s executive vice president. “That has been a big change for us over the past 18 months.” In mid-March, the company’s new transactional platforms will be on display at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. The annual set of film, interactive media and music festivals attracts entrepreneurs and creative types. Ten-X will launch Ten-X Homes in Miami, Denver, Dallas and Phoenix — all of which are projected to be strong residential markets in 2016, says Sharga. In the first quarter, Ten-X is expected to announce …