Top Stories

Kennedy Wilson Acquires 430-Unit Multifamily Property in Metro Seattle for $81M

by Haisten Willis July 13, 2016

AUBURN, WASH. — Global real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson has purchased a 430-unit multifamily property in the Seattle suburb of Auburn for $81 million. Belara at Lakeland is a garden-style apartment community built in 2006 on 40 acres within the Lakeland Hills master-planned community. The property features a resident clubhouse, fitness center, outdoor pool and playground and is located in the Dieringer school district. “We are excited to expand our footprint in the Seattle area,” says Shem Streeter, managing director of Kennedy Wilson Multifamily Investments. “This submarket has experienced both high-income job growth and a rapidly growing population, and we will continue to look for opportunities to increase our presence in this area.” Auburn is located at the convergence of the SR-18, SR-167 and I-5, offering access to Seattle, Bellevue and Tacoma. Kennedy Wilson invested $19 million of equity, inclusive of closing costs, and secured a 10-year loan of $62.6 million through Freddie Mac at a fixed rate of 3.6 percent to acquire the property. Kennedy Wilson’s global apartment portfolio includes 135 communities with approximately 26,000 units. The company has an ownership interest in 9,893 units across 39 communities in the state of Washington. — Haisten Willis

July 13, 2016

Multifamily New York Northeast Top Stories

Fairstead Capital Acquires Savoy Park Apartments in Harlem for $315M

by Christina Cannon July 12, 2016

NEW YORK CITY — Fairstead Capital has acquired Savoy Park Apartments, a 1,790-unit multifamily campus in the Central Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, for $315 million. An investor group that includes L+M Development Partners and Savanna sold the property, which is situated on 10.5 acres. Savoy Park consists of seven 16-story buildings, and is 100 percent rent-stabilized. Under the terms of the deal, Fairstead Capital will maintain the apartments as affordable housing until at least 2052. Fairstead Capital plans to upgrade the complex with renovations to interior common spaces, landscaping, public spaces and security systems. Savoy Park offers studio, one- and two-bedroom units and includes amenities such as walking paths, courtyards, playgrounds, laundry facilities, on-site parking and on-site maintenance and management. The complex, built in 1959, was last renovated in 2005. A real estate fund created by Citigroup and L+M purchased the complex, formerly known as Delano Village, in 2012, according to Real Estate Weekly. The deal, which prevented the property from going into foreclosure, was valued at $210 million. Savills Studley’s Jeffrey Baker and Graham Hobbs, along with Ariel Property Advisors’ Victor Sozio and Shimon Shkury, brokered the deal. Fairstead Capital is a real estate investor and manager specializing in …

July 12, 2016

Features Industrial Top Stories

Record Absorption Leads to Lowest U.S. Industrial Vacancy Rate of Past 30 Years, Says Cushman & Wakefield

by John Nelson July 12, 2016

NEW YORK — The U.S. industrial market has absorbed a record-setting 70.1 million square feet of space in the second quarter, up 6 percent from the same period a year ago, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Year-to-date, the industrial sector has absorbed 132.2 million square feet. The second-quarter figure marks 25 consecutive quarters of net occupancy gains for the industrial sector, with the current quarter’s absorption reaching a new cyclical high. Nationally, the industrial vacancy rate is currently tracking at 5.8 percent, the lowest level of the past 30 years and 270 basis points below the 10-year historical average. Additionally, 38 U.S. markets reported more than 1 million square feet of absorption during the second quarter, with 11 markets recording more than 2 million square feet of absorption. Kevin Thorpe, Cushman & Wakefield’s chief economist, says that despite a series of shocks to the U.S. economy this year and heightened uncertainty emanating from Europe, economic fundamentals remain mostly solid, which ultimately benefits the U.S. industrial sector. “We expect to see some headwinds form in manufacturing and exporting created by the stronger U.S. dollar, but other important industrial-related indicators, such as containerized traffic flows, transportation indices, and business inventories, demonstrate that …

July 12, 2016

California Hospitality Loans Top Stories Western

Next Century Partners Receives $1B in Construction Financing for Century Plaza Mixed-Use Project in Los Angeles

by Nellie Day July 11, 2016

LOS ANGELES — Next Century Partners has received $1 billion in construction financing for the Century Plaza mixed-use project in Los Angeles. The $2.5 billion project will include two residential towers, restaurants and retail shops. The existing, five-star Century Plaza Hotel on the site will also undergo a renovation. The project is located at 2025 Avenue of the Stars in the Century City submarket. Construction is scheduled to commence later this summer. The hotel closed for renovations in March, and is set to reopen in early 2018. It will include a redesigned open-air lobby that connects public plazas and fountains to a two-acre garden surrounded by restaurants and retail. The hotel has hosted a number of notable events over its 50-year run, including the Grammy Awards and the “Dinner of the Century” in 1969, which honored the first astronauts to reach the moon. The full, mixed-use project will feature about 100,000 square feet of retail. The 46-story residential towers will include 290 luxury residences. A variety of loans provided the $1 billion in financing, including a $446 million senior loan from J.P. Morgan Chase; $120 million mezzanine financing from an investment vehicle managed by Colony Capital; and $450 million of …

July 11, 2016

California Office Top Stories Western

Hudson Pacific Closes on $311 Million Office Acquisition in Los Angeles

by Jeff Shaw July 8, 2016

LOS ANGELES — Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE: HPP) has closed on its previously announced $311 million acquisition of 11601 Wilshire Boulevard, formerly known as the Wells Fargo Center, in Los Angeles. 11601 Wilshire was built in 1983 and serves as the gateway to the Brentwood/Westside office market, with its location at the corner of San Vicente and Wilshire boulevards. The building has 25 floors totaling 500,475 square feet. HPP bought the property from funds managed by The Blackstone Group. The building was 83 percent occupied at the time of closing. Blackstone bought the building in 2006 for $164 million, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal. HPP plans to renovate and increase occupancy at the building. “We intend to further elevate this asset within the marketplace, spending capital wisely to facilitate lease-up and create value for our stockholders,” says Victor Coleman, chairman and CEO of HPP. HPP is among the tenants in the building, where the REIT has had its headquarters since the company’s initial public offering in July 2010. To build capital for the acquisition, HPP sold One Bay Plaza, a 195,739-square-foot office tower in Burlingame, for $53.4 million in early June. The company also received $28.5 million in proceeds from …

July 8, 2016

California Office Top Stories Western

Boston Properties Completes $511.1M Acquisition of Stake in Colorado Center in Santa Monica

by John Nelson July 7, 2016

SANTA MONICA, CALIF. — Boston Properties Inc. (NYSE: BXP) has completed the previously announced acquisition of a 49.8 percent interest in Colorado Center, a 1.2 million-square-foot office campus in Santa Monica. The Boston-based REIT purchased the minority stake from Blackstone (NYSE: BX) for approximately $511.1 million. Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA) owns the remaining 50.2 percent interest in Colorado Center. Boston Properties will be the managing partner of the TIAA-Boston Properties joint venture. Situated in Los Angeles County, Colorado Center comprises six office buildings and a three-level, 3,100-space underground parking garage. There is currently no debt on the property, according to Boston Properties. The asset was 68 percent leased at the time of sale. The acquisition marks the entry to metro Los Angeles for Boston Properties, which has previously focused on four other gateway markets: Boston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. “We are very pleased to enter the Los Angeles market through our acquisition of Colorado Center,” says Owen Thomas, CEO of Boston Properties. “Colorado Center is a proven and premier office campus, which provides us the opportunity to use our real estate skills to enhance and lease the property and realize the substantial upside potential we …

July 7, 2016

Features Multifamily Seniors Housing Top Stories

NIC: Seniors Housing Occupancy, New Construction Sag Slightly in Second Quarter

by Jeff Shaw July 7, 2016

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The average occupancy rate for independent living and assisted living properties in the second quarter of 2016 dropped to 89.7 percent, as new inventory outpaced absorption of units, according to a quarterly report from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). The occupancy rate represents a decrease of 30 basis points from the prior quarter, and brings average occupancy back down to where it was a year ago. During the past three years, occupancy has averaged 89.8 percent. As of the second quarter of 2016, occupancy was 2.8 percentage points above its cyclical low of 86.9 percent during the first quarter of 2010. The skilled nursing sector saw the same drop of 30 basis points to 87.1 percent. Despite the lower occupancy rate the second quarter, annual asking rents for independent living and assisted living continued to grow, increasing 3.2 percent. This is an increase of 10 basis points over the first-quarter growth rate and 80 basis points over the previous year. It’s the highest rate since the second quarter of 2008, NIC reports. In skilled nursing, the asking rent growth stayed flat at 2.8 percent. Annual absorption for independent living and assisted living …

July 7, 2016

Bio Tech Place, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C.

Healthcare Life Sciences Top Stories

Ventas to Acquire Entire Wexford Life Science, Medical Portfolio for $1.5B

by Jeff Shaw July 6, 2016

CHICAGO — Giant healthcare REIT Ventas (NYSE: VTR) has agreed to acquire all the life sciences and medical real estate assets of Wexford Science & Technology for $1.5 billion. Wexford will continue to operate the portfolio, which includes 25 Class A properties totaling 4.5 million square feet. Blackstone Real Estate Partners VIII LP is the current owner of the properties, which are largely leased to universities, academic medical centers and research companies. Tenants include Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania Health System, Washington University in St. Louis, Wake Forest University and Alexion Pharmaceuticals. Of the 25 properties, 23 are currently in operation and are 97 percent leased. The remaining two properties are currently under development and are nearly 60 percent pre-leased to Duke University and Wake Forest University. Chicago-based Ventas also plans to acquire nine development sites contiguous to the existing assets for $50 million. The purchase will significantly diversify Ventas’ portfolio, as the company’s previous focus was almost exclusively on seniors housing and healthcare properties. Ventas has the second-largest portfolio of seniors housing in the United States with 785 properties totaling 69,708 units, according to the American Seniors Housing Association’s most recent numbers. The transaction includes a long-term management …

July 6, 2016

Illinois Midwest Office Top Stories

American Realty Advisors Acquires Chicago’s 1K Fulton Property for $257M

by Christina Cannon July 5, 2016

CHICAGO — American Realty Advisors has acquired 1K Fulton, a Class A office property in Chicago, for $257 million. The complex consists of a 10-story building, formerly a cold storage facility that was built in 1923, and a six-story building that was added in 2015. Sterling Bay was the seller of the 550,000-square-foot property, which is currently 97 percent leased. Hartshorne Plunkard Architects designed the complex. Google’s Midwest headquarters currently occupies roughly two-thirds of the office space. “We were attracted to this asset because it has long-term leases with quality tenants, such as Google,” says Martha Shelley, senior portfolio manager for American Realty Advisors. “We anticipate that this property will remain a key driver of the continued growth of the River West Fulton Marketplace over time given the abundance of street level amenities, immediate proximity of public transportation, new hotels and housing adjacent to this asset.” Floor plates at 1K Fulton range from 38,500 square feet to 71,000 square feet. Amenities at the property include indoor parking, a rooftop deck, shuttle service, Pressbox dry cleaning, ZipCar, bicycle detailing and repair station, a fitness center and ground-floor retail and restaurants. “This acquisition fulfills all of our criteria: superior location, great tenants, …

July 5, 2016

Features Multifamily Top Stories

Wanted: Tech-Savvy Apartment Managers to Boost Revenue

by Jeff Shaw July 5, 2016

Today’s apartment property managers wear a lot of hats. In addition to being responsible for leasing up residential buildings or knowing how to calculate a property’s return on investment, they must also maintain healthy relationships with their workers, owners and residents. Figuring out how to leverage technology is key to achieving this delicate balancing act. According to a 2015 survey by the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), 37 percent of households within the United States rent versus own. That’s up from 32 percent in 2010. Approximately 26 percent of those who rent are under the age of 30. This shift from owning to renting by younger residents has changed the way the industry reacts to them. “It’s one of the interesting dynamics of the 21st century and has changed the way we and other management firms do business,” says Mark Zettl, chief operating officer of Chicago-based Waterton, an owner and operator of multifamily and hospitality assets across the United States. “While customer service and satisfaction have always been priorities, today’s managers are constantly being held to a higher standard — one that measures response times in minutes and hours rather than days,” says Zettl. “We’ve embraced the change because the …

July 5, 2016

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