DALLAS — Occupancy at privately owned student housing properties is rising while construction of 2016 deliveries is ramping up, according to a report by Dallas-based Axiometrics. Student housing properties were 96 percent occupied as of September. This rate was a 62-basis-point increase from the 95.3 percent occupancy rate in September 2014. Assets closer to campus had the highest occupancy rates, on average. Throughout the 2015-16 leasing season, leasing velocity has averaged at or above the pace of the 2014-15 leasing season, with a leasing velocity of 95.7 percent as of the end of August. Annual effective rent growth has remained steady at two percent nationally. Effective rent levels for properties less than a half-mile from the university averaged $646 per bed for the 2015-16 leasing season, up 2.4 percent from the average effective rent level for the 2014-15 school year. Effective rent levels for properties located between a half-mile and one mile from campus averaged $542 per bed, up 1.8 percent from 2014. The total new supply for fall 2015 was 47,830 beds, 24 percent fewer than the number of beds delivered for fall 2014. Deliveries for 2016 appear to be tracking at a similar pace with 48,216 beds identified to …
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MIAMI BEACH, FLA. — HFF has arranged the $370 million sale of a 1.1-acre contiguous city block along Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, an island between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. HFF marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a partnership between Jonathan Fryd and Michael Comras. The buyer was Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega, according to the Miami Herald. Ortega owns global fashion giant Zara. The sale is the second largest ever in Miami-Dade County and the highest value retail property sale in Florida, according to the paper. Lincoln Road has emerged as one of the premier shopping districts in the country, often compared with New York’s Fifth Avenue, Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. Lincoln Road is a top tourist attraction in Miami and receives more than 6 million visitors annually. The Lincoln Road Flagship Block consists of flagship retail stores for Gap, Apple, Capital One and Nike. The total developed area totals 74,537 square feet, with the potential to develop an additional 57,328 square feet. Manny de Zárraga, Daniel Finkle and Luis Castillo led the HFF capital markets team representing the seller. Fryd Properties is a management and development firm in Miami Beach. The …
China-Based Developer to Partner With LaTerra on $125M Mixed-Use Project in Hollywood
by Katie Sloan
HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. — Gemdale Properties and Investments, a subsidiary of Gemdale Corp., one of China’s largest real estate developers, and Los Angeles-based LaTerra Development have formed a joint venture to develop Deluxe Hollywood, a $125 million mixed-use project located in Hollywood. This project will be the first real estate investment in Hollywood by a major Chinese company. “This inaugural Los Angeles investment promises to be the first of many deals as we ramp up our capital investment and property development business in Los Angeles, a market that we are confident presents great value,” says Jason Zhu, CEO of Gemdale USA. The four-acre mixed-use project, located at 1350 N. Western Ave. at Sunset Boulevard, will include office, retail and multifamily space. The site is within two blocks of Icon at Sunset Bronson Studios, and is in close proximity to the Hollywood and Western station of Metro’s Red Line connecting to downtown Los Angeles. LaTerra Development is a residential and mixed-use development company with a focus on urban infill locations throughout Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego. Gemdale Properties and Investments is a leading real estate developer in the greater China region. Gemdale was founded in 1988 and is listed on …
By Brian A. Lee Industrial REITs in the Midwest are gaining momentum by building from the ground up. E-commerce expansion and a highly competitive investment sector are spurring industrial real estate leaders to green light more development projects. According to JLL, the Midwest has recorded nearly 21.3 million square feet of industrial completions through mid-year with more than 23.5 million square feet currently under construction. Only the Southwest region exceeded that sum during the same period (25.3 million and 37.3 million square feet, respectively). “The most significant trend that we need to see in the industrial sector is overall GDP growth that is driving demand for space from a range of tenants across a wide span of industries,” says David Harker, executive vice president at Chicago-based First Industrial Realty Trust. “While growth has been measured, it has been good enough to spur incremental demand that has been exceeding new supply at a pace of about 1.5 times.” While shareholders may be less than impressed with total returns this year (see chart), Midwestern industrial REITs continue to post big numbers in other important investment categories as they aggressively target the region. “While their current returns are underperforming expectations, most REIT managers …
NEW YORK CITY — Stone Street Properties has acquired two apartment properties in the Gramercy Park submarket of New York City for a total of $123 million. The properties are located at 210 and 220 E. 22nd St. They are situated just east of the Flatiron District, near the East River. The buildings sold for a little more than $1,030 per square foot. The acquisition includes 208 rental units, with an average rent of $3,450 per month. The communities are situated near Peter Cooper Village, the National Arts Club and the Union Square Subway. They are one block from Gramercy Park. The property at 210 E. 22nd St. was built in 1982. It features 88 units throughout eight floors. Amenities include a doorman, elevator, laundry facilities on every floor and an on-site super. The property at 220 22nd St. was built in 1930. It features 122 units throughout six stories. This community also features a doorman, elevator and an on-site super. Broad Street Development and Crow Holdings originally listed the properties for sale this past April for a targeted price of $130 million. The partners purchased the property for $85 million in 2012. Broad and Crow have invested about $4 …
NEW YORK — Berkadia has arranged two loans totaling $366.7 million for two Brookdale Senior Living portfolios consisting of 39 seniors housing properties. The two portfolios are located across 17 states, including California, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Washington. Managing directors Heidi Brunet and Christopher Fenton of Berkadia’s Seniors Housing and Healthcare Group originated the financing for Brookdale (NYSE: BKD), which will use the loans to refinance existing debt on the properties. Brunet and Fenton secured a $226.4 million, 10-year loan through Berkadia’s Fannie Mae program for the first portfolio of 21 properties totaling 1,924 units. The portfolio, which has an average occupancy of 90.6 percent, consists of 5.7 percent independent living, 15.9 percent memory care and 78.4 percent assisted living units. The pair also closed a $140.3 million, seven-year loan through Berkadia’s Freddie Mac program for a portfolio of 18 properties. The portfolio, which consists of 1,190 units in total, comprises 22.9 percent memory care and 77.1 percent assisted living units. Average occupancy was 87.8 percent at time of closing. “Our team’s extensive experience working with seniors housing assets across the country allowed us to secure competitive loan terms for these expansive portfolios,” said Brunet. “We have …
NEWARK, CALIF. — Rouse Properties Inc. (NYSE: RSE), a retail REIT based in New York, has closed a new $135 million first mortgage loan for NewPark Mall, a 1 million-square-foot retail property located in Newark, roughly 25 miles south of Oakland in San Francisco’s East Bay market. Rouse Properties has withdrawn $114.3 million from the financing, with approximately $65 million of proceeds used to pay off the property’s previous mortgage loan and $49.3 million used for closing costs and general corporate purposes, including paying down the company’s revolving credit facility. The remainder of the refinancing will be used for renovations and additional leasing. The new loan has a three-year term and a one-year extension option. The non-recourse mortgage carries an interest rate at Libor plus 2.1 percent, with a forward starting swap fixed at 3.26 percent effective on Jan. 1, 2016. “This new loan facility represents a $70 million increase over our previous $65 million loan,” says John Wain, chief financial officer of Rouse Properties. “This clearly demonstrates the meaningful value creation we have already achieved with our significant renovation and repositioning initiative currently underway, which is Rouse’s largest planned capital investment in our portfolio.” Rouse Properties has recently arranged …
IRVINE, CALIF. — Commercial real estate markets are starting to show signs of stabilization following years of run-up and appreciation, according to Auction.com’s second-quarter 2015 commercial real estate market monitor report. While CRE deal volume increased in the first quarter, volume declined 14.6 percent in the second quarter to $112.4 billion, but remains 24 percent higher than a year ago. The second quarter dip marked the first time since 2008 that total deal volume dropped on a quarter-over-quarter basis. “It’s unclear whether the second-quarter drop in sales volume is the beginning of a slowdown in the CRE market, or simply an adjustment from an unusually strong first quarter,” says Rick Sharga, Auction.com’s executive vice president. “What’s clear is that all of the major CRE sectors continue to perform far better than they did a year ago, and may be strong enough to withstand a potential decline in international investment activity due to the economic issues in China and Europe.” Europe continues to struggle with high unemployment and low growth, leading the European Central Bank to start its own quantitative easing program to spur lending and growth. This has depressed European interest rates when compared to U.S. rates, which have risen …
NEW YORK — Madison Realty Capital (MRC), an institutionally backed real estate investment firm, has provided first and second mortgage financing totaling $124 million for the acquisition and future renovation of a 15-building, 175,000-square-foot portfolio of residential and mixed-use properties in New York’s East Village. “This portfolio of properties in such prime locations in the East Village would be nearly impossible to replicate in today’s market,” says Josh Zegen, co-founder and managing principal of MRC. “We’re excited to offer a customized loan package to help the borrower enhance the value of the portfolio.” The portfolio has a mix of studio and one-bedroom units. The buildings are located in a neighborhood that is increasingly popular with young professionals and students due to its retail, restaurants, nightlife and proximity to New York University and the city’s employment centers. The acquisition was an off-market deal with long-term family owners. The borrower plans to update common areas of the buildings, renovate residential units to maximize square footage and lease up vacancies. Including this transaction, MRC has closed 24 debt investments totaling $590 million so far in 2015, consisting of special situation loan origination opportunities and loan acquisition deals. MRC is a New York-based real estate …
NEW YORK — HFF (NYSE: HFF) has secured a $110 million first mortgage financing for 180 Madison Avenue, an historic, 23-story, 280,953-square-foot office tower in Manhattan. 180 Madison Avenue is located at the southwest corner of Madison Avenue and East 34th Street in Manhattan’s Midtown South office submarket. The building, formerly known as The Lingerie Building, was historically the premier building for lingerie manufacturers and wholesalers in New York. Originally built in 1926, the property is in the final stages of a comprehensive renovation that has repositioned the asset as a best-in-class office building. Improvements include a lobby renovation, elevator modernization and window replacements, as well as various electrical upgrades. Recent rollover at the building, which is currently 72 percent leased, has enabled ownership to demolish and pre-build space as tenants’ leases expire. The property has become a desirable location for firms in the technology, advertising, media and information (TAMI) sectors that are concentrated in the Midtown South market, according to HFF. Two of the top five largest tenants located in the building, The Rubicon Project and Unified Social, are indicative of growing TAMI firms relocating to Midtown South. Both tenants signed leases at the property in the last few …