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NEW YORK CITY — Kushner Cos. has purchased the 250,000-square-foot retail component of the historic Times Square Building for $296 million. The retail portion of the 16-story, 767,000-square-foot property located at 229 W. 43rd St. comprises the first three floors and portions of the fourth floor, cellars and sub-cellars of the building, with frontage on West 43rd and 44th streets. Sellers Africa-Israel USA (AFI-USA) and Five Mile Capital Partners purchased the entire building — the former headquarters of the New York Times Co. — in June 2007 for $530 million total. The Times Square Building housed The New York Times when the property was built in 1913 until the building was sold in 2004 to Tishman Speyer Properties. In 2007, the newspaper moved to a steel-framed, glass-curtained new construction at 620 Eighth Ave. Marquee tenants at the Times Square Building include Discovery Times Square Exhibition, Bowlmor Times Square, Guitar Center and Haru Sushi. Landmarks Preservation Commission recognizes the building as a New York City landmark. Columbia Property Trust Inc. purchased the office portion of the building this year from affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VI LP for $516 million. Helen Hwang, formerly of Cushman & Wakefield and now with …

CRANBURY, N.J. — A joint venture between The Rockefeller Group and Alfieri LLC is moving forward with one of the largest industrial real estate developments in New Jersey. The Cranbury Station Park will feature up to 1.24 million square feet of Class A warehouse and distribution space. Developers broke ground on the 930,000-square-foot building that will anchor the site in May. The speculative building is situated on 120 acres off Cranbury Station Road in the Exit 8A submarket of New Jersey. “The demand-side fundamentals are extremely strong in the Exit 8A submarket, and there are no other existing opportunities to lease a space of this size in the state, so we’re expecting strong interest ahead of completion,” says Clark Machemer, senior vice president and regional development officer for The Rockefeller Group’s New Jersey/Pennsylvania office. The building plans incorporate a solar-ready roof, cross-dock loading and a loop road surrounding the entire building to maximize circulation. The 930,000-square-foot facility is slated for completion by the end of this year. An additional 310,000-square-foot building may then be constructed. The pad site for the 310,000-square-foot building could alternatively be used for trailer and car parking. The project currently provides 200 trailer spaces, 292 auto …

NEW YORK — A subsidiary of Brookfield Property Partners LP (NYSE: BPY) has entered into a joint venture with Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) to develop the mixed-use Manhattan West project in New York City. In the transaction, Brookfield sold a 44 percent interest in the development to QIA. The total value of the development upon completion and stabilization is estimated to be $8.6 billion. “Brookfield has enjoyed a long-standing, successful relationship with QIA and we are thrilled that they share our vision for this transformative project,” says Bruce Flatt, CEO of Brookfield Asset Management, a global alternative asset manager with more than $200 billion of assets under management. New York-based Brookfield Property Partners, the flagship listed real estate company of Brookfield Asset Management, has more than $60 billion in total assets. QIA, a global investor, was founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 as its sovereign wealth fund. “We are pleased to expand our relationship with Brookfield and invest in this world-class project. This joint venture is an example of our strategy to invest in high-quality real estate with strong partners. It is also a further demonstration of QIA’s long-term confidence in the U.S. market,” says His Excellency Sheikh …

DEERFIELD, Ill. — For owners of net leased drugstore properties, one key question resulting from Tuesday’s announcement that Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA) has agreed to acquire Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) for $17.2 billion, including debt, is what effect will the transaction have on lease terms and cap rates? Jimmy Goodman, a partner with Northbrook, Ill.-based The Boulder Group, which specializes in the net lease sector, believes the deal is good news for owners of single-tenant assets occupied by Rite Aid. “If you own a Rite Aid it’s a positive for you because now you’ve got a better brand in Walgreens, which is second in market share, as opposed to Rite Aid, which is third,” he says. “Initially, I expect transaction volume to slow down simply because people will want to wait and see what will happen to specific stores. Other owners will be worried about store closure impact.” Goodman also doesn’t foresee a high number of Rite Aid locations closing. “Rite Aid’s market share is relatively low and concentrated on certain geographies,” says Goodman. “This will only affect stores that are literally right across the street from one another.” CVS/Pharmacy controls 58 percent market share in the drugstore sector, …

NEW YORK CITY — Berkadia has secured a $5.1 billion loan for a portfolio of 107 multifamily properties located across nine states that was recently acquired by Lone Star Real Estate Fund. The portfolio consists of more than 36,500 units in Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and four other states. Anthony Cinquini, managing director of Berkadia’s Los Angeles office, worked with the borrower, Lone Star, to originate the seven-year loan through Berkadia’s Freddie Mac Program. Lone Star used the mortgage financing to assist in its acquisition of Home Properties Inc., which included the 36,500 units, on October 7. “This is the largest multifamily transaction Berkadia has executed with Freddie Mac to date, representing an outstanding team effort by everyone involved,” says Cinquini. New York-based Berkadia, a joint venture of Berkshire Hathaway and Leucadia National Corp., provides capital solutions and investment sales advisory and research services for multifamily and commercial properties. Lone Star is a private equity firm that invests globally in distressed assets and established its first fund in 1995. — Scott Reid