Top Stories

NEW YORK — New Senior Investment Group Inc. (NYSE: SNR), a New York-based seniors housing REIT, has completed the previously announced acquisition of 17 independent living seniors housing properties from affiliates of Hawthorn Retirement Group for approximately $435 million. The acquisition was funded with cash on hand and proceeds from a first mortgage loan. “We are excited to add to our portfolio this collection of high-quality, independent living senior housing assets, which will further increase our private pay exposure,” says Susan Givens, CEO of New Senior Investment Group. The portfolio is 100 percent private pay, contains 2,082 units located across 10 states and had an average occupancy rate of 92.6 percent in February 2015. The average age for the 17 properties is roughly seven years. Holiday Retirement will operate the portfolio, and New Senior expects its newly acquired assets to generate a net operating income (NOI) yield of approximately 6.3 percent. The REIT also completed a $670 million first mortgage loan secured by 52 seniors housing properties. Walker & Dunlop arranged the Freddie Mac loan, which has a seven-year maturity and bears interest at 234 basis points over LIBOR. Proceeds from the loan were used to refinance existing floating-rate debt …

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Hillwood Investment Properties has broken ground on Alliance Gateway South Building Three, a 1.1 million-square-foot addition to its AllianceCalifornia development in San Bernardino. PCCP provided the non-recourse senior loan to Hillwood for the construction of the property, which is scheduled for completion this December. AllianceCalifornia Gateway South Building Three is in the heart of the Inland Empire’s industrial marketplace and is the largest speculative industrial building under construction in San Bernardino County. The facility is located at 555 Orange Show Road and has access to I-10, I-215 and I-210, all of which are major surface transit routes for cargo carriers. Companies with a presence in AllianceCalifornia include Amazon, Mattel, Kohler, Pactiv, Pep Boys, Kohl’s and Stater Bros. “We envision the project attracting Fortune 1000 tenants as earlier phases of AllianceCalifornia have done,” says John Magness, who is overseeing the development for Hillwood, a Dallas-based developer. “Within the immediate vicinity of Building Three are warehousing and distribution centers for some of the largest online retailers in the nation, as well as direct-to-market retailers. With the immediate access to air, rail and freeways, the development is suitable for all types of companies.” Gateway South will feature 36-foot ceiling clearances, …

SAN FRANCISCO — Prudential Mortgage Capital Co. has provided Donahue Schriber Realty Group with $118.5 million in financing to acquire four grocery-anchored shopping centers in California and Washington. The properties include Gilman District in Berkeley, Calif.; Village Oaks in San Jose, Calif.; Lakeland Town Center in Auburn, Wash.; and Westgate North in Tacoma, Wash. A Whole Foods Market and Office Depot anchor the 91,228-square-foot Gilman District, while the 320,000-square-foot Village Oaks is anchored by Safeway, Target and Lowe’s. These centers were recently built. Haggen, the largest independent grocer in the Pacific Northwest, anchors the 125,421-square-foot Lakeland Town Center, and the 129,229-square-foot Westgate North is anchored by Safeway and Ace Hardware. The four separate, 10-year, fixed-rate loans are cross-collateralized. “These properties are located in strong retail locations with dense populations and high median incomes,” says Elizabeth Velazquez, a director with Prudential Mortgage Capital Co.’s San Francisco office, who led the transaction. “The superior quality of these Class A properties, two of which are newly constructed, along with their strong grocery anchors, helped make this an attractive transaction for us,” continues Velazquez. “Another key factor in deciding to finance these properties was the experience and strength of Donahue Schriber. This is our …

THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS — The Howard Hughes Corp. has completed a $75 million expansion and renovation of The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center in Texas. “The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center is the premier destination for business meetings, social occasions and getaways in the Houston region,” says David Weinreb, CEO of The Howard Hughes Corp. “We will continue to innovate and enhance the resort in the years to come to provide our visitors with a best-in-class hospitality experience that will draw them to return again and again.” The 20-month renovation and expansion included the replacement of 206 lodge-style rooms with Fairway Pines III; the addition of a new wing of 184 guest rooms and suites; and the renovation of 222 existing guest rooms and suites in the Fairway Pines I and II guest wings. A new 3,036 square-foot living room area connects the three guest room wings. A new lobby featuring native Texas stone and three-story windows; a new lazy river that winds 1,005 feet through the surrounding forest and 60,000 square feet revitalized meeting and event facilities were also apart of the renovations. Robard’s, a new 156-seat, high-end steakhouse restaurant and lounge, sits adjacent to an 18-hole golf course, …

RENTON, WASH. — SECO Development Inc. has received all design review and master plan approvals for the construction of Southport Waterfront Corporate Campus, a complex of three Class A nine-story office buildings on Lake Washington in Renton. Southport Waterfront Corporate Campus is the final phase of the $570 million, 17-acre Southport Development, a mixed-use development of office, retail, restaurants, luxury apartments and a four-star hotel and convention center on Lake Washington. The corporate center will consist of 724,520 square feet of Class A office space and 10,400 square feet of retail space to go along with the 383 units of luxury, multifamily residences completed in 2008, as well as the 350-key hotel and convention center currently under construction. The office complex is situated on 5.6 acres and will feature direct marine access and a 200-foot dock outfitted with water and electricity, in addition to 2,078 parking spaces. Offices will be outfitted with 100 percent fiber Gigabit Passive Optic Network, providing Internet access of up to 100-gigabyte data speeds. Southport Waterfront Corporate Campus will have waterfront views of Lake Washington, the Seattle skyline, Olympic Mountains and Mt. Rainier, and is adjacent to the 55-acre Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park. The campus …

PASADENA, CALIF. — Carey Watermark Investors Inc. (CWI), W. P. Carey’s non-traded lodging REIT based in New York, has purchased the Westin Pasadena from HEI Hotels & Resorts. CWI acquired the 350-room hotel located in downtown Pasadena for $142.5 million. The Westin Pasadena is a Four Diamond AAA-rated hotel located within the Plaza Las Fuentes, a mixed-use complex with a 178,000-square-foot office building and 15,000 square feet of retail space, including two restaurants. The hotel is located near the Pasadena Convention Center, Civic Auditorium, Rose Bowl and Paseo Colorado shopping and entertainment center, as well as 10 miles outside of downtown Los Angeles. “CWI’s investment in the Westin Pasadena represented the opportunity to secure a well-located asset that benefits from the overall strength of the Southern California lodging market,” says Michael Medzigian, CEO of CWI. “The Four Diamond property generates attractive cash flow and we believe that it will continue to benefit from the diverse corporate and leisure attractions in the area. Our ability to acquire a high-quality, well-positioned asset in a strong market adds additional market diversity, as well as solid long-term cash generating capability to our portfolio.” The hotel features 19,000 square feet of meeting space, a full-service …