SAN DIEGO — Kilroy Realty Corp. (NYSE: KRC), a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) based in Los Angeles, has closed the $258 million sale of four office campuses totaling nine buildings and 933,134 square feet in San Diego. The properties were 83 percent leased at the time of sale. The buyer was John Hancock, the U.S. division of Manulife Financial Corp. (NYSE: MFC), a global life insurance company and real estate investor. The office portfolio consists of Sequence Technology Center at 6260, 6290, 6310, 6340 and 6350 Sequence Drive; Scripps Wateridge at 10770 Wateridge Circle; Sorrento Gateway at 4921 Directors Place; and Governor Pointe at 6200 and 6220 Greenwich Drive. The assets sold in separate transactions. “The sales prices in these transactions reflect strong investor demand for well-located, high-quality properties,” says John Kilroy, chairman, president and CEO of Kilroy Realty. The portfolio comprises two- and three-story office buildings located in central San Diego’s Sorrento Mesa and Governor Park office submarkets. Two of the nine buildings were vacant as of July, and the remaining seven buildings were leased to tenants in technology-based industries. Nick Psyllos, Ryan Gallagher, Michael Leggett and Nick Frasco of HFF marketed the portfolio on behalf …
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MINOT, N.D. — Investors Real Estate Trust (NYSE: IRET) has closed on the sale of 34 commercial office properties for $250 million, netting the company $129 million in cash. The closing was the first of several portfolio sales the company anticipates will occur in its fiscal 2016 second quarter, which began Aug. 1. IRET previously announced it is divesting of its office and retail portfolios with the objective of focusing its portfolio strategy. Proceeds from the first sale will be reinvested in several projects including acquiring a $56 million multifamily property, commencing construction on a $31.5 million multifamily development and paying down $66 million on the company’s line of credit. “We are excited to be able to fully deploy our energy and focus on growing our multifamily segment,” says Tim Mihalick, CEO of IRET. “We see an excellent opportunity to be a best-in-class owner operator in this property segment.” Acquisitions/Developments: IRET has signed a purchase agreement for a 276-unit multifamily community in Rochester, Minn., for $56 million. The Class A townhome-style property will add to the company’s portfolio in the market. The company also will commence construction on a 202-unit Class A apartment community in a suburban market in Minneapolis. Share …
SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. — Apartment rents in the United States rose 6.5 percent year-over-year in July to a record $1,155, according to the July 2015 edition of Matrix Monthly, a report on U.S. multifamily market trends from real estate software developer Yardi. Technology-fueled markets in the Western U.S. continued to spearhead rent growth, led by Portland (14.6 percent), Denver (13 percent) and San Francisco (9.8 percent). Growth is strong across the board in all 30 of the markets featured in the Matrix Monthly, with only five metros experiencing less than a 4 percent increase year-over-year and three below the national long-term average of 2.8 percent. San Diego (fifth with 9.1 percent rent growth year-over-year), Orlando (seventh at 8.4 percent) and Tampa (eighth at 8.1 percent) jumped into the report’s top 10 in year-over-year growth, replacing Dallas, Phoenix and Jacksonville. The report has tracked a strong correlation between rent growth and employment gains. Metros with job growth above the national average tend to be among the leaders in rent growth, even if supply growth is above-trend. San Francisco (3.9 percent job growth year-over-year on a six-month moving average), Atlanta (4.1 percent), Inland Empire (4.1 percent), Denver (3.5 percent) and Seattle (3.4 …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A joint venture comprising The JBG Cos. and CBRE Global Investment Partners has purchased Trilogy NoMa, a 603-unit, five-story apartment building in Washington’s NoMa (North of Massachusetts Avenue) neighborhood, for a reported $213 million. The purchase price equates to approximately $253,000 per unit. The transaction closed on July 31, according to the Washington Business Journal. The seller of the property, Mill Creek Residential Trust, retained HFF to market the project last year. Former HFF brokers Dave Nachison, Alan Davis, Brenden Flood, Tim Stanton and Bret Thompson, now with Eastdil Secured, represented Mill Creek in the sale. Mill Creek and Berkshire Property Advisors developed Trilogy NoMa in 2012. JBG and CBRE Global formed the joint venture late last year to invest approximately $250 million in equity, which they hope to leverage to acquire $500 million in office, retail and multifamily properties. The entity’s first acquisition was The Foundry in Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood, which it purchased for $79.5 million. Amenities at Trilogy NoMa include a movie room with a 110-inch screen and theater seating. The JBG Cos. is an investor, owner, developer and manager of real estate properties in the Washington metropolitan area. CBRE Global Investors is an independently operated …
NEW YORK — CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) has completed its acquisition of IMB Holdco for $3.4 billion in cash and stock. IMB Holdco is the parent company of OneWest Bank. The combined company has more than $65 billion in assets and more than $30 billion of deposits. The merged company will now operate as CIT Bank. The company operates an Internet banking franchise, as well as a network of 70 retail branches throughout Southern California as OneWest Bank, a division of CIT Bank. New York-based CIT Group will continue to be led by John Thain, chairman and CEO. Steven Mnuchin, former chairman of IMB Holdco, joined CIT Group as vice chairman and a member of its board of directors. Al Frank, a former independent director of OneWest Bank, is joining the CIT Board, which will grow from 13 to 15 members. “The completion of this transaction advances our strategic efforts to build a leading commercial banking franchise,” says Thain. “Through the combination of our national lending and leasing platform with OneWest’s wholesale lending and branch banking franchise, we’ve created a differentiated provider of banking services for small and middle-market businesses.” The transaction has received all required regulatory approvals. Per …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Boston Properties (NYSE: BXP) has entered into a binding agreement for the sale of a Class A office building located at 505 9th St. NW in Washington, D.C. for approximately $318 million, including the assumption of $117 million in mortgage debt. The buyer of the 321,943-square-foot building was undisclosed. Boston Properties developed and built the property in 2007. Boston Properties owns a 50 percent interest in the office building as part of a joint venture. The completion of the sale is expected by the end of the third quarter. 505 9th St. NW is located midway between the White House and the U.S. Capitol and just two blocks from both Pennsylvania Avenue and the Verizon Center. The site is situated in the heart of the Penn Quarter in Washington D.C.’s East End submarket. The property features three levels of below-grade parking, two outdoor/roof top decks, a fitness center and in-building retail amenities, including an entertainment club. The primary tenant is law firm DLA Piper. Other tenants include AARP, law firm Duane Morris LLP and American College of Radiology. Boston Properties reported that its funds from operations (FFO), a closely watched metric among REITs, were $208.7 million in …
CHICAGO — The number of new construction projects increased in several markets across the country in the second quarter, according to Chicago-based BidClerk, which tracks construction activity in the United States and Canada. The BidClerk Construction Index (BCI), which is compiled quarterly, reported more than 75,000 new projects valued at over $188 billion nationally in the second quarter, an increase of 15,000 projects and $40 billion compared with the same period a year ago. (The BCI data represents projects that actively bid in 2015 and is not a full representation of BidClerk’s full project database.) Particularly hot markets and regions for construction — showing growth rates above 15 percent compared with the second quarter of 2014 — were Washington, D.C., Ohio, Texas, the greater Atlanta region and major metros in the Southwest. Washington, D.C., and the surrounding region recorded a 17 percent uptick in construction projects out for bid in the second quarter. Over 500 of the 1,600 projects charted were valued at more than $1 million, including the $70 million Banner Hill Apartments in Baltimore and the $35 million Archer Park Apartment Building designed by SK+I Architectural Design Group. In the second quarter, Ohio recorded an 18 percent increase …
ECHO Realty Purchases Eight Grocery-Anchored Shopping Centers in the Southeast for $125M
by John Nelson
PITTSBURGH — ECHO Realty has purchased a portfolio of eight Harris Teeter- and Publix-anchored shopping centers in the Southeast for $125 million. The assets span more than 500,000 square feet. “We are very excited to have the opportunity to add these high-quality, grocery-anchored centers to our portfolio,” says Tom Karet, CEO of ECHO Realty. “The centers fit perfectly with ECHO’s strategy of acquiring well-located centers anchored by the No. 1 or 2 grocer in the market.” The portfolio comprises four Harris Teeter-anchored shopping centers in North Carolina, including Beau Rivage Marketplace in Wilmington, The Shoppes at Highland Creek in Charlotte, The Village at Byers Creek in Mooresville and a freestanding Harris Teeter on Croatan Highway in Kill Devil Hills. The other properties in the portfolio include two Publix-anchored properties in Florida: Partin Village in Kissimmee and Shoppes at Price Crossing in North Port; a freestanding Harris Teeter on Baltic Avenue in Virginia Beach; and one Publix-anchored property in Georgia: Riverwood Town Center in Evans. ECHO Realty is a privately held developer, owner and operator of commercial real estate. The company is headquartered in Pittsburgh with offices in Indianapolis and Washington, D.C. ECHO Realty’s portfolio consists of 190 properties totaling more …
CHICAGO — GLP, a global provider of logistics facilities, has entered into an agreement to acquire a $4.6 billion logistics portfolio from Industrial Income Trust (IIT). GLP intends to place the portfolio in its fund management platform. The portfolio comprises 58 million square feet of in-fill logistics assets spread across 20 major markets. The largest markets include Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania. The portfolio was 93 percent leased as of June 30, with a weighted average lease expiry of nearly 5.5 years. GLP is focused on increasing the lease ratio to 95 percent. GLP expects to own 100 percent of the portfolio upon closing by Nov. 16 and pare down its stake to 10 percent by April 2016. The portfolio will be acquired at a 5.6 percent cap rate. GLP’s target 10 percent equity stake of $190 million is expected to generate significant returns within the first year of investment, which includes the company’s share of operating results and fund management fees. “This is an accretive opportunity for GLP that allows us to strengthen our U.S. market presence and growth prospects with minimal incremental overhead,” says Ming Mei, CEO of GLP. “The fund management platform is one of GLP’s main …
Medical Properties Trust to Buy Seven Hospitals, Interest in Capella Healthcare for $900M
by Scott Reid
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — Medical Properties Trust Inc. (NYSE: MPW) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire real estate and operations of Capella Holdings Inc. (Capella), a privately owned hospital company headquartered in Franklin, Tenn., for $900 million. The $900 million total value of the transactions comprises a $600 million investment in Capella’s real estate, including the acquisition of seven hospitals, and an approximate $300 million investment in Capella’s operating entities, which is expected to be owned jointly by Birmingham, Ala.-based MPT and Capella management. “The acquisition of Capella, which in a single stroke accretively increases our portfolio of high-quality hospital real estate by nearly 20 percent, is simply the next step along our track record of creating strong double-digit growth,” says Edward Aldag Jr., chairman, president and CEO of MPT. With the acquisition, MPT will be adding to its acute care portfolio seven hospitals located in five states, with an aggregate 1,169 beds and more than 2 million square feet. MPT’s interest in the hospitals will be subject to sale-leaseback and mortgage loan arrangements. Following the acquisition, acute care facilities as a percentage of MPT’s portfolio will increase to 62 percent globally and 74 percent in the United States. …