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HOUSTON — Moody National REIT I Inc. has signed a contract to acquire a 149-hotel portfolio from a third-party seller for an aggregate purchase price of $1.73 billion, excluding acquisition costs. Multiple media outlets are reporting that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is selling the portfolio to the non-traded REIT through its Whitehall Street funds. The portfolio includes 14,000 units spread across 32 states, with a large concentration of hotels in California, Arizona, Texas and the Northeast. The majority of the portfolio consists of Marriott and Hilton branded select-service hotels. “This is a great concentration of assets in key states which will benefit from several years remaining in the expanding hotel cycle,” said Brett Moody, Moody National REIT I’s CEO and chairman. “These are well-branded and well-managed assets.” While a bulk of the Marriott and Hilton assets have undergone renovations (Courtyard Refreshing Business, Residence Inn Gatehouse Re-Inventions and Hampton Inn Forever Young Initiative), the REIT plans to accelerate and complete all remaining brand required renovations. The acquisition of the portfolio is subject to substantial conditions to closing, including the REIT’s ability to obtain financing for the acquisition. Houston-based Moody National REIT I owns select-service hotels in major markets across the United …

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. — Cushman & Wakefield has closed a sale-leaseback transaction valued at $650 million for the 1.4 million-square-foot Verizon operations center in Basking Ridge. Cushman & Wakefield’s real estate investment banking group worked closely with its New York brokerage and New Jersey investment sales teams to arrange the transaction. Cushman & Wakefield acted as financial advisor and exclusive placement agent for Verizon on the transaction, which represents the largest sale-leaseback ever completed in suburban New Jersey. The sale value represents one of the highest sales prices per square foot of any suburban sale-leaseback in the United States, according to media reports. Mesirow Realty Sale-Leaseback Inc., a division of Mesirow Financial, a financial services firm headquartered in Chicago, acquired the facility, which employs 3,900 full-time employees. “This real estate deal provides our company with immediate financial benefits and allows us to extract significant value from this asset while continuing to occupy the entirety of its office space,” says John Vazquez, senior vice president and head of global real estate for Verizon. “Cushman & Wakefield achieved our strategic objectives by maximizing value and flexibility through the best possible deal structure.” As part of the transaction, Verizon will lease back the entire facility …

NEW YORK — SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG), New York City’s largest commercial property owner, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Eleven Madison Avenue in New York City for $2.29 billion, plus approximately $300 million in costs associated with lease-stipulated improvements to the property. The building is being sold by a joint venture between The Sapir Organization and CIM Group. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2015. Built in 1929 as the original headquarters of Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., Eleven Madison Avenue is a 29-story, 2.3 million-square-foot office tower located in New York’s Midtown South submarket. After a $700 million modernization in the 1990s, it became the North American headquarters of Credit Suisse, which continues to be the largest tenant in the building today. It also will serve as the new headquarters for Sony Corp. of America. Yelp, Young & Rubicam, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment and Fidelity Investments occupy the balance of the building, along with the Eleven Madison Park restaurant, which earned Three Stars from the Michelin Guide. The property features an art-deco design highlighted by an Alabama limestone exterior. It is also on the National Register of Historic Places. “Eleven …

NEW YORK — Eastern Consolidated has arranged a $115 million loan to finance the construction of two 11-story luxury residential condominium buildings at 527 W. 27th Street in Chelsea next to the High Line elevated park. Centaur Properties and Greyscale Development Group are developing the 135,000-square-foot Jardim condominium buildings on a site between 27th and 28th streets. According to real estate blog Curbed, the developers bought the property in 2013 for $45 million. Jardim, Portuguese for “garden,” will include 36 apartments ranging from one to four bedrooms, 12,000 square feet of retail space and 39 parking spaces. The buildings are expected to open by fall 2016. Adam Hakim and Sam Zabala, managing directors in Eastern Consolidated’s Capital Advisory Division, placed the loan. Financial Associate James Murad assisted on the transaction. According to Hakim, Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld is designing the complex that will feature an inner courtyard and garden. Other amenities at Jardim will include an indoor pool, fitness center, massage room, children’s playroom, private storage and a bicycle storage room. Hakim and Zabala recently joined Eastern Consolidated from Prospect Capital Group. The two have overseen a combined $8 billion in transactions. Manhattan-based Eastern Consolidated was founded in 1981. It …

CINCINNATI – Phillips Edison & Co. (PECO) will separate its strategic investment and net lease investment business units from its grocery-anchored shopping center business. The new standalone company will be called PECO Real Estate Partners (PREP). PREP will focus on investing in single-tenant retail, power and lifestyle centers, enclosed malls and mixed-use retail projects, while PECO will focus exclusively on growing and enhancing the value of its grocery-anchored shopping center portfolio. The division aims to streamline PECO’s business by creating two independent companies with distinct investment strategies, growth profiles and asset types. Jeff Edison will continue in his role as principal and CEO of PECO, and will be responsible for overseeing the company’s strategic direction and day-to-day business operations. Mike Phillips, who previously served as principal and president of PECO, will help lead PREP as principal and CEO. Phillips will remain involved in PECO as a partner and investor. “We founded the company in 1991 with a focus on grocery-anchored shopping centers. This strategic decision is something we have contemplated for some time as a way to streamline PECO’s business by returning to an exclusive focus on our core competency: investing in grocery-anchored shopping centers,” says Edison. “We look forward …