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DAVIE, FLA. — Nova Southeastern University (NSU) has broken ground on its new $80 million Center for Collaborative Research at the institution’s main campus in Davie, a suburb of Miami. ANF Group is serving as general contractor on the six-story, 215,000-square-foot research facility. The building, designed by architecture firm ACAI Associates, will include wet labs, technology incubator space and an IBM supercomputer nicknamed “Megalodon.” The moniker refers to a prehistoric shark and hearkens to the school’s mascot, the Sharks. “This university will be in an elite status of research throughout the nation,” says George Hanbury II, NSU president. According to the Miami Herald, the center will house scientists from the university’s Rumbaugh-Goodwin Institute for Cancer Research and Emil Buehler Research Center for Engineering, Science and Mathematics, as well as United States Geological Survey. Incubator space will be leased to start-up information security companies. The cancer institute will be relocating from an off-campus technology park in Plantation. According to Rumbaugh-Goodwin director Appu Rathinavelu, the new facility will make efficient, rewarding research that much easier. “Everybody’s going to be working together, interacting, collaborating,” Rathinavelu told the Herald. “This building is going to be a catalyst for all that.” The project is expected …

HAMPSTEAD, MD. — Men’s clothing retailer Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. (Nasdaq: JOSB) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Everest Holdings LLC, the parent company of the Eddie Bauer brand, for $825 million. The deal will include $564 million in cash and about 4.7 million new shares of common stock of Jos. A. Bank. Upon the deal's closing, Golden Gate Capital, a private equity firm that owns Everest Holdings, will become a significant shareholder of Jos. A. Bank stock. “We have long admired the Eddie Bauer brand and its widespread appeal among those with active lifestyles and excitement about the outdoors, a large and growing customer base that overlaps significantly with ours,” says Robert Wildrick, chairman of Jos. A. Bank. “I look forward to working with the two exceptional CEOs who lead these companies — Neal Black at Jos. A. Bank and Mike Egeck at Eddie Bauer — to capitalize on the combined strengths of the businesses and the substantial synergies between them in order to drive significant near and long-term growth and value creation.” As part of the deal, Everest has the right to earn up to an additional $50 million in cash based on Eddie Bauer’s …

NEW YORK — Silverstone Property Group, an owner-developer and affiliate of Madison Realty Capital, has sold 247 East 28th Street, also known as The Grayson, for $99.75 million to an unnamed buyer from China. The Class A luxury property is a 17-story, 109,000-square-foot mixed-use residential tower located in the Gramercy/Flatiron neighborhood of Manhattan. The building features 128 one- and two-bedroom apartments and a ground-floor retail space occupied by Chase Bank under a long-term lease. Silverstone originally purchased the property in February 2012 in an off-market transaction secured by Steven Vegh of Westwood Realty Associates for $53 million. Silverstone allocated a significant capital investment program over the last two years that resulted in a complete renovation of the building, which included an overhaul of the exterior, the lobby, all common areas and most apartment units. The building improvements included a new roof, complete window replacement, new electric service to every apartment, plumbing upgrade, façade restoration, elevator upgrades and gas boiler conversion. Additional enhancements included the creation of a recreation room, furnished roof deck and outdoor amenity space. “Silverstone is pleased with the execution of this entire project, from our initial purchase through renovation and now sale,” says Josh Zegen, a principal …

MINNEAPOLIS — Laurus Corp. has clinched its first Minneapolis-area property with the acquisition of Woodlake Centre, a 190,000-square-foot medical and professional services complex. The purchase price was not disclosed. The center is located at 6625 Lyndale Ave. South in Richfield, just north of Bloomington. It is situated near the I-494, I-35 and the Twin Cities Crosstown Highway. There are about 1,000 new residential units within walking distance of Woodlake Centre, many of which offer assisted-living and senior care services. Some of the largest headquarters in the area include United Health, Medtronic, 3M, Target and General Mills. “Off-campus medical office vacancies in the Southwest submarket ended 2013 at 6.8 percent, and on-campus space at just a 3.4 percent vacancy rate,” says Austin Khan, Laurus’ CIO. “Given the lack of available, high-quality space in the market, Woodlake Centre presents an incredible opportunity to continue to enhance the variety of medical and related specialties offered to the community in its centralized location.” Notable tenants at Woodlake Centre include M&I Bank, Metro Dentalcare and Allina Medical Clinic. The complex also contains ground-floor retail space that is anchored by Houlihan's restaurant and bar. Laurus plans to add a new café to the center, along with …

AUSTIN, TEXAS — HFF has arranged $230 million in financing for a six-property student housing portfolio totaling 1,496 units in six states. The funds, secured through six separate loans for borrower Aspen Heights, will be used to refinance the original construction debt on the properties. Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Holdings Inc. provided the securitized loans, each of which includes five years of interest-only payments. HFF will service the loans. The portfolio includes a 184-unit, 598-bed property at the University of Clemson in Clemson, N.C.; a 318-unit, 972-bed property at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo.; a 180-unit, 600-bed property at James Madison University in Harrisburg, Va.; a 244-unit, 750-bed property at Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro, Tenn.; a 339-unit, 1087-bed property at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga.; and a 231-unit, 792-bed property at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla. The properties, all operated under the Aspen Heights name and branding, are 95 percent leased for the spring 2014 semester. Each complex features a 24-hour fitness center, swimming pool, computer lab, full volleyball court and movie theater. Aspen Heights is a student housing developer and manager based in Austin, Texas with a total portfolio of 19 student housing properties. …

NEW YORK CITY — Meridian Capital Group LLC, a national commercial real estate finance and advisory firm, has arranged a $160 million CMBS loan to refinance a former nursing home on Third Avenue in New York City on behalf of The Chetrit Group. The 19-story building on the city's Upper East Side is now a student housing property. “Meridian was able to quickly procure this competitive financing for The Chetrit Group based on the strength of the sponsorship, the high-quality of the asset and a solid prior financing relationship with the lender,” says Ronnie Levine, managing director of Meridian Capital Group's New York City office. “Given the shortage of quality student housing stock in New York City, a property of this caliber will serve both our client and its inhabitants very well for years to come.” The 498-unit student housing property is located at 1760 Third Ave. and totals 247,600 square feet. The asset was formerly a nursing home that The Chetrit Group began converting in 2009. Tenants include Baruch College, Hunter College, LIM College and Educational Housing Services. Natixis Real Estate Capital LLC provided the five-year conduit financing, which features interest-only payments for the full term. Levine negotiated the …

BETHESDA, MD. — RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE: RLJ) has entered into a definitive purchase agreement with Hyatt Hotels Corp. (NYSE: H) to acquire a portfolio of 10 hotels totaling 1,560 rooms. A Hyatt affiliate will continue to manage the hotels under new management agreements. The portfolio, which is located primarily on the West Coast, is expected to be acquired for a total purchase price of approximately $313 million. RLJ, a publicly traded hotel real estate investment trust (REIT), intends to spend approximately $25 million in capital expenditures across the portfolio, the majority of which will be invested over the next 24 months. “We are excited about expanding our strategic relationship with Hyatt and increasing our presence on the West Coast,” says Thomas Baltimore, Jr., president and CEO of RLJ Lodging Trust. “Once completed, we will have acquired almost $900 million of assets since our IPO. This deal will be immediately accretive to the portfolio and will reinforce our stated goal of becoming the aggregator in this segment.” The portfolio consists of young, high-performing and well-situated properties, the majority of which were acquired by Hyatt in 2011. The hotels include: · The 142-room Hyatt House Cypress/Anaheim in Cypress, Calif. · The …

DALLAS — Ashford Hospitality Trust has received $200 million in debt refinancing for its Ashford Portfolio, a five-hotel portfolio that includes a total of 1,442 rooms throughout the U.S. The Embassy Suites Philadelphia Airport, Embassy Suites Walnut Creek, Hilton Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport Mall of America, Sheraton Mission Valley Diego Hotel and Sheraton Anchorage Hotel & Spa make up the portfolio. “The portfolio has seen a steady increase in ADR over the past 12 months, and it is well positioned to further capitalize upon operating revenue momentum as lodging market fundamentals continue to improve in 2014,” says Bill Grice, executive vice president of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Hotels & Hospitality Group. Grice secured financing for the REIT along with Mathew Comfort, the firm’s managing director. All five hotels are centrally located near transportation hubs, commerce centers and tourist attractions. The Embassy Suites Philadelphia Airport is less than a mile from Philadelphia International Airport and is also in close proximity to Citizens Bank Park, Lincoln Financial Field and the Wells Fargo Center. Embassy Suites Walnut Creek sits adjacent to a station of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in San Francisco’s East Bay, providing easy access to Lesher Center for Arts, Broadway Plaza …

WILMINGTON, DEL. — Metzler Real Estate, a Seattle-based investment firm, has sold the 305,000-square-foot Bellevue Park Corporate Center in Wilmington for $61.5 million. The Buccini/Pollin Group purchased the three-building complex. The Class A property is located at 300 Bellevue Parkway, in close proximity to U.S. Highway 95, and is leased to a number of financial services tenants, including CIGNA, Blackrock, BNY Mellon and MasterCard. “Our team’s disciplined approach to investment and asset management led to the successful sale of this asset,” says Don Wise, president and CEO of Metzler. “By securing long-term leases with credit-worthy national tenants, we stabilized project occupancy at 98 percent in a competitive market characterized by 88 percent occupancy.” Originally constructed in 1990, the complex offers views of the Delaware River and easy access to Bellevue State Park. The property is situated within 20 miles of the Philadelphia Central Business District and within 30 miles of Cherry Hill, N.J. Metzler sold the asset on behalf of sponsored fund Metzler US Real Estate Fund, which represents German institutional investors. Cassidy Turley represented the seller in the transaction. The Buccini/Pollin Group is a privately held, full-service real estate acquisition, development and management company with offices in Washington, D.C.; …