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GALVESTON, TEXAS — Texas A&M University at Galveston has selected Hunt Cos. to develop a $45 million cadet residence hall for students enrolled in its military programs. The 612-bed hall will feature two residential wings connected by an illuminated formation court. The wings will be designed to provide cadets direct access to leadership and centralized gathering locations. The facility’s adjacent commons will feature non-residential amenities, possibly including classrooms, office space, conference rooms, lounges and retail space. Construction is scheduled to begin during the second quarter of this year, and the project is slated for completion in fall 2015. “As a part of our overall business management strategy, the Texas A&M University System continues to seek innovative ways to gain access to private-sector capital, as well as expertise in delivering such construction projects in the most timely, efficient and cost-effective manner possible,” says Phillip Ray, chief business development officer of the Texas A&M University System. Hunt Cos. will act as the project’s designer, developer and builder. The development portion will be carried out by Hunt’s public-private partnership division. This is the first partnership between Hunt and the University System. “We are confident that this new partnership with Hunt Companies will enable …

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A public-private partnership between the District of Columbia and Hoffman-Madison Waterfront LLC has broken ground on the first phase of The Wharf, a $2 billion mixed-use development on Washington, D.C.’s Southwest Waterfront. This first portion of the project, valued at approximately $775 million according to the Washington Business Journal, will include 1.9 million square feet of residential, office, retail, hospitality, entertainment and public space. Slated for completion in 2017, Phase I will include more than 600 multifamily units, over 400,000 square feet of office space, a 150,000-square-foot music venue, about 200,000 square feet of retail space and two hotels comprising almost 700 rooms. The entire development, which spans 27 acres of land and 50 acres of waterfront, will total more than 3.2 million square feet of commercial real estate. City officials predict that The Wharf will have an even greater economic impact than other similar developments in the Mid-Atlantic region. “This is going to be beyond the Inner Harbor in Baltimore,” says Victor Hoskins, deputy mayor for planning and economic development in D.C. “This is going to be beyond National Harbor [in Prince George County].” The full development process will include three phases and entail the construction …

CINCINNATI — Phillips Edison–ARC Shopping Center REIT Inc. has acquired 15 grocery-anchored shopping centers for $261 million since the beginning of the year. The acquisitions added approximately 1.6 million square feet to Phillips Edison-ARC’s portfolio. The shopping centers expanded the REIT's presence in eight states: Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. The acquisitions also added three new grocery anchors to the portfolio: Market Street, Martin's and Sweetbay. Including this acquisition, Phillips Edison-ARC's portfolio consists of interests in 98 shopping centers anchored by 31 leading grocers located in 23 states. “We are very pleased to acquire these grocery-anchored shopping centers, as they further diversify our portfolio by geography, grocery anchor, industry, lease expirations and credit,” says Jeff Edison, chairman and CEO of Phillips Edison-ARC Shopping Center REIT. “Our acquisitions velocity continues to grow as our acquisitions team harvests opportunities in our pipeline.” The acquisitions include: · Fairacres Shopping Center, anchored by Pick 'n Save in Oshkosh, Wis. · Savoy Plaza, anchored by Schnucks in Savoy, Ill. · The Shops of Uptown, anchored by Trader Joe's in Park Ridge, Ill. · Chapel Hill North, anchored by Harris Teeter in Chapel Hill, N.C. · a portfolio of two Martin's …

LOS ANGELES — Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO) has agreed to sell Beverly Connection, a 335,000-square-foot power shopping center in Los Angeles, for $260 million. Michael Alpert, president of Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., has confirmed that Ashkenazy is the buyer, according to the Los Angeles Times. The property, located at the intersection of La Cinega and Beverly boulevards in the Beverly Grove neighborhood, houses tenants including Target, Old Navy, Ross Dress for Less, T.J. Maxx and Marshalls. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. “We like to acquire trophy properties in major markets around the U.S.,” Alpert told the Times. “We expect to invest up to an additional $500 million in the Greater Los Angeles market. We have a very strong appetite for more local properties.” Ashkenazy, a private investment firm based in New York City, will acquire the property unencumbered of existing debt. Vornado, a Paramus, N.J.-based REIT, expects the sale to generate $40 million in net gain. Beverly Connection offers restaurants such as Baja Fresh Mexican Grill and Johnny Rockets, as well as smaller stores including Verizon Wireless and CVS/pharmacy, in addition to the aforementioned large retailers. The open-air center consists of several …

NEW YORK — NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. (NYSE: NRF) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a $1.05 billion healthcare real estate portfolio from investment partnerships owned and managed by Formation Capital LLC, Formation’s affiliated entities or Safanad Limited. The portfolio is comprised of 43 primarily private-pay seniors housing facilities and 37 skilled nursing facilities. Including this transaction, NorthStar, a New York-based real estate investment trust (REIT), has an approximately $1.6 billion healthcare real estate portfolio consisting of more than 160 properties. “We are very pleased to add a diversified, quality portfolio of healthcare properties that we expect will produce attractive current and overall returns,” says David Hamamoto, chairman and CEO of NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. NorthStar is acquiring the portfolio in a joint venture with Formation Capital, a leading private investment firm focused on senior care real estate and services and post-acute healthcare. NorthStar and its affiliates will contribute approximately 92 percent of the $430 million of equity to purchase the portfolio, and the joint venture will assume in-place financing for the remainder of the balance. The purchase price for the portfolio represents a cap rate of 9.4 percent. “This transaction represents an initial step toward our goal …

MONTICELLO, N.Y. — EPR Properties (NYSE: EPR) has unveiled plans to develop Adelaar, a new $750 million resort planned for the Catskills, just outside Monticello. Adelaar — the Dutch word for eagle — would be built on 1,700 acres on the site of the former Concord Resort in Sullivan County, located about 95 miles north of New York City. The ambitious plan includes a four-star hotel and casino with a spa, a retail component, entertainment hall and an 18-hole golf course. The resort would also include a 350-room, family-style lodge with an indoor waterpark, as well as an outdoor adventure park with zip lines, a snow tubing facility and mountain coaster. “As a major Sullivan County landowner, we are very excited about the prospect of bringing the Adelaar vision to life,” says David Brain, president and CEO of Kansas City, Mo.-based EPR Properties. “This new world-class destination resort will deliver significant economic benefits for local businesses, create dependable local employment and have a positive impact on tourism in upstate New York.” EPR Properties is teaming up with Empire Resorts Inc. (NASDAQ: NYNY), which currently operates the Monticello Casino and Raceway. Empire Resorts intends to apply for a license to own …

NEW YORK — American Realty Capital Properties Inc. (NASDAQ: ARCP), the nation’s largest net lease REIT, will spin off its $2.2 billion multi-tenant shopping center business into a separate publicly traded REIT known as American Realty Capital Centers Inc. (ARCenters). The new entity will own 69 properties in 26 states totaling 11.8 million square feet. ARCP, which will retain a 25 percent operating partnership in the spin-off REIT, will issue one share of ARCenters stock for every 10 shares of ARCP stock. The company projects the first-year annualized dividend for ARCenters at 73 cents per share while the annualized dividend for ARCP remains at $1 per share, according to a release. “As we promised our investors, we have strategically unlocked the value of our multi-tenant retail portfolio by announcing the creation of ARCenters and focusing ARCP’s portfolio exclusively on net lease assets,” says Nicholas Schorsch, CEO and chairman of ARCP who will also serve as chairman of ARCenters. “By separating the two high-quality portfolios, we intend to create more clarity, more efficiency and more opportunity for our stockholders. “Not only have we taken a step to enhance ARCP’s growth profile, but we have created another vehicle with the intention of …

FREMONT, CALIF. AND HAMPSTEAD, MD. — Formal apparel retailers Men’s Wearhouse (NYSE: MW) and Jos. A. Bank Clothiers (Nasdaq: JOSB) have entered into a definitive agreement under which Men’s Wearhouse will acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Jos. A. Bank for $65 per share in cash, or $1.8 billion. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction. Combined, Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank will have more than 1,700 stores in the United States. The companies have about 23,000 employees and sales of $3.5 billion on a pro-forma basis, making the combined company the fourth-largest men’s apparel retailer. In October 2013, Jos. A. Bank offered to buy Men’s Wearhouse for a reported $2.3 billion. Since that offer, Men’s Wearhouse had counter-offered to purchase Jos. A. Bank for the past six months leading up to the companies reaching the current agreement. Jos. A. Bank had rejected Men's Wearhouse's previous offers of $1.5 billion in November and $1.6 billion in December. “We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Jos. A. Bank, which we believe will deliver substantial benefits to our respective shareholders, employees and customers,” says Doug Ewert, president and CEO of …

NEW YORK CITY — Meridian Capital Group LLC has arranged a $142 million mortgage for the acquisition of a 686,000-square-foot office tower in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. A joint venture between tri-state real estate company RXR Realty LLC and American Landmark Properties Ltd. has acquired the Class A property. A CMBS lender provided the five-year loan, which includes interest-only payments for the full term. “Given the strength of the sponsor and Meridian’s very strong CMBS lender relationships, we were able to structure the financing around the ground lease and accommodate RXR Realty’s time-of-the-essence closing requirements,” says Rael Gervis, managing director at Meridian. Located at 470 Vanderbilt Ave., the 10-story building is in proximity to Barclay’s Center and the Atlantic Yards project. The property was approximately 89 percent leased at the time of the sale to tenants including the City of New York and The League Education & Treatment Center, a non-profit serving children and adults with developmental differences. RXR Realty will market the 55,000 square feet of vacant office space within the tower to media and technology tenants, says chairman and CEO Scott Rechler. The asset also includes 20,000 square feet of vacant retail space. “The 470 Vanderbilt …

LOUISVILLE, KY. — Omni Hotels & Resorts and the Louisville Metro Government have entered into an agreement to develop a 600-room convention center hotel in downtown Louisville. The $261 million Omni Louisville Hotel will be situated one block from the 300,000-square-foot Kentucky International Convention Center and will be the first four-diamond, luxury hotel in the area. The property will feature 600 guestrooms and suites, 70,000 square feet of meeting space, a spa, fitness center, two full-service restaurants, rooftop pool-side café, street-level retail space and a lobby lounge. The hotel is also designed to achieve LEED Silver certification. “This project is a major infusion in our downtown and to the city’s entire economy,” says Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. “It will create jobs, both temporary construction positions and permanent jobs, and it will boost our convention and tourism industry as Omni provides a new level of luxury hotel.” Located on Water Company Block at West Liberty and 3rd Street, the hotel will be the cornerstone of Fourth Street Live!, Louisville’s well-known entertainment, retail and office district, which is Kentucky’s most visited attraction drawing more than 4.5 million visitors per year. The hotel is scheduled to open in 2017 and will be the …