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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Principal Real Estate Investors (PREI) has acquired Washington Harbour, a 557,961-square-foot, mixed-use project in Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown submarket. The Washington Business Journal reports that the asset sold for approximately $370 million. PREI purchased the property, which is situated along the Potomac River, on behalf of a consortium of South Korean investors. Simone Investment acted as the managing member of the consortium. Jim Meisel, Dek Potts and Andrew Weir, senior managing directors of HFF’s investment sales group, led the HFF team in representing the seller, a joint venture between Rockpoint Group LLC and MidAtlantic Realty Partners (MRP Realty). Other members of the HFF’s sales team include executive managing director Stephen Conley and senior real estate analyst Matt Nicholson. Washington Harbour includes two freestanding, Class A office towers that recently underwent a $50 million renovation. The office space is 96 percent leased to 26 tenants, including the law firms of Foley & Lardner and Kelley Drye & Warren, as well as communications and advertising firm GMMB Inc. As part of the renovations, the property features a fountain with programmable light and water shows in the spring and summer months. In the fall and winter, the fountain is converted into …

NEW YORK CITY — St. John’s University has sold a residential development site located at 101 Murray St. in the Tribeca section of Manhattan for $223 million. A partnership between New York-based Fisher Brothers and The Witkoff Group purchased the property. “101 Murray Street is a development site like no other in Manhattan with the potential to become a truly world-class residence,” says Helen Hwang, executive vice president at Cushman & Wakefield, which represented St. John’s University in the transaction. “We are privileged to have helped St. John’s University successfully realize such an important transaction for its academic mission.” Located on the northeast corner of Murray and West streets, 101 Murray Street is slated for a residential development totaling 310,028 square feet, with the potential to increase to 372,336 square feet through floor area bonuses. The underlying zoning provides no height restriction, allowing the developer to maximize ceiling heights. “This is yet another exciting new project for Fisher Brothers and we couldn’t be happier,” says Winston Fisher, partner at Fisher Brothers. “Lower Manhattan continues to evolve at a record-setting pace and we are proud to be a part of it, along with The Witkoff Group. We’d also like to thank …

ANDOVER, MASS. — An affiliate of The General Investment & Development Cos. (GID) has sold Windsor Green at Andover, a 193-unit multifamily community, for $62.5 million. The Hamilton Co. Inc. acquired the property, which is located at 311 Lowell St. in Andover, a northern Boston suburb. Built in 2006, the development is 98 percent occupied. Property amenities include a heated swimming pool, sport court, private garages, barbeque grills and a playground. Michael Coyne and Travis D’Amato, senior vice presidents with Jones Lang LaSalle’s capital markets team, along with associates Kevin Gleason and Brendan Shields, represented the seller in the transaction. “This offering provided a rare opportunity to acquire a luxury asset located in one of Boston’s most sought after suburbs,” says Coyne. “Boston is one of the top performing markets in the country, but has very few core properties on the market. Windsor Green at Andover received robust investor interest and was closed within three months of the initial launch.” Boston-based GID is a privately held real estate organization with a portfolio that includes 87 properties in 15 states totaling more than 22 million square feet. Additionally, GID has 12 multifamily properties under development totaling 3,390 residential units. Founded in …

SAN FRANCISCO — Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD) has originated a $140 million first mortgage loan on the Phelan Building, an 11-story, 300,000-square-foot mixed-use building located in San Francisco's Union Square area. Thor Equities was the borrower. Built in 1908 by former San Francisco Mayor James Phelan, the historic structure is one of the city's original flatiron buildings, standing as an architecturally distinct landmark at the junction of Market and O'Farrell streets and Grant Avenue. The Phelan Building is located in the heart of the city’s premier retail shopping district, one block from Westfield San Francisco Centre, an upscale urban shopping center, and across the street from the Four Seasons Hotel. “We are pleased to provide this transitional capital to help further the sponsor's plan to reposition one of San Francisco's most historic buildings to meet the needs of the city's high-profile technology firms and other businesses seeking truly creative office space,” says Boyd Fellows, president of Greenwich, Conn.-based Starwood Property Trust. The property encompasses approximately 250,000 square feet of office space and 50,000 square feet of retail space. Marshalls recently signed a lease to occupy a large, corner retail space at the Phelan Building. Thor Equities has continued to …

PHOENIX — Six months after announcing their merger, Spirit Realty Capital Inc. and Cole Credit Property Trust II Inc. (CCPT II) have finalized the $7.4 billion agreement, with the new company operating under the Spirit Realty Capital brand name. The stock, operating under the ticker symbol SRC, trades on the New York Stock Exchange. The stockholders of the companies approved the transaction at meetings that took place on June 12. The combined company is one of the largest publicly traded net-lease real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the United States, owning approximately 1,900 properties in 48 states. “The successful completion of this transformative merger establishes us as one of the leaders in the dynamic and attractive net-lease sector of the REIT market, which continues to be an area of increasing focus for institutional investors,” says Thomas H. Nolan Jr., chairman and CEO of Spirit Realty Capital. “By combining with CCPT II, we have made significant progress on the strategic objectives we articulated at the time of our IPO less than one year ago.” The management team of Spirit Realty Capital will lead the combined company, along with a nine-member board of directors, seven of whom are existing board members of …

NEW YORK CITY — Meridian Capital Group LLC has secured $230 million in acquisition financing for the purchase of Steinway Hall building, a 247,000-square-foot, 16-story office building on West 57th St. in Midtown Manhattan. The commercial real estate finance and advisory firm arranged the one-year, interest-only loan on behalf of the borrower, a partnership led by JDS Development Group. Aaron Appel and Moshe Majeski, managing directors of Meridian Capital, originated and executed the fixed-rate financing, which features two six-month extension options. According to the Wall Street Journal, Steinway Musical Instruments Inc. (NYSE: LVB) sold its interest in the Steinway Hall building to the partnership led by JDS Development Group in June. In the transaction, Steinway received a cash purchase price of $46.3 million. Steinway Hall, built in 1924, was designated and registered as a historic and cultural landmark in 2001. Since its construction, the building has been either fully or partially occupied by Steinway & Sons, the famous piano-maker. The façade of the building features an ornate carving above the grand window, and the main room of the building is a two-story rotunda with a domed ceiling. The property is situated between Sixth and Seventh avenues in Manhattan, with direct …

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The District of Columbia can say goodbye to a potential 4,000 new jobs — 3,000 permanent positions and 1,000 construction jobs — if the city council’s vote to pass the Large Retailer Accountability Act is approved by the mayor. The act, which imposes a $12.50 hourly living wage on businesses that have annual revenues of $1 billion or more and spaces greater than 75,000 square feet, has Walmart reconsidering its expansion plans in the city. The living wage is a 50 percent premium over Washington, D.C.’s current minimum wage of $8.25 an hour. The city council approved the bill last week by a vote of 8 to 5 despite threats from Walmart that the company would cancel plans for all six stores it had initially agreed to develop in the district. While three stores have yet to begin construction, Walmart is moving ahead with the three locations that are already under development. Two of the stores are expected to open this fall. Victor Hoskins, deputy mayor for planning and economic development in the District of Columbia, projects that a significant portion of the 4,000 jobs potentially lost would have been filled by residents of the district. Most …

BOSTON — KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT, a public non-traded real estate investment trust based in Newport Beach, Calif., has acquired 50 Congress Street, a 179,872-square-foot office building in Boston, for $51 million. The Nordblom Co. sold the 10-story building, which includes ground-floor retail. Burlington, Mass.-based Nordblom Co. has been affiliated with 50 Congress Street through ownership and management of the property for more than 60 years, according to Peter Nordblom, president of Nordblom Co. “It is a gem of a building,” he says. “We are particularly delighted with the community of companies within the building and pleased to be selling the property to such a quality operator.” HFF marketed the property on behalf of Nordblom Co. and arranged the $51 million sale to KBS. Built in phases between 1910 and 1915, the landmark office building is located in Boston’s financial district. The property’s infrastructure has been modernized and structurally retrofitted with updated amenities. Tenants include high-end gym Fisique and law fims Rice, Heard & Bigelow and Nichols & Pratt. “We are excited to have acquired this beautifully maintained building,” says Shep Wainwright, senior vice president of acquisitions for KBS Capital Advisors LLC, the REIT’s external advisor. “The high ceiling and …

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Behringer Harvard and Wood Partners have begun construction of a luxury multifamily community on a 2.4-acre site in Cambridge, a city northwest suburb of Boston. Behringer Harvard Multifamily REIT I Inc. has provided equity capital for development of the 392-unit apartment community. Tentatively called 22 Water Street, the community will include a 15-story residential high-rise. Construction is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2015. The multifamily community is adjacent to the proposed site of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) relocated Lechmere Station, which provides commuter rail services to Boston and its western suburbs. The site is also close to NorthPoint, a 45-acre, master-planned neighborhood that is expected to provide 5.2 million square feet of mixed-use space. CambridgeSide Galleria mall, Kendall Square and TD Garden arena are all approximately one mile away. “We are pleased to be developing this outstanding community in Cambridge with Wood Partners,” says Mark Alfieri, COO of Behringer Harvard Multifamily REIT I. “We expect that convenient access to employment centers in Cambridge and downtown Boston will appeal to our future residents.” Developed and constructed by affiliates of Atlanta-based Wood Partners, the community will feature studio, one- and two-bedroom units, averaging 793 square …

DENVER — Continuing its aggressive expansion program, Value Place LLC has announced plans to develop nine new extended stay hotels in the Denver area with construction to start in early 2014. The company is working with Denver-based broker Steve Markey of David, Hicks & Lampert to explore possible sites and talk with landowners, brokers and commercial real estate firms. Value Place plans to invest more than $63 million to build the nine company-owned hotels, including about $13 million for land acquisition. “While many other hotel companies have stopped building new hotels, we are doing exactly the opposite,” says David Redfern, president of real estate development for Wichita, Kan.-based Value Place. “We don't go into a market and reflag an older hotel, or upgrade and rebrand it. We build every Value Place from the ground up to very exacting standards.” Why Denver? With the help of the Highland Research Group, a specialist in extended stay hotels, Value Place studied 64 markets across the United States for new development opportunities, explains Redfern. Denver ranked at the top of this list due to increasing demand for Value Place and a limited amount of supply or competition. Value Place intends to build the nine …