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GRANGER, IND. — Main Street Village Apartments in Granger, Ind. has sold for $37.8 million in a deal brokered by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services. The complex, which includes 400 units and spans 373,145 square feet, is less than 10 minutes from the University of Notre Dame and 90 miles east of Chicago. “This asset has a long history of high occupancy and steady rental growth within the most desirable submarket of the South Bend/Mishawaka MSA,” says Scott Harris, senior vice president of investments with Marcus & Millichap’s Chicago Oak Brook office. “With historical occupancy above 94 percent, no concessions and rising rents, Main Street Village Apartments stands as one of northern Indiana’s premier multifamily investments.” The property is in close proximity to high-end retail, restaurants and entertainment venues, as well as the newly constructed Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center. The community’s many amenities include a fitness center, indoor gymnasium, tanning facility, sauna, locker room and showers, outdoor swimming pool with cabana, business center, car wash and vacuum center, common rooms with kitchen and billiards, 10,000-square-foot clubhouse, surround-sound movie theater and professionally landscaped grounds. As for the units themselves, one-, two- and three-bedroom options are available for a …

LIBERTY BUYS 23M SF OFFICE, INDUSTRIAL PORTFOLIO FOR $1.5B MALVERN, PA. — Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LRY) has agreed to acquire the operating partnership of Cabot Industrial Value Fund III, which is operated by Boston-based private real estate investment firm CabotProperties Inc. The nearly $1.5 billion transaction will add 177 properties scattered across the country, or approximately 23 million square feet, to its portfolio. The deal is expected to close this October. As of May 31, 93.3 percent of the purchased space was leased to a total of 436 tenants. “This acquisition is a compelling opportunity to increase both the size of Liberty's industrial platform and its scope,” says William Hankowsky, chairman and CEO of Liberty. “With approximately 58 percent of this portfolio located in Liberty's current markets and approximately 21 percent in the target markets of Atlanta, Dallas and Southern California, we are expanding into three of the top five national industrial markets.” Liberty’s existing market in Chicago will see the largest increase in square footage, as more than 3 million square feet will be added in the Second City. Atlanta will be the largest of the new markets, with properties there totaling 2.2 million square feet. “With one …

LOS ANGELES — A little more than a year after purchasing the Forum in Los Angeles, The Madison Square Garden Co. (Nasdaq: MSG) announced its plans to breathe new life into the iconic West Coast arena. After extensive renovations to the tune of $100 million, the former home of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings will reopen in January 2014 with three shows by California’s legendary band the Eagles. “Our acquisition and revitalization of the Forum is a perfect complement to The Madison Square Garden arena,” says Hank Ratner, president and CEO of the Madison Square Garden Co. “It now allows us to have world-class venues in both New York and Los Angeles, linking the top two entertainment markets in the country, and continues to expand our position as one of the country’s premier live entertainment companies.” The Forum, long a centerpiece of L.A.’s Inglewood community, is only the latest of several famous American venues to get The Madison Square Garden Co. treatment. In recent years, the company has purchased and restored to prominence New York’s Radio City Music Hall and Beacon Theatre, the Chicago Theatre and Boston’s Wang Theatre. Chase Bank is the Forum’s new presenting partner, while renowned …

HOUSTON AND FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Atlanta-based Cousins Properties Inc. (NYSE: CUZ) has signed a $1.1 billion deal to purchase two Texas properties from Crescent Real Estate Holdings LLC. Greenway Plaza, a 4.4 million-square-foot office portfolio in Houston, and 777 Main Street, a 980,000-square-foot office tower in Fort Worth, are set to officially change hands in September 2013. Cousins plans to fund the transaction on a leverage-neutral basis through proceeds from a common stock issuance as well as the anticipated sale of non-core assets and mortgage financing. JP Morgan Securities LLC served as the company’s financial advisor on the acquisition. “Greenway Plaza and 777 Main Street are an excellent fit with our portfolio, as they are high-quality urban properties with embedded NOI growth and future development potential,” says Larry Gellerstedt, president and CEO of Cousins. “Not only do we expect this transaction to be transformative and accretive, it immediately expands our Texas platform and provides substantial geographic diversification at a significant discount to the replacement cost.” The Greenway Plaza portfolio features 10 Class A office buildings on a campus centrally located between Houston’s central business district (CBD) and Galleria submarkets. The property sports a 92 percent occupancy rate, in-place rents …

TORONTO AND NEW YORK — Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC) will acquire Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) for $16 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $2.9 billion, including debt. The acquisition has been approved by the board of directors for both companies and is expected to close before the end of 2013. The transaction will bring together three retail brands — Hudson’s Bay, Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue. The combined company will operate 320 stores, including 179 full-line department stores, 72 outlets and 69 home stores throughout the United States and Canada. HBC will continue to build upon the Saks brand and identity as a luxury retailer, introducing the company to Canada through full-line, outlet and online formats. “This exciting portfolio of three iconic brands creates one of North America’s premier fashion retailers,” says Richard Baker, chairman and CEO of Toronto-based HBC. “With the addition of Saks, HBC will offer consumers an unprecedented range of retailing categories and shopping experiences. This acquisition will increase our growth potential both in the U.S. and Canada, generate significant efficiencies of scale, add to our powerful real estate portfolio and deliver substantial value to our shareholders.” The $16 per share price …

FRAMINGHAM, MASS. — As part of an ongoing effort to expand its retail platform, Jones Lang LaSalle has acquired Surge Retail International, a specialty retail tenant representation firm based in suburban Boston. The acquisition will enable the firm to respond to the increase in client demand for tenant representation expertise in the retail sector, according to JLL. The price was undisclosed. Steve Ferris and Michael Hirschfeld, Surge Retail’s co-founders, will join the firm as senior vice presidents and co-lead JLL’s national retail tenant services practice. They will work closely with Lew Kornberg to expand the firm’s retail tenant representation capabilities, targeting premium and high-end retailers occupying space in enclosed malls, outlet centers and dense, urban retail markets across the United States, as well as international retailers wanting to expand throughout North America. “The addition of Surge Retail strategically advances our quest to provide unparalleled service to a full spectrum of national retailers by utilizing JLL’s local market knowledge and expertise to execute the ever more demanding real estate mandates of those clients,” says Greg Maloney, CEO and president of Jones Lang LaSalle Retail. “Michael and Steve are seasoned veterans who know the nuances specific to main street retail, enclosed mall …

RICHMOND, VA. — Landmark Apartment Trust of America Inc. (LATA) has acquired three multifamily properties located in Texas and Tennessee for a combined purchase price of $98.9 million. Collectively, the properties include 1,334 units and were 94 percent occupied at the time of sale.Mission Residential of Vienna, Va., sold the properties. “We continue to invest in multifamily properties located in southern U.S. markets we believe will benefit from our proven repositioning program and sophisticated operating platform,” says Stanley Olander, CEO of Richmond, Va.-based Landmark Apartment Trust of America. “With this transaction, we are expanding our presence in Dallas, which remains an attractive market given that the Texas economy is outpacing most of the nation. We are also pleased to be entering Tennessee where we’ve identified strong market fundamentals and an opportunity to grow our portfolio.” The properties LATA has acquired in the transaction include Landmark at Prescott Woods, with 364 units at 2915 Aftonshire Way in Austin, Texas; Landmark at Gleneagles, with 590 units at 4909 Haverwood Lane in Dallas; and Landmark at Wynton Pointe with 380 units at 1000 Enclave Circle in Nashville, Tenn. This acquisition comes shortly after the non-traded REIT announced July 8, that it acquired eight …

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 …