Top Stories

ATLANTA — GE Capital, Healthcare Financial Services has provided $89 million in senior secured financing to MB Real Estate. The financing will be used in the acquisition of the eight-story Piedmont West Medical Office Park, a medical office building located in Atlanta’s West Midtown submarket on Howell Mill Road. The property serves as the headquarters for Piedmont Healthcare, a healthcare system comprised of five hospitals that has been serving Georgia for more than 100 years. The Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA) also recognized the building as the 2012 Best International Medical Office Building of the Year. “Our team is focused solely on meeting the needs of borrowers in the healthcare real estate space,” says Jim Seymour, senior managing director of healthcare real estate at GE Capital, Healthcare Financial Services. “With more than 60 senior secured medical office transactions since 2011, we are an active lender and continue to seek opportunities to help borrowers execute on their acquisition objectives.” Based in Chicago, MB Real Estate is a real estate organization that provides asset and facilities management, leasing services, project and construction management, tenant representation and investment services. GE Capital, Healthcare Financial Services has provided more than $60 billion in …

SAN ANTONIO — Koontz McCombs will break ground in July on CityVista, a high-end, 141-unit, Class A apartment building on one of the last available pieces of commercial real estate in San Antonio’s 281/Hildebrand area — adjacent to Trinity University and the University of Incarnate Word. The site, located on one of the highest elevations in the city at 647 Hildebrand, will offer views of downtown San Antonio and luxury amenities. “This is a one-of-a-kind development on arguably the greatest undeveloped site in Bexar County,” says Bart Koontz, president and CEO of Koontz McCombs. “The views and location are spectacular.” A five-story building designed to blend with its environment, CityVista will feature a brick and stucco exterior and direct-access first floor parking. The building will include a luxury clubhouse, recreation and fitness facilities, and multiple courtyard areas. Other amenities include an Internet cafe with a coffee bar, a resort-style swimming pool, stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, gourmet island kitchens, 9-foot ceilings, crown molding and oversized walk-in closets. “The flats will have all the amenities of a high-end condominium complex without the commitment involved in purchasing a home,” says Koontz. “We see a market for this as San Antonio is …

DETROIT — A new arena for the Detroit Red Wings, thousands of square feet of retail and office space and residential units are part of a blueprint unveiled Wednesday for a new sports and entertainment district in downtown Detroit. Detroit’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA) has approved the framework of a deal with Olympia Development of Michigan (ODM) and Wayne County to build the $650 million district. Using public and private financing, the proposed district would be located on the west side of Woodward Avenue, just north of I-75. The plan calls for a $450 million sports and entertainment center and $200 million in new residential, retail and office development in a 45-block area that reaches from Grand Circus Park to Charlotte Street between Woodward Avenue and Grand River Avenue. “There has been tremendous progress made throughout Detroit over the last decade,” says Christopher Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings Inc. and son of Mike Ilitch, owner of the Red Wings. “The location of the events center district will not only help to rebuild this neighborhood, but will also serve as a vital connector, bringing together the many efforts completed or underway from the riverfront to Midtown and beyond.” The …

BETHESDA, MD. —First Potomac Realty Trust (NYSE: FPO), an owner of office and business parks in the greater Washington, D.C. area, has closed the sale of an industrial portfolio to an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII for $241.5 million. First Potomac also sold an industrial property in Haymarket, Va., to Corporate Office Properties Trust for $17.5 million, bringing the aggregate sales price to $259 million. The portfolio sold to Blackstone includes 23 properties totaling 4 million square feet, with 16 properties located in southern Virginia and the remaining seven located in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. IndCor Properties, Blackstone’s national industrial portfolio manager, will manage the 23 properties. I-66 Commerce Center, the facility that First Potomac sold to Corporate Office Properties Trust, is a 236,000-square-foot industrial property that was vacant at the time of the sale. Engineering Solutions previously occupied the center through the end of May. The $259 million disposition is part of First Potomac’s strategy to sell the majority of its industrial portfolio. First Potomac’s holdings now consist primarily of office properties in northern Virginia. The company also owns two industrial properties in northern Virginia that weren’t included in the sale. First Potomac plans to use the …

NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. — American Healthcare Investors and Griffin Capital Corp., the co-sponsors of Newport Beach-based Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II Inc., have acquired 21 healthcare-related buildings for an aggregate purchase price of $141.3 million. The portfolio includes 17 medical office buildings and four skilled nursing facilities located in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Texas. “We continue to source attractive acquisitions on behalf of Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II and its stockholders,” says Danny Prosky, a principal of American Healthcare Investors and president and chief operating officer of the REIT. “In a competitive market, we are proud to be among the most active buyers of healthcare real estate as we continue to build a diverse portfolio on behalf of stockholders.” The properties acquired include 11 medical office buildings in the central Indiana medical office building portfolio; two skilled nursing facilities in Milton and Watsontown, Penn.; the Rockwall Medical Office Building II in Rockwall, Texas; the Des Plaines Surgical Center in Des Plaines, Iowa; the Fairview Skilled Nursing Facility in Grants Pass, Ore.; and four medical office buildings in the Winn Medical Center Medical Office Portfolio in Decatur, Ga. Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II financed the acquisitions using cash on hand, the …

EL PASO, TEXAS — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District has awarded a $648 million contract to Clark McCarthy Healthcare Partners II, a joint venture of Clark Construction Group and McCarthy Building Cos. Inc., to build the Fort Bliss Replacement Hospital in El Paso. The project, which is slated for completion in 2016, will include a seven-story hospital, two clinic buildings, administrative building, clinical investigation building with biosafety level three laboratories, and a central utility plant. In addition to constructing the structures, Clark/McCarthy also will build two access control points and surface parking. “Our team is honored to build this world-class healthcare facility serving our soldiers and their families,” says Mike McWay, McCarthy Texas regional president. “Our team brings significant capabilities and an unmatched excellence in healthcare. We are excited to get started.” The 1.1-million-square-foot healthcare facility will replace the existing William Beaumont Army Medical Center to accommodate the increased troop presence and dependent care resulting from the recent Fort Bliss expansion program. “We congratulate Clark McCarthy Healthcare Partners II on their selection as the prime contractor for this important project for healthcare of our soldiers, retirees and family members,” says Col. Charles H. Klinge, commander, Fort …

PHOENIX — Vancouver-based private investor Talia Jevan Properties (TJP) has acquired the Lifeprint Health Center in Phoenix for $20.5 million from Winthrop Realty Trust of Boston. The medical property represents TJP’s second Class A acquisition in the United States, and it likely won’t be the last. “To date, we’ve acquired just under $40 million in U.S. real estate. Our goal is to have upwards of $100 million within a short time frame,” says Harmel Rayat, president of TJP. “As with our Canadian portfolio and our recent purchase of 94 Hundred Shea, a 74,000-square-foot mixed-use retail and office complex in North Scottsdale, we are primarily interested in Class A assets.” Built in 2008, the 81,875-square-foot, five-story Lifeprint Health Center is a Class A medical property located at 20414 N. 27th Ave. at the intersection of two major freeways: I-17 and West Loop 101. Situated near retail amenities and within a few blocks of the John C. Lincoln Deer Valley Hospital, the building also includes a 4½-story parking garage with more than 300 spaces. The property is currently 98 percent occupied. Lifeprint, a primary care, multispecialty clinic owned by UnitedHealthcare, occupies approximately 50 percent of the building. Other tenants include Premier Research …

NEW YORK CITY — The Moinian Group has unveiled plans for its 1.8 million-square-foot mixed-use tower, located on 11th Avenue between West 34th and West 35th streets, in the heart of New York City’s new West Side. The project is estimated to cost approximately $800 million, according to the New York Post. In addition to roughly 1.5 million square feet of Class A office and 22,000 square feet of retail, 3 Hudson Boulevard may include another 350,000 square feet of Class A office space, or up to 14 floors of luxury residences with a separate sky lobby entrance. The building will also provide 360-degree views of the Hudson River, Highline, Hudson Park & Boulevard and the Empire State Building. “For more than two decades The Moinian Group has believed that the new West Side would emerge as Manhattan’s most sought-after neighborhood,” says Joseph Moinian, founder of The Moinian Group. “Our new mixed-use building at 3 Hudson Boulevard will stand as the pinnacle of elegance along the new Hudson Boulevard & Park.” Office rents would start at $85 a square foot and exceed $100 a square foot for the tower’s upper floors, which would put it in a class with many …

NEW YORK CITY — Allied Partners has teamed up with private equity real estate firm Brickman to purchase the Brill Building, a historic office building located at 1619 Broadway in New York City, for approximately $185.5 million. For more than 60 years, the iconic building has housed offices for songwriters and entertainers, such as Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Neil Diamond and Paul Simon. The appraised value of the Times Square property is approximately $250 million. Eric Hadar, founder and chairman of Allied Partners, a private real estate investment, management and development firm, says the new ownership plans to reposition the 175,000-square-foot building. Allied Partners and Brickman will dedicate the first four floors of the 11-story property to retail, and the remaining retail and commercial space will undergo extensive renovations. “We’re thrilled that Eric Hadar and his team are giving the Brill Building the attention it deserves,” says Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance. “Their commitment to preserving one of New York City’s landmark buildings while supporting the ongoing development of the Times Square business community is very exciting for the city.” The new owners are in active negotiations with retailers and potential office tenants, according to Hadar. Allied …

SAN FRANCISCO — Northwestern Mutual has funded a $110 million mortgage loan for Foundry Square I, a 10-story 334,320-square-foot property in San Francisco's Central Business District. The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, which has provided benefits and services to Ohio's active and retired educators for more than 90 years, was the borrower. The terms of the loan, provided by Northwestern Mutual, were not disclosed. The pension fund purchased the property last year from AREA Property Partners for $240 million, according to Bloomberg. The office building is 97 percent leased to money manager BlackRock Inc. The lease expires in 2023. The property is part of a four-building complex at Howard and First streets and is adjacent to the Transbay Transit Center, which is slated for completion in 2017. “Foundry Square is a beautiful asset providing key access to the upcoming multi-billion dollar Transbay Transit Center, which some are already calling the 'Grand Central Station of the West,' ” says Brandon Buza, director at Northwestern Mutual Real Estate Investments LLC. “This investment demonstrates our commitment to expanding our presence along the West Coast.” Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual Real Estate Investments LLC is the wholly owned subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual and manages Northwestern …