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NEW YORK — American Realty Capital Properties Inc. (NASDAQ: ARCP) intends to sell its multi-tenant shopping center portfolio for approximately $2 billion in cash to affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII. ARCP plans to use the capital from its multi-tenant business to fund the purchase of a previously announced Red Lobster portfolio. ARCP has entered into a letter of intent to sell its multi-tenant shopping center portfolio to Blackstone and expects to finalize definitive documentation with Blackstone with respect to the sale in the next 30 days. The New-York based REIT would then use the proceeds from the sale to fund its Red Lobster sale-leaseback transaction. The properties included in this portfolio are the same properties that ARCP previously announced would be spun off into American Realty Capital Centers Inc. “We continued to look at options to create stockholder value through a disposition of our multi-tenant assets, and we believe that through the sale to Blackstone of the multi-tenant shopping center portfolio, we have accomplished this,” says David Kay, president of ARCP. “This sale will allow us to acquire what in our view are the 500 best Red Lobster stores profitably by selling our multi-tenant portfolio at a cap …

CINCINNATI — The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority has begun the planning and development of the MidPointe Crossing mixed-use development in Cincinnati’s Bond Hill neighborhood. The project is valued at $80 million. MidPointe Crossing will be located within one mile of Interstate 75, and has the potential for up to 500,000 square feet of office and retail. The nearby intersection of Reading Road and Seymour Avenue sees more than 37,000 vehicles each day. “MidPointe Crossing is Cincinnati’s next great office and retail location,” says Laura Brunner, Port Authority president and CEO. “The Port Authority and City of Cincinnati have teamed up on making a significant investment in this location that complements all of the other momentum nearby. We now expect the market will respond favorably, because there are only a handful of development-ready city sites of this caliber.” The site of MidPointe Crossing was the former home of Swifton Commons, the region's first shopping mall. The 400,000-square-foot Swifton Commons opened in 1956 and was demolished in December 2013. The development authority has selected Cassidy Turley senior vice president Scott Abernethy and associate Joshua Smitherman to lead office land sales for the 25-acre development, as well as vice president Andrew …

GAINESVILLE, FLA. — Bass Pro Shops plans to open a new store on the northwest quadrant of Interstate 75 and Archer Road in Gainesville. It will be the primary anchor for Celebration Pointe, a 1 million-square-foot mixed-use development that will include retail, restaurants, entertainment, a hotel and residential units. The development will be Alachua County’s first green, transit-oriented project. The outdoor retailer’s news came just a few days before ICSC RECon 2014, the annual networking and information conference in Las Vegas featuring more than 33,000 retail and shopping center professionals from across the globe. The largest convention of its kind in the industry, RECon also features 1,000 exhibitors. The new 80,000-square-foot Bass Pro Shops Sportsman’s Center store will be the company’s 13th store in Florida. The company currently operates nine stores in the state, and other locations have been announced for Brandon/Tampa, St. John’s County/Jacksonville and Daytona. “Having the opportunity to build a super outdoor store directly fronting I-75 will allow us to bring Bass Pro Shops’ low prices and famous friendly expert service to serve the many sportsmen and women, as well as the visitors to this area each year,” says Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops. “This …

NEW YORK CITY — American Realty Capital Properties Inc. (NASDAQ: ARCP) has entered into a $1.5 billion sale-leaseback for more than 500 Red Lobster restaurant properties. This deal will be completed in conjunction with Golden Gate Capital’s (GGC) acquisition of Red Lobster from Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI). About 93.5 percent of the portfolio’s leases will be structured with a 25-year initial term. Another 6.5 percent will have a weighted average 18.7-year initial term. The portfolio’s master leases will include 2 percent annual contractual rent escalations. “With strong financial metrics, built-in 2 percent annual rent growth and long-term lease commitments, this acquisition affords shareholders value and supports our future earnings growth,” says David Kay, ARCP’s president. “When consummated, the Red Lobster transaction will allow us to achieve the high end of our acquisition guidance, which we set at $3 billion for 2014.” The deal represents a GAAP cap rate of 9.9 percent and a cash cap rate of 7.9 percent. ”We previously promised acquisitions at cap rates north of 8 percent and have done so this year in small, self-originated transactions,” explains Kay. “Now, we have duplicated that effort on a large scale.” This is ARCP’s fourth transaction with GGC. …

BETHESDA, MD. — Walker & Dunlop Inc. (NYSE: WD) has arranged a $278 million Fannie Mae credit facility for Milestone Apartments REIT (TSX: MST.UN). The facility, which consists of both fixed and variable rate notes with staggered maturities, is collateralized by 20 Milestone multifamily properties in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas. The Toronto-based REIT holds a total portfolio of 55 properties in the Southwest and Southeast United States. Walker & Dunlop structured the original facility for Milestone in 2005 and added additional assets to the facility in 2008. “We have worked on this portfolio for years and each time have taken steps to ensure that we structure a loan that meets Milestone’s strategic needs,” says Howard Smith, COO of Walker & Dunlop. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with Milestone and providing them with the financing to continue to grow their multifamily portfolio.” Milestone is using approximately $28.1 million of this facility to fund, in part, its two most recent acquisitions: the 316-unit Harbor Creek apartment community in metro Atlanta and the 384-unit Legacy Heights multifamily complex in metro Denver. The REIT purchased the Atlanta asset for a total of $28 million, representing a cap rate of 6.8 …

TAMPA, FLA. — Carter Validus Mission Critical REIT Inc. has acquired two data centers for approximately $46 million. The acquisitions include the Milwaukee Data Center in Harland, Wis., which was acquired for a purchase price of $19.5 million; and the Windstream Charlotte Data Center in Charlotte, N.C., acquired for $26.4 million. The Milwaukee Data Center is a 59,000-square-foot net rentable area. The property is fully leased to Thomson Reuters U.S. LLC, an affiliate of Thomson Reuters Corp. The Windstream Charlotte Data Center is a 60,850-square-foot multi-tenant property built in 1999. The property was renovated in 2013 for data center use. “The Milwaukee Data Center and Windstream Data Center are investments consistent with our strategy of buying high-quality assets that diversify our holdings by geography and tenancy,” says Michael Seton, president of Carter/Validus Advisors. The Tampa, Fla.-based non-traded REIT has a total investment portfolio of approximately $1.1 billion, which consists of 3.5 million rentable square feet across 16 states. The weighted average remaining lease term of the portfolio is approximately 12 years and the portfolio has average annual rental rate increases of 2.3 percent. ­— Danielle Everson

NEW YORK — Gramercy Property Trust Inc. (NYSE: GPT) has agreed to buy Garrison Investment Group’s 50 percent interest in a joint venture that owns a portfolio of 67 properties totaling approximately 3.1 million square feet across the United States for $92.2 million in cash. The properties are 96 percent leased to Bank of America. Gramercy currently owns the remaining 50 percent interest of the joint venture. The purchase and sales agreement values the joint venture’s assets at $395 million. At closing, New York-based Gramercy plans to repay the existing $200 million loan encumbering the portfolio with proceeds from a new unsecured credit facility. The acquisition is expected to close sometime during the second quarter. Additionally, Gramercy has also signed a commitment letter with J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Merrill Lynch; Pierce, Fenner & Smith; J.P. Morgan Chase Bank; and Bank of America for a $400 million senior unsecured credit facility, which will consist of a $200 million senior revolving credit facility and an up to $200 million senior term loan. The revolving credit facility has an initial term of four years, with an option for a one-year extension, and will replace Gramercy’s senior secured credit facility. The term facility …

NEW YORK CITY AND PALM BEACH, FLA. — Two real estate investment trusts, NorthStar Realty Finance (NYSE: NRF) and Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE: CLDT), have formed a $1.3 billion joint venture for 51 hotels known as the Innkeepers portfolio. NorthStar purchased a 89.7 percent stake in the joint venture from Chatham’s previous joint venture partner, Cerberus Capital Management. NorthStar and Chatham will co-own 47 of the 51 hotels, which total about 6,100 rooms. Approximately 83 percent of the hotels are affiliated with the Marriott and Hilton brands and are located mostly on the East and West coasts. Chatham will pay approximately $341.5 million to Cerberus for the four remaining hotels: four Residence Inn hotels in Silicon Valley that total 751 rooms. Chatham plans to invest $59 million to redevelop the hotels, which will include new lobby and public spaces in each hotel. Chatham will also expand the hotels’ room counts by 272 rooms combined. “The Cerberus/Chatham joint venture has been a great partnership and has proven to be a highly successful investment, turning our initial $37 million investment into distributions of approximately $114 million and profits of approximately $77 million, or $2.90 per share, in less than three years,” says …

SEATTLE — Wright Runstad & Co. will redevelop Rainier Square, a 140,000-square-foot retail property that is part of the University of Washington’s Metropolitan Tract in downtown Seattle. The project entails a 1.2 million-square-foot, mixed-use development located at 1333 5th Ave., just off Interstate 5 and a few blocks from the waterfront. Construction is scheduled to commence in the second half of next year. Once completed in late 2017, Rainier Square will contain a 50-plus-story tower with 750,000 square feet of office space and about 240 apartment units. It will also feature a 15-story, four-star hotel, as well as 30,000 square feet of ground-floor restaurants and retail shops. The total project is estimated to cost more than $500 million, according to reports. The University of Washington managed the developer selection process and chose locally Wright Runstad & Co. with approval from the university’s Board of Regents. Architecture and design firm NBBJ will design the new Rainier Square. “We are absolutely thrilled to be awarded this opportunity,” says Greg Johnson, Wright Runstad & Co.’s president. “The 66,000-square-foot site is the single best location in the city for this landmark project we are proposing. It is simply great real estate any way you …

LAKE FOREST, UPLAND AND ONTARIO, CALIF. — Centerline Capital Group has arranged a $175 million Fannie Mae credit facility for the refinancing of a five-property multifamily portfolio in California. Western National Group, an Irvine, Calif.-based developer, owner and operator of multifamily properties, is the borrower. Centerline and Western National Group have now worked together on similar financing deals for 16 properties in and around Orange County. “This structured credit facility with Fannie Mae was heavily negotiated and very complex due to the nature of the product,” says Suzanne Cope, senior vice president of Centerline’s affordable housing debt division. “However, the level of experience on all sides of the transaction helped facilitate a smooth and quick closing even with the payoff and defeasance of several existing bond deals.” The portfolio totals more than 1,500 units in the Los Angeles suburbs of Lake Forest, Upland and Ontario. Each of the properties included is of garden-style construction. Emerald Court Apartment Homes in Lake Forest is a 32-building, 288-unit complex constructed in 1986. The community offers one- and two-bedroom residences, as well as a clubhouse, fitness center, swimming pool and multiple laundry facilities. Constructed in 1988, Westridge Apartment Homes in Lake Forest is a …