Top Stories

PHILADELPHIA — Cedar Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: CDR) has acquired Quartermaster Plaza, a 456,000-square-foot retail property in Philadelphia, for $92.3 million, including the assumption of $53.4 million in fixed-rate debt. A publicly traded REIT, Cedar Realty will initially fund the purchase through the company’s credit facility, pending anticipated proceeds from asset sales. Constructed in 2004, the shopping center was 98 percent leased at the time of the sale and anchored by BJ’s Wholesale Club. With this purchase, Cedar Realty owns five shopping centers in Philadelphia totaling more than 1.3 million square feet, as well as the largest share of open-air retail space within the city of any publicly traded REIT. “We are excited about the acquisition of Quartermaster Plaza,” says Bruce Schanzer, president and CEO of Cedar Realty. “Our now dominant presence in the South Philadelphia submarket allows us to leverage our operating and leasing expertise to continue to serve the needs of this large and growing urban population.” Quartermaster Plaza is located on more than 43 acres and has already been approved for expansion of up to 98,000 square feet. The property is adjacent to South Philadelphia Shopping Center, a 283,000-square-foot, grocery-anchored center also owned by Cedar Realty. Other …

TUNICA, MISS. — Full House Resorts Inc. (NASDAQ: FLL) has entered into a definitive agreement to buy the 53-acre Fitzgerald’s Casino in Tunica from The Majestic Star Casino LLC for $62 million. Majestic Star, based in Indiana, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2009, leaving the “Fitz Casino” available for purchase, according to the Memphis Business Journal. Las Vegas-based Full House, which owns five casinos in Nevada, New Mexico, Indiana and Mississippi, also purchased the Silver Slipper Casino in Bay St. Louis, Miss., in 2012 for $70 million. The Fitz Casino features 38,000 square feet of gaming space, including approximately 1,100 slot and video poker machines, as well as 20 table games. The site also includes a 506-room hotel with 68 suites, a fine dining restaurant, buffet, two casino bars and an 8,100-square-foot event center. “This transaction is consistent with our long-stated growth strategy,” says Andre Hilliou, chairman and CEO of Full House Resorts, “and we believe it will create long-term shareholder value. We believe we can leverage our knowledge and proven track record of managing properties catering to local customers to further improve the profitability of Fitz Casino.” According to a press release, Macquarie Capital was Full House’s …

NEW YORK — Meridian Capital Group LLC has arranged $200 million in acquisition financing for 530 Broadway, an 11-story, 194,500-square-foot mixed-use building in New York City. Meridian arranged the loan on behalf of the buyer, a joint venture led by Wharton Properties. Jeff Sutton, a prominent retail investor in New York City, is the founder and president of Wharton Properties. Ronnie Levine and Tal Savariego of Meridian Capital Group’s New York City headquarters office arranged the three-year loan through an unnamed national balance sheet lender. The loan features two one-year extension options. “530 Broadway not only has an irreplaceable location, but its sponsorship is uniquely positioned to execute a value-add strategy over time and capture additional upside from the asset,” says Savariego. 530 Broadway is located at the corner of Broadway and Spring Street and is composed of three interconnecting buildings. Eastern Mountain Sports leases the ground-level retail space at 530 Broadway. The asset, built in 1900, is located in Lower Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood and across the street from 529 Broadway, where a venture between Wharton Properties, Aurora Capital Associates and Thor Equities is developing a 34,000-square-foot retail building. Meridian Capital Group is one of the nation’s largest commercial real …

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 …