Top Stories

HONOLULU — The Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) has approved The Howard Hughes Corp.’s (NYSE: HHC) plans for two mixed-use towers as part of Phase I of the master-planned Ward Village in Honolulu. Ward Village, which is located in the heart of Kaka‘ako, is a 60-acre, 9.3 million-square-foot project. The development will include more than 4,000 residential units, along with more than 1 million square feet of retail and commercial space. Phase I is scheduled for a 2016 completion. “Our vision for Ward Village is to create an urban, master-planned community, which offers an exceptional living environment while honoring the area’s rich history and culture,” says David Weinreb, chief executive officer for The Howard Hughes Corp. “Beyond being one of our most significant assets, this redevelopment is already serving as a catalyst for the revitalization of Kaka‘ako.” The two towers will be located on land blocks 2 and 3. Land block 2 will contain approximately 171 one-, two- and three-bedroom units, in addition to 10 townhomes. Land block 3 will consist of approximately 312 units ranging from one- to three-bedroom floor plans. The building will also include 82 flats and townhomes. The Howard Hughes Corp. is seeking to achieve Leadership …

RICHMOND, VA. — Landmark Apartment Trust of America Inc., a non-traded REIT, has acquired three multifamily properties valued at $42.1 million from Elco Landmark Residential Holdings LLC, MB Equity Holdings Inc. and Legacy Partners. Collectively, the apartment complexes contain 703 units and are 94 percent occupied. In exchange for the properties, Elco, MB Equity Holdings and Legacy Partners received a combination of cash and operating partnership units valued at approximately $14.9 million. Two of the three newly acquired properties are located in Florida, and the other is in North Carolina. The newest of the three apartment properties was built in the mid-1980s. • Landmark at Savoy Square is located at 2065 N. Highland Ave. in Clearwater, Fla. The property was built in 1970 and contains 182 units. • Landmark at Ocean Breeze is located at Palm Bay Road N.E. in Melbourne, Fla. The property was built in 1985 and contains 224 units. • Landmark at Grand Arbors Reserve is located at 2419 Wycliff Road in Raleigh, N.C. The property was built in 1969 and contains 297 units. Based in Richmond, Landmark Apartment Trust of America owns and operates more than 16,000 apartment units and provides management services for an additional …

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) has closed the sale of 139 SunTrust Bank locations in the United States for $240 million on behalf of Inland American REIT. The portfolio encompasses 715,000 square feet, 100 percent net-leased, throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. The name of the buyer was not disclosed. “The sale marked a prime opportunity for the investor to acquire a large portfolio absolute net leased to one of the nation’s leading financial institutions,” says Guy Ponticiello, JLL managing director. “The secure, growing cash flow of the SunTrust portfolio enables them to provide consistent returns for investors. JLL has closed more than $500 million of single-tenant, net-leased bank properties across the country in the past 12 months. With another $500 million in bank credit offerings currently on the market, Ponticiello anticipates more of the same in the future. “This is far from the only large-scale portfolio sale of triple-net-leased properties we expect to see this year as portfolio acquisitions of this size allow investors to deploy capital quickly and efficiently, making them a formidable force in the market,” he says. What’s more, supply will be able to match the quick pace of purchase, Ponticiello predicts. “The ability for sellers and occupiers …

AUSTIN, TEXAS — W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE: WPC), a publicly traded REIT that owns and manages an investment portfolio totaling approximately $15.4 billion, has acquired the State Farm Operation Center in Austin from State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. for $110 million, plus transaction costs. The 448,898-square-foot property is leased to State Farm for an initial term of 15 years. The property has served as the State Farm Operation Center since 1994. The facility is situated on 83.5 acres in AmberOaks Corporate Center, a 263-acre master-planned office park 10 miles northwest of Austin’s central business district. W. P. Carey purchased the property through two of its publicly held, non-traded REIT affiliates — CPA:17 – Global and CPA:18 – Global. The acquisition is the first made by CPA:18 – Global. “In addition to being a Class A office building with a prime location in one of the nation's top performing metro areas, the property is leased to State Farm, which is an AA credit rated tenant,” says Gino Sabatini, managing director and co-head of global investments at W. P. Carey. “Given these characteristics, the asset is a strong addition to the portfolios of CPA:17 – Global and CPA:18 – Global, …

ATLANTA — Highwoods Properties Inc. (NYSE: HIW) has acquired its joint venture partner’s 57 percent interest in Glenlake North and South Towers, two Class A, 10-story office buildings with structured parking in Atlanta for $45.4 million. The Raleigh, N.C.-based REIT now fully owns the properties and is planning to invest an additional $1 million in building improvements. As a result, Highwoods' total incremental investment is expected to be $46 million. Located in Atlanta's Central Perimeter submarket with access to GA 400, the properties span 505,000 square feet and are valued at $80.6 million. The total asset value equates to $159 per square foot, which is at least a 30 percent discount to estimated replacement cost. “These are solid assets in the Central Perimeter submarket, one of Atlanta's best business districts, which has absorbed over two million square feet during the past 18 months,” says Ed Fritsch, president and CEO of Highwoods. The properties are 82 percent leased and are expected to generate full-year cash and net operating income of $5.1 million and $6 million, respectively. “Owning 100 percent of these Atlanta properties will materially enhance our leasing process, fortify our position in the submarket, provide value enhancement through occupancy growth …

ALPHARETTA, GA. — North American Properties Ltd. (NAP), through a joint venture with Sarofim Realty Advisors, has secured $126.5 million in construction financing for Phase I of Avalon, a 2.4 million-square-foot mixed-use project in the affluent Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta. Phase I of the $600 million development will include more than 350,000 square feet of retail, 100,000 square feet of office space, 101 single-family homes and 250 multifamily units. The construction financing includes an $86.5 million syndicated senior loan from Wells Fargo Bank and Bank of America, in addition to a $40 million mezzanine loan provided by JP Morgan Asset Management. Eastdil Secured arranged the financing. Phase I of the project is 75 percent leased. The 86-acre development will be anchored by Whole Foods and a 12-screen Regal Cinemas. Recently secured tenants for the retail component include Giovanni Di Palma's Antico Napoletana, Bantam + Biddy by Chef Shaun Doty, Tommy Bahama, Vineyard Vines, Exhale Spa, West Elm, Kinnucan’s Specialty Outfitter, Sage Boutique, Free People, Janie and Jack, C. Wonder and L’Occitane. “The collection of restaurants and retailers we have assembled is phenomenal,” says Mark Toro, managing partner of NAP. “Avalon is the first project of its scope to start construction …

NEW YORK— ING Real Estate Finance (USA) LLC has agreed to sell 29 of its real estate loans in the United States with a total outstanding balance of $1.6 billion to Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. The portfolio consists entirely of performing loans and represents approximately 50 percent of ING Real Estate Finance's total U.S. loan portfolio. The move by ING follows the company’s announcement in September 2012 that it would curtail its U.S. property lending business in order to sharpen its real estate finance platform. The company plans to focus on its core markets. “This divestment is a result of the successful execution of our strategy to capitalize on current robust U.S. market conditions to generate strong interest in the loan portfolio among a high-quality pool of potential buyers,” says Michael Shields, managing director and head of ING Real Estate Finance Western Europe, UK, USA and Structured Products. “As ING sharpens the focus of its real estate finance business, we will continue to deliver tailored real estate financing solutions in our other real estate finance markets,” adds Shields. Mark Myers, head of commercial real estate at San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, believes that adding high-quality, performing loans to the bank’s portfolio …

NEW YORK — SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) has agreed to acquire The Olivia, a mixed-use property on Manhattan’s west side, for $386 million. The deal further diversifies the portfolio of the real estate investment trust, which touts itself as New York City’s largest office landlord. New York-based real estate company Stonehenge currently owns The Olivia, according to Bloomberg. “We see this acquisition as a great opportunity to expand our multifamily investment platform at a time when the New York residential market is strong,” says Andrew Mathias, president of New York-based SL Green. “The property is located in a neighborhood that is expected to absorb thousands of new jobs during the next decade. With those jobs, the local demand for luxury housing also is expected to climb sharply.” The Olivia totals 36 stories and 492,987 square feet, the residential portion of which consists of 333 rental apartments in studio, one- and two-bedroom configurations. Among the amenities are a doorman-attended lobby, valet and concierge services, top-floor health club and social lounge and rooftop sundeck. According to the property’s website, rents start at $2,850 for a studio apartment. The building’s commercial space, which takes up 270,000 square feet of the total …

BOSTON — Winthrop Realty Trust (NYSE: FUR) has entered into an agreement to acquire four recently constructed Class A apartment buildings for $246 million. The agreement is with ST Residential, an affiliate of Starwood Capital, along with an unnamed third-party investor and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The FDIC acquired the interest from the failed Corus Bank. Built to condominium specifications prior to a lender foreclosure, the properties include 44 Monroe in Phoenix; Highgrove in Stamford, Conn.; Mosaic II in Houston; and San Pedro Lofts in San Pedro, Calif. Winthrop expects to close on the purchase of these properties by October. The Boston-based company provided a $25.5 million nonrefundable deposit on the properties. A combination of cash reserves and new secured financing is slated to pay the remaining balance, according to Winthrop. “We like the optionality created by the opportunity to acquire a cash flow positive portfolio of high quality condo-constructed multifamily assets at what we believe to be well below replacement cost,” says Michael Ashner, chairman and CEO of Winthrop. 44 Monroe is a 34-story, 184-unit condominium building that includes 1,377 square feet of ground-level retail. Constructed in 2008, the property's amenities include a spa and swimming pool with …

FOSTER CITY, CALIF. — Essex Property Trust (NYSE: ESS), a multifamily REIT based in Palo Alto, Calif., has sold Harbor Cove Apartment Homes, a 400-unit waterfront apartment complex in Foster City. Essex sold the Bay Area property to a fund sponsored by Acacia Capital Corp. for $138 million, or $345,000 per unit. The apartment community is located on a 15-acre site at 900 E. Hillside Blvd. in Foster City, which is about midway between San Francisco to the north and Silicon Valley to the south. The $138 million sale is the largest transaction by dollar volume in the Bay Area so far this year, according to Essex’s broker, Institutional Property Advisors (IPA). “Opportunities to acquire larger multifamily assets in the mid-peninsula market are extremely rare. In fact, Harbor Cove is the only 100 plus-unit asset that has traded hands in Foster City since 2004,” says Philip Saglimbeni, vice president of investments at IPA, which is the multifamily brokerage division of Calabasas, Calif.-based Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services. IPA serves institutional and major private investors, such as Essex. Saglimbeni represented Essex alongside Stanford Jones and Salvatore Saglimbeni of IPA. The brokerage team of Jones, Saglimbeni and Saglimbeni has brokered …