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BOSTON — Northwestern Mutual has provided $191 million in construction financing for The Van Ness, a 762,000-square-foot, mixed-use project located in Boston’s Fenway Triangle neighborhood. HFF worked on behalf of the borrower, a joint venture between Samuels & Associates and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, to secure the long-term, fixed-rate financing. The Van Ness project includes 172 residential units situated above a three-story, 169,000-square-foot Target department store. The property will also include 31,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, an 11-story, 233,000-square-foot, Class A office tower and 506 parking spaces. The development is located at 1325 Boylston St. and is within walking distance of the Longwood Medical area near Kenmore Square and Boston’s Back Bay neigborhood. “With The Van Ness, Samuels will continue his vision for the Fenway neighborhood to be a premier live/work/play destination in Boston,” says Greg LaBine, who led the HFF team representing the borrower. “The combination of high-quality residences, first-class office space and superior shopping anchored by Target make this a welcome addition to Fenway.” Boston-based Samuels & Associates is a commercial real estate firm focused on retail and mixed-use projects. During the past 10 years, Samuels has developed 776 new Class A multifamily …

QUINCY, MASS. — Street-Works Development LLC, a mixed-use developer, has teamed up with general contractor Suffolk Construction to build Merchants Row, a 287-unit loft-style multifamily community in Quincy, located eight miles south of Boston. Merchants Row is the first block of mixed-use space for the $1.6 billion Quincy Center master development project. Merchants Row will comprise two buildings, the Kilroy and the Granite Trust lofts. The community will feature more than 35,000 square feet of retail space on the ground levels and 24,000 square feet of office space in the Granite Trust building. The project is a public-private partnership between Street-Works and the City of Quincy. “Eight years ago, we came to Quincy because of its potential to lead the rebirth of the great American downtown,” says Ken Narva, managing partner of Street-Works Development. “Ever since Mayor Tom Koch and our public sector partners put their faith and trust in us, we have made nothing but progress.” Mayor Koch hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the new development on Monday. Government officials and private partners of the development joined Koch at the ceremony. Merchants Row is slated for a 2014 opening. “I’d like to thank everyone who had faith in our …

BOSTON — Arbor Commercial Mortgage LLC has funded 14 loans totaling $107.2 million for residential properties throughout the United States. The properties include 12 multifamily and two student housing buildings in North Carolina, Illinois, South Carolina, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Mississippi and Virginia. The loans include: · A $27 million loan for the refinancing of a 288-unit student housing property in Greenville, N.C. The bridge loan carries a term of two years, and the property serves East Carolina University students. · A $17.5 million loan for the refinancing of Compass Landing, a 192-unit multifamily property in Newport, N.C. The 15-year, Fannie Mae DUS includes a 30-year amortization schedule. The property is located less than three miles from entertainment, shopping, schools and places of employment. · A $12.5 million loan for the refinancing of Windsor Upon Stonecrest, a 220-unit multifamily property in Burlington, N.C. The 15-year, Fannie Mae DUS loan includes a 30-year amortization schedule. Amenities include a swimming pool with a waterfall, a hot tub, a playground, detached garages, storage units, a car wash, a barbeque area, a tanning salon and open surface parking spaces. · A $9.5 million CMBS loan was secured by a 105-unit multifamily property in Fayetteville, N.C. · …

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 …