Top Stories

PLANO, TEXAS — Granite Properties will break ground on Granite Park Four, a 300,000-square-foot, speculative office building, in the first quarter of 2013. The property will be the fourth Class A office building in Granite Park, Granite’s 3 million-square-foot master-planned development in the Upper Tollway/West Plano submarket. “There’s been virtually no construction here since 2008 and with Granite Park’s excellent accessibility and numerous surrounding amenities we feel strongly that Granite Park Four will be received well,” says Greg Fuller, chief operating officer of Granite Properties. Also slated for construction early next year is the 300-room Hilton Granite Park, which will be centrally located within the master-planned community. The conference hotel will offer 37,000 square feet of conference space. Granite Park Four and Hilton Granite Park have a combined value of more than $150 million, according to the Dallas Morning News. “We feel it’s the right time to move forward,” explains Fuller. “Vacancy in this submarket is 5 percent and the existing buildings in Granite Park are 95 percent leased.” BOKA Powell is the architect for Granite Park Four, which will take 14 months to build. Granite plans to choose a contractor for the building by mid-December. Granite Properties is a …

CHICAGO — Brennan Investment Group LLC, through a joint venture with Gatehouse Bank plc, has acquired a $178 million industrial portfolio. The 19 properties are located across 13 states. The portfolio is 100 percent leased to 16 tenants with a weighted-average remaining lease term of 14 years. The Royal Bank of Scotland plc provided Shariah-compliant financing for this second portfolio acquisition. Brennan and Gatehouse has acquired two portfolios totaling 39 properties with an aggregate purchase price of nearly $350 million. “We are pleased to complete our second acquisition with Gatehouse this year. U.S. industrial markets continue to demonstrate improving fundamentals, with nearly every major market posting positive absorption and rising occupancies,” says Michael Brennan, chairman and managing principal of Chicago-based Brennan Investment Group. “The acquisition of 19 critical-use facilities, located in major markets, provides our investment a high degree of predictability both now and in the future.” “We are pleased to complete another major acquisition with Brennan Investment Group,” says Fahed Boodai, chairman of the board of directors at Gatehouse Bank. “Gatehouse seeks to partner with best-in-class operators such as Brennan with demonstrated expertise in specific real estate sectors. This venture will capitalize on Brennan's expertise in U.S. industrial real …

DALLAS, HOUSTON AND JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Atlanta-based Cortland Partners, a multifamily acquisition, development and management firm, has purchased a $154 million, five-property multifamily portfolio totaling 1,435 units. The five Class A properties include Watervue in Dallas, Newport on the Lake and Harborview in Houston, and Mirador and Stovall in Jacksonville. With the purchase, Cortland Partners has increased its portfolio by approximately 20 percent, bringing its total multifamily inventory to more than 10,000 units. Additionally, the purchase is the company’s first investment in Florida. “Mirador and Stovall mark our initial expansion in to targeted markets in Florida, while the other acquisitions triple our presence in Texas, providing economies of scale,” says Steven DeFrancis, CEO of Cortland Partners. Cortland financed the portfolio acquisition through an international syndicate of institutional and high net-worth equity investors from Israel, the Netherlands and the U.S. The institutional investors include Phoenix Insurance in Israel and Westplan Investors, a private equity group and partner to Cortland Partners. Walker Dunlop provided debt capital through Freddie Mac for all five assets. The Jacksonville metropolitan statistical area has been a popular destination for multifamily acquisitions. More than 10,000 units have been acquired in the past 12 months, twice as many as …

CHICAGO — In a bold move to gobble up high-quality apartment properties in major U.S. coastal markets, Equity Residential and AvalonBay Communities Inc. have entered into an agreement with Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. to acquire Archstone Enterprise LP for approximately $6.5 billion in cash and stock. Under terms of the agreement announced Monday, Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) will acquire approximately 60 percent of Archstone’s assets and liabilities and AvalonBay (NYSE: AVB) will acquire approximately 40 percent. The combined purchase price for the assets consists of $2.7 billion in cash, a fixed number ofshares of Equity Residential and AvalonBay’s common shares valued at $3.8 billion as of the market’s close on Friday, Nov. 23, and the assumption of approximately $9.5 billion of debt and $330 million of preferred equity. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013. Chicago-based Equity Residential will acquire 78 wholly owned stabilized operating properties, consisting of 23,110 apartment units with an average monthly rent of $2,492 per unit. The transaction values the residential portion of these stabilized operating properties at $367,003 per apartment unit. The capitalization rate is approximately 5 percent. Of the 78 properties acquired by Equity Residential, 24 are located in …

MINNEAPOLIS — Shorenstein Properties LLC has acquired the 1.6 million-square-foot 33 South Sixth, a mixed-use property which spans an entire city block in downtown Minneapolis, from Brookfield Office Properties Inc. The purchase price was $202.5 million, according to CNN Money. “This property is in a superior office and retail location in a dynamic city,” says Douglas Shorenstein, chairman and CEO of Shorenstein Properties. “Minneapolis is growing faster than many larger metro areas, and it has wisely invested in its future success by developing the infrastructure necessary to attract more businesses and residents to downtown.” The population of Minneapolis is growing at an annual rate of 1.4 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The development includes a 50-story office tower that features approximately 1.1 million square feet of Class A office space. Tenants include Target Corp., Stoel Rives and Meagher & Geer. The tower sits atop a 489,000-square-foot, four-story retail podium. “We are pleased to have Target, which has done so much for Minneapolis, as our major tenant. We plan to work with our tenants and the community to add value to the city and to this important property by using our extensive expertise operating Class A office properties,” says …

MINNEAPOLIS — The first high-rise rental building in downtown Minneapolis in nearly three decades will begin construction by the end of the month. Opus Development and Founders Properties, both of Minnetonka, recently shored up financing with SunTrust Bank for a 26-story apartment tower, expected to cost $100 million. Atlanta-based SunTrust Bank is providing the loan. Next week, crews will demolish a two-story building on the site to make way for the 253-unit tower, called Nic on the Fifth, located on the corner of Nicollet Mall and South Fifth streets. It will go up next to the new Xcel Energy building Opus is also developing. “With the financing secured, Opus is thrilled to begin work on The Nic on Fifth,” says Dave Menke, senior vice president and general manager of Opus. “Minneapolis is definitely a top-tier city for both equity investors and lenders.” The high-rise will include 26 penthouses, and Opus also plans to pursue LEED certification for the project. Additionally, the building will boast several high-end amenities, including a 24/7 door attendant and concierge service, outdoor roof terrace with pool and spa, yoga studio, outdoor fire pit and dog play area. It will also be connected to the skyway system. …

NEW YORK CITY — An iconic landmark is in the making in Manhattan. Construction is under way on 50 United Nations Plaza, a luxury 44-story condominium tower designed by famed architect Foster + Partners and developed by Zeckendorf Development and its partner Global Holdings Inc. The residential skyscraper, which will be located adjacent to Dag Hammarskjold Plaza at First Avenue and 46th Street and across from the United Nations headquarters, is scheduled for completion in late 2014 at a cost of $500 million. Featuring 87 units with expansive interior layouts, 50 United Nations Plaza will include “spectacular views” of the UN Secretariat building, the East River, the Chrysler Building and the New York City skyline, according to the developers. William L. Zeckendorf, co-chairman of New York-based Zeckendorf Development, says that 50 United Nations Plaza is destined to become an international landmark due to its modern architecture and renowned location. “This neighborhood is of great personal significance to my brother Arthur and I, as our maternal grandfather, Trygve Lie, was the first UN Secretary General, and our paternal grandfather assembled the land upon which the UN Secretariat building now stands,” he points out. Zeckendorf Development has a long history of developing …

NEW YORK CITY — Carlton Group has arranged the $400 million sale of 701 Seventh Avenue, a mixed-use project in Times Square. Simultaneously, the company has secured $600 million in equity and debt capital to facilitate the acquisition and development of the property. On Oct. 16, a group led by New Valley LLC, which is wholly owned by Vector Group Ltd., The Witkoff Group and Withrop Realty Trust, acquired 701 Seventh Avenue. The future value of the asset once completely built and sold out is estimated at more than $2 billion. The mixed-use project is located at the intersection of 47th Street and 7th Avenue, which was declared the busiest intersection in Manhattan by the city of New York. The site includes more than 300,000 square feet of retail, signage and hotel. Carlton Group procured two major investment groups to complete the $400 million controlling sale of the asset. Additionally, on behalf of the buyers, Carlton Group arranged $600 million in capital to facilitate the acquisition and the future development of the project. Steve Witkoff led the investment group that acquired the asset. He plans to develop the site into 85,000 square feet of retail, in addition to 24,000 square …