PENSACOLA, FLA. — Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions LLC, a developer and operator of infrastructure projects for college communities, has been selected as the lead developer for the University of West Florida’s University Park and Northwest Village projects. The public-private projects are located on the school’s main campus in Pensacola. The developments, which have an expected value at completion of more than $500 million, will be delivered in phases during a 10-year period. The first phase is slated to break ground in 2014. The University Park project will be situated on the south central area of campus and include potential plans for a new student union, student housing, a football stadium, parking garage, plaza and bell tower. Northwest Village is a proposed seniors housing community geared toward lifelong learners, retired faculty and others associated with the university. The project will be located on the west area of campus. “We are delighted to work with the University of West Florida as they continue to grow and develop its campus infrastructure,” says Bob Shepko, president of Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions. “The assembled team represents the best in the industry, and we look forward to working collaboratively to deliver an enhanced campus experience for …
NEW YORK CITY — SunTrust Banks (NYSE: STI) has committed $5 billion to fund commercial mortgages originated by MetLife (NYSE: MET). Atlanta-based SunTrust has agreed to fund MetLife's newly formed real estate investment management platform, MetLife Real Estate Investors, for three years. MetLife Real Estate Investors originates and manages commercial mortgages on behalf of institutional investors. “We welcome SunTrust as a client and partner as it brings strong regional and national expertise that complements our long standing real estate investment heritage,” says Steven Goulart, executive vice president and COO of MetLife Inc. “This unique partnership supports our larger strategy to provide innovative and reliable investment vehicles to our clients.” MetLife is one of the largest portfolio lenders in the industry with $43.1 billion in commercial mortgages outstanding at the end of 2012, and with more than $9.6 billion in commercial mortgage loan originations in 2012. “Our goal is to be one of the top five institutional real estate investment managers, and with this mandate from SunTrust, we are confident the company is headed in the right direction,” says Robert Merck, global head of MetLife Real Estate Investors. As of June 30, SunTrust had a total of $171.5 billion in assets …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Clarion Partners has sold One Metro Center, a 421,235-square-foot trophy office building in Washington, D.C., to Jamestown for $307.5 million. The iconic property is located at 701 13th St. in the city’s East End. Delivered in October 2003, One Metro Center is fully leased. The building features a six-story, 5,000-square-foot stone and glass atrium providing tenants with eight sides of glass. The project is constructed atop and adjacent to Macy’s department store. Located a mere three blocks from the White House, the property is also directly connected to the Metro Center Metrorail station. Bill Collins, Paul Collins, James Cassidy, Drew Flood and Jud Ryan of Cassidy Turley represented the seller, Clarion Partners. John Campanella and Paul Spellman, also with Cassidy Turley, secured the acquisition financing for Jamestown with a bank lender that provided a floating-rate loan. “Jamestown recognized the long-term value of acquiring a Class A building physically linked to the central hub of the Metro,” says Cassidy. “Despite some near term rollover, Jamestown recognizes One Metro Center as a high-quality building in a great location that is only getting better with the delivery of CityCenter.” Hines is the master developer for CityCenterDC, a mixed-use development that …
GRANGER, IND. — Main Street Village Apartments in Granger, Ind. has sold for $37.8 million in a deal brokered by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services. The complex, which includes 400 units and spans 373,145 square feet, is less than 10 minutes from the University of Notre Dame and 90 miles east of Chicago. “This asset has a long history of high occupancy and steady rental growth within the most desirable submarket of the South Bend/Mishawaka MSA,” says Scott Harris, senior vice president of investments with Marcus & Millichap’s Chicago Oak Brook office. “With historical occupancy above 94 percent, no concessions and rising rents, Main Street Village Apartments stands as one of northern Indiana’s premier multifamily investments.” The property is in close proximity to high-end retail, restaurants and entertainment venues, as well as the newly constructed Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center. The community’s many amenities include a fitness center, indoor gymnasium, tanning facility, sauna, locker room and showers, outdoor swimming pool with cabana, business center, car wash and vacuum center, common rooms with kitchen and billiards, 10,000-square-foot clubhouse, surround-sound movie theater and professionally landscaped grounds. As for the units themselves, one-, two- and three-bedroom options are available for a …
LIBERTY BUYS 23M SF OFFICE, INDUSTRIAL PORTFOLIO FOR $1.5B MALVERN, PA. — Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LRY) has agreed to acquire the operating partnership of Cabot Industrial Value Fund III, which is operated by Boston-based private real estate investment firm CabotProperties Inc. The nearly $1.5 billion transaction will add 177 properties scattered across the country, or approximately 23 million square feet, to its portfolio. The deal is expected to close this October. As of May 31, 93.3 percent of the purchased space was leased to a total of 436 tenants. “This acquisition is a compelling opportunity to increase both the size of Liberty's industrial platform and its scope,” says William Hankowsky, chairman and CEO of Liberty. “With approximately 58 percent of this portfolio located in Liberty's current markets and approximately 21 percent in the target markets of Atlanta, Dallas and Southern California, we are expanding into three of the top five national industrial markets.” Liberty’s existing market in Chicago will see the largest increase in square footage, as more than 3 million square feet will be added in the Second City. Atlanta will be the largest of the new markets, with properties there totaling 2.2 million square feet. “With one …
LOS ANGELES — A little more than a year after purchasing the Forum in Los Angeles, The Madison Square Garden Co. (Nasdaq: MSG) announced its plans to breathe new life into the iconic West Coast arena. After extensive renovations to the tune of $100 million, the former home of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings will reopen in January 2014 with three shows by California’s legendary band the Eagles. “Our acquisition and revitalization of the Forum is a perfect complement to The Madison Square Garden arena,” says Hank Ratner, president and CEO of the Madison Square Garden Co. “It now allows us to have world-class venues in both New York and Los Angeles, linking the top two entertainment markets in the country, and continues to expand our position as one of the country’s premier live entertainment companies.” The Forum, long a centerpiece of L.A.’s Inglewood community, is only the latest of several famous American venues to get The Madison Square Garden Co. treatment. In recent years, the company has purchased and restored to prominence New York’s Radio City Music Hall and Beacon Theatre, the Chicago Theatre and Boston’s Wang Theatre. Chase Bank is the Forum’s new presenting partner, while renowned …
HOUSTON AND FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Atlanta-based Cousins Properties Inc. (NYSE: CUZ) has signed a $1.1 billion deal to purchase two Texas properties from Crescent Real Estate Holdings LLC. Greenway Plaza, a 4.4 million-square-foot office portfolio in Houston, and 777 Main Street, a 980,000-square-foot office tower in Fort Worth, are set to officially change hands in September 2013. Cousins plans to fund the transaction on a leverage-neutral basis through proceeds from a common stock issuance as well as the anticipated sale of non-core assets and mortgage financing. JP Morgan Securities LLC served as the company’s financial advisor on the acquisition. “Greenway Plaza and 777 Main Street are an excellent fit with our portfolio, as they are high-quality urban properties with embedded NOI growth and future development potential,” says Larry Gellerstedt, president and CEO of Cousins. “Not only do we expect this transaction to be transformative and accretive, it immediately expands our Texas platform and provides substantial geographic diversification at a significant discount to the replacement cost.” The Greenway Plaza portfolio features 10 Class A office buildings on a campus centrally located between Houston’s central business district (CBD) and Galleria submarkets. The property sports a 92 percent occupancy rate, in-place rents …
TORONTO AND NEW YORK — Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC) will acquire Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) for $16 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $2.9 billion, including debt. The acquisition has been approved by the board of directors for both companies and is expected to close before the end of 2013. The transaction will bring together three retail brands — Hudson’s Bay, Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue. The combined company will operate 320 stores, including 179 full-line department stores, 72 outlets and 69 home stores throughout the United States and Canada. HBC will continue to build upon the Saks brand and identity as a luxury retailer, introducing the company to Canada through full-line, outlet and online formats. “This exciting portfolio of three iconic brands creates one of North America’s premier fashion retailers,” says Richard Baker, chairman and CEO of Toronto-based HBC. “With the addition of Saks, HBC will offer consumers an unprecedented range of retailing categories and shopping experiences. This acquisition will increase our growth potential both in the U.S. and Canada, generate significant efficiencies of scale, add to our powerful real estate portfolio and deliver substantial value to our shareholders.” The $16 per share price …
FRAMINGHAM, MASS. — As part of an ongoing effort to expand its retail platform, Jones Lang LaSalle has acquired Surge Retail International, a specialty retail tenant representation firm based in suburban Boston. The acquisition will enable the firm to respond to the increase in client demand for tenant representation expertise in the retail sector, according to JLL. The price was undisclosed. Steve Ferris and Michael Hirschfeld, Surge Retail’s co-founders, will join the firm as senior vice presidents and co-lead JLL’s national retail tenant services practice. They will work closely with Lew Kornberg to expand the firm’s retail tenant representation capabilities, targeting premium and high-end retailers occupying space in enclosed malls, outlet centers and dense, urban retail markets across the United States, as well as international retailers wanting to expand throughout North America. “The addition of Surge Retail strategically advances our quest to provide unparalleled service to a full spectrum of national retailers by utilizing JLL’s local market knowledge and expertise to execute the ever more demanding real estate mandates of those clients,” says Greg Maloney, CEO and president of Jones Lang LaSalle Retail. “Michael and Steve are seasoned veterans who know the nuances specific to main street retail, enclosed mall …
RICHMOND, VA. — Landmark Apartment Trust of America Inc. (LATA) has acquired three multifamily properties located in Texas and Tennessee for a combined purchase price of $98.9 million. Collectively, the properties include 1,334 units and were 94 percent occupied at the time of sale.Mission Residential of Vienna, Va., sold the properties. “We continue to invest in multifamily properties located in southern U.S. markets we believe will benefit from our proven repositioning program and sophisticated operating platform,” says Stanley Olander, CEO of Richmond, Va.-based Landmark Apartment Trust of America. “With this transaction, we are expanding our presence in Dallas, which remains an attractive market given that the Texas economy is outpacing most of the nation. We are also pleased to be entering Tennessee where we’ve identified strong market fundamentals and an opportunity to grow our portfolio.” The properties LATA has acquired in the transaction include Landmark at Prescott Woods, with 364 units at 2915 Aftonshire Way in Austin, Texas; Landmark at Gleneagles, with 590 units at 4909 Haverwood Lane in Dallas; and Landmark at Wynton Pointe with 380 units at 1000 Enclave Circle in Nashville, Tenn. This acquisition comes shortly after the non-traded REIT announced July 8, that it acquired eight …