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COVINGTON, GA. — Baxter International, a developer and manufacturer of healthcare products, has broken ground on a $1 billion biotechnology manufacturing facility located in Covington. The first phase of development will encompass more than 1 million square feet. The facility, which will employ approximately 1,500 people, will be used to manufacture plasma-based therapies that treat chronic and life-threatening illnesses. The integrated campus will include three main manufacturing buildings as well as support components such as a warehouse, utility buildings, administrative facilities and laboratories. “In a few years, Baxter team members working in facilities located on the ground where we are standing today will produce lifesaving biological treatments for patients around the world,” says Robert Parkinson Jr., chairman and CEO of Baxter International. The first phase of construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2013, with completion of the first buildings slated for 2015. Additional phases are expected to continue into 2016, and the plant is anticipated to begin commercial production in 2018. “Georgia supports Baxter’s mission to save lives, and this occasion is one of many milestones we look forward to celebrating with the company as it establishes a presence in Georgia,” says Gov. Nathan Deal. “Baxter’s …

BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS — An affiliate of Phoenix-based Cole Real Estate Investments has purchased 174 and 176 Middlesex Turnpike, a 328,232-square-foot trophy office complex located in Bedford, for $93.5 million. The buildings are fully leased to RSA Security, a division of EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC), a global network security provider. Bedford is located in Middlesex County, 15 miles to the northwest of Boston. Robert Griffin and Edward Maher of Cushman & Wakefield’s Capital Markets Group and Luis Alvarado of the firm’s Corporate Occupier & Investor Services Group represented the seller, Real Estate Capital Partners USA Capital Trust, in the transaction, and procured the buyer. Robert Corry of Cushman & Wakefield’s Office & Industrial Acquisitions group represented the buyer. The office complex is used as a research and development facility and is located on 54.5 acres. The complex features the two office buildings connected by a glass-enclosed sky bridge. The Gutierrez Company developed the office complex in December 2001. The complex was built with the bridge to allow RSA Security employees to move quickly between areas in order to collaborate with fellow engineers and designers. REITs, such as Cole Real Estate Investments, have been targeting areas outside of the core Boston market …

NEW YORK CITY — American Realty Capital Healthcare Trust (ARC Healthcare) has acquired three medical office buildings located in Two Rivers, Hartford and Neenah, Wisconsin, for $63 million. The properties total 226,046 square feet and are fully leased to Aurora Health Care. “We are very pleased to complete the acquisition of these three high-quality, recently constructed medical office buildings leased and operated by one of the largest and most reputable healthcare systems in the state of Wisconsin, Aurora Health Care,” says Tom D’Arcy, CEO of New York City-based American Realty Capital Healthcare Advisors. Aurora Health Care is a not-for-profit healthcare system that operates 15 hospitals in Wisconsin and Illinois. The properties included in the sale provide various outpatient services, such as urgent care, pharmacy services, clinical space, rehabilitation and physical therapy. With the acquisition of the Aurora portfolio, ARC Healthcare’s portfolio now includes 34 properties. Since the end of the first quarter of this year, the trust has closed on 15 properties for an aggregate purchase price of $214.5 million. “As we effectively deploy our capital, these properties add to our diversified portfolio, focused on healthcare assets leased to strong national and regional operators on a long-term basis,” D’Arcy says. …

LOS ANGELES — Kilroy Realty Corp. has paid more than $200 million for two West Coast office properties in San Francisco's SOMA district and Seattle's Bellevue community. In downtown Bellevue, the Los Angeles-based publicly traded real estate investment trust purchased Bellevue's 24-story Skyline Tower for $186 million. The purchase price includes the assumption of an in-place mortgage of approximately $84 million. The loan bears a 6.37 percent interest rate and matures on April 1, 2013. The 417,000-square-foot Skyline Tower is located at 10900 NE 4th St. Two of the largest tenants are online travel booking service Expedia and Valve, a gaming company. The building is 92 percent leased. Kilroy says it plans to “significantly enhance” the property with a capital improvement and modernization program. The building is also located two blocks from Kilroy's 23-story Key Center office tower, which the firm acquired last year. According to local reports, Kilroy is on its way to becoming one of Seattle's largest office landlords, having entered the market two years ago. The company has since acquired more than 1 million square feet of office space in the area. In a separate deal in San Francisco, the company purchased a development site and parking …

ASHBURN, VA. — The joint venture between Miller and Smith and NORTH AMERICA SEKISUI HOUSE has broken ground on Phase I of the 1 million-square-foot Downtown One Loudoun, a mixed-use development located in Ashburn in Loudoun County. “Downtown One Loudoun will become the new economic focal point for commerce in Loudoun County with a dense, pedestrian-oriented mix of uses and public amenities,” says Bill May, vice president of Miller and Smith. The first phase will include 210,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and office space, including an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, which is scheduled to open in 2013. The second phase will include a hotel, additional shops and offices, luxury townhomes and multifamily residences. Potomac Development Group has been retained to lease the retail portion of Downtown One Loudon and Cassidy Turley will lease the office space. The demographics of Loudoun County are very strong. The population in Loudoun County in 2011 was 325,405, up from 312,311 in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. From April 2010 to July 2011, the county saw a 4.2 percent increase in population. Additionally, the median household income is approximately $120,000 a year, an 8 percent increase from four years earlier. “We have designed …

ROOTSTOWN, OHIO — SIGNET Development has broken ground on a student housing village for Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED), located in Rootstown. The on-campus community is the first student housing project for the university and is part of a $130 million expansion plan. “Given SIGNET’s depth of experience, innovative ideas, and collaborative approach, they are the ideal partner for NEOMED and the successful execution of the university’s first residential housing offering,” says John Wray, vice president of administration and finance at NEOMED, which is co-headquartered in Akron, Ohio, and Jacksonville, Florida. “We’re excited to see construction begin.” The expansion plan will more than double NEOMED’s existing 450,000-square-foot campus. SIGNET will direct and oversee the design, construction, finance and management activities for the project. The 270,000-square-foot student housing village will include three, four-story buildings located on the northwest corner of NEOMED’s campus. The development will include paved walkways, private parking, group study areas on each floor, a recreation area and game room in the main building. Each of the 185 units will be fully furnished with living room furniture, kitchen appliances and a washer-dryer, and will include a private study area and walk-in closet. “We’re proud to partner with NEOMED to …

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The City of Charleston has selected a joint venture between Skanska USA and North Charleston-based Trident Construction Co. for the $142 million renovation of the Gaillard Municipal Auditorium, a multi-purpose building located at 77 Calhoun St. in Charleston. This is the largest construction project in the history of the city, according to Mayor Joseph Riley Jr. “The purpose of the project is two-fold. The first reason is the city wants to renovate the building is that it's been around for about 45 years and is in need of renovation to the performing arts hall,” says Bob Ferguson of Skanksa, who is the project executive for the Gaillard Center project. “The renovation/new construction will also include the addition of office space for city employees, so that the city can own the office space, as opposed to leasing office space.” The building, which was constructed in 1968, includes a 2,726-seat auditorium, a 15,000-square-foot exhibition hall and four meeting rooms. The building will be gutted, but the framework will remain. Ferguson says the renovation will include raising the roof about 18 feet higher, reducing the number of seats in the auditorium and adjusting the walls around the performing arts hall. …

CHEVY CHASE, MD. — Federal Capital Partners (FCP) has closed on the $592.2 million FCP Realty Fund II. The fund targets multifamily, office, retail and industrial properties throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. “FCP is extremely pleased with the response to the Fund II offering, which was over-subscribed in a challenging economic and fund raising climate,” says Esko Korhonen, managing partner of Chevy Chase-based FCP. Fund II has already secured 14 investments totaling $103 million of fund equity, representing value of $367 million. When fully deployed, the fund is expected to generate approximately $1.5 billion of total investments. Most recently, the fund acquired the 234-unit Ager Road Station, an apartment complex located in Hyattsville, Maryland, for $14.75 million. The property is 98 percent leased. “We are excited at the prospects of our fund given the opportunities created by continued disruptions in the capital markets and positive growth outlook for markets in the Mid-Atlantic region,” Korhorn says. “FCP’s active investment pace is, in large part, due to its ability to move quickly in markets where it has deep knowledge and established relationships.” Since 1999, the company has invested or financed more than $3 billion in assets, and manages $769.2 million of discretionary capital. …

LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y. — SL Green Realty and JP Morgan Chase & Co. have sold One Court Square, a 50-story office tower in Long Island City, for $481 million, or approximately $343 per square foot. The buyer is a private investor group headed by David Werner. The 1.4 million-square-foot office building, which was designed by Skidmore Owings Merrill, opened in 1990. At 50 stories tall, it's the tallest building on Long Island. Citibank has fully leased the property through 2020. SL Green, a 30 percent owner in the joint venture, received approximately $44 million of net proceeds from the sale. SL Green, the city's largest owner of commercial office space, acquired a stake in the office building when it purchased the real estate investment trust Reckson Associates Realty Corp. in 2006. With the sale, SL Green's share of annualized cash from Citibank is reduced from 7.5 percent to 6.4 percent. Douglas Harmon and Adam Spies of Eastdil Secured represented SL Green in the sale. — Liz Burlingame

ATLANTA — Jamestown has announced it will sell the 620,000-square-foot 999 Peachtree, an office tower located in Atlanta’s Midtown submarket. Jamestown has engaged Eastdil Secured to represent the company in the sale, which it has targeted at $160 million. Jamestown seeks a capitalization rate in the low-to-mid 6 percent range for the trophy asset. Jamestown acquired the property in 2007 from Childress Klein Properties for $127 million, and has added new tenants such as Gensler and Oxford Industries, as well as retail brands Clothing Warehouse and En Paris. 999 Peachtree is 94 percent leased. The building also includes restaurant Empire State South. The property earned the designation of LEED Silver for existing buildings in 2009 after Jamestown implemented various sustainability initiatives, including water reclamation systems, a bike-share program and a partnership with a local community-sponsored agriculture program. “Jamestown has committed significant energy and resources to 999 Peachtree, and we are proud of the success it has become today,” says Matt Bronfman, CEO of Jamestown. “Our success in restoring the asset to true Class A status, combined with the strong capital markets environment for core assets, makes it an ideal time for us to bring this property to market.” According to …