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HOUSTON — The University of Houston has selected Manhattan Construction Co. to build its new $105 million football stadium, which will be constructed on the site of its current arena, the 71-year-old Robertson Stadium, following the 2012 football season. Manhattan Construction has also built multi-million, high-profile stadiums for two National Football League (NFL) teams in Texas: Reliant Stadium for the Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys Stadium for the Dallas Cowboys. Reliant Stadium is heralded as the first retractable roof stadium in the NFL. “Manhattan Construction Co. has constructed pre-eminent athletics venues for successful sports franchises in this great city and in the state of Texas. We are thrilled to partner with Manhattan as they are a leader in building first-class intercollegiate and professional athletics facilities across the country,” says Mack Rhoades, vice president of Intercollegiate Athletics for the University of Houston. Back in June, the University of Houston selected Houston-based PageSoutherlandPage and DLR Group to design the new stadium, whichis designed to hold 40,000 fans and will feature Phase II plans to expand the facility to accommodate 60,000 fans. The plans call for 22 luxury suites, 200 loge box seating, club seating for 650 fans, approximately 20,000 square feet of …

DENVER — Denver-based UDR has sold a nine-property multifamily portfolio to DRA Advisors for $297.7 million. The portfolio totals 3,187 units located in Jacksonville, Florida, Richmond, Virginia and Dallas, and is 95 percent leased. The properties include The Antlers, Green Tree Place, The Kensley Apartment Homes, St. Johns Plantation and Westland Park in Jacksonville; Belmont and Belmont Townhomes in Dallas; and Dominion Creekwood and Dominion West End, in Richmond. The assets are located in infill locations within major population centers. The markets all show strong real estate fundamentals with shrinking vacancy rates. According to New York-based Reis, the vacancy rate in Dallas in the second quarter of 2012 was 5.7 percent, down 30 points from the first quarter. The vacancy rate in Richmond was 5 percent, down 40 points from the first quarter, and the vacancy rate in Jacksonville was 8.4 percent, also down 40 points from the first quarter. “The properties are located in Sunbelt states with proximity to urban centers, strong population and good job fundamentals,” says Kevin Judd, principal of ARA’s Orlando, Florida, office. Several of the apartment complexes, which were built in the 1990s and 2000s, offer the opportunity to be repositioned to achieve higher rents. …

AUGUSTA, GA. — Starbucks Coffee Co. (NASDAQ: SBUX) has broken ground on a $172 million, 180,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Augusta. The plant, which will be the first company-owned facility in the world to produce soluble products, will create 140 jobs when it opens in 2014. “Georgia is proud to welcome Starbucks to the growing community of global brands that make a home in our state,” says Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. “We understand that a company like Starbucks has its pick of places to do business, so we are indeed glad the strength of Georgia’s workforce and business environment attracted this manufacturing operation.” The facility will produce several Starbucks products that are currently manufactured abroad, including Starbucks VIA Ready Brew and the coffee base used in Frappuccino blended beverages as well as many ready-to-drink beverages. The plant is designed to be LEED certified. “During such challenging economic times, I am thrilled that we are creating jobs and building something special right here in Georgia,” says Peter Gibbons, executive vice president of Seattle-based Starbucks’ global supply chain operations. “Starbucks has long believed that there is a direct link between our success and the vitality of the communities in which we do business.” …

SUFFERN, N.Y. — Raymour & Flanigan has acquired the 900,000-square-foot Tri-State Logistics Center in Suffern from Dress Barn. The furniture retailer plans to renovate the property into a regional distribution center. The purchase price of the center, which is located at 30 Dunnigan Dr., was not disclosed. However, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced in June that Raymour & Flanigan was set to spend $46 million in buying and renovating the Rockland County warehouse. Headquartered in Liverpool, N.Y., Raymour & Flanigan has grown from four stores in 1982 to 95 stores across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) represented Dress Barn in the transaction. “We were able to uncover a number of potential buyers and tenants, but felt this deal was the best fit for our client and the property,” says Robert Kossar, managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle's Hasbrouck Heights, N.J. office. “Raymour & Flanigan clearly saw the benefits of this facility. In this market, there are very few options in this size range, and with easy access to the New York State Thruway. The location is perfect for Tri-State area distribution.” Dress Barn decided to sell the property in late 2010 …

ARLINGTON, VA. — Clarion Partners and Kettler have formed a joint venture to develop the $154 million, 411-unit The Acadia at Metropolitan Park, a luxury apartment complex located in Arlington’s Pentagon City submarket. “The Washington, D.C., corridor has been one of the best performing markets in the nation over the last several years, and we believe that the fundamentals are in place to support further growth,” says Marc Deluca, managing director of Clarion Partners, a real estate investment manager with more than $24 billion in total assets under management. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with Kettler in this very exciting project.” The property is designed to achieve LEED Silver certification, and will be the first multifamily building in the submarket to receive the designation. The units will feature gourmet kitchens with quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, moveable kitchen islands, wood floors and full-size washer and dryer units. Amenities will include a fitness center with yoga room, tech lounge, conference room, rooftop lap pool and sky lounge with gaming areas, a demonstration kitchen and outdoor living and dining areas. Additionally, there will be 16,350 square feet of ground floor shopping and dining. The 19-story building will be …

AUSTIN, TEXAS — American Campus Communities Inc. (NYSE: ACC), an Austin-based owner, manager and developer of student housing communities, will acquire 15 student housing properties with 6,579 beds — including two properties and an additional phase at an existing property currently under development — for $627 million. ACC, which has substantially completed its due diligence on the student housing portfolio, will acquire the properties from affiliates of Chicago-based Campus Acquisitions LLC. The acquisition will consist of the assumption of approximately $231.6 million of outstanding mortgage debt, the issuance of between $15 million and $50 million in common limited partnership interest in ACC’s operating partnership and between $345.5 million and $380.4 million in cash, which will be determined by Campus Acquisitions prior to closing. The properties in the portfolio are located in 11 of ACC’s existing markets, as well as four new markets: Baylor University in Waco, Texas; University of Southern California in Los Angeles; Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa; and Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. The 15 properties have a combined average distance to campus of nearly one-quarter mile. “We are very pleased to be adding 15 properties to the ACC portfolio that meet our investment criteria of …

NEW YORK CITY — The 250,000-square-foot 915 Broadway, an office building located at East 21st and Broadway, has sold for $140 million to a group of investors organized by Earle Altman, chairman of ABS Partners Real Estate. “We are delighted to continue our longstanding affiliation with this high-quality, well-located property,” says Gregg Schenker, principal of New York City-based ABS Partners. “The strong fundamentals of the location, superior construction, well-maintained infrastructure and future planned improvements will further increase the value of 915 Broadway over time.” The group of buyers includes fellow ABS Partners principals Schenker, Steven Hornstock and James Caseley, as well as real estate investors Richard Hadar, John Zirinsky and Jeffrey Fiel. The seller is a group of investors also organized by Altman that acquired the building in 1981 for $6 million. “This is one of several deals I have done with ABS during the last year, as I have been deploying significant capital I raised before the market collapse in 2007,” Hadar says. “915 Broadway is one of the best opportunities I have seen in quite a while in New York.” Simon Ziff, Russell Schildkraut and Jonathan Moore of The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group arranged acquisition financing through JPMorgan …

NEW YORK CITY — Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO) has agreed to buy a retail condominium located at 666 5th Avenue in New York City for $707 million. The 114,000-square-foot asset further expands Vornado’s 2.2 million-square-foot portfolio of Manhattan street retail. The space acquired by Vornado houses popular retail clothing chains including Uniqlo, Hollister and watch company Swatch. While this retail space has always had high value, the sellers, Crown Acquisitions Inc., Carlyle Group and Kushner Cos., achieved something truly unexpected with the $707 million sale. The property, which spans the length of an entire block, was valued at $525 million when Crown and Carlyle purchased a 49 percent stake in the building’s retail portion from Kushner in 2008. Last March, Crown and Carlyle sold a portion of the space to Zara’s parent company, Indetix Group, for $324 million. The company turned the 39,000-square-foot storefront into a store for its Zara clothing chain Arteixo. The new Vornado deal, when combined with the Indetix deal, drives the value of entire Fifth Avenue block to more than $1 billion. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Vornado was encouraged to make this deal to appease shareholders after a reported 31 percent drop in funds from …

NEW YORK CITY — Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO) has agreed to buy a retail condominium located at 666 5th Avenue in New York City for $707 million. The 114,000-square-foot asset further expands Vornado’s 2.2 million-square-foot portfolio of Manhattan street retail. The space acquired by Vornado houses popular retail clothing chains including Uniqlo, Hollister and watch company Swatch. While this retail space has always had high value, the sellers, Crown Acquisitions Inc., Carlyle Group and Kushner Cos., achieved something truly unexpected with the $707 million sale. The property, which spans the length of an entire block, was valued at $525 million when Crown and Carlyle purchased a 49 percent stake in the building’s retail portion from Kushner in 2008. Last March, Crown and Carlyle sold a portion of the space to Zara’s parent company, Indetix Group, for $324 million. The company turned the 39,000-square-foot storefront into a store for its Zara clothing chain Arteixo. The new Vornado deal, when combined with the Indetix deal, drives the value of entire Fifth Avenue block to more than $1 billion. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Vornado was encouraged to make this deal to appease shareholders after a reported 31 percent drop in funds from …

DEERFIELD, ILL. — Walgreen Co. has agreed to pay $438 million to acquire a regional drugstore chain from Stephen L. LaFrance Holdings and members of the LaFrance family. The purchase includes 144 stores located mostly in the South. The stores operate under the brands USA Drug, Super D Drug, May's Drug, Med-X and Drug Warehouse. They are located in Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Tennessee. The deal also includes corporate offices, a distribution center in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and a wholesale and private brand business. Greg Wasson, Walgreen president and CEO, says the deal is part of a push to expand the company's presence to smaller communities in the mid-South. “This acquisition expands our business in an important region of the country,” says Wasson. The Walgreen acquisition is a boon for Stephen LaFrance, who started his business in 1968 with a single USA Drug store in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The company has grown to more than 140 stores in seven states. Walgreen reports the chain recorded sales of $825 million in 2011. “I have loved every minute of my career these past 44 years, beginning as a pharmacist, then management and currently as owner and chairman,” says …