Top Stories

FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Glimcher Realty Trust (NYSE: GRT), a retail real estate investment trust, has purchased University Park Village, an open-air retail center in Fort Worth, for $105 million. The center has approximately 173,220 square feet of leasable retail space. “We are pleased with the acquisition of University Park Village, a highly productive, dominant retail property in the vibrant Fort Worth market,” says Michael Glimcher, chairman and CEO of Columbus, Ohio-based Glimcher Realty Trust. “This quality property offers tremendous growth potential and aligns perfectly with our acquisition strategy.” The center, which originally opened in 1986, is 97 percent occupied and features upscale merchants such as Apple, Ann Taylor, Anthropologie, Banana Republic, J. Crew, lululemon athletica, Madewell and Pottery Barn. The tenants average more than $800 per square foot in sales. Glimcher financed the acquisition through a $60 million term loan, plus the remaining funds from the company’s credit facility. The term loan matures on April 8, 2013. Glimcher expects to obtain long-term mortgage financing on the property prior to the term loan’s maturity date, provided market conditions are favorable. University Park Village, located at 1612 S. University Drive, is situated in one of the most affluent areas of Fort …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

CHICAGO — Equity Residential has entered into an agreement to sell a $1.5 billion portfolio of multifamily assets to a joint venture of Greystar Real Estate Partners and Goldman Sachs & Co. The Chicago-based firm’s assets to be sold includes 27 apartment communities, which total 8,010 units, located across the U.S. The deal values each apartment at approximately $187,000 per unit and a capitalization rate of approximately five percent. The transaction is expected to be completed in two separate closings, both of which will occur in the first quarter of 2013. The assets under contract for sale are located in the following markets: Washington, D.C. and Northern New Jersey (2,105 units at $517.7 million); South Florida (1,896 units at $276.7 million); San Francisco Bay Area (711 units at $188.5 million); Southern California (720 units at $180.8 million); Phoenix, Ariz. ( 1,575 units at $180.3 million) and Denver, Colo. (1,003 units at $156 million). Pursuant to the agreement, the joint venture has the right to exclude up to 8 percent of the value of the assets from their purchase. As a result, New York-based Goldman and Charleston, S.C.-based Greystar have the right to acquire all of the assets for $1.5 billion, …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

LAS VEGAS — Inland Diversified Real Estate Trust has entered a joint venture to acquire a majority interest in a portfolio of six grocery- or home improvement-anchored retail properties in Las Vegas. The value of the portfolio, which includes approximately 1.7 million square feet, is $296.3 million. The six properties comprise what is known as the Territory Portfolio. Las Vegas-based Territory Inc., the seller, originally developed several of the properties through joint venture limited liability companies. All of the assets were built between 1999 and 2009. Inland Diversified’s joint venture partner in the transaction includes affiliates of Territory Inc. Inland purchased less than a 100 percent interest in some of the properties. Therefore, the limited liability companies retain membership interests in the joint venture that owns the properties, according to Barry Lazarus, president and COO of Inland Diversified. The 857,498-square-foot Centennial Center is anchored by a Walmart Supercenter, Sam’s Club and Home Depot. Centennial Gateway, located next to Centennial Center, includes 193,009 square feet of retail space. Tenants include Sportman’s Warehouse, 24 Hour Fitness, Walgreens and Smashburger. The 525,225-square-foot Eastern Beltway and 96,604-square-foot Eastgate are both anchored by a Walmart Supercenter. Other properties included in the portfolio are the 44,472-square-foot …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

SAN FRANCISCO — HFF has arranged a $296 million refinancing loan for a 10-property, Class A office portfolio in the San Francisco, Washington D.C., Charlotte, Houston and Boston areas. HFF worked on behalf of Clarion Partners to secure the seven-year loan, which includes a combination of fixed- and floating-rate tranches, through Bank of America. The transaction was a balance-sheet loan. The properties in the portfolio total 1.6 million square feet and include: 600 California Street in San Francisco; Morrocroft Centre in Charlotte; Westchase Park in Houston; 1111 19th Street in Washington, D.C; and the most recent addition to the portfolio, the Fort Point office portfolio in Boston’s Seaport District. The Fort Point portfolio is comprised of 33-41 Farnsworth Street, 34 Farnsworth Street, 44 Farnsworth Street, 332 Congress Street, 374 Congress Street and 263 Summer Street. Leading the HFF team representing Clarion Partners were Senior Managing Director Bruce Ganong, with regional support from Senior Managing Directors Riaz Cassum and Sue Carras and Associate Director Chris Gandy. “The Bank of America team provided a creative structure and flexible terms that enabled Clarion Partners to match interest rate contracts with individual asset strategies,” says Ganong. “A customized financing structure with the additional flexibility …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

JONESBORO, ARK. — New York-based real estate investment trust Rouse Properties, which owns 31 malls across the country, has closed on its purchase of the Mall at Turtle Creek in Jonesboro for $96.3 million. The deal includes an adjacent shopping center, Turtle Creek Crossing. Rouse purchased the two properties from a private partnership led by David Hocker. Both properties total approximately 731,000 square feet. “We are extremely pleased to complete the acquisition of the Mall at Turtle Creek, further demonstrating our ability to identify and acquire market dominant and protected malls across the U.S.,” says Andrew Silberfein, president and CEO of Rouse Properties. “The Mall at Turtle Creek is well-located, with a track record of strong operating performance. As one of the last enclosed malls constructed prior to the recession, this newer vintage presents a solid opportunity for Rouse to utilize its national platform to capture the inherent upside potential of the property.” The Mall at Turtle Creek, constructed in 2006, is anchored by Dillard's, JC Penney, and Target. The property is 91 percent leased. The purchase price includes assuming the mall's $79.5 million mortgage, which matures in June 2016. Rouse says the deal is part of the company's strategy …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

SAN DIEGO —Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. (Nasdaq: ROIC), a San Diego-based REIT, has closed on the purchase of three grocery-anchored shopping centers in Southern California and has a binding contract to acquire a fourth. The REIT paid about $114 million to acquire the four properties, which total 440,000 square feet. The properties purchased by ROIC include Cypress West, Redondo Beach Plaza, Harbor Place Center and Diamond Bar Town Center, from a Southern California family in an off-market transaction. ROIC used an unsecured credit facility to finance the acquisition. “We are excited to be acquiring this exceptional portfolio of Southern California shopping centers,” says Stuart Tanz, president and CEO of ROIC. “We accessed the transaction through a longstanding relationship.” ROIC completed a total of $278 million in shopping center investments in 2012, which exceeded the company’s goal, says Tanz. Cypress West is a 106,000-square-foot center anchored by Ralph’s Supermarket and Rite Aid. The property is located in Cypress in Orange County and is 94.1 percent leased. ROIC acquired the property for $27.6 million. Redondo Beach Plaza spans approximately 111,000 square feet and is anchored by Von’s Supermarket. The property is 98.8 percent leased and is located in Redondo Beach, which is …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

MIAMI — South Beach Tristar Capital LLC has sold a 56,260-square-foot, mostly retail portfolio in Miami, for $139 million. A joint venture between Terranova Corp. and Acadia Realty Trust (NYSE: AKR) acquired the portfolio in an all-cash transaction. The portfolio includes properties located at 719-737, 801-821 and 826-838 Lincoln Road in the heart of Miami’s South Beach district. The assets are fully occupied with tenants such as Aldo, Fossil, Kiehl’s, Steve Madden and Dylan’s Candy Bar. In 1998, Tristar purchased the portfolio for approximately $15.8 million, or $295 per square foot. “When we acquired the portfolio in 1998, we were considered pioneers. But we saw this as an emerging market and had the vision that Lincoln Road could become one of the great shopping streets in the country alongside Madison Avenue, Michigan Avenue and Rodeo Drive,” said David Edelstein, president of Tristar Capital. “The time has come to execute our disposition strategy and to deploy our assets into new emerging markets.” RKF, along with The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group, represented Tristar in the transaction. According to the companies, this sets a new record sale price for Florida retail. Vornado Realty Trust acquired 1100 Lincoln Road for $132 million in July, …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

SUNNYVALE, CALIF. — Kilroy Realty Corp. has purchased a 12-acre site in Sunnyvale to develop a 587,000-square-foot campus for social networking giant LinkedIn Corp. The $315 million office project will feature three mid-rise, Class A buildings and a parking structure. The structures are expected to meet LEED Silver requirements. The development will also be located along two major arteries, Maude and Mathilda avenues, bisecting Sunnyvale and just one mile from Caltrain. The Class A office vacancy rate in Sunnyvale is less than 5 percent. The area has been a draw for tenants looking to cluster around major technology firms, including Apple, Yahoo! and AMD. According to local reports, LinkedIn's 12-year lease at the property is valued at more than $400 million. The deal caps a breakout year for Los Angeles-based Kilroy, which now has four projects totaling 1.5 million square feet in its Bay Area development pipeline. The projects total approximately $800 million and are fully pre-leased to major technology firms, including salesforce.com, Synopsys and Audience, in addition to LinkedIn. “We're delighted to partner with LinkedIn in the creation of a new LEED-certified office facility,” says John Kilroy Jr., Kilroy Realty Corp.'s president and chief executive officer. “This is another …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

DETROIT — Rock Ventures, an umbrella entity whose family of companies includes Quicken Loans and Title Source, has acquired five properties in downtown Detroit with plans to renovate them into mixed-use facilities. This acquisition wraps up a year in which Rock Ventures has purchased eight properties totaling 630,000 square feet of commercial space. Last month, Rock Ventures broke ground on a 33,000-square-foot specialty retail development complete with a 10-story parking garage. Since August 2010, Rock Ventures has brought more than 7,000 employees to downtown Detroit. Rock Ventures has helped locate 45 companies in the city, including Twitter, Chrysler, Metro-West Appraisal and several tech start-ups. Rock Ventures was formed to facilitate the operation of Dan Gilbert’s portfolio of companies, investments and real estate. “It has been an exciting year of opportunity in Detroit,” says Gilbert. “Our focus in 2013 will be on the three Rs — residential, rail and retail, all of which are vital in creating the vibrant, thriving urban core we all envision.” Rock Ventures’ five-property acquisition includes 1201 Woodward (the Kresge Building), 1217 Woodward, 1412 Woodward, 1301 Broadway (Cary Building Lofts) and 1521 Broadway (Small Plates Building). The Kresge Building, which is 9 stories tall and includes 54,000 …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

ATLANTA AND DENVER — Aragon Holdings has expanded into two new markets with the acquisition of two properties in Atlanta and one in Denver, deploying approximately half of the $52 million it raised in its recently closed private equity fund, Aragon Multi-Family Cash Flow Fund II. Freddie Mac provided the balance of the $100 million acquisition. In the Atlanta market, the company purchased Holland Park, a 496-unit property in Lawrenceville, and Azalea Springs, a 232-unit property in Marietta. The Denver purchase was Hampden Heights, a 376-unit property located just north of the Denver Tech Center. All three properties are located in areas with a strong employment base. These acquisitions increase Aragon’s multifamily portfolio to more than 5,000 apartment units, all acquired in the past four years. During 2012, the company purchased more than $200 million of multifamily assets in six states. Aragon Holdings is a real estate investment and fund management company based in Beverly Hills, Calif., that acquires and manages income-producing assets throughout the countryon behalf of high-net-worth investors. Aragon Multi-Family Cash Flow Fund II, which was formed to facilitate the company's acquisition activity and to produce monthly cash flow distributions to investors, provided equity for the three transactions. …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail