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HARTFORD, CONN. — CityPlace LLC has sold the 884,669-square-foot UnitedHealthcare Center in downtown Hartford at the intersection of Asylum and Trumbull streets for $99 million, or approximately $112 per square foot. The 39-story office tower, which is formerly known as CityPlace I, is the tallest building in the state of Connecticut. “The sale of UnitedHealthcare Center marks the largest in Hartford in more than 2 years,” said Michael Smith, managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Boston office, in a prepared statement. “The high-quality, investment grade tenants, including anchor tenant UnitedHealth Group, along with its excellent location, high-quality construction and consistently high historical occupancy made this property extremely compelling and we received numerous offers for the property,” Smith said. According to the Hartford Courant, Smith, along with Scott Jamieson of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Boston office and Chris Ostop of the firm’s Hartford office, represented the seller in the transaction and procured the buyer, Newton, Massachusetts-based CommonWealth REIT. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Class A property, which was built by Urban Investment and Development. The tower has undergone significant renovations during the past 5 years. UnitedHealthcare Center is currently 98 percent leased to a variety of tenants, which include Bank of …

BOSTON — Scottsdale, Arizona-based Healthcare Trust of America (HTA) has purchased the 13-property Steward Portfolio, a medical office portfolio totaling 371,551 square feet, for $100 million. The properties are located on the campuses of the Steward Health Care network in the greater Boston metro area. “The Steward Portfolio acquisition continues our investment strategy of acquiring quality on-campus medical office buildings with strong health care systems in a strategic market,” said Mark Engstrom, executive vice president of acquisitions for HTA, in a prepared statement. “HTA is proud to continue working with one of the largest emerging integrated community-based healthcare systems in the Northeast.” The portfolio is fully leased on a triple-net basis to Steward Health Care System, the largest fully integrated community care organization in New England, until 2024. Steward Health Care System is the third largest employer in Massachusetts with more than 17,000 employees serving more than 1 million patients in 85 communities. Healthcare Trust of America is a fully integrated, self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust. Since January, HTA has deployed approximately $214 million for high-quality medical office buildings. HTA’s portfolio is comprised of approximately 12.4 million square feet of space in 245 medical office buildings, 10 hospitals and …

RICHFIELD, MINN. — Best Buy announced Thursday that it plans to close 50 of its big-box stores in the U.S. by 2013 to shore up its balance sheet. The electronics retailer has suffered from eroding sales as a growing number of customers use its stores as a showroom, while turning to lower-priced products elsewhere, says John Bemis, executive vice president director of leasing at Jones Lang LaSalle's Montgomery, Ala. office. “Customers will go into a Best Buy store, scan a code into their mobile device and shop that item all over town and on the Internet,” says Bemis. “It's becoming more common at retail stores in general.” The announcement came during a conference call with analysts to discuss news of a fourth-quarter net loss of $1.7 billion, or $4.89 a share. This compares to $651 million in profit one year ago. Jeff Green, president and CEO of retail real estate consulting firm Jeff Green Partners, adds that the size of the company's products is also problematic. Televisions are becoming more slender and many of today's electronics are more compact. “The stores are simply too large for this environment,” says Green. To remodel the chain, Best Buy announced plans to shift …

LOS ANGELES — A partnership between Seattle-based American Life Inc. and Portland-based Williams/Dame & Associates plans to break ground this spring on a $172 million hotel development in Los Angeles. The 23-story, high-rise building will contain a 174-room Courtyard by Marriott, as well as a 218-room Residence Inn by Marriott. In addition, the property will include 11,754 square feet of meeting space and 5,100 square feet of restaurant space. Completion is slated for summer 2014. “We are proud to welcome Marriott’s two new hotels to the growing downtown revitalization,” said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, in a prepared statement. “The project is expected to generate more than 1,000 new jobs once complete in 2014.” The hotel is the first dual construction of a Residence Inn and a Courtyard by Marriott on the West Coast. The 373,000-square-foot hotel project will be located at the corner of Olympic Boulevard and Francisco Street, adjacent to L.A. LIVE, the 4 million-square-foot sports, residential and entertainment district. “The property is optimally located within walking distance of the Los Angeles Convention Center and will drive convention and group business,” said Homer Williams, chairman of Williams/Dame & Associates, in a prepared statement. “Also, the influx of hotel guests will …

AUSTIN, ATLANTA AND LEXINGTON, KY. — DiamondRock Hospitality Co., a Bethesda, Md.-based hotel REIT, has closed on the sale of a three-hotel portfolio to affiliates of Inland American, an Oak Brook, Ill.-based non-traded REIT, for $262.5 million. The two entities entered into a purchase agreement in October 2011. The hotels in the portfolio include the 492-room Renaissance Austin in Austin, the 409-room Griffin Gate Marriott Resort & Spa in Lexington, and the 521-room Renaissance Waverly in Atlanta. All three hotels are subject to long-term management agreements with Marriott International Inc. “We are pleased to announce the completion of the sale of the three hotels to Inland American,” said Mark Brugger, CEO of DiamondRock Hospitality Co. “We believe the disposition achieves primary benefits for DiamondRock.” The sale will reduce the company’s debt by $180 million and increase corporate cash by approximately $93 million, and position DiamondRock to be an opportunistic acquirer of hotels this year. The sale also improves DiamondRock’s portfolio and market concentration, according to Brugger. As part of the sale, DiamondRock received approximately $10 million for hotel working capital and cash previously held in restricted escrow accounts, net of closing costs. Eastdil Secured advised DiamondRock on the sale. In …

GREGORY, TEXAS — Tianjin Pipe Corp. (TPCO) has plans to construct a $1 billion manufacturing facility in Gregory, located near the Port of Corpus Christi. Tianjin, China-based TPCO is a global leader for manufacturing seamless pipes. The facility, TPCO’s first major mill in the United States, will be delivered in phases between December 2012 and the end of 2014. Currently, the company has major manufacturing properties in China and Indonesia, and exports to more than 100 countries in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Jacobs Engineering Group (NYSE: JEC) has been selected to provide project management consulting services for the new pipe rolling mill. “We are very proud that TPCO has chosen Jacobs to provide project management consulting services for its first project in the U.S.,” said Tom McDuffie, group vice president of Jacobs, in a prepared statement. “This is a major investment in Texas and reflects the confidence in our reputation for successfully delivering large facilities anywhere in the world.” Jacobs’ Houston and Shanghai offices will assist TPCO with coordination and management of engineering, procurement and construction for the mill. Engineering, procurement and construction of the new facility is expected to be a multinational endeavor, including professional services, …

HERNDON, VA. — Norcross, Ga.-based Wells Core Office Income REIT Inc. has purchased South Lake at Dulle Corner in Herndon for $91.1 million, or $340 per square foot. Wells Core is a non-traded REIT. Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN), the seller, completed the development of the 10-story office property in November 2008. The Class A office building is fully leased to Time Warner Cable Inc., one of the nation's largest cable providers, which occupies 268,240 square feet. Brandywine, based in Radnor, Pa., plans to use the net sale proceeds after closing costs for general corporate purposes. The publicly traded REIT is selling the property as part of a larger strategy to maximize its existing portfolio's value, said Gerald H. Sweeney, president and CEO of Brandywine Realty Trust, in a prepared statement. “It strengthens our balance sheet by providing additional liquidity, provides additional capital for our investment activities and demonstrates our commitment to execute key components of our 2012 business plan,” Sweeney stated. Cassidy Turley marketed the property on behalf of Brandywine. Brandywine’s stock price closed Friday, March 23 at $11.22 per share, up slightly from $10.99 a year ago. — Liz Burlingame

HONOLULU — Glimcher Realty Trust (NYSE: GRT) has plans to acquire an 80 percent indirect ownership interest in the 1 million-square-foot Pearlridge Center, located in Honolulu, for $289.4 million. Glimcher currently owns a 20 percent interest in the center with Blackstone Real Estate Partners VI. “We are excited to increase our ownership in Pearlridge Center, a high-quality mall that we already know well and currently manage,” said Michael Glimcher, chairman and CEO of Glimcher, in a prepared statement. “With sales of nearly $500 per square foot and a dynamic growth profile, this strategic investment is consistent with our goal of enhancing the quality of our real estate portfolio. Included in the acquisition price is Blackstone’s pro-rata share of the $175 million mortgage debt currently encumbering the property, which means the cash purchase price is approximately $149.4 million. Macy’s, Sears, Toys “R” Us, Ross Dress For Less, Bed Bath & Beyond, Longs Drug Store and an 18-screen theater anchor the center. The joint venture acquired the property in 2010 (see our story here) from Northwestern Mutual for $245 million. Glimcher’s purchase of Blackstone’s share is expected to close during the second quarter of 2012. Glimcher’s share price on March 22 closed …

ATLANTA — A combination of lackluster consumer confidence and “jittery businesses” has led to a thrifty consumer and a cautious environment for business investment, says Georgia State University economist Rajeev Dhawan. In light of these trends, plus weakness in the global economy, Dhawan expects U.S. employment growth to moderate over the course of the year from the recent level of 200,000-plus jobs per month to closer to 150,000. Dhawan delivered his tepid economic outlook on Monday to lodging industry professionals gathered at the Marriott Marquis in downtown Atlanta for the 24th annual Hunter Hotel Investment Conference. His insights left attendees to ponder whether the glass is half empty or half full. After all, the 44,000 new jobs added in the leisure and hospitality sector in February signals that business is growing in the lodging industry at a fairly healthy clip. Corporate revenue growth directly affects business investment, Dhawan emphasized. The growth rate in revenue among the “Dow 30” companies (companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average) climbed throughout much of 2011 on a year-over-year basis, but moderated in the fourth quarter. In turn, the growth rate of investment in equipment and software also began to slow. “If you are a …

GLEN BURNIE, MD. — AiNET, a privately held information technology solutions company based in Beltsville, Md., is bringing a new data center to northern Maryland — the 300,000-square-foot CyberNAP facility. The new facility spans the length of 6 football fields, making it the largest data center in Maryland and the tri-state area. Once the data center is operating at full capacity, AiNET projects CyberNAP to create more than 2,500 jobs and generate $1 billion in annual economic activity. Portions of the facility will offer security features since Fort Meade — home of the U.S. Cyber Command, National Security Agency and Defense Information Systems Agency — is located near the new facility. The increase of technology demand in the greater D.C. market has stemmed from the federal government’s defense and intelligence programs, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s most recent High Technology Industry report. This has led to an influx of technology firms expanding their presence in the office marketplace, including Google, Facebook, Computer Sciences Corp., Opnet Technologies, LivingSocial and MicroStrategy Incorporated. The influx has led to a greater need for well-performing data centers in the vicinity. Since its headquarters is only 36 miles away from the nation’s capital, AiNET works closely …