OWINGS MILLS, MD. — Owings Mills-based Chesapeake Realty Partners (CRP) is planning to construct five new apartment communities comprising 1,260 residences at a cost of $186.5 million. The properties are located in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania. “Each of these properties serves communities with very favorable demographics,” says Josh E. Fidler, COO of Chesapeake Realty Partners. “In each area, employment is strong, the rental market is very tight, there is little or no new construction and transportation is easily accessible.” Overall, the company has a strong pipeline throughout the Mid-Atlantic region for multifamily development opportunities, planning to take advantage of the area’s current market strength. Each of the projects will be built to Energy Star and either NAHB for Homes or LEED standards. The projects currently underway are as follows: 1901 South Charles (below), a 193-unit project with attached, structured parking for 280 cars, located in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Baltimore City. 1901 South Charles recently closed on a $29 million loan insured by FHA under its 221(d)(4) new construction program. Development began July 13, and occupancy will commence in mid-2012. The Overlook (below), a community comprising 288 residences located in East Pennsboro Township, on the south shore of the …
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CHICAGO — Jones Lang LaSalle released a study this week of 40 office markets across North America, analyzing office rates and revealing the most expensive streets for space by the square foot. Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, Calif., topped the list with average rents reaching almost $114 per square foot (psf), while iconic streets such as Fifth Avenue in New York runs at $97 psf and Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. averages above $80 psf. “Rents for office space in these streets were almost 90 percent higher than the average rents in the same metropolitan area,” said John Sikaitis, senior vice president of research at Jones Lang LaSalle. “Location is everything in real estate, and this study proves it. Despite economic conditions, demand for these prime and often prestigious addresses continues to be high.” Across the 40 markets analyzed in the study, rents on the most expensive streets exceed the market average by 49.8 percent, and the rental figures reflect the highest office rents in each individual market. Below are the top five, as reported by the study: 1. Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, Calif., $113.64 per square foot Situated at the epicenter of the technology universe, Sand Hill …
ST. LOUIS AND ATLANTA — Cassidy Turley has completed its acquisition of the brokerage and property management businesses of Atlanta-based Carter, a national firm with project development, commercial real estate services and investments departments. Effective immediately, Carter’s chairman and CEO, Bob Peterson, and its president, Scott Taylor, will have dual roles and provide leadership for both Carter and Cassidy Turley’s Atlanta and Tampa offices. Additionally, Carter’s former brokerage services and property and facility management groups will operate as Cassidy Turley. Carter will continue to focus on its existing national development, project management, investments, asset management and strategic consulting businesses under the “Carter” name brand. The acquisition allows Cassidy Turley to expand its service offerings, including investment sales, finance, tenant representation, project leasing and corporate services. Carter is one of the country’s largest commercial developers, with strong higher education, K-12, interiors, and corporate specialty practices, in addition to currently overseeing a $550 million portfolio. Carter’s asset management division manages more than $2.5 billion of third-party and Carter-owned assets. “Acquiring Carter gives us a significant presence in two major markets, Atlanta and Florida, strengthening our geographic footprint in the Southeast and making us a player here,” said Mark Burkhart, CEO of Cassidy …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — AP AG Portfolio, LLC, a joint venture between AREA Property Partners and Adler Group, has closed on the first stage of a $350 million purchase of a 3,087,945-square-foot portfolio of multi-tenant office and warehouse assets in the Washington, D.C. market throughout Northern Virginia, Washington D.C. and Maryland. The portfolio will be acquired through a series of transactions culminating in the acquisition of 18 premier properties. This first recently closed stage sold in three separate transactions totaling $235.8 million, comprising 2,284,272 square feet (more than 2 million square feet of industrial space and two office buildings). Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (“WRIT”) is selling the portfolio, which consists of industrial assets comprising the entirety of WRIT’s industrial division and some office properties. Current occupancy levels across all properties combined averages 79 percent. Paul Collins, Bill Collins, Drew Flood, Jud Ryan and James Cassidy of Cassidy Turley represented WRIT in the deal. “We are bullish on the greater Washington, D.C. area, and confident that this high-quality portfolio will further flourish under the hands-on asset management skills we bring to the table,” said AREA partner Steve Wolf. Wolf also noted that AREA and Adler Group are now the second largest …
NEWTON, MASS. — Newton-based Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE: SNH) has entered into an agreement to purchase nine large senior living rental communities for $478 million, including $164 million of assumed mortgage debt on certain communities. These communities are currently operated by Vi® as Classic Residence, and were formerly known as Classic Residence by Hyatt. Goldman Sachs & Co. represented Vi in the transaction. The nine properties are located in six states: four in Florida, and one each in Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York and Texas. The communities include 2,226 living units: 1,708 independent living apartments, 471 assisted living suites and 47 suites where specialized Alzheimer services are provided; they are currently 87 percent occupied. “It’s not common in this industry to be able to do a significant transaction for multiple properties of this caliber and size,” says David J. Hegarty, president of SNH. “In addition, there’s been no meaningful new supply, virtually no financing for development, and the demographics are increasing demand in this sector. It will be a few more years before senior housing takes off, but it’s modestly improving now, and we want to capture that.” The 200-unit Vi Boca Raton, Fla., one of the nine …
TORRANCE, CALIF. — McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is constructing the $300 million Torrance Memorial Medical Center Replacement Tower on the existing medical center site at 3330 Lomita Blvd. in Torrance, outside Los Angeles. McCarthy, which is the largest American-based healthcare builder in the U.S., has completed more than $2.4 billion in healthcare work in Southern California alone. The company is the general contractor for the 256-bed replacement project at Torrance Memorial, which entails construction of a seven level, 398,350-square-foot patient tower as well as a basement to house a central utility plant and a tunnel connecting the existing hospital to the new facility. Twelve new elevator systems and two exit stairs will be installed, and a 2,770-square-foot Emergency Generator building along with underground fuel oil storage tanks will be constructed on site. Exterior rendering of the nearly 400,000-square-foot, $300 million replacement tower at Torrance Memorial Medical Center in Torrance, Calif. Before construction could begin, McCarthy re-routed existing underground utilities servicing the tower around the new tower’s footprint. A new entrance to the existing facility was also built to allow for patient access from a new direction while the tower is under construction. “Because of the project’s unique challenges, construction will …
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Red Roof Inns, Inc. recapitalized the ownership of its assets with support from hospitality industry partners, completing this recapitalization through the acquisition of 143 Red Roof Inn properties by a joint venture between affiliates of Five Mile Capital Partners and Westmont Hospitality Group. According to Bloomberg, the joint venture acquired $700 million of Red Roof Inns Inc. debt to gain control of the hotels. The 143 hotels total nearly 17,000 rooms, and this capitalization includes significant funding for renovations. The joint venture has committed more than $70 million for renovating and upgrading the portfolio with the brand’s new design elements. Five Mile Capital has deep hospitality experience, having been involved in Extended Stay America, Innkeepers and CNL Resorts. “This committed capital provides long-term stability to the company and highlights the fact that Red Roof is an attractive investment with a unique dual concept of an owner-operated, franchise-centered business,” said Andrew Alexander, president, Red Roof Inns, Inc. “Our strong belief in our own product as we build our franchise grants us the ability to maintain high standards in both realms.” All Red Roof properties involved in the recapitalization have entered into franchise agreements with Red Roof Franchising, LLC …
NEW YORK CITY — C-III Capital Partners LLC (C-III) has acquired the commercial real estate special servicing and CDO management businesses of JER Partners (JER), a private real estate investment management company. As a result of the acquisition, C-III will merge JER’s special servicing operations into its wholly-owned subsidiary, C-III Asset Management LLC, already a highly rated primary and special servicer of commercial real estate loans. JER is the named special servicer for $35.5 billion of commercial real estate loans, of which approximately $4 billion is currently in special servicing and under active management; including these loans, C-III is now the named special servicer for approximately 14,000 loans with an aggregate balance in excess of $152 billion, of which approximately $17 billion is currently in special servicing. “This acquisition strengthens C-III’s position as one of the top three special servicers in the country and advances our growth strategy,” said Andrew L. Farkas, chairman and CEO of C-III Capital Partners. “Special servicing is a key foundation of our strategy to create a fully diversified commercial real estate company.” “JER’s servicing portfolio, depth of experience and industry expertise will be a great fit with C-III,” added Paul Smyth, president of C-III Asset …
DURHAM, N.C. — Cary, N.C.-based Capital Associates has sold Keystone Technology Park, an 806,157 square foot, 11-building portfolio in Durham. Stephen Porterfield, on behalf of Capital Associates and its partners, engaged Cassidy Turley to arrange the transaction, and Paul Collins, Bill Collins, Drew Flood, Jud Ryan, James Cassidy, David Finger and Hillman Duncan of Cassidy Turley represented the seller. “Our loan on the property was maturing, and it was a question of getting new debt and locking it up for 10 years, or going ahead to sell,” says Porterfield, associate partner with Capital Associates. “We’ve been seeing a lot of interest in the Raleigh/Durham area for well leased core properties, and right now it’s on the map for folks in a way it hasn’t been, so that made sense of us.” The portfolio was acquired by Lionstone Cash Flow Real Estate Partners One, a $250 million equity venture between the Lionstone Group and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Lionstone was formed in 2001 by partners Tom Bacon, Dan Dubrowski, and Glenn Lowenstein. An industrial building located at 629 Davis Dr. in Durham, part of the portfolio that sold to Lionstone Cash Flow Real Estate Partners One. Keystone Technology Park …
ORANGE COUNTY, FLA. — In an effort to create connectivity and commerce in the western Orlando area, Boyd Development Corporation is under way on development of “Town Center East,” a mixed-use project with an expected investment of $940 million, located within the Horizon West area. According to the Orange County Government, Horizon West is a 23,000-acre special planning area located in southwest Orange County. In mid-July, Boyd and Stratford Land, a Dallas-based land investment firm, closed on approximately 600 acres of property in Horizon West situated on the northeast and southeast quadrants of the Western Beltway (SR 429) at the New Independence Parkway interchange. Once the initial planning phases are complete, Boyd/Stratford plans to position the property as a master-planned, mixed-use project. The land, which is bordered on the east by Lake Hancock, has more than two hundred acres of residential land with approximately three miles of lakefront. An aerial view of the land to become Town Center East in the Horizon West area of southwest Orange County, Fla. Town Center East will be built out in phases over the next 7 to 10 years as a mixed-use development with retail, office, hotel, institutional and lower, medium and higher density …