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EL PASO AND DALLAS, TEXAS — El Paso-based Hunt Cos. and Dallas-based Pinnacle Family of Companies have completed an agreement in which the vast majority of a military housing portfolio owned by the two companies will be transferred to Hunt. The two companies own 10,000 units of housing developed under the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI). As part of the agreement, ownership of 8,000 of the units will be transfered to Hunt. The remaining 2,000 units will be unaffected in the near term. The units are contained within 13 projects located at air force bases across the country. The bases include Maxwell AFB in Alabama; Little Rock AFB in Arkansas; Bolling AFB in the District of Columbia; Patrick AFB in Florida; Moody AFB in Georgia; Barksdale AFB in Louisiana; Hanscom AFB in Massachusetts; Columbus AFB in Mississippi; Vance AFB in Oklahoma; Goodfellow, Laughlin and Randolph bases in Texas; and Langley AFB in Virginia. ??In a joint press release, the two companies stated that they will not pursue joint venture projects with each other from this point forward. However, both companies will continue to pursue MHPI projects independently as well as compete against each other on projects. Pinnacle will continue to …

NEWARK, N.J. — The Berger Organization has acquired a controlling interest in a 200,000-square-foot office tower located in downtown Newark. The property is located at 570 Broad Street, across from Washington Square Park. It is also a short distance from two New Jersey transit stations as well as the campuses of Seton Hall and Rutgers universities. The 15-story tower was originally constructed in 1960 as the New Jersey headquarters for IBM. It was later occupied by First State National Bank and sat vacant for several years before the previous owner acquired it in 2004 and completed renovations. Current tenants include State Farm Insurance, Chase Manhattan, Atlantic Federal Credit Union, PC Tech and LycaTech. The building's ground level contains retail space. “The building is a Newark landmark, and we are pleased to add this outstanding property to our growing portfolio in the City of Newark,” said Miles Berger, chairman and CEO of The Berger Organization, in a statement. “Our plans are to reposition the building in the Newark office market, re-establishing it as a first-class, Class A building.” Mr. Berger goes on to say that a conference room and a fitness center will be added in the near future. Renovations will …

DALLAS — AREA Property Partners has sold a Dallas office tower for $64.4 million. Northpark Central is a 491,803-square-foot office tower located at the intersection of North Central Expressway and Northwest Highway. The property was constructed in 1984 and was 91 percent leased at the time of closing. According to the press releases, the buyer was an undisclo pension fund, which made the acquisition on behalf of one of its value enhancement investment funds. Local reports are claiming the buyer to be Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, an investment subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. The reports go on to say that Cornerstone has tapped Transwestern to lease and manage the property. Jones Lang LaSalle's Dallas office arranged the sale on behalf of AREA. The brokerage team included Evan Stone, John Alvarado and Jack Crews. “Northpark Central's superior location, premium quality and numerous property amenities were strong draws for tenants seeking a best-in-class office environmental in the north Dallas market,” said Steven Wolf, partner and head of portfolio management and U.S. Value Enhancement Funds for AREA, in a statement. “Our diligent asset management and leasing efforts were successful in stabilizing the property and positioning it for sale to investors seeking …

PHOENIX — The University of Phoenix has completed a $170 million sale-leaseback of its headquarters campus, located within Phoenix's Riverpoint submarket. The buyer was local REIT Cole Real Estate Investments. The University of Phoenix campus, which is owned by the school's parent company, Apollo Group, is located two miles south of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and four miles southeast of downtown Phoenix. The campus comprises three mid-rise office towers totaling approximately 600,000 square feet as well as two parking decks. It was constructed as a build-to-suit for the school in 2007 and was renovated in 2008. The school occupies the facility on a 20-year, triple-net lease that expires in 2031. Bill Broms and Robert Micera provided in-house representation on behalf of Cole in the deal. Cole Real Estate has already acquired more than $300 million in retail, office and industrial properties so far this year as part of an aggressive acquisition strategy. The REIT plans to purchase $3 billion in real estate assets in 2011. — Coleman Wood

NEW ORLEANS, LA. — The State of Louisiana has awarded a preconstruction contract to national contractor Skanska USA Building and Louisiana-based MAPP Construction for a new $1.2 billion hospital campus in the Mid-City submarket of New Orleans. The companies plan to start work on the site in June. Plans for the new University Medical Center call for four major structures. At the center will be a 424-bed, 560,000-square-foot teaching hospital. Adjoining it will be a 746,982-square-foot diagnostic and treatment center. Adjacent to the two buildings will be a 254,765-square-foot ambulatory care building. The medical campus will be serviced by a 1,346-car parking deck. Further details about the project were not available. The project architect is NBBJ. According to local reports, financing will primarily be sought through a $400 million bond sale, which the project's governing board is currently pursuiing. A spokesperson for Skanska claims the completion date for the project is February 2014 but local reports state the project will not be complete until spring 2015. University Medical Center is being built to replace Charity Hospital, which was shuttered in 2005 after suffering massive damage during Hurricane Katrina. — Coleman Wood

TEXAS — Granite Properties has sold a 1.25 million-square-foot industrial property to Cabot Properties for an undisclosed amount. The portfolio consists of 11 properties located in Houston and Dallas. It includes 24 buildings constructed between 1978 and 2008. The buildings range in size from 70,388 square feet to 228,900 square feet. The average occupancy was 79.8 percent at the time of closing. The sale was part of a larger 16-property portfolio that Granite brought to market as a way to divest of its industrial holdings. The other five properties were sold last December. Granite currently controls a portfolio totaling more than 8.5 million square feet of office and retail space. The Holliday Fenoglio Fowler team of Rusty Tamlyn, Trent Agnew, Randy Baird, Jud Clements and Robby Rieke represented the seller in the deal. The acquisition price could not be released. — Coleman Wood

CHICAGO — New York City-based The Georgetown Company has acquired a 60,000-square-foot retail building in downtown Chicago for $23 million. Located at 35 N. State St., the building is net-leased to Old Navy, which uses it as the retailer's Chicago flagship location. “This was a rare opportunity for the buyer to acquire an iconic retail building in the heart of the city,” said Ariel Schuster, executive vice president with Robert K. Futterman Associates and one of the brokers that helped arrange the deal. “State Street is a dominant retail corridor and is anchored by Macy's and Block 37. Target will be opening a 124,000-square-foot city store at the corner of State Street and Madison Street, which affirms the strength of this market.” Ariel partnered with company head Robert K. Futterman as well as Director Brian Segall to represent Georgetown. Eric Maletsky of Malet Realty represented the seller, South East Corner Associates. — Coleman Wood

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Cassidy Turley has arranged two big office deals in Washington, D.C. between Chevy Chase, Md.-based JBG Companies and local firm ICG Properties. JBG purchased a two-building property outright from ICG and acquired an equity stake in another of the company's office buildings in a deal valued at $101.5 million. JBG purchased Georgetown Center, a two-building, 293,845-square-foot office property located at 2115 and 2121 Wisconsin Ave. The property was 92 percent leased at the time of closing and is anchored by Georgetown University and MedStar Health, which take advantage of the property's close location to the Georgetown campus and its hospital. JBG became ICG's equity partner in 1600 K Street, an 86,606-square-foot office building located two blocks from the White House. The property was 87 percent leased at the time of closing, and restaurant PJ Clarke's recently signed a lease for ground-floor commercial space within the building. The Cassidy Turley team of Bill Collins, Paul Collins, Drew Flood, Jud Ryan and James Cassidy represented ICG Properties in the deal. — Coleman Wood

TYLER AND SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS — Red Capital Group has arranged $50 million in Fannie Mae DUS financing for three luxury multifamily communities in Texas. The borrower was Western Rim Investment Advisors, which also developed the properties. The Mansions at The Cascades is located at 4055 Hogan Drive in Tyler within The Cascades, a master-planned community that features an 18-hole championship golf course. The other two properties are located in San Antonio at the entrance to the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort, which also features the TPC Champions golf course. The two communities include The Estates at TPC, which is located at 5707 TPC Pkwy., and The Towers at TPC, which is located at 5505 TPC Pkwy. All three communities feature luxury amenities that include clubhouses and golf course views. The financing for each property includes a 10-year term and a 30-year amortization schedule. The proceeds will be used by Western Rim to refinance construction debt. The interest rates were not disclosed. Western Rim's multifamily portfolio presently consists of more than 4,900 apartment, affordable housing and senior housing units. It has properties located throughout Texas including the cities of Dallas, Forth Worth, Grapevine, Grand Prairie, Houston, Hutto, McKinney, …