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PENNSYLVANIA, MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA — A joint venture between Cedar Shopping Centers and RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust has entered into an agreement to acquire a five-property shopping center portfolio for approximately $92 million. The announcement follows on the heels of the venture's $53 million acquisition of Exeter Commons in Exeter Township, Pa., last month. Four of the five properties in the 678,000-square-foot portfolio are anchored by Giant Food Stores supermarkets. They include Gettysburg Marketplace, an 85,500-square-foot center located in Gettysburg, Pa.; York Marketplace, a 305,000-square-foot center located in York, Pa., that is co-anchored by Lowe's Home Improvement; Northland Center, a 108,000-square-foot center located in State College, Pa.; and Marlboro Crossroads, a 68,000-square-foot center located in Upper Marlboro, Md. The fifth center, the 111,000-square-foot Towne Crossings in Midlothian, Va., is co-anchored by Bed Bath & Beyond and Michaels. Overall occupancy at the portfolio was 96 percent at the time of closing. The joint venture plans to fund the purchase with a $52 million first-mortgage loan and $41 million in cash equity. The loan will carry a term of up to 10 years and an estimated interest rate of 5.5 percent. The ownership in this transaction is structured in the same …

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Construction has begun for a $1 billion healthcare and research center at Ohio State University in Columbus. The Ohio State University Medical Center ProjectONE will be a 1 million-square-foot complex located on the school's south campus. The new facility will contain space for patient treatment and academic medical research. The focal point of the project will be a 19-story tower. Its top eight floors will contain the 276-bed Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital. Seven of the cancer hospital's floors will provide acute patient care, and one floor will be devoted to bone marrow transplant patients. The middle three floors of the tower will contain critical care facilities. Finally, the tower will contain the Richard J. Solove Research Institute. The complex will also contain a 144-bed critical care building along with integrated spaces for research, education and patient care. The main entry to the facility will feature a multi-story pedestrian concourse accessing the cancer center, critical care, and diagnostic and treatment facilities. The project will be seeking LEED-Silver certification. Completion for the project is expected in 2014. This expansion to Ohio State's healthcare options will serve an additional 10,000 inpatients and 300,000 ambulatory visits annually. It is estimated …

LOS ANGELES — An affiliate of KBS Cos. has acquired Los Angeles' trophy Union Bank Plaza from Hines for $208 million. KBS REIT II, the acquiring entity, is funding the purchase with a $119.3 million loan, which carries a 5-year term with interest-only payments and an interest rate fixed at 3.44 percent. The 40-story, 627,334-square-foot office tower is located at 445 S. Figueroa St. in the Bunker Hill section of downtown Los Angeles. It was constructed in 1967 and originally served as the West Coast headquarters for Connecticut General Life Insurance Co. Currently, Union Bank is the anchor tenant, occupying 55 percent of its leasable space through 2022. Overall occupancy is 96 percent. Amenities at the property include a two-level, 19,817-square-foot retail plaza, a large outdoor plaza and a 914-space parking garage. Michael Zietsman and David Doupé of the Los Angeles office of Jones Lang LaSalle represented Hines in the deal. KBS Capital Advisors represented KBS REIT II. “When we acquired Union Bank Plaza in 2005, it represented one of the largest investments made in our U.S. Office Value Added Fund,” said David Congdon, senior vice president and fund manager for Hines. “By renewing and expanding the property's anchor tenant, …

BROKEN ARROW, OKLA. — The Haskell Company has completed construction for St. John Broken Arrow Hospital in Broken Arrow. The $100 million project included the construction of the six-story, 189,000-square-foot hospital as well as a four-story, 110,000-square-foot medical office building. The hospital's owner is Tulsa, Okla.-based St. John Health System. The hospital, which is located on 17 acres of the 68-acre development, currently contains 68 beds. It has the option for future expansion that includes an additional 24 beds on the sixth floor and 12 additional beds on each patient floor, which brings the hospital's potential capacity to 140 beds. The facility also contains a surgery suite that features six operating rooms, two procedure rooms and two shell operating rooms. Its emergency department features five fast-track rooms, two resuscitation rooms, nine treatment rooms and two triage rooms. The hospital also contains a full-service radiology department and the Tulsa Bone & Joint Associates orthopedic center. The medical office building is connected to the hospital. It provides a variety of services including primary care, laboratory work, cardiology, neurosurgery, podiatry, and colon and rectal surgery. The medical office building is already serving patients, and the hospital is expected to open this fall. In …

ORLANDO, FLA. — Liberty Property Trust has acquired a 713,585-square-foot warehouse/distribution facility in Orlando for $23.6 million. The property is located at 8201 Chancellor Drive in the South Orlando submarket. The property is fully leased to CVS Caremark Corp. David Murphy of CB Richard Ellis' (CBRE) Orlando office partnered with the CBRE Atlanta team of Frank Fallon, Chris Riley and Brian Budnick to represent the seller, Pacific Life Insurance Co. “This asset fit into our strategy of owning high-quality office and industrial properties,” said Stephen Whitley, senior vice president of Liberty Property Trust, in a statement. “We think this might be the best location for a distribution center in Florida, and it is leased to a great company.” According to CBRE, the trade of the CVS distribution facility marks the largest single industrial building sale in Central Florida in over 10 years. With the acquisition, Liberty's Orlando portfolio now totals more than 4.5 million square feet of space. — Coleman Wood

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CALIF. — Hyundai has announced the $150 million expansion of its Fountain Valley campus. Over the next two years the Korean automaker will more than double the size of its 220,000-square-foot headquarters. Plans call for the construction of more than 500,000 square feet of floor and garage space. Groundbreaking for the project, which will be seeking LEED certification, is expected in mid-2011, with completion to follow by the end of 2012. The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. expects the project to create as many as 1,530 construction jobs. Upon completion, the number of full-time employees at the campus will increase from 700 to approximately 1,400. “This investment ensures that Orange County will remain Hyundai's U.S. hub, with our headquarters in Fountain Valley, for the foreseeable future,” said John Krafcik, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America, in a statement. “The new building will gives us the flexibility to grow with our brand, reflect our modern design sensibility and showcase our commitment to sustainability.” In addition to its Fountain Valley campus, Hyundai has several facilities spread across Southern California. Its technical center is in Chino, and its logistic operations are kept in Costa Mesa. In addition, the company's …

WASHINGTON, D.C. — New York-based Paramount Group has acquired a trophy office building located within blocks of the White House. The building totals 11 stories and 190,000 square feet, and is located at 1899 Pennsylvania Ave. It is part of a three-building campus located along Pennsylvania Avenue between 18th and 19th streets. Law firm WilmerHale anchors the campus, leasing a vast majority of all three buildings including 87 percent of 1899 Pennsylvania. The property was originally built in 1915 and renovated in 2002. It features a floor-to-ceiling glass façade, below-grade parking, a marble lobby and a rooftop terrace. Paramount's near-term plans for the property include investing to achieve LEED-Gold certification. In a statement Paramount President and CEO Albert Behler said, “Trophy asset quality and location along with a superb tenant such as WilmerHale make this acquisition a winning combination that complements the rest of our portfolio.” The seller and purchase price were not released. — Coleman Wood

PRINCETON, N.J. — Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF) has arranged the $81.5 million refinancing of a Princeton office portfolio. The trophy property of the four-building portfolio is University Square. The Class A building totals 324,000 square feet and was completed in 2008. The other three properties are single-story office buildings totaling 132,000 square feet that are located at 100, 104 and 115 Campus Drive. The portfolio was 95 percent leased at the time of closing by a tenant roster that includes Blackrock, Axis Insurance and Otsuka. It benefits from a prime location at the intersection of Route 1 North and Alexander Road, which is adjacent to Carnegie Center and 2 miles east of downtown Princeton. Mike Tepedino, senior managing director of HFF's New York City office, and Jon Mikula, who holds the same position at the company's New Jersey office, represented the borrower, a joint venture between RXR Realty and affiliates of Marathon Asset Management. The financing carries a 5-year term with a fixed interest rate. The lenders were Cigna Investments and AIG Global Investment Group. In a statement Tepedino said, “University Square is one of the preeminent office assets in the Princeton market and was designed to capture the 'best …

DENVER — Denver-based UDR Inc. has announced its plans to acquire six multifamily communities for a total of $455.1 million. The properties include two communities in Southern California, two communities in the Boston metropolitan area, one community in Baltimore and one community to be built in suburban Boston. Three of the communities were developed and previously owned by The Hanover Company. They include 1818 Platinum Triangle, a 265-unit property located in Anaheim, Calif.; Ridge at Blue Hills, a 186-unit property located in Braintree, Mass.; and Domain Brewers Hill, a 180-unit community located in Baltimore. The Hanover Company is also responsible for the development project, a 240-unit community to be located in Stoughton that will be known as The Lodge at Stoughton. The other two properties in the deal include Marina Pointe, a 583-unit community located in Marina del Rey, Calif.; and Garrison Square, a 160-unit community located in Boston. Both California properties include amenities such as fitness centers, theater rooms and landscaped courtyards. Marina Pointe has a resort-style swimming pool and spa, while 1818 Platinum Triangle has a rooftop pool and outdoor kitchen with views of Angels Stadium and Disneyland. Marina Pointe is located adjacent to a multifamily community UDR …