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HONOLULU, HAWAII — A joint venture between Blackstone Real Estate Advisors and Glimcher Realty Trust has entered into an agreement to acquire a Honolulu shopping mall from Northwestern Mutual for $245 million. Blackstone will own an 80 percent interest in Pearlridge Center, with Glimcher owning the remaining 20 percent. The joint venture will fund the purchase with a new $175 million mortgage and equity contributions from the two companies. The joint venture has posted $10 million in earnest money toward the closing, which is expected in the fourth quarter. “Pearlridge Center is a highly productive and well-occupied mall that fits perfectly within our strategy of upgrading the quality of our real estate portfolio,” said Michael Glimcher, CEO of Glimcher Realty Trust, in a statement. “We are excited to expand our strategic relationship with The BlackStone Group through this investment.” Pearlridge Center is the second largest mall in Hawaii, containing more than 1 million square feet of leasable space. The property was constructed in 1972 and renovated in 1996. Its anchors include Macy's, Sears, Toys “R” Us, Ross Dress For Less, Bed Bath & Beyond, Longs Drug Store and an 18-screen theater. Located in city's Aiea submarket, the property is known …

ST. PAUL, MINN. — Wellington Management has signed an agreement to acquire the former State Farm campus in St. Paul. Known as Woodbury Corporate Campus, the 450,000-square-foot, Class A office property is located in the city's Woodbury submarket. State Farm constructed the campus in 1996 and moved out in 2006 following company consolidation. The insurance giant had originally been seeking a tenant to lease at least half of the property's space before the chance to sell it outright came along. “What changes now [with the property's sale] is we will be able to identify tenants in the 20,000- to 200,000-square-foot range to lease the building,” says Dan Gleason, a senior vice president with NorthMarq and one of the brokers who helped State Farm sell the property. Gleason was joined in the deal by NorthMarq brokers Tom Stella and Pete Rand, all of whom will stay on to lease the property. “We have had some interest so far from tenants in the 50,000- to 100,000-square-foot range.” In addition to the office building, Wellington will gain an adjacent 50 acres of undeveloped land that is located at the interchange of Interstate 94 and Radio Drive. The company plans to market the space …

PLANTATION, FLA. — Duke Realty Corp. has acquired two Class A office buildings in Plantation's Southpointe Centre Office Park totaling 465,492 square feet. Royal Palm I is a nine-story, 240,308-square-foot building located at 850 S. Pine Island Road. Royal Palm II is an eight-story, 225,284-square-foot building located at 900 South Pine Island Road. Each building has its own multi-level parking garage. As of closing, occupancy in the former building was 88 percent, and occupancy in the latter was 90 percent. According to published reports, the seller was TIAA-CREF. “The acquisition of these two office buildings in Plantation is consistent with Duke Realty's strategy to shift capital from Midwest suburban office assets to quality properties in select locations in other parts of the United States, said Ed Mitchell, senior vice president of Duke's South Florida office, in a statement. “The South Florida area is a target market for Duke Realty, and Royal Palm I and Royal Palm II are high-quality properties with a strong tenant base.” The acquisition of the Royal Palm properties marks the second major office purchase for Duke in South Florida this year. In March, the company acquired two Class A office buildings in Miramar totaling 222,600 square …

MURFREESBORO, TENN. — Murfreesboro-based Swanson Developments is nearing completion for a new mixed-use project in Murfreesboro. The Gateway Village will consist of three buildings totaling 1.36 million square feet of residential, retail and office space. The project is organized with two two-story buildings on opposing sides a pedestrian-friendly main street. The first floors of both buildings, which are known as North Wing and South Wing, will contain retail and restaurant space. The second floors will contain office space as well as one-bedroom residential lofts. The project's main street will lead to a plaza and to East Tower, a four-story building that will contain commercial space on the ground floor, and one- and two-bedroom condominium units on the upper floors. The project will contain a total of 62 residences, which are being marketed as for-sale and as rentals. Amenities will include a business center, an entertainment center, a fitness center and underground parking for residents. The project will contain a total of 41 commercial units. Swanson is also making strides toward sustainability with The Gateway Village. The project will be registering for LEED – Core & Shell certification. Exterior features include a stormwater recycling system and permeable sidewalks. The project contains …

SANTA ANA, CALIF. — Grubb & Ellis (G&E) Apartment REIT has entered into an agreement to acquire a multifamily portfolio from MR Holdings as well as the company's property management business for $182.4 million. In the first part of the transaction, G&E Apartment REIT will acquire a nine-property, 2,676-unit portfolio for $176.9 million. The properties include: Mission Battleground Park – Greensboro, N.C. Mission Capital Crossing – Raleigh, N.C. Mission Brentwood – Brentwood, Tenn. Mission Briley Parkway – Nashville, Tenn. Mission Rock Ridge – Arlington, Texas Mission Barton Creek – Austin, Texas Mission Tanglewood – Austin, Texas Mission Mayfield Downs – Grand Prairie, Texas Mission Preston Wood – Richardson, Texas All but one of the properties are currently owned by trusts controlled by MR Holdings affiliates. Mission Rock Ridge is owned by a limited partnership for which MR Holdings serves as general partner. In the second part of the transaction, G&E Apartment REIT will acquire Mission Residential Management (MRM) and all of its assets for $5.5 million. MRM's property management portfolio currently contains 41 properties, including the nine under contract to purchase, totaling 12,000 apartment units. The properties are located in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. In addition …

MCKINNEY, TEXAS — Mid-America Apartment Communities has acquired a luxury apartment community in McKinney for $31.25 million. Times Square at Craig Ranch is a 313-unit property located directly across from a golf course within the master-planned community of Craig Ranch. Units in the five-story community average 1,024 square feet, and amenities include a resort-style swimming pool. The property also contains a parking garage for residents and 80,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Mid-America purchased the property from its construction lender. In a statement, Mid-America Executive Vice President and CFO Al Campbell said, “We are excited to be adding a community in the McKinney suburb to our Dallas portfolio. This fast-growing suburb consistently draws accolades for its quality of life and has been listed on numerous national rankings as a best place to move, live and raise a family.” Craig Ranch is a 2,200-acre, master-planned community that is being developed by Craig International. Built in a New Urbanist style, the community includes a variety of residences built around The Players Club – Craig Ranch, a PGA golf course. The community's Town Center commercial district contains Times Square, a network of walking and biking trails, and a trolley bus transit system. …

SOMERSET, N.J. — SHI International Corp. has acquired a 420,000-square-foot office building in Somerset for its new headquarters. The Class A property is located at 290 Davidson Ave. The seller was LNR New Jersey Partners, which was leasing the building to a national telecommunications provider. The tenant vacated the building upon the expiration of its lease. SHI will relocate to the building during the second quarter of 2011. Prior to that, the IT solutions provider will complete a number of infrastructure improvements and energy efficiency upgrades. The company also is considering the addition of solar technology. SHI will initially occupy 200,000 square feet of the building. The remaining space will be available for the company's future growth as well as leasing to other tenants. Shawn Straka and Steve Fleming of Jones Lang LaSalle represented SHI in the deal. Jones Lang LaSalle's Project Development Services group will manage the interior build-out. The broker also assisted SHI in the 2006 acquisition of the headquarters building it is vacating. “SHI International Corp. has experienced rapid growth over the past few years, outgrowing its current headquarters location, and was evaluating new locations that would support its future business objectives,” said Straka, a senior vice …

NEW YORK CITY — Silverstein Properties and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have reached several financial agreements that will jump-start the restoration of the east side of the World Trade Center site. The development plan calls for the construction of three office towers in addition to the One World Trade Center project that is already under construction at the site. Silverstein is the leaseholder of the three towers, and the Port Authority is the site owner. The plan calls for the continued construction of Tower 4, a two-million-square-foot building that is on track for a 2013 completion. The $1.81 billion project is being funded by $1.36 billion in Liberty Bonds and $450 million in insurance proceeds. Upon completion, the Port Authority and the City of New York will occupy 1.2 million square feet of the tower. The agreement also calls for construction to immediate begin for Tower 3. The project will initially be built to podium level but is expected to be complete by 2015. The project's initial phase will be funded entirely by insurance proceeds. The remainder of the tower's financing will be private-market driven through a 400,000-square-foot preleasing condition, a $300 million equity and/or …

ARLINGTON, VA. — CB Richard Ellis has capped off a busy month with the sale of Metropolitan at Pentagon City, a Class A, high-rise apartment community located in Arlington. The tower is located at 901 S. 15th St. less than one block away from the Pentagon City Metro Station. It contains 325 units in a mix of studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms. Amenities include a resort-style swimming pool with a hot tub and a sun deck, a fitness center, a media room with theater seating, a business room, and a club room with a conference area and a professional kitchen. Dallas-based INVESCO Real Estate US acquired the asset from a joint venture between Hartford, Conn.-based Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors and KETTLER. In a statement, Bill Roohan of CBRE, who led the brokerage team on behalf of the seller, said, “This best-of-class asset attracted a very aggressive buyer pool of REITs and pension funds, which demonstrates the strength of the market and institutional capital's desire for Northern Virginia and mass transit-oriented communities.” Roohan was assisted in the deal by other members of CBRE's Washington DC Multi-Housing Investment Properties Group. They include Mike Muldowney, Andy Boyer, Morgan Campbell, Jonathan Greenberg Michael Rudolph, John …

NEWARK, DEL. — The University of Delaware (UD) has commenced the first phase of its master plan to redevelop the former Chrysler Assembly Plant in Newark. UD has selected San Francisco-based URS Corp. to manage the decommissioning and demolition of the plant in preparation for its redevelopment into a science and technology campus. URS plans to recycle approximately 95 percent of the construction waste from the demolition phase. A November 2011 completion is expected. The Newark Assembly plant was closed in December 2008. In October 2009, UD purchased the 272-acre site, which is located near the south side of the school's campus, for $24 million. Several plans have been proposed for the long-term redevelopment of the site. UD has a research and development partnership with the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, and it envisions using part of the site for cooperative research purposes. The Delaware Health Sciences Alliance will also house several of its components at the site, and instruction and research space will be provided for the UD College of Health Sciences, the Jefferson Campus for Healthcare Education and the Delaware Rehabilitation Institute. Finally, the site's location adjacent to existing rail lines and transit stations could accommodate …