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INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Prime Outlets for approximately $2.32 billion. Prime Outlets' portfolio includes 22 outlet retail centers totaling approximately 8.21 million square feet. Six of the centers are located throughout Florida, and two are located in Maryland. In addition, one center is located in each of the following states: California, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. The final center is located in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico. As of June 30, the centers had an average occupancy of 92 percent and generated annual sales of approximately $370 per square foot. “Prime Outlets is an excellent opportunity for Simon, as it represents a strong strategic fit for our existing Premium Outlet portfolio and enhances our leadership position in the outlet business,” said David Simon, CEO of Simon Property Group, in a statement. “Following the completion of this transaction, our outlet portfolio will have 63 centers comprising approximately 25 million square feet.” Under the terms of the agreement, Simon will pay approximately $700 million in equity consideration for the owners' interest in Prime Outlets, consisting of 80 percent cash and 20 percent common stock. UBS …

GOULDSBORO, PA. — Chicago-based First Industrial Realty Trusts has leased 811,000 square feet of distribution space to Quidsi Inc. Located in at 600 First Ave. in Gouldsboro, the space will be occupied by one of Quidsi's subsidiaries, online baby necessities retailer Diapers.com. The retailer plans to consolidate its central Pennsylvania operations, currently located in several facilities, into the one facility. Diapers.com will initially occupy 411,000 square feet this month, with a staged expansion that will bring it to a total of 811,000 square feet. The tenant also has the option to expand into the balance of the 1.3 million-square-foot building. “Our facility met Diapers.com's requirements for a sizable, high-quality distribution center with flexibility for expansion that is well-located to serve its growing customer base in the Eastern Unites States. Locating its distribution operations in northeast Pennsylvania provides Diapers.com with access to a talented workforce and an efficient transportation network,” said Peter Schultz, executive vice president of First Industrial's East region. The lease was negotiated on behalf of First Industrial in-house by Jeff Thomas. Assisting him were Steve Cooper, Gerry Blinebury and Jeff Williams of Cushman & Wakefield. Bart Anderson of CB Richard Ellis represented Quidsi. — Coleman Wood

ROSEVILLE, CALIF. — St. Louis-based McCarthy Building Cos. has broken ground for a $98 million Adult Correctional Facility in Roseville. The property, which totals nearly 200,000 square feet, is located in the Bill Santucci Justice Center at 10800 Industrial Ave. The development's first phase will be complete by 2013. “Construction of this facility is possible because of the wisdom of past boards of supervisors, who recognized the need for future facilities, required developers to pay impact fees and set aside funding over the years to pay for this necessary infrastructure,” F.C. Rockholm, the chairman of the Placer County Board of Supervisors, said in a statement. “Our communities will be safer as a result of these wise decisions.” Phase I of the project includes space for 390 beds — 120 of which will be reserved for minimum-security inmates. The facility will also feature a medical unit, administration offices, intake and booking rooms, a correctional kitchen and additional support structures. Future expansions may include a government-funded courtroom. Omaha, Neb.-based HDR Architects designed the project to achieve LEED-Silver certification. To further enhance the government's inmate processing time, the new facility will be connected to the South Placer Courthouse via a tunnel. The Adult …

ST. CHARLES, MD. — Soon to enter its fourth decade of development, the St. Charles master-planned community is already an expansive project. Approximately half of its 9,100 acres are built out with 12,000 single-family and apartment homes; 5 million square feet of commercial space, including a 1.1 million-square-foot Simon mall; eight schools; and seven neighborhood retail centers. Recently, American Community Properties Trust (ACPT), the project's master-developer, announced plans to turn St. Charles into a “green city.” The project starts with the remaining undeveloped land at St. Charles. “This is really a reinvention, in a sense,” says Steve Griessel, CEO of ACPT. “We are dedicating the balance of 4,000 acres [at St. Charles] to being a smarter and greener community.” All new construction will be built to achieve sustainable certification. Additionally, ACPT has created a Green Jobs Opportunity Zone, which gives companies tax incentives to bring green jobs to St. Charles. A business incubation park will also be developed to help new businesses get off the ground. Several sustainable energy projects are also under development. These include a 640 megawatt natural gas plant with a 75-acre solar wind farm next door to it. A biomass gasification plant is also in the …

WAPPINGERS FALLS AND POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — Summit, N.J.-based The Solomon Organization has acquired a 1,196-unit multifamily portfolio from Denver-based AIMCO. The purchase marks Solomon's entry into New York's Hudson Valley as well as the company's first acquisition from a REIT. Chelsea Ridge Apartments is an 838-unit property located in Wappingers Falls. It features a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom residences. Amenities include a clubhouse, a swimming pool, a tennis court, a playground, a dog park and laundry facilities. The community also includes Chelsea Ridge Mall, which contains a convenience store, a deli and pizza parlor, a pool room, a movie room, a lounge and a business center. The second property, Hudson Harbour Apartments, is a 352-unit community located in Poughkeepsie. It contains one-, two- and three-bedroom homes and features amenities such as a playground, a picnic area, abundant greenspace, a courtyard and laundry facilities. “This transaction is one of the many signs that suggests changes in the debt and equity markets, and Wall Street's view of where REITs should own multifamily properties, which has caused REITs to examine their size and composition,” said Marc Solomon, founder of The Solomon Organization, in a statement. “Additionally, in the last 10 years, …

POOLER, GA. — A joint venture between Orlando, Fla.-based H.J. Construction Co. and Atlanta-based Baston-Cook Co. has been tapped to build the $325 million Mitsubishi Power Systems Savannah Machinery Works in Pooler, a suburb of Savannah. The facility will consist of a 30,000-square-foot office and 150,000 square feet of manufacturing bays. Cleveland-based The Austin Company is designing the project. Rockford, Ill.-based Larson & Darby Group and Savannah, Ga.-based Hussey Gay Bell & DeYoung are also working on the development. “Our experience working with Mitsubishi, combined with Batson-Cook's familiarity with construction in Georgia, provided a natural compatibility for a joint venture,” said Robert High of H.J. High in a statement. — Jon Ross

ROMEOVILLE, ILL. — Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based RTC has signed a long-term lease for 503,200 square feet of warehouse and distribution space within Crossroads Business Park in Romeoville. The retail services provider will be occupying all of Crossroads 5, which is located at 801 N. Schmidt Road. The company will be relocating its distribution operations to the new building from its previous location at 31st Street and Kedzie Avenue in Chicago. The move will take place in April. The Class A industrial facility was developed this year by Indianapolis-based Duke Realty Corp. It features 30-foot clear ceiling heights, 48 docks, four 12-foot by 14-foot drive-in doors, 110 car parking spaces and 71 trailer parking spaces. The industrial park features easy access to Interstates 55 and 355. RTC was represented in lease negotiations by the CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) team of Bill Frain, Todd Lippman, Jim Whalen and David Prell. Larry Johnson and Mike Mangan, also of CBRE, represented Duke. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The lease comes at a time when the Chicagoland industrial market is struggling to fill empty properties. According to CBRE, the industrial vacancy rate at the end of the third quarter totaled 11.4 percent—an increase …

NEW YORK — Principals who guaranteed construction financing of up to $192 million for two 25-story condominium towers in Florida in 2005 have been ordered to pay back the lender, HSH Nordbank, an amount laid out in loan documents. In a 24-page opinion, Judge Denise Cote of The Southern District Court of New York found the guarantors owe $40 million from a principal guarantee and an undisclosed amount to cover the payment guarantee on the loan. These payment costs typically involve lender advances to cover property shortfalls, unpaid interest and attorney fees. According to the opinion, the project ran into trouble in 2007 after a lawsuit alleging “material misrepresentations in promotional materials” was filed. The defendants had argued that the bank was at fault because it had refused to provide final funding for the development. The Holly Hill, Fla., property was to have comprised 486 units. “As the court laid out … there were a variety of reasons why the banks, who had absolute full discretion to decide whether to advance any of the funds but nonetheless had excellent reasons why they elected not to,” says Michael Barr of New York-based Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. Barr, along with Justin Kattan …

BOSTON — Construction is complete for the $68 million expansion of the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston. Construction consisted of a five-story, 95,000-square-foot addition to the school’s existing 10-story building, which is located at One Keeland St. in the city’s Chinatown neighborhood. The space includes two new clinical patient floors, an expanded simulation laboratory, teaching facilities, a continuing education conference center and administrative offices. The addition, which was designed by Architectural Resources Cambridge and built by Shawmut Design & Construction, features a glass and aluminum curtain wall with white metal panels, which contrast with the existing pre-cast concrete building. The building’s main entrance was also redesigned. The school will be seeking LEED certification for the project. “We provide care to more than 20,000 patients each year, totaling more than 95,000 visits annually, so staying on time and on budget was crucial to the continued operation of the school and clinics as we progressed through the project,” said Lonnie Norris, dean of the School of Dental Medicine, in a statement. — Coleman Wood

ATLANTA — The Government Services Administration has leased the 406,989-square-foot Airport Distribution Center II from Principal Life Insurance Co. for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The property is located at 3780 Southside Industrial Court in Atlanta. FEMA signed a 10-year lease for the space and will take occupancy in March. “It will be the Southeast hub,” says Luke Pope of Atlanta-based Republic Property Co. “If there’s another Katrina, they would service that through this facility.” Pope represented the landlord in the lease. Gainesville, Ga.-based Schair & Associates represented Nitelines USA, the prime contractor. According to Pope, GSA chose the location because it liked the close proximity to the airport. Security was also a main concern when searching for a suitable property. The Airport Distribution Center II features a fenced perimeter and is sealed off from other buildings. “Everything they do now with government is very concerned with terrorism,” Pope says. It took everyone 9 months to get the lease signed and all the government paperwork complete, but in the midst of the recession, every deal that takes a significant amount of industrial space off the market is worth the effort. “It takes away the nicest 400,000-square-foot cross-docked building in …