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ARLINGTON, VA. — Cortland, an Atlanta-based multifamily investment firm, has purchased four apartment communities in Arlington totaling more than 1,500 units. The $1 billion investment marks the firm’s re-entry into the Washington, D.C., metro area, and the firm says it plans to “double its investment in the area” in the near future. “Northern Virginia is a highly coveted location that is already seeing a rebound in growth as residents move back to the urban core,” says Mike Altman, chief investment officer at Cortland. “This is just the start of Cortland’s investment in the region.” The portfolio includes Aubrey, a 331-unit apartment community that will be rebranded as Cortland Rosslyn, and Aura Pentagon City, a 534-unit apartment community to be renamed Cortland Pentagon City. The other two Arlington communities are undisclosed as those sales have yet to close, though the firm says they will be announced soon. “The combination of these investments allows us to gain a strong foothold in the region at a strategic time based on our proprietary analysis of market trends,” says Altman. Cortland Rosslyn is a LEED Gold-certified community that was developed in 2021 by Penzance. The 23-story community offers studios to three-bedroom homes, as well as …

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CORAL GABLES, FLA. — A partnership between MG Developer and Baron Property Group has announced plans for Merrick Parc, a $204 million, two-tower luxury multifamily project located at 3191 SW 39 Ave. in Coral Gables.  Designed by Behar & Font, the 43,785-square-foot community will offer 450 rental units in one- and two-bedroom configurations alongside ground-floor retail space. The development site is located four miles from Miami International Airport and five miles away from downtown Miami’s Brickell neighborhood.  The developers partnered with Colliers to finance an initial $24 million tranche with an additional $13 million in equity financing for the project, a timeline for which was not announced. The initial land acquisition was funded by S3 Capital and closed in late April.  Demand is high for luxury rental units in the Miami and Coral Gables areas, according to Alirio Torrealba, CEO and founder of MG Developer. The company is currently developing a 10-story multifamily project in Hialeah, roughly 11 miles outside Miami, and is preparing to break ground on another 48-unit community in Coral Gables named Gables Village.  A number of additional multifamily projects have been recently announced in the Miami area, including a $220 million mixed-use project by Shoma Group; …

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SEATTLE — Barings and Schnitzer West LLC have sold Madison Centre, a 37-story office tower in downtown Seattle, for $730 million. The buyer was Boston Properties Inc. (NYSE: BXP). Completed in September 2017 and currently 93 percent leased, Madison Centre spans 760,971 rentable square feet and features 480 parking stalls. Amenities include a rooftop terrace, great room, conference center, boardroom, library and a fitness center operated by the Washington Athletic Club. Certified LEED Platinum, the building features HVAC purification systems and touchless entry. “The property is positioned to compete post-COVID with exactly what tenants are looking for and has performed extremely well throughout our hold period,” says Ben Green, managing director with Barings, which developed Madison Centre in partnership with Schnitzer West. Located at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Madison Street, the office tower is located five blocks south of Seattle’s retail core, one block west of the Interstate 5 freeway and four blocks southeast of a Link light rail station. Kevin Shannon, Nick Kucha, Ken White and Mike Moll of Newmark brokered the sale. “This is the largest multi-tenant office sale in the nation year to date, and the asset garnered significant investor interest globally,” says Shannon, co-head, …

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PHILADELPHIA — A joint venture between Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital has purchased a development site at the 2300 Market Street city block in Philadelphia’s Center City district. The joint venture, which goes by the name Breakthrough Properties, plans to redevelop the site into 200,000 square feet of life sciences space. The site is located adjacent to the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University and within walking distance to several academic medical centers. The property will sit between the city’s Rittenhouse Square and University City neighborhoods, as well as near the 30th Street Transit Station that is serviced by SEPTA, Amtrak and trolley and commuter rail lines. The development team plans to deliver the laboratory and research and development spaces by 2024. Breakthrough has enlisted KieranTimberlake, a Philadelphia-based architectural firm, as the project architect and Cushman & Wakefield as the exclusive leasing agent. All Breakthrough properties are designed to achieve LEED Gold certification, according to the developer’s website. Philadelphia has emerged as one of the leading life sciences clusters in the country. Greater Philadelphia ranks No. 1 nationally for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grant Funding for cell and gene therapy and has attracted over $3.8 billion in venture …

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ISLIP, N.Y. — A public-private partnership between The Town of Islip, Suffolk County and JLL has unveiled plans for Midway Crossing, a $2.8 billion mixed-use project that will be located on Long Island. The Long Island Regional Planning Council approved the project, which will be the largest commercial or residential development on Long Island in the last 50 years, on the evening of Thursday, May 12. Midway Crossing will span approximately 2.7 million square feet across 179 acres. Plans currently call for a variety of uses, including life sciences, healthcare and hospitality, as well as a convention center and traditional retail, restaurant and entertainment space. The development team expects these uses to collectively generate more than $4.5 billion in annual economic impact upon completion. The location is near Long Island MacArthur Airport, as well as the Ronkonkoma Station of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), establishing Midway Crossing as a multimodal transit hub. Under the current development plan, the airport and train station would be connected via an 1,800-foot corridor. The development team also plans to make various infrastructural improvements at the airport that could have as much as $1.9 billion in additional economic impact. Beyond the economic benefits, the …

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CLEMSON, S.C. — Core Spaces and Tom Winkopp Development have formed a joint venture to develop Clemson Student Village at The Pier, a 4,000-bed student housing community located on a 140-acre plot near Clemson University. The project is an extension of The Pier, a project that has already added 1,400 beds to Clemson’s student housing supply. Amenities at the new project include athletic and fitness facilities, pools, outdoor grills, student clubhouses, beachfront access to Lake Hartwell and waterfront trails. Once fully constructed, the site will feature “a new downtown locale that is walkable, charming and accessible to all students and the local community,” according to the developers. “This project is among the most ambitious in our history,” says Daniel Goldberg, president of Core Spaces. “Clemson, South Carolina has experienced significant population growth due to its high quality of living, affordability, picturesque downtown and favorable year-round climate, as well as Clemson University’s strong enrollment rates.” In addition to the more traditional student housing beds, the development will feature clusters of single-family homes for rent as the builders seek to create student neighborhoods within the project. Each of these will feature nine bedrooms. The student village is one piece of a larger …

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CHICAGO — Logistics Property Co. has unveiled plans to develop 1237 West Division, an industrial project on the west side of Chicago that will span 600,000 square feet of logistics space across two floors. The city’s first multi-story warehouse will also offer both rooftop parking and an adjacent five-story parking garage. Logistics Property recently closed on the 11.5-acre land sale in Chicago’s Goose Island neighborhood and received approval from the Chicago City Council for the project. Situated adjacent to the four-way interchange at Division Street and Elston Avenue, 1237 West Division is located 3.5 miles from the Chicago Loop and 15 miles from Chicago O’Hare International Airport. The JLL team of Michael Conway, Leslie Lanne, Dan McGillicuddy and Gavin Stainthorpe will lease and market the property. “1237 West Division provides flexibility for companies that must get closer to their customers,” says Lanne, who leads JLL’s urban infill group. “It gives them access to modern distribution space, which urban core markets are severely lacking.” The first level of 1237 West Division will feature 36-foot clear heights, 28 dock doors and two drive-in doors. The second floor, which will be accessible by separate two-way, double-wide ramps, will feature 33-foot clear heights, 28 …

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SAN DIEGO — Trammell Crow Co. (TCC), in partnership with CBRE Investment Management on behalf of a separate account client, has unveiled plans to build Vista Sorrento Labs, a 116,000-square-foot speculative life sciences development in the Sorrento Mesa submarket of San Diego. The purpose-built life sciences building marks the first ground-up life sciences project in San Diego for both firms. The partnership plans to begin demolition of an existing building on the site and break ground on the new facility in the fourth quarter of this year. Completion is slated for early 2024. The four-story building will feature floor plates spanning 32,000 square feet. The project will feature Class A lab, clean room and office space as well as onsite chemical storage. Ware Malcomb designed the building, which will include amenities such as electric vehicle charging stations, locker rooms, indoor and outdoor conference rooms, bike storage, surface and structured parking, a fitness center and lounge. “This fall’s scheduled groundbreaking will mark the first of multiple planned ground-up life sciences developments in Sorrento Mesa, which will add approximately 700,000 square feet of much-needed life sciences space to the submarket,” says Chris Tipre of TCC Newport Beach. “Vista Sorrento Labs is located …

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Hudson-Hotel

NEW YORK CITY — Parkview Financial has provided $207 million in financing for the acquisition and redevelopment of the former Hudson Hotel in Manhattan’s Clinton neighborhood.  Located at 353-366 West 58th St., the 24-story hotel was most recently operated by Cain International until shuttering in 2020 under strain from the COVID-19 pandemic. The undisclosed borrower plans to convert the 385,124-square-foot property into a 438-unit residential tower.  Units will feature eight-foot to 10-foot ceilings, hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops and washers and dryers. The building will also offer 30,000 square feet of retail and 25,000 square feet of office space.  The new ownership plans to market the units at a 20 percent discount to rates seen at other properties in the surrounding area in hopes of attracting young professionals, students and small families to the property, according to Paul Rahimian, CEO and founder of Parkview. The redevelopment is scheduled for completion in early 2023.  The building was originally constructed in 1929 to act as the American Women’s Association clubhouse and residence for young women before being converted into the Henry Hudson Hotel in 1941. The property is located one block west of Columbus Circle near Billionaires’ Row.  Parkview Financial provided the financing in conjunction with Montgomery Street Partners. …

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NEW YORK CITY AND CHICAGO — Private real estate funds managed by Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) have agreed to acquire Chicago-based hospitality REIT Watermark Lodging Trust for $3.8 billion. Watermark’s portfolio was constructed over the past decade and currently consists of 25 luxury hotels and resorts totaling 8,100 rooms across 14 states. The properties are primarily located in Sun Belt markets. Under the terms of the deal, Brookfield will acquire all outstanding shares of Watermark’s common stock for approximately $6.73 per share. The purchase price represents a premium of more than 7.5 percent from the most recently published net asset values per share as of Dec. 31, 2021. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. “Hotels and resorts of this scale and quality are difficult to replicate,” says Lowell Baron, managing partner and chief investment officer in Brookfield’s real estate group. “This portfolio is well positioned given its concentration in the Sun Belt, as well as in coastal destinations and gateway cities with high barriers to entry.” Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Watermark. Hodges Ward Elliott is providing estate advisory services to Watermark, and Clifford Chance US LLP and …

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