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Greystone

NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) and Greystone have announced a strategic joint venture to deliver advisory services and capital solutions to existing, joint and new clients of both firms nationwide. Under the terms of the agreement, Cushman & Wakefield will make a strategic investment of $500 million to acquire a 40 percent stake in Greystone’s agency, HUD and servicing businesses. Greystone intends to use the capital to create new product offerings. The joint venture transaction is slated to close in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions. Greystone is a multifamily lender focused on bridge, Fannie Mae DUS, Freddie Mac Optigo and HUD loans. The joint venture will allow Cushman & Wakefield to access a broader range of debt products for property acquisition, refinancing, rehabilitation and new construction. “We’re excited to offer a new integrated capability to our investor clients with more direct access to Greystone’s balance sheet and capital solutions, including debt financing with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD,” says Andrew McDonald, Cushman & Wakefield’s chief executive, Americas. This investment expands Cushman & Wakefield’s presence in the multifamily sector. In early 2020, the firm acquired Pinnacle Property Management Services LLC, the …

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PHOENIX — The Howard Hughes Corp. (NYSE: HHC) and local business magnate Jerry Colangelo are partnering to develop Douglas Ranch, a large-scale, master-planned community in Phoenix. HHC and Colangelo have purchased 37,000 acres for the project in Phoenix’s West Valley region for $600 million. Upon full buildout, Douglas Ranch will comprise 100,000 homes for 300,000 residents, as well as 55 million square feet of commercial development. The partnership plans to launch residential lot sales at Douglas Ranch in the first half of 2022. “We are creating a city of the future — leveraging HHC’s development expertise to build a community with limitless potential to spur growth, business expansion, economic opportunity and innovation,” says Colangelo, a longtime Phoenix resident and former owner of the Phoenix Suns NBA franchise. The land sellers, locally based JDM Partners and Scottsdale-based El Dorado Holdings, will remain as joint venture partners for Douglas Ranch’s first phase, which is a 3,000-acre village called Trillium located in the city of Buckeye. Colangelo is a partner at JDM Partners, along with David Eaton and Mel Shultz. The firm is one of the largest owners of entitled land in Arizona. HHC and Colangelo are launching Douglas Ranch to tap into …

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The-Post-Beverly-Hills

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF. — IRA Capital, a private equity firm based in Southern California, has acquired The Post, an office complex in Beverly Hills, for $153 million. The seller was not disclosed. The 102,500-square-foot property serves as the headquarters of promotion and ticketing company Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV), which occupies 92 percent (94,300 square feet) of the space. The U.S. Postal Service occupies the other 8 percent (8,200 square feet) of the four-story building. The Post underwent a $44 million capital improvement program in 2019 to reposition the building to attract more creative office users. The project incorporated an open-floor workspace that features 22-foot ceilings, an open stairway and outdoor patio spaces. “The property’s irreplaceable location and thriving tenant align with IRA’s investment thesis of pursuing best-in-class properties,” says Samir Patel, IRA Capital’s co-founder. “Despite the impact of COVID-19 on the live entertainment sector, the industry is now experiencing record-setting volumes.” The stock price of Live Nation, which employs more than 44,000 people worldwide, opened at $100.80 per share on Monday, Oct. 18, up nearly 100 percent from $54.59 per share a year ago. IRA Capital, which expects to exceed $1 billion of commercial acquisitions by the end of …

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Via Mizner

BOCA RATON, FLA. — Penn-Florida Cos. has received two loans totaling $335 million to finance the development of Via Mizner, a mixed-use development in downtown Boca Raton that will feature a hotel, apartments, golf course and retail space. Blackstone Mortgage Trust Inc. provided a $195 million senior loan for Via Mizner’s multifamily component, 101 Via Mizner Luxury Apartments. Romspen Investment Corp., a Canadian-based lender, provided a $140 million senior construction loan for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Via Mizner Golf & City Club. Via Mizner is a three-phase, three-building project. The first phase comprises the 101 Via Mizner, which is fully leased. The second phase is the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Boca Raton, and the third phase includes the Residences at the Mandarin Oriental, Boca Raton. All three phases are expected to be completed by the end of 2022. “This closing represents the advancement of a very complex capitalization, which allowed us to significantly reduce our cost of capital as the first phase of the project achieved 100 percent occupancy and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel tower approaches completion,” says David Warne, chief operating officer of Penn-Florida. 101 Via Mizner is a tower that features 366 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. …

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VA-Chattanooga

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Easterly Government Properties Inc. (NYSE: DEA) has entered into an agreement to acquire a 1.2 million-square-foot, 10-property portfolio of facilities leased to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for $635.6 million.  The properties will be purchased in a joint venture with an undisclosed global investor, with Easterly retaining a 53 percent stake in the portfolio. Two of the properties are open, while the other eight are currently under construction. Acquisitions include:  VA Chattanooga, a 94,566-square-foot Class A facility in Tennessee that was completed in November 2020. The property offers audiology, imaging, pathology, lab, dental and mental health services.  VA Lubbock, a 120,916-square-foot facility in Texas completed in December 2020. The facility is located on the Texas Tech medical campus and features an ambulatory surgery center as well as general health, dental, audiology, ophthalmology, MRI, radiology, pharmacy, lab, physical therapy and mental health services. VA Lenexa, a 31,062-square-foot facility in Lenexa, Kan., that was delivered in May 2021. The property offers primary and specialty care, including audiology, dental, pathology and lab services, as well as radiology.  VA San Antonio, a 226,148-square-foot development currently underway in Texas. The three-story facility will feature six patient aligned care team (PACT) modules …

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CAMARILLO, CALIF. — Kennedy Wilson (NYSE: KW) has signed a long-term ground lease for a 32-acre parcel in Camarillo owned by California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI), with plans to build a new residential community. The master-planned project will include 310 market-rate apartments, 109 for-sale townhomes and 170 income-restricted apartments for seniors. It will also feature community-serving amenities. The project site is adjacent to the university and at the western edge of the Santa Monica Mountains. Camarillo is about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The soon-to-be-named development contributes to Kennedy Wilson’s growing pipeline totaling approximately 4,700 multifamily units that are scheduled for completion by 2024. When the Camarillo project is completed, Kennedy Wilson’s global portfolio will total more than 33,000 units. “Developing this new community is an important step in our larger partnership with CSUCI and will meaningfully contribute to a region that is short on supply of high-quality apartments and homes for faculty, staff and local residents,” says Nick Bridges, managing director with Kennedy Wilson. “Many people are rethinking how and where they want to live, and we continue to see a trend of residents moving from city centers toward communities that have access to the outdoors, are …

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CINCINNATI — The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), the largest grocery store chain in the country, has announced five new customer fulfillment centers (CFCs) that the company will operate along with UK-based delivery logistics partner Ocado Group. The new Kroger Delivery facilities include a distribution center in the Northeast, as well as two centers in Southern California and a pair of facilities in South Florida. The vertically integrated CFCs will utilize machine learning and robotics and serve both Kroger customers and regional stores. The locations, size and construction timelines for these fulfillment centers were not disclosed because Kroger’s team members are still in the site selection process, but the Northeast CFC will be the Cincinnati-based grocer’s first in the region. “We feel great about the momentum we’re experiencing with Kroger Delivery and our partnership with Ocado and are strategically leveraging our assets to expand our operations in existing regions, as well as enter new geographies on the East Coast that leverage facilities across a growing range of sizes,” says Rodney McMullen, chairman and CEO of Kroger. “Kroger Delivery is a thriving part of our dynamic ecosystem and is transforming grocery e-commerce and meeting a range of customer needs.” The Southern California …

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Chandler-Technology-Center

PHOENIX AND TUCSON, ARIZ. — Philadelphia-based investment firm Equus Capital Partners has acquired a portfolio of 73 industrial properties totaling roughly 7.3 million in the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas. The price was approximately $1.1 billion. The portfolio comprises 342 individual industrial buildings across 74 different developments. Between the two markets, about 85 percent of the portfolio is located in Phoenix, with the remaining 15 percent in Tucson. The properties had a collective occupancy rate of 98 percent at the time of sale. The tenant roster encompasses 22 different industries, including traditional industrial uses like e-commerce, logistics and manufacturing. In terms of individual footprints, no tenant occupies more than 1.5 percent (107,300) square feet of the roughly 7.1 million square feet of leased space. Equus acquired the portfolio through sponsored value-added funds and a consortium of strategic co-investment partners that remain unnamed. Internal agents Kyle Turner, Christopher Locatell, Robert Butchenhart, Laura Brestelli and Peter Russo oversaw the acquisition for Equus Capital Partners. As part of the deal, Equus is onboarding 26 professionals from the undisclosed seller’s property management team to maintain operation of the portfolio. “Due to the low market-wide industrial vacancy rates and growing demand, the portfolio is poised …

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River North

NASHVILLE, TENN. — MRP Realty and Creek Lane Capital have broken ground on Phase I of River North, a 1.3 million-square-foot, master-planned, mixed-use project located along the Cumberland River in Nashville. The development cost for Phase I is $263 million. JLL brokered a $160 million construction loan for Phase I. Phase I will feature 817,070 square feet of development, including 651 apartment units, 78,000 square feet of office space and approximately 80,000 square feet of retail space spread across four buildings on the riverfront site. Phase I is slated for completion by 2023. River North is being developed on 13 acres of land in a designated Opportunity Zone across the river from Germantown, a historic district with restaurants, retailers and the Tennessee State Museum. The site was previously the location of a rail yard and shipping terminal, so the developers plan to incorporate restored warehouses and modern industrial finishes into the design of the project. A timeline for completion of all phases was not disclosed. “It’s a great opportunity for MRP to be underway on a project of such magnitude in one of Nashville’s most exciting submarkets,” says Bob Murphy, managing principal of MRP Realty. “We’ve also had the opportunity …

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MIDDLETOWN, OHIO — Main Street Community Capital has unveiled plans for Hollywoodland, a 50-acre mixed-use development along the Great Miami River in Middletown. The city, which boasted a population of about 50,000 residents as of the 2020 census, is located 25 miles southwest of Dayton and 30 miles northeast of Cincinnati. Development costs for the project are estimated at $1.3 billion. The Middletown City Council met for over six hours this week to discuss the project with the public. The official vote on approving or denying the development is scheduled for Oct. 21. If approved, Hollywoodland would be a public-private partnership between the city and Main Street Community Capital. If approved, the development would include:  A luxury hotel with an attached, publicly owned convention center, rooftop bar and themed restaurants;  a family-oriented hotel with a water park; the adaptive redevelopment of an existing First National Bank building into a boutique hotel;  an indoor entertainment and concert venue;  an indoor amusement park;  3,000 deck-based parking spaces;  luxury, mid-rise multifamily units and condominiums;  a pre- and post-production motion picture studio with sound stages and support offices;  restaurants, bars, brew-pubs and cafes;  a comedy club; and lifestyle, convenience and recreational retail space.  The project …

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