SANTA FE, N.M. — Marriott International has opened the 157-room La Posada de Santa Fe in New Mexico, the first hotel within the company’s Tribute Portfolio of resorts and spas. The hotel is located at 330 E. Palace Ave. in Santa Fe. La Posada is situated on six acres, steps from the historic downtown plaza and Canyon Road. The hotel contains three food and beverage outlets, including Julia, a Spirited Restaurant & Bar, the Staab House and the Patio Restaurant. Signature features of the Tribute Portfolio include an homage to the area’s local history, which can be seen in the resort’s bright blue doors, the Patio’s twinkle lights, traditional Southwestern fireplaces, colorful gardens and tapestries. Marriot will open additional Tribute Portfolio hotels throughout the U.S., including Denver and San Diego.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — DSW Inc., a leading branded footwear and accessories retailer, plans to open 21 new stores nationwide this fall, including four out West. The Western-based stores will be situated in Albuquerque, N.M.; Silverdale, Wash.; and Salinas and Chino, Calif. The 21 new stores will open in August through October.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Jimmy’s Egg Franchise Systems has signed six area development agreements for 52 new restaurants to be built in Kansas, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Nebraska and Iowa. This development activity will bring Jimmy’s Egg into three new states: Arkansas, New Mexico and Iowa. Jimmy’s Egg was founded by Loc Le and opened in Oklahoma City in 1980. The chain currently includes 51 locations, prior to this new expansion.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Signet Development, in partnership with the University of New Mexico (UNM), has broken ground on Lobo Rainforest, a $35 million, 160,000-square-foot living-learning community located within the planned Innovate ABQ district in downtown Albuquerque. The six-story property will house over 300 UNM students studying in entrepreneurial education programs. Signet will own and develop the property through a lease arrangement with UNM, which will manage and operate the facility. The property will also be home to UNM’s Innovation Academy, meeting and collaboration rooms, and several business startup organizations including Innovate New Mexico and STC.UNM’s Joseph L. Cecchi VentureLab business incubator. Other tenants will include the Air Force Research Laboratory and various retail outlets. Dekker/Perich/Sabatini is the architect for the project, and Jaynes Cos. is the construction group. The property is scheduled for completion in August 2017.
SANTA FE, N.M. — UJAS Santa Fe LLC has purchased a 130-room DoubleTree by Hilton in Santa Fe for an undisclosed sum. The hotel is located at 4048 Cerrillos Road. It was built in 1986 and renovated in 2012. The DoubleTree also features 4,500 square feet of meeting space, on-site dining, a business center, gift shop and indoor/outdoor pool. Mike Kelly and Brandon Miller of Ten-X and Daniel MacDonnell and Eric Melendez-Lluch of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, an affiliate of the Hotel Group, in this transaction.
ALBUQUERQUE — The Community Development Trust, an affordable housing REIT, and YES Housing Inc., an affordable housing operator, have formed a joint venture to recapitalize three YES-operated properties in New Mexico. CDT will invest $4.5 million to preserve 262 units of affordable Section 8 seniors housing in Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Roswell. The money will fund improvements and preserve affordability at the properties, which are reserved for seniors earning below 60 percent of the area median income. The first property to receive improvements will be the 60-unit Wildewood Apartments in Roswell. CDT and YES acquired the property earlier this month using Freddie Mac financing through Hunt Mortgage Group. The JV plans to make $300,000 in capital improvements to the asset, which was built in 1978 and renovated in 2000. The other two properties were not disclosed, as the acquisitions are still pending.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Cain Brothers has arranged $40 million in taxable bank direct-purchase bonds for The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, a nonprofit operator of seniors housing based in Sioux Falls. Founded in 1922, the society operates skilled nursing facilities, senior apartments, home health services and affordable housing in over 230 locations in the United States. Proceeds from the financing were used to pay down a line of credit that was initially drawn upon to fund the purchase of a home health agency that provides services in New Mexico and Arizona. The acquisition more than doubled the society’s existing home health business. Cain Brothers arranged the financing through an undisclosed bank.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Houlihan-Parnes has arranged a $9.1 million refinancing for Ladera Shopping Center, a 128,712-square-foot shopping center located in Albuquerque. Ed Graf of Houlihan-Parnes secured the five-year loan. The center is currently 95 percent occupied by 23 tenants including John Brooks Supermarket, Dollar Tree, Taco Cabana, Bank of Albuquerque, Planet Fitness, the UPS Store, Supercuts, H&R Block and T-Mobile. Burger King occupies a pad site.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Q10 Realty Mortgage & Investment Co. has arranged $2.5 million in financing for Alameda Retail Center, a 16,391-square-foot shopping center located in Albuquerque. Michael Kelly and Michael Stordahl of Q10 secured the 15-year, fixed-rate loan through a life insurance company.
Multifamily housing is coming of age in New Mexico, and the Millennial generation is spurring the growth. The old adage of “location, location, location” is ever present as the placement of a property in relation to cultural, educational, entertainment and natural amenities becomes a major factor in the value of the property. The ability to walk and bike to social amenities like restaurants, theaters and schools is, and will continue to be, very high on the list of importance for members of this generation in New Mexico. There is not only a distinguishable difference in occupancy rates for units scoring high on Millennial’s wish lists, but the income for these units is between 20 percent and 24 percent higher than those with lower scores. While newly constructed and refurbished multi-housing units often appeal to Millennials, all of New Mexico is experiencing high occupancy rates throughout the multifamily market. This push on availability is fueling an environment that will continue to encourage increasing rents and new construction. Though the sale of multifamily properties was deeply affected by the recession, a market shift in 2013 has allowed the multifamily market to regain its footing with a two- to three-times increase in sales …