LONG BEACH, CALIF. — Long Beach-based Ensemble Real Estate is developing Long Beach Residence Inn, which is located at 600 Queensway Dr. in Long Beach. The 178-room hotel offers 139 studios, 29 one-bedroom and 10 two-bedroom rooms. The 11-story, 135,000-square-foot project is slated to cost $30 million. Marina del Rey, Calif.-based Cuningham Group is providing architectural services for the project; Seattle-based Johnson Braund Design Group Inc. is providing interior design services. R.D. Olson Construction is serving as general contractor for the project, which is fast-tracked for completion in summer 2009.
LA MIRADA, CALIF. — The city of La Mirada has acquired a 24,860-square-foot industrial building in La Mirada for $3.4 million. Located at 14515 Alondra Blvd., the freestanding, one-story property offers access to the 5 and 18 freeways. E.W. Sparr Family Trust and FSB First American Trust, both private investors based in Santa Ana, Calif., sold the property. Rob Socci and Peter Castleton of Voit Commercial Brokerage’s Anaheim, Calif., metro office represented both parties in the transaction.
LOS ANGELES — Ground has broken for the construction of University Gateway, a student housing and retail project situated near the University of Southern California (USC) campus in Los Angeles. Located on the northwest corner of Figueroa and Jefferson Boulevard, the eight-story development will feature 600,000 square feet of floor space offering 421 undergraduate and graduate apartments above more than 78,000 square feet of retail space, and a nine-story parking structure. “With this groundbreaking and Clark Construction at the helm as the design/builder, the project is firmly on track for summer 2010 opening,” says Matthew Burton, principal/CFO of Urban Partners LLC. “It has been a long road but that makes it all the more gratifying to finally get to this day.” Developed by Urban Partners and designed by Clark Construction, the project features laundry facilities and lounge/study rooms on each floor, 14 one-bedroom units averaging 668 square feet, 407 two-bedroom/two-bath units averaging 910 square feet, which will accommodate four students. A portion of University’s Gateway second floor will feature three internal courtyards with landscaped gardens complete with trees, low-flowering shrubbery and seating areas. The project’s aesthetics will complement the Italian Romanesque red brick architectural style of the existing campus facilities. …
BIG BEAR LAKE, CALIF. — McSam Hotel Group has acquired Northwoods Resort and Conference Center, a 148-room hotel located at 40650 Village Dr. in Big Bear Lake, for $12.5 million. Built in 1995, the four-story hotel features Stillwells Restaurant and Lounge, a gift shop, a pool, a whirlpool, a sauna, an exercise room and an outdoor amphitheatre. Scott Clawson of Marcus & Millichap’s Chicago office, along with Michael Goldstein of Packard Hospitality, represented the buyer; Robert Brauchli and Jigar Patel of Marcus & Millichap’s San Diego office represented the seller, WWW Asset One Corp., in the transaction.
BOUNTIFUL, UTAH — Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT Inc. has acquired Renaissance Medical Centre, a five-story Class A medical office building located at 1551 S. Renaissance Dr. in Bountiful. Completed in 2004, the property consists of 112,000 square feet of gross leaseable area. The center is approximately 88 percent leased and anchored by MountainWest Surgical Center, which leases approximately 30,000 square feet. The property was sold by an unaffiliated third party represented by Chris Bodnar of CB Richard Ellis – Colorado Private Client Group. Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT primarily financed the acquisition through the assumption of the two existing loans on the property, which are serviced by Midland Loan Services Inc. and Wachovia Bank N.A., and cash on hand.
LAS VEGAS — Vegas Ortho LLC has purchased San Martin Medical Campus in Las Vegas for approximately $2.62 million. Located at 8420 W. Warm Springs Rd., the property offers 10,510 square feet of medical office space. Rhonda Panciro of Colliers International represented the buyer; Barton Hyde of Grubb & Ellis represented the seller, DWSMC Holdings LLC, in the transaction.
STOCKTON AND PATTERSON, CALIF. — CB Richard Ellis’ (CBRE) industrial properties consulting team, which consists of Blake Rasmussen, Doug Norton, Kevin Dal Porto, Ryan McShane, Conor Famulener, Tyson Vallenari and Michael Walker, has brokered two industrial transactions in California. In the first transaction, First Industrial Acquisitions Inc. has acquired a 72.16-acre parcel of industrial land located at Arch and NewCastle roads in Stockton. Archtown Properties sold the parcel for an undisclosed price. Rasmussen and Dal Porto represented the buyer. In a separate transaction, HPL Contract purchased an approximately 31,067-square-foot industrial building located within Keystone Pacific Business Park in Patterson. McShane represented the buyer; Rasmussen and Dal Porto represented the seller, Keystone Flex I Associates LLC, in the transaction. The transaction amount was not disclosed.
MISSION VALLEY, CALIF. — Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT I Inc. has acquired Crossroads Office Park in Mission Valley from an undisclosed seller. The seven-story office building is located two miles northeast of San Diego International Airport and five miles north of downtown San Diego. The transaction amount was undisclosed. The property is situated on a 5-acre site and provides more than 139,000 square feet of space to a diverse list of tenants. Tenants benefit from a high parking ratio of 3.8 surface spaces per 1,000 square feet of rentable office space. The building has also earned an Energy Star rating from the Environmental Protection Agency. “We acquired this well-located, value-added asset at a significant discount to replacement cost. We believe this Energy Star-rated property provides us with an attractive opportunity to create value by stabilizing its occupancy and moving rents to market levels,” said Robert Behringer, founder and CEO with Behringer Harvard. Area attractions near the property include Mission Bay Park, Sea World, Qualcomm Stadium and Fashion Valley.
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — Corporate Office Properties Trust has acquired a three-story, Class A office building, which is located at 3535 Northrop Grumman Point in Colorado Springs, for $23.2 million. Situated within the Colorado Springs Airport Business Park, known as Cresterra, the property offers 124,305 square feet of office space. The building is 100 percent, long-term leased to Grumman Corp., and serves as the company’s Colorado Springs headquarters.
LAS VEGAS — AIMCO has completed the disposition of Canyon Pointe Apartment Homes, a 670-unit multifamily complex located at 5421 E. Harmon Ave in Las Vegas. The 400,196-square-foot property consists of 38 garden-style buildings offering 80 furnished efficiency units; 20 furnished studios; 40 one-bedroom/one-bath units (416 square feet); 224 one-bedroom/one-bath units (504 square feet); 20 one-bedroom/one-bath units (610 square feet); 83 two-bedroom/one-bath units; 78 two-bedroom/two-bath units (786 square feet); 77 two-bedroom/two-bath units (816 square feet) and 48 three-bedroom/two-bath units. Situated on 26.7 acres, the community also features five resort-style swimming pools, a heated spa, a state-of-the-art fitness center, a recently renovated leasing office, covered parking, a playground area and five recently renovated laundry facilities. Joseph Kupiec of Grubb & Ellis|Las Vegas teamed up with Diane Miramontes and Darcy Miramontes of Grubb & Ellis|BRE Commercial San Diego to represent the seller. The buyer and acquisition price were not disclosed.