SALT LAKE CITY – Precision Heating and Cooling has leased a 15,000-square-foot manufacturing warehouse in Salt Lake City. The building formerly served as the headquarters of Neilco. It is located at 5780 South 300 West. The commercial heating and cooling contractor plans to use the space as its main Utah headquarters. Robert Kingsford of Newmark Grubb ACRES represented both the tenant and unnamed landlord in this transaction.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Family Center at Taylorsville, a 779,000-square-foot regional power center, has received $45 million in post-closing acquisition financing. The center is located at 5400 South and Redwood in the suburb of Taylorsville, less than nine miles south of Downtown Salt Lake City. Notable tenants at the Family Center include Jo-Ann Fabrics & Craft, Ross Dress for Less, Pet Smart, 24-Hour Fitness, Shopko, Guitar Center, Texas Roadhouse, Jamba Juice and Chick-fil-A. The three-year, floating-rate loan was arranged by HFF’s Jim Curtin on behalf of TriGate Capital. The loan was provided by Wells Fargo Bank. Proceeds were used to acquire the center.
SANDY, UTAH – A partnership between Pacific Retail Capital Partners, Silverpeak Real Estate Partners and the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs has acquired the 1.3 million-square-foot South Towne Center Mall and adjacent Marketplace in Sandy for $205 million. The 966,000-square-foot South Towne Center Mall is a two-level, enclosed regional mall that contains about 150 shops and restaurants. The mall’s anchors include Macy’s, Dillards, JCPenney and Utah’s largest Forever 21. The 312,000-square-foot Marketplace is anchored by Super Target. The properties are situated about 16 miles south of Salt Lake City. The partnership plans to execute a large-scale mall renovation. Gensler Associates will create the new design. Current plans feature upgrades to the mall’s infrastructure, including lighting, flooring, restrooms, a new children’s play area and a revamped food court with expanded food offerings. Pacific Retail will oversee all operations at South Town Center, including its renovation. The seller was Macerich. The sale is consistent with the company’s strategy of selling non-core assets and redeploying the proceeds into its development pipeline.
OREM, UTAH – Midtown360, a 594-unit multifamily development in Orem, has received a $56.5-million senior loan. The loan will finance the acquisition, development and stabilization of the project. The community will be located at 320 South State Street, just 40 miles south of Salt Lake City. It is situated in a very student-dense area, with about 70,000 college students residing in Orem and Provo. Phase I of Midtown360 will include 286 units in two mid-rise towers, in addition to 50,000 square feet of retail space. Common amenities will include a study lounge, business center, rooftop deck, clubhouse, fitness center, pool and basketball court. Phase I construction should be completed in 18 months. Phase II will include 308 units in a third tower. Construction on this phase is expected to commence in about two years. Construction on this project initially commenced before the recession. At the time, it was called Midtown Village. The developer partially completed 40 of the units before construction was halted in 2008. The new loan was provided to The Ritchie Group by PCCP LLC.
SALT LAKE CITY – The 9,234-square-foot Metro Place office building in Salt Lake City has sold to a local social security disability law firm for an undisclosed sum. The building is located at 243 East 400 South. The law firm plans to occupy the space. The seller, ACRES Metro LLC, was represented by Mark Jensen, of Newmark Grubb ACRES.
SALT LAKE CITY – Gelt Inc. has purchased the 247-unit Murray Ridge Apartments in Salt Lake City for $25.5 million. The 22-building community is located at 4120 South 500 East. Murray Ridge was developed in two phases in 1973 and 1977. On-site amenities include a fitness center, clubhouse, barbeque areas, business center and swimming pool. The community is situated near Interstate 15. It is within five miles of all major Salt Lake City interstates. Murray Ridge sits just one mile from the Meadowbrook UTA Trax Station and the Murray North Trax Station.
SALT LAKE CITY — Lofgren Distribution Warehouse, a 40,328-square-foot industrial building in Salt Lake City, has sold to Engineered Wall Systems (EWS) for an undisclosed sum. The building is located at 250 West 2855. The exterior wall panel systems provider will use the facility as its new company headquarters. EWS was represented by Kelsie Akiyama of Newmark Grubb ACRES. The seller, Lofgren Funiture, was represented by Robert Kingsford of Newmark Grubb ACRES.
Retail business continues to be solid in greater Salt Lake City. Total net absorption in all retail categories doubled, when compared to 2012. High-end retail in regional centers saw a 20 percent increase in rents to $24.50 per square foot. Retail inventory increased to a little more than 1 million square feet in 2013 as well. Significant growth areas include new retail in the eclectic Sugarhouse area, the southwest portion of Salt Lake County and the 5600 West corridor. New development also took place in the Central Business District of Salt Lake City. Shadow retail near the new City Creek Mall is fostering some of the Central Business District activity as well. Utah’s excellent light and commuter rails have spurred retail and commercial developments alongside their routes through four counties. Examples include a redevelopment project at Fairbourne Station in West Valley City and the expansion of Vista Station in Salt Lake County. Vista Station is a mixed-use development that is anchored by eBay. Many grocery tenants also have expansion plans for 2014 and 2015. WinCo, Harmon’s, WalMart Neighborhood Grocery, Whole Foods, Sprouts and others all either have plans or are underway with new projects. Large and mid-box retailers are very …
Momentum in the industrial market has remained strong for the past three years. This momentum should continue through 2014. Total market activity for 2013 generally remained on par with a record-setting year from 2012, but the makeup of that activity changed significantly. On a square footage basis, leasing activity decreased by 25.6 percent, while user-sale activity increased by 117.3 percent. Much of the increase in user-sale activity can be attributed to Boeing’s acquisition of the 850,000-square-foot Kraftmade building. Strong activity in the market led to more than 2.5 million square feet of positive absorption, representing the highest level of annual absorption since 2007 and exceeding the absorption of the past four years combined. This high level of positive absorption pushed overall vacancy rates down by 1.6 percentage points to end the year at 7.4 percent. As vacancy rates have declined, achieved rental rates have increased by 8.1 percent. The greatest increase was seen in spaces with more than f 100,000 square feet where rental rates increased by 14.7 percent. This category accounted for more than 40 percent of total market activity. The expansion of e-commerce continues to leave its mark on the development and functionality of buildings. E-commerce accounted for …
Technology growth in the southern portion of the Salt Lake Valley is prompting additional development of multifamily properties. A new Adobe campus in Lehi, located between Utah’s major employment areas, has led to further technology sector investment in this region. The company expansions and job creation that is occurring in Lehi is certainly driving the need for new housing. In Bluffdale, located about 20 miles south of Salt Lake City, several hundred acres are being developed into two mixed-use apartment projects. The recently acquired Aclaime at Independence development is expected to include 1,000 residential units and 21 acres designated for mixed-use commercial structures. Adjacent to this development is Independence at the Point, a master-planned community containing 294 acres. This project will include 1,900 single-family homes, townhomes and apartments, as well as 27 acres of commercial development. Overall, steady demand for housing will continue to draw investors and developers to the region as vacancy remains limited and rent growth outpaces the rest of the metro. Metro employers are expected to add 29,900 new jobs by the end of 2013, an annual growth of 4.6 percent, which pushes employment nearly 6 percent above the pre-recession peak. Completions are set to total 2,100 …