BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — The Opus Group, in partnership with The McKinney Fund & Co., has broken ground on a 522-bed student housing community near the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The 17-story mixed-use development will offer floor plans ranging from studios to four-bedroom units. Shared amenities will include a fitness center, spa, study rooms and lounges, an outdoor amenity deck with fitness areas, fire pits, a coffee bar, club room, rooftop pool and grilling stations. Myefski Architects designed the community. Auburn, Ala.-based Rabren General Contractors will serve as general contractor, and Creative License International will design the interiors for the project. The community is scheduled to open in fall 2020.
ATLANTA — WeWork has signed a multi-floor, 100,300-square-foot lease at Centennial Tower, an approximately 665,000-square-foot office tower located at 101 Marietta St. in downtown Atlanta. WeWork’s long-term lease deal includes building-top signage. WeWork, one of the world’s largest coworking space providers, plans to add 1,300 members to the new space. This is WeWork’s largest space of it six Atlanta locations and its first in downtown. Katherine Lynch and Chris Port of CBRE represented the landlord, The Dilweg Cos., in the lease agreement. Clinton McKellar and Sam Hollis of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant. Southeast Real Estate Business reported earlier this month that Dilweg signed tech startup company Steady to a full-floor lease within Centennial Tower.
GLOUCESTER, VA. — S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co. has broken ground on Phase I of Riverbend Apartment Homes, a planned 130-unit affordable housing community in Gloucester. Phase I is expected to be complete in summer 2020. Phase II, which will add 88 units, is scheduled to break ground this spring and be delivered in late 2020. TS3 Architects, Bay Design Group, Details Ltd. and Siska Aurand Landscape Architects Inc. designed the community. Hoy Construction is the general contractor.
WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — Domino’s Pizza has signed a 68,000-square-foot lease for a new processing and distribution facility in West Columbia. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of this year. Domino’s plans to add 75 jobs to the area. Hiring is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of this year, with the facility being delivered in the second quarter of 2020. Ken Ashley, John Wilkinson and Whitney Hembree of Cushman & Wakefield, along with Lee Warfield of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. The developer and landlord were not disclosed.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Beacon Partners, a Charlotte-based mixed-use developer, plans to build a 15-acre project in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood. Named LoSo Station, the project will include more than 500,000 square feet of creative office space, 30,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, 350 multifamily residences and a 150-room boutique hotel. The master plan also calls for rooftop entertainment, meeting space, outdoor retail plazas and other athletic amenities for tenants and residents. The transit-oriented development will be situated at the Scaleybark station for the LYNX Blue Line light rail system, as well as along Charlotte Rail Trail, a 3.5-mile long public trail for walking, biking and scooter access through South End. South End is an up-and-coming neighborhood in Charlotte, with nearby attractions including Queen Park Social, Victory Brewery and OMB (The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery). “The LoSo Station master plan is such a unique and rare opportunity to plan and develop a transit-oriented development at the convergence of South End and ‘LoSo,’” says Mike Harrell, senior partner at Beacon Partners, referring to the lower portion of South End (LoSo). “We are looking forward to bringing forth the mixed-use amenities that will enhance and complement the already existing business and merchant base …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freedom Forum has sold 555 Pennsylvania Ave., the building that houses Newseum, to John Hopkins University for 372.5 million. The private research university plans to use the 475,000-square-foot property as a consolidated center for its D.C.-based graduate programs. Freedom Forum is the creator and primary funder of Newseum, and in August 2017 announced that it was open to multiple options to fund or sell the museum focused on increasing public understanding of the importance of a free press and the First Amendment. Newseum will remain open through the end of the year.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Branch Properties LLC and Crosland Southeast have sold One Bellevue Place, a 355,240-square-foot power retail village in Nashville’s Bellevue neighborhood. MetLife acquired the asset for $93 million. Located at 7620 Highway 70 South, the shopping center is part of a redevelopment of the former Bellevue Center mall that now includes retail, entertainment venues, hotel rooms, office space, residential units and the training facility for the NHL’s Nashville Predators. The retail asset is anchored by Carmike Cinemas, Burlington Coat Factory, Sprouts Farmers Market, HomeGoods, Michaels, Ross Dress for Less, PetSmart, Off Broadway Shoes, Ulta Beauty and Kirkland’s. In December, Southeast Real Estate Business reported that Novel Bellevue Place, the 337-unit residential community within One Bellevue Place, was sold. CBRE represented the sellers in the transaction.
RALEIGH, N.C. — A joint venture between The Preiss Co. and Nuveen Real Estate has acquired Signature 1505, a 525-bed student housing community located near North Carolina State University in Raleigh. The property offers one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units with bed-to-bath parity. Shared amenities include a resort-style swimming pool, fitness center and 24-hour study and conference areas. Terms of the transaction and the seller were undisclosed.
DURHAM, N.C. — CBRE Capital Markets has arranged $33 million in acquisition financing to Chaucer Creek Capital LLC for 54 Station, a 264-unit apartment community that was delivered in 2018. The buyer plans to add a 24-unit building, bringing the total number of buildings to 12 and the unit count to 288. Kristen Reilly and Nate Sittema of CBRE Capital Markets’ Debt & Structured Finance team arranged a bridge loan for the borrower through MF1, a mortgage REIT focused on the multifamily sector. Amenities at 54 Station include a swimming pool, outdoor kitchens, fitness center and a fire pit with lounge seating.
ORLANDO, FLA. — O’Connor Capital Partners has signed Alamo Drafthouse Cinema to be the anchor tenant of the third phase of Vineland Pointe, a 450,000-square-foot retail development in Orlando. Phase III is expected to be complete in 2020, Phase II is on schedule to open by this holiday season and Phase I was delivered in December. This will be Austin, Texas-based Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s first Florida location and will offer a 10-screen theater with 942 recliners, a full-service bar and a restaurant. The retail project is situated adjacent to Orlando Vineland Premium Outlet Mall, and is being designed by Eleven18 Architecture, with Harris Civil Engineers serving as project engineer.