BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — Retail Specialists will break ground tomorrow on The Waites, a four-story mixed-use building located at the corner of 7th Avenue S. and Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard in downtown Birmingham. According to the Birmingham Business Journal, Williams Blackstock Architects is serving as the architect for the $13.6 million development. The project, which is a redevelopment of the former Waite’s Bakery building, will feature ground-floor retail space, covered outdoor seating, designated retail parking and three floors of loft apartment residences comprising 30 one-bedroom units and 15 two-bedroom units. Confirmed retailers at The Waites include Farm Burger, Blaze Pizza and Smoothie King.
Southeast
WINTER SPRINGS, FLA. — Franklin Street has arranged the $7 million sale of Tuskawilla Park Apartments, a 41-unit apartment complex located at 154 Tuskawilla Road in Winter Springs, roughly 15 miles north of Orlando. Originally built as a condominium development in 2009, the apartment complex features elevators and 6,377 square feet of ground-floor commercial space that is fully leased by two local engineering firms and the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles. Darron Kattan, Kevin Kelleher, Zachary Ames and Robert Goldfinger of Franklin Street represented the seller, California-based Pathfinder Landology ISIS Holdings LLC, and the buyer, Virginia-based CIG Tuskawilla Park LLC, in the transaction.
CARENCRO, LA. — Stirling Properties has brokered the sale of a 16.1-acre lot of land located at 3810 N.E. Evangeline Thruway in Carencro near the intersection of I-10 and I-49. The buyer, Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust, has begun to build a new 182,000-square-foot Walmart Supercenter at the site. The new store, which is set to open in early 2017, is expected to create 300 jobs. Seth Citron and Ryan Pecot of Stirling Properties brokered the land deal.
MIAMI — Swire Properties Inc. and its retail co-developers Whitman Family Development and Simon Property Group have inked a lease for a 38,000-square-foot Italian indoor food hall concept at Brickell City Centre in Miami’s Brickell district. The three-level dining space and market will anchor the 500,000-square-foot open-air shopping center at the 5.4 million-square-foot development. The food hall will offer several eateries, market fare such as produce and artisanal cheeses, gifts, live cooking demonstrations, cooking classes with Italian chefs and educational programming on wine pairings and other topics. Other dining and entertainment retailers already signed on at Brickell City Centre include Cinemex, Pubbelly Sushi, Pasion del Cielo, Quinto La Huella and Sugar, a rooftop bar that will be situated at the Brickell City Centre’s upscale hotel — EAST, Miami.
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Equicap, a real estate investment advisory firm based in New York, has arranged an $18 million acquisition loan for a 155,899-square-foot shopping center in Jacksonville. The center’s tenant roster includes Publix, H&R Block and Planet Fitness. Daniel Hilpert of Equicap arranged the seven-year, non-recourse loan with a fixed 3.54 percent interest rate through an unnamed regional lender.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Cite Partners has brokered the $14 million sale of a 199,100-square-foot industrial facility located at 4473 Shader Road in northwest Orlando. First Industrial Realty Trust Inc., a Chicago-based REIT, purchased the asset from Panattoni Development Corp. LLC. Wilson McDowell, Matt Sullivan and Bobby Isola of Cite Partners LLC represented Panattoni in the transaction, and Rich Cavano of Cavano Realty LLC represented First Industrial. The deal is the largest industrial sale in Orlando by square footage and dollar amount so far this year.
LAKE CITY, FLA. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $11.6 million sale of The Grove Apartments, a 200-unit apartment community located at 384 S.W. Dexter Circle in Lake City. The multifamily property was roughly 75 percent occupied at the time of sale. The community features all two-bedroom, 750-square-foot units with full-size washer and dryer connections, tankless water heaters and garbage disposals. Community amenities include gated access, a swimming pool with a paved sundeck and a children’s playground. Michael Donaldson and Nicholas Meoli of Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Security Properties, a Seattle-based multifamily investment and development firm, has purchased two apartment communities in Nashville for a combined $53.7 million. The assets include the 139-unit Opus 29 in Nashville’s West End neighborhood and the 86-unit Note 16 in the Music Row area. Security Properties has purchased the assets off-market in a 50/50 joint venture with Loma Linda University. This represents the fourth and fifth acquisitions between the two groups. Security Properties used a 10-year, fixed-rate loan for the two transactions.
Armada Hoffler Invests $42M in Development of Residences at Annapolis Junction Town Center
by John Nelson
ANNAPOLIS, MD. — Armada Hoffler Properties Inc., a Virginia Beach, Va.-based REIT, has invested $42 million for the development of the $102 million residential component of Annapolis Junction Town Center, a planned 18-acre mixed-use development in Annapolis. Upon completion, Annapolis Junction Town Center will feature 17,000 square feet of retail space, a 150-room hotel, 416 upscale apartment residences and 100,000 square feet of Class A office space. Scheduled to break ground in the second quarter of 2016 with estimated completion in the first quarter of 2018, the Residences will pursue LEED Silver certification and feature structured parking adjacent to the Savage MARC Commuter Rail Station. The investment agreement includes a purchase option for Armada Hoffler to acquire an 88 percent interest in the project at the developer’s cost basis, upon completion of construction. The agreement also includes a $68 million maximum price construction contract for Armada Hoffler to build the asset.
NORCROSS, GA. — PointOne Holdings has sold Grove Point Apartments, a 312-unit multifamily community in the Atlanta suburb of Norcross for $27 million. The South Florida-based multifamily investor purchased the asset in January 2014 via Auction.com from special servicer CW Capital for approximately $12.8 million. PointOne Holdings invested more than $3 million in capital improvements to the property, including upgrades to unit interiors, overall repairs to building exteriors, replacement of mechanical, electrical and plumbing and improved curb appeal. The company also upgraded the amenities by adding a business center, dog park, fitness center, outdoor kitchens, playground and a Zen garden. During PointOne’s ownership of Grove Point, occupancy rose from 85 percent to more than 97 percent at the time of the sale. Average rents also increased an average of $200 per unit and the property’s net operating income per month increased by 77 percent.