HIALEAH, FLA. — The Estate Cos. has acquired a former Ramada Inn in Hialeah for $15.3 million. The non-operational hotel was originally built in 1970 with expansions completed in 1973, 1979 and 1988. The property offers 258 rooms and sits on five acres at 1950 W. 49th St., 15 miles northwest of downtown Miami. Camilo Niño, Ricardo Uribe and Alen Hernandez of LV Lending originated an $11.5 million acquisition loan on behalf of the buyer. The seller was a partnership between UCH1 LLC, Miami Corporate Partners, Bidart Dairy II LLC and Noriega Properties. Details of renovation plans were not disclosed.
Southeast
DECATUR, GA. — Beacon Real Estate Group has acquired Domain at Cedar Creek and Gateway at Cedar Brook, two multifamily communities totaling 332 units in Decatur. Atlanta-based Audubon Communities sold the communities for $46.1 million. Domain at Cedar Creek, located at 3073 Cedar Creek Parkway, and Gateway at Cedar Brook, located at 3117 Cedar Brook Drive, are considered sister communities and are situated less than one mile from each other and nine miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. Each property offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 750 square feet to 1,350 square feet. The two communities were 99 percent occupied at the time of sale. The seller recently made substantial investments to upgrade roofs, siding, HVAC systems and clubhouses at the communities. Scott Wadler, Mitch Sinberg and Matt Nihan of Berkadia originated $35.2 million in Fannie Mae acquisition financing on behalf of Beacon. The Coral Gables, Fla.-based buyer received $19.2 million to purchase Domain at Cedar Creek and $16 million for Gateway at Cedar Brook. Both loans feature 15-year terms with fixed interest rates and nine years of interest-only payments.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) has reported that 79.3 percent of apartment households have paid August rent as of Aug. 6. NMHC surveyed its network of 11.4 million professionally managed units as part of its Rent Payment Tracker metric. The latest figure is a decrease of 233,000 households, or 1.9 percent, from August 2019. However, the total number of those paying rent is an increase from July 6, 2020, in which 77.4 percent paid rent. President Donald Trump over the weekend signed an extension of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that provides unemployment benefits for citizens who have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 outbreak. David Schwartz, NMHC chairman and CEO and chairman of Chicago-based Waterton, says that the CARES Act has been instrumental in helping millions of renters pay their rent. “Over the past few months apartment residents have largely been able to meet their housing obligations,” says Schwartz.
New York Life Provides $38.3M Refinancing Loan for Office Building in Fort Lauderdale
by Alex Tostado
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — New York Life Real Estate Investors has provided a $38.3 million refinancing loan for 261 North University Drive, a 172,959-square-foot office building in Fort Lauderdale. The borrower, Encore Capital Management, recently completed a $15 million renovation of the property, including redesigning the lobby, modernizing the elevators, adding new bathrooms and overseeing new tenant buildouts. The asset is situated eight miles west of downtown Fort Lauderdale. Furthermore, the property will be part of a mixed-use development that is set to feature 760 multifamily units, 150,000 square feet of retail space and 400 hotel rooms delivering in two phases by 2022. Kevin O’Grady of Concord Summit Capital and Eric McGlynn of Walker & Dunlop arranged the loan on behalf of Fort Lauderdale-based Encore, and Ryan Doyle and John Lippmann of New York Life originated the loan.
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — During its second-quarter earnings call, Regency Centers Corp. (Nasdaq: REG) reported same-property net operating income of $162.3 million for the three months ending June 30, a 20.1 percent year-over-year decrease. The Jacksonville-based company says all 415 of its shopping centers nationwide have remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 95 percent of its tenants being open as of July 31. Regency Centers collected 72 percent of base rents for the quarter and has agreed to more than 600 lease rent deferrals. The shopping center REIT estimates that 96 percent of deferred rents will be collected by the end of 2021.
PADUCAH, KY. — Dippin’ Dots, maker of flash-frozen beaded ice cream, has opened a $3.2 million, 6,000-square-foot industrial facility in Paducah. The property houses 45 employees and will support Dippin’ Dots Cryogenics LLC, a division of the company that was launched in 2018 and applies the patented flash-frozen technology to other industries. The building is situated at 3865 Industrial Drive, one mile from Interstate 24.
DUNWOODY, GA. — Dallas-based developer Trammell Crow Co. has completed Twelve24, a 345,000-square-foot office building located at 1224 Hammond Drive in Dunwoody, a suburb of Atlanta in the metro’s Central Perimeter submarket. The 16-story building features a skybridge with direct access to the Dunwoody MARTA Station. Twelve24 is also located adjacent to Perimeter Mall and in close proximity to Interstate 285 and State Route 400. In addition, Twelve24 houses 11,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, 7,500 square feet of which is preleased to Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant. Insight Global, a national staffing and services company, has leased approximately 72 percent of the office space as the anchor tenant. The building offers an amenity floor with a fully staffed, 10,000-square-foot fitness center, an indoor conference center, tenant lounge and a café. Outdoor amenities include a yoga lawn, multiple lounge areas and a covered outdoor conference center. According to a second-quarter report on the Atlanta office market from Colliers International, the Central Perimeter submarket has a direct vacancy rate of 14.7 percent and has seen more than 1 million square feet of positive absorption year-to-date. Trammell Crow is also working with Concord Hospitality Group to develop a 177-room Hyatt Place …
Like most markets, regardless of sector, Jackson experienced a moment in time when deals were shelved due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the industrial market in Jackson tells a different story in the early innings of COVID-19. While most deals were put on hold for several weeks in early April to mid-May, we saw activity pick up with users signing leases, contracting on vacant buildings and resuming due diligence timelines for land purchases, all without any repricing or discount. These trends, while hopefully permanent in nature, are all due to a lack of industrial supply and consistent demand in the Jackson market. If you have quality product in a good area, it will sell or lease, even during a pandemic. The Jackson industrial market spans around 40 million square feet if you include all specialty and manufacturing properties, as well as true warehouse and flex product. According to CoStar Group, the market’s vacancy rate is hovering around 7 percent, but it feels tighter since there’s a bulk of obsolescent product — either low ceiling heights or being in less desirable areas. Jackson is considered a minor industrial market and is well-suited for future growth. As Mississippi’s capital city, Jackson is …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. economy added nearly 1.8 million jobs in July and the unemployment rate fell 90 basis points to 10.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. The uptick on nonfarm payroll employment beat expectations as economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal anticipated just under 1.5 million jobs to be added. Though the latest job tally surpassed expectations, Ball State University economist Michael Hicks cautions against drawing sweeping conclusions. The employment-to-population ratio is more than 5 percent below the level from July 2019 and more than 3.5 million workers have exited the labor force in the past few months. Hicks says if those 3.5 million workers were included in the jobs report, the unemployment rate would be 250 basis points higher. “Permanent job losses continue to increase, but temporary losses appear to be nearly fully recovered,” he said. “This means roughly 10 percent of those working in January remain unemployed, with no evidence of improving prospects for re-employment.” Employment surged in the leisure and hospitality sector, having added 592,000 jobs, making up for one-third of the overall monthly growth. The sector lost 8.2 million jobs in March and April, though has begun to reclaim …
Berkadia Provides $24M Refinancing Loan for New Workforce Housing Community in Hinesville, Georgia
by Alex Tostado
HINESVILLE, GA. — Berkadia has provided a $24 million Fannie Mae refinancing loan for Liberty Club Apartments, a 240-unit workforce housing complex in Hinesville. The borrower, Winter Park, Fla.-based Hillpointe, delivered the property in 2019. The 12-year loan features a fixed interest rate with five years of interest-only payments. Loan proceeds will be used to retire the existing construction loan. The community is located at 915 E. General Stewart Way, 40 miles southwest of downtown Savannah. Liberty Club comprises nine residential buildings, a clubhouse and 11 garage buildings. The property offers two-bedroom floor plans averaging 1,153 square feet. According to Apartments.com, rents range from $1,100 to $1,450 per month. Communal amenities include a pool, fitness center, a dog park and fishing ponds. Michael Weinberg, Alec Fox and Wesley Moczul of Berkadia originated the loan on behalf of the borrower.