DELTONA, FLA. — Amazon has unveiled plans for a new fulfillment center in Deltona, a city situated nearly 30 miles northeast of Orlando. Atlanta-based Seefried Industrial Properties will develop the more than 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center near Interstate 4, where large items will be picked packaged and shipped. Items will include sports equipment, patio furniture, pet food and large household goods. Amazon is expected to create more than 500 new jobs in Deltona. A timeline for construction of the Deltona facility was not disclosed. Currently, Amazon operates facilities in and around Orlando, Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville.
NEW ORLEANS — Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. has sold the 410-room Le Meridien New Orleans for $84 million, or $205,000 per key, to an undisclosed buyer. Located near the French Quarter and less than one mile from the Mississippi River, the 23-story hotel features a fitness center and rooftop pool. Proceeds from the sale of the hotel will be used to repay a portion of Park’s unsecured debt. According to Canal Street Beat, Park Hotels purchased the former W Hotel in 2013 for $65 million before reopening the hotel as Le Meridian in 2014. Park Hotels has sold and/or disposed 22 assets it has deemed “non-core” for $1 billion since its spin off from Hilton Worldwide, according to Thomas Baltimore Jr., chairman and CEO of Park Hotels.
ALEXANDRIA, VA. — Washington, D.C.-based developer and investment manager PRP is converting its 12-story, 209,000-square-foot office building at 4900 Seminary Road in Alexandria into apartments. PRP is financing the $81 million project using equity raised through Crowdstreet, a crowdfunded real estate investing platform, as well as $53 million loan from Pacific West Bank. The $27 million in crowdfunded equity was raised through 450 investors and represents the largest individual commercial real estate project equity raised online to date, according to Crowdstreet. The office building at 4900 Seminary Road is adjacent to Mark Center and Interstate 95 and is less than 10 miles from the Pentagon, Amazon’s future HQ2 site and downtown Washington, D.C. Located within an Opportunity Zone, PRP is planning the project to hold 213 apartments, featuring studios and one- and two-bedroom layouts. The planned building will feature a package room, lounge, library, screening room, firepits and a deck. Construction on the office-to-residential conversion is scheduled to begin in March, with initial occupancy expected in the fourth quarter of 2021.
ATLANTA — The Dilweg Cos. has signed new leases or extensions with CIM Group and nine other companies at 101 Marietta Street, a 36-story downtown Atlanta office tower adjacent to The Gulch district. California-based CIM will occupy two of the new spec suites in the office building. Formerly known as Centennial Tower, the well-known chevron-marked building overlooks CIM’s future Centennial Yards, a mixed-use development in The Gulch. Existing office tower tenants DeLong, Caldwell, Bridgers, Fitzpatrick, & Benjamin LLC; Atlanta Dream; Amadeus and The VGM Group have all renewed their respective leases. Softgiving Inc, The Dennis Law Firm LLC, Volkert Inc., IVITA and BlackiNation have signed new leases. Located near Mercedes-Benz Stadium, State Farm Arena, Centennial Olympic Park, Georgia Aquarium, the CNN Center and three MARTA stations, 101 Marietta Street offers 650,000 square feet of space, as well as a conference center with training rooms, fitness center, Revelator Coffee in the lobby and tenant lounge with TVs, pool tables and a kitchen. Construction for another round of spec suites at 101 Marietta Street will commence this month. CBRE is handling the leasing assignment on behalf of Dilweg.
COLUMBIA, MD. — Costello Construction has entered the construction phase of the $25 million Sheraton Columbia Town Center Hotel renovation and redevelopment project. The 290-room hotel is located on the shores of Lake Kittamaqundi in downtown Columbia. Locally based Costello Construction has owned the property since December 2017. The renovation plans include a complete exterior improvement, two new structural additions to add 76 guest rooms, remodeling of all tower rooms and the addition of terraces to lakefront units. Once complete, the hotel will comprise 212 modern guest rooms and join Marriott’s Autograph Collection. The hotel will feature rooftop pool, restaurant, café, fitness center, rooftop bar and lounge and more than 10,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor event space. Costello Construction will self-perform the site work and concrete work on the project.
Driven by increasing high-paying jobs, billions of dollars in public and private investment and healthy population growth, the Washington, D.C., metro area boasts a dynamic multifamily market with rebounding rent growth and stabilizing occupancy rates. Washington, D.C., gained 20,500 jobs in June and another 13,000 jobs in July, according to the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services. Additionally, D.C.’s population topped 700,000 for the first time since 1975. The Washington metropolitan area’s total population has climbed to more than 6 million, and more households mean more demand for apartments. These strong fundamentals have led to increased rent growth in the apartment sector. D.C.’s average net asking rate is $1,990 — up 1.7 percent, making it the sixth-fastest rent growth in the United States, according to Reis. The net asking rate increased for 10 consecutive quarters. Between now and year-end 2020, asking rents are expected to climb 2.5 percent and 3.6 percent by year-end 2021, Reis notes. The District’s apartment occupancy rate is currently 94 percent. In nearby suburban Maryland, rents rose 1.2 percent, and in Northern Virginia, 1.4 percent. Demand, supply in balance Although there was concern over an influx of new construction, multifamily product has been well-absorbed. The …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. affiliate of Swedish construction and development company Skanska AB has sold the 99M office building in Washington, D.C., to Chevy Chase, Md.-based Polinger Development Co. for $163 million. The transfer of the property is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020. Located at 99 M St. SE in D.C.’s Navy Yard neighborhood, the 11-story office building spans 234,000 square feet and is LEED Gold-certified. Built in 2018, 99M is 87 percent leased to tenants including PYXERA Global, an international trade and development nonprofit organization, and GiveCampus, a digital fundraising and volunteer management platform for educational institutions. In addition to ground floor retail, the building offers a rooftop terrace, fitness facility and a secured bike room.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Developer East West Partners and equity partner Northridge Capital LLC have opened Crabtree Terrace in the Brookside Village neighborhood of North Raleigh. Located at 4950 Creedmoor Road, the 173,468-square-foot office and retail project was completed earlier this month and tenants are expected to occupy the building in January 2020. The tenant roster includes coworking company Spaces, JLL, Longleaf Law Partners and Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille. Designed by Gensler and Kimley-Horn, Crabtree Terrace has floor-to-ceiling glass throughout, as well as covered parking. The building offers nearby access to U.S. Routes 50 and 70 and the Capital Area Greenway trail system. In addition to the ground-floor retail, a fitness facility with showers is planned in the building. Brasfield & Gorrie served as general contractor, and CBRE | Raleigh’s Advisory & Transaction Services | Investor Leasing group and Retail Services group are handling the office and retail leasing for Crabtree Terrace.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — JLL has arranged $127.5 million in financing for EON at Flagler Village, a two-phase multifamily complex in Fort Lauderdale. JLL worked on behalf of the developer and borrower, Alta Developers LLC, to secure the three-year, floating-rate loan through Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies LP. Loan proceeds will be used to pay the existing construction loan on Phase I and will fund the construction of Phase II. Brian Gaswirth and Reid Carleton of JLL’s Capital Markets team represented Alta in the transaction. EON at Flagler Village is within walking distance of the new Virgin (formerly Brightline) train station in Fort Lauderdale. Phase I of EON at Flagler Village was completed in May 2019 and consists of 206 residential units and 3,320 square feet of retail. Amenities include a pool, outdoor grilling stations, fitness center and yoga room, pet facilities, a game room and lounges. Phase II, which is currently under construction, will consist of 270 residential units and 2,400 square feet of retail space. The second phase is anticipated to open by spring 2021.
SANDY SPRINGS, GA. — Atlanta-based Cortland has purchased The Hill, a 287-unit multifamily complex in Sandy Springs, a suburb of Atlanta in the city’s Central Perimeter submarket. Cincinnati-based developer North American Properties Inc. (NAP) sold the property at 1160 Johnson Ferry Road NE to Cortland for an undisclosed amount. The complex, which will be rebranded as Cortland at the Hill, features a fitness center with free group fitness classes, a dog park, pool area, grilling stations and a fire pit. The apartment complex is adjacent to the MARTA Medical Center station and near to both Ga. Highway 400 and Interstate 285, as well as a cluster of hospitals giving the neighborhood the nickname of “Pill Hill.” The property was 81 percent occupied at the time of sale. With this acquisition, Cortland now owns 37 assets and more than 11,900 units in metro Atlanta.