SUITLAND, MD. — Orlo has sold Ashton Heights, a 283-unit apartment complex in Suitland, for $45.8 million. The property was 96 percent occupied at the time of sale. Ashton Heights is located at 3901 Suitland Road, seven miles southeast of downtown Washington, D.C. The community was built in the 1970s and offers two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Communal amenities include a swimming pool, fitness center, clubhouse, playground and grilling areas. Robin Williams, Dean Sigmon, Justin Shay and Michael D’Amelio of Transwestern represented the seller in the transaction. The buyer was not disclosed.
Southeast
Finmarc Management Purchases Research & Development Campus in Northern Virginia for $26.1M
by Alex Tostado
ASHBURN, VA. — Finmarc Management Inc. has purchased an office building and adjacent industrial facility in Ashburn for $26.1 million. The 190,000 square feet of research and development space serves as Telos Corp.’s headquarters. Telos provides information technology solutions and services to the military, intelligence and civilian agencies of the federal government and NATO allies. The property consists of a three-story, 110,000-square-foot office building and a single-story, 80,000-square-foot industrial structure that are located on a 26-acre site. Situated at the intersection of Ashburn Road and Leesburg Pike, the warehouse/research and development component of the property is equipped with 18- to 20-foot ceiling heights, four dock-high and two drive-in loading doors, as well as a surface parking lot that surrounds both buildings. The buildings are located eight miles from Dulles International Airport and 30 miles from downtown Washington, D.C. Andrew Weir, Bruce Strasburg and James Meisel of JLL represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the $27.5 million sale of Fern Parc, a 343-unit multifamily community in Huntsville. Wicker Park Capital Management LLC acquired the property for $80,029 per unit. Fern Parc is located at 4100 Memorial Parkway SW, five miles south of downtown Huntsville, and offers one- and two-bedroom floor plans. Communal amenities include a swimming pool, kiddie pool, bark park, fitness center, cabanas, business center, playground and pet care services. Fern Parc was built in 1974 and renovated in 2015. Jimmy Adams and Craig Hey of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Panther Residential Management, in the transaction.
Capital Markets Professionals Put Mixed-Use Dynamics Under the Microscope During InterFace Panel
by John Nelson
ATLANTA — One of the central themes of the first annual InterFace Mixed-Use Southeast conference was the interplay between the various uses present within mixed-use projects around the region. Whether it’s Avalon in Alpharetta, Georgia, or the American Tobacco Campus redevelopment in downtown Durham, North Carolina, the success of these projects hinges on whether the different uses can support one another. Can the apartment residents help patronize the retail and restaurants? Can the office component drive overnight stays at the project’s hotel? But before these dynamics can play out, a vital piece to having these projects come to fruition is financing. During the conference’s capital markets discussion, panelists tackled topics including equity requirements for mixed-use projects, a pending recession, the historically low interest rate environment and the strong competition among capital providers. For mixed-use specifically, the capital markets panelists discussed the challenges and opportunities in trying to underwrite the various uses all under one transaction. Lenders have to be careful not to overlook or make assumptions about a property type when financing mixed-use deals, warned Bryan Joyner, managing director of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “They have to look at the separate uses both separately and together and then underwrite …
Public-Private Partnership Delivers $105M Mixed-Use Student Housing Tower on UCF’s Campus in Downtown Orlando
by Alex Tostado
ORLANDO, FLA. — Development Ventures Group (DEVEN) and Ustler Development Inc., in a public-private partnership with the City of Orlando, have delivered UnionWest at Creative Village on the University of Central Florida’s campus. UnionWest is a 15-story building with 644 student housing beds, 100,000 square feet of academic space, 11,000 square feet of ground-level retail space and a 600-space parking garage. Construction on the $105 million development began in October 2017. The building is located at the corner of West Livingston Street and North Terry Avenue in downtown Orlando, which grants access to both University of Central Florida and Valencia College students. Five of the six ground-floor retail locations in UnionWest are leased. Tenants include Vera Asian, Addition Financial, Subway, Dunkin’ and Qdoba Mexican Grill. The student housing portion opened in time for the fall 2019 semester at 97 percent occupancy.
ATLANTA — A joint venture between Songy Highroads and Hyatt Hotels Corp. has opened its 11-story Hyatt Place Centennial Park in downtown Atlanta. The 175-room hotel, which was announced in November 2017, opened on Thursday, Sept. 12. Amenities include ground-level retail space facing Luckie and Marietta streets, a swimming pool, fitness center, lobby bar, onsite food service, parking deck, 2,100 square feet of meeting space and a large aquarium in the lobby paying homage to its neighbor Georgia Aquarium. The hotel is also situated across the street from Centennial Olympic Park and World of Coca-Cola and near other venues such as College Football Hall of Fame, CNN Center, World Congress Center and State Farm Arena. Atlanta-based Reeves Young was the general contractor of Hyatt Place Centennial Park, and Alpharetta, Ga.-based Wakefield Beasley & Associates was the architect.
TAMPA, FLA. — Westside Capital Group has acquired Watermans Crossing Apartments, a 337-unit multifamily community in Tampa’s Wellswood neighborhood, for $29.5 million. The property, which Westside Capital will rebrand as Westshore Crossing, comprises 20 buildings and offers studio through three-bedroom floor plans averaging 895 square feet. Communal amenities include a clubhouse, 876 parking spots, fitness center and three swimming pools. Westside plans to invest $5 million in capital improvements, which will include updating common areas and perform targeted interior unit upgrades. Bridge Investment Group provided the buyer with a $26.3 million acquisition loan with a five-year term and a floating interest rate. Charles Foschini of Berkadia arranged the loan on behalf of the buyer. Luis Elorza and Brad Capas of Cushman & Wakefield represented the buyer in the sale. The seller was not disclosed.
PEACHTREE CORNERS, GA. — Cortland has purchased Echo Lakeside, a 296-unit apartment complex in Peachtree Corners that was delivered in April. The buyer will rebrand the property as Cortland Peachtree Corners. The property is bordered by two lakes, which includes two docks for residents to fish from or launch kayaks. Additional communal amenities include a clubhouse, business center, fitness center, swimming pool, rideshare space and a dog park. The seller and sales price were not disclosed, though the Gwinnett Daily Post reported that Brand Properties was the developer.
HANAHAN, S.C. — Expeditors International of Washington Inc. has signed a 143,000-square-foot industrial lease within North Pointe Commerce Park in Hanahan. Expeditors will occupy 58 percent of the 247,000-square-foot building located at 1017 Northpointe Industrial Blvd., which is situated 14 miles northwest of downtown Charleston. Of the 143,000 square feet, 22,000 will be office space that the landlord, West-Signal, will build out. The building features tilt-up concrete construction, 32-foot clear heights, ESFR sprinkler systems and LED lighting. Expeditors is expected to begin occupying the space in early October. Jeff Kernochan of Fischer International and Hagood Morrison of Bridge Commercial represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Peter Fennelly, Simons Johnson and Tim Raber of Bridge Commercial represented West-Signal, which is a joint venture owned by an affiliate of North Signal Capital LLC and a fund managed by Westport Capital Partners LLC.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — The Beach Co. has broken ground on Sixth South, an apartment complex in downtown Nashville that will feature 299 multifamily units and 5,400 square feet of retail space. Communal amenities will include a saltwater swimming pool, pool deck, outdoor kitchens, pet spa, club room and a fitness center. The Beach Co. expects to complete Sixth South in summer 2021. JC Darby and Jon Petty with Southeast Venture are the listing agents for the retail space.