Philadelphia’s diverse local economy, healthy hiring trends and area-employers’ ability to draw fresh talent from the metro’s deep college-graduate pool, continue to attract businesses to the area and support improvements in the office property segment. In 2016, Philadelphia firms increased payrolls by 1.9 percent with the creation of 54,000 new positions. Hiring was driven by office-using employment sectors which, over the four-quarter period ending with the second quarter of 2016, accounted for the addition of 21,700 jobs, or nearly 37 percent of all new hires. This year, it is expected that the local workforce will add 49,000 to its ranks, representing a 1.7 percent expansion. Hiring will continue to be strong among office-using companies, as well as in the healthcare and education segments. In the first half of 2016, developers sluggishly completed 178,000 square feet of new office space. In the second half of last year, the construction pipeline exploded, and by year-end 1.2 million square feet of office space had been delivered to the marketplace, with a significant amount of completions pre-leased, which helped mitigate any effects to vacancy levels. Office projects completed in 2016 were spread throughout the metro within the submarkets of Delaware County, Lehigh-Northampton, Harrisburg Area …
GARLAND, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of Oaks Branch, a multifamily building located at 1004 Castleglen Drive in Garland. Oaks Branch features 76 units in a mix of two- and three-bedroom apartment layouts and two-story townhouse-style units. Nick Fluellen and Bard Hoover of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a limited liability company, and procured the buyer, also a limited liability company, in the deal. The acquisition price was not released.
TOMS RIVER, N.J. — NGKF Capital Markets has arranged the sale of a $24 million loan pool from the OceanFirst Bank loan portfolio. Castlelake/Midwest Capital acquired the loans, which had an average size of $500,000. The loan pool was collateralized by a variety of industrial, retail and mixed-use assets located in nine southern New Jersey countries, including Atlantic and Ocean counties. Steven Schultz, Josh Malka and Tony Georgiev of NGKF Capital Markets represented the seller.
DENVER — Castle Lanterra has acquired the 369-unit Alexan Sloan’s Lake apartment community in Denver for $102.8 million. The community is located at 1550 Raleigh St. Alexan Sloan’s Lake features 9,000 square feet of first-floor retail. The property is part of a 19-acre mixed-use redevelopment of the former Saint Anthony Hospital campus. The development will eventually contain up to 150,000 square feet of retail and office space. Jeff Hawks, Terrance Hunt, Doug Andrews, Shane Ozment and Chris Cowan of ARA Newmark represented the seller, a joint venture between Trammell Crow Residential and an institutional investor.
DAVENPORT, IOWA — Dougherty Mortgage LLC has arranged a $3.8 million Fannie Mae loan for the acquisition of Castlewood Apartments in Davenport, part of the Quad Cities and located near the Illinois border. The 96-unit multifamily property offers two- and three-bedroom townhomes. The 16-year loan features a 30-year amortization schedule. In conjunction with the loan, tax credit equity will also be used to fund the moderate rehabilitation of the project. Dougherty’s Minneapolis office arranged the financing on behalf of the borrower, Davenport MAHC LLLP.
GARLAND, TEXAS — Dougherty Mortgage has closed a $5.4 million Fannie Mae loan for the acquisition of Oaks Branch Apartment Homes in Garland, a northeastern suburb of Dallas. The 12-year loan was arranged through a partnership with Old Capital Lending and Dougherty Mortgage’s Vienna, Va., office on behalf of the borrower, Castleglen Homes LLC. The financing included two years of interest-only payments and a 30-year amortization schedule. The 76-unit property features two- and three-bedroom market-rate units with open kitchens, vaulted ceilings, ceiling fans and washer/dryer connections.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — ARA Newmark has arranged the $56 million sale of Aspyre, a 760-bed student housing community located near the University of South Carolina campus in Columbia. Ryan Lang of ARA Newmark represented the seller, Holder Properties, in the disposition of the property to Castlerock Enterprises. Community amenities at Aspyre include a resort-style pool with a beach area and grills; a clubroom with a bar area, a Nintendo Wii and a PlayStation; and a Zen courtyard with a putting green and 24-hour fitness center. Aspyre was 97 percent occupied at the time of sale.
NEW CASTLE COUNTY, DEL. — U.S. Realty Capital has originated $31 million in permanent financing for a multifamily complex located in northern New Castle County. The financing will replace an existing construction loan on the newly built 218-unit property. The property had significant pre-leasing activity and overall occupancy was close to 100 percent at completion. The property features a fitness center, pool and 9,000 square feet of retail space. Bruce Robertson Jr. and Jane Bender of U.S. Realty Capital arranged the financing for the undisclosed borrower.
FORT WAYNE, IND. — Bradley Co. has arranged four leases for office and retail space in Fort Wayne. Kelly Castle of Bradley Co. represented the tenant in each transaction. Levitate LLC leased 2,709 square feet of office space at 803 S. Calhoun St.; Deck Factory LLC inked a deal for retail space at 1509 Goshen Road; Mad Anthony Investments LLC leased 2,393 square feet of retail space at 2701-2703 Broadway; and RITS Ltd. Brokers signed a lease for retail space at 6127 Stellhorn Road within Maplewood Plaza. The names of the landlords were not released.
ANTRIM TOWNSHIP, PA. — Eldorado Stone has signed a lease for a 432,000-square-foot build-to-suit industrial building at Antrim Commons Business Park in Antrim Township. The company, which manufactures architectural stone veneer, plans to consolidate two operations currently located in Greencastle, Pa., and Hagerstown, Md., into the facility. The company plans to invest nearly $7 million into the new location. The joint venture ownership between Atapco Properties and Chesapeake Real Estate Group plans to construct the new facility on a 25.4-acre parcel of land on Antrim Commons Drive within the business park. The property is slated for delivery in summer 2017. Antrim Commons Business Park is configured to support up to 6 million square feet of industrial and commercial space. Eldorado Stone received a $250,000 Pennsylvania First Program grant and $114,000 in Job Creation Tax Credits that will be distributed after the new jobs are created.