HOUSTON — The grand openings have been held for six new tenants at Vintage Park, an approximately 500,000-square-foot lifestyle center located in Houston. Situated on 84 acres at the intersection of Louetta Road and Highway 249, the center’s new tenants include BRIX Wine Cellars, The Castleberry Center for Aesthetic Dentistry, Fish City Grill, Post Net, Signature Home Theater and Shogun Japanese Grill & Sushi. Many of the openings occurred when the center held its grand opening ceremonies in October. Tenants already open at Vintage Park include Cheeburger Cheeburger, H-E-B Vintage Market, LandAmerica Commonwealth Title, Pepper-Lawson Construction, Potbelly Sandwich Works, Starbucks Coffee, and Vintage Wellness & Aesthetic Center. Tenants opening soon at the center include Freshberry Frozen Yogurt, Mia Bella, Peli Peli, Pizza Fusion, Salaa & Trio Prime Steakhouse and Bar, Bank of Texas, Compass Bank, Heritage Texas Properties and Kickerillio Cos. Vintage Park is owned by Houston-based The Interfin Companies. It is the retail component of The Vintage, a 630-acre master planned community.
NEW YORK CITY — Brooklyn, New York City-based Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates (KDA) has arranged a 49-year ground lease for a 23,000-square-foot retail property located at 22-44 Church Ave. in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. The property is currently occupied by a closed White Castle restaurant; it will soon house a new International House of Pancakes location, along with 9,000 square feet of retail space. Completion of the renovation is scheduled for mid-2009. KDA’s Allison Chambers represented the lessee, a locally based and investor, and Bob Klein, also of KDA, represented the landlord, Richard Ull.
NEW GALILEE, PA. — Grubb & Ellis has completed the long-term lease of 168,924 square feet of industrial space at Turnpike Distribution Center, a warehouse-distribution facility located at 1750 Shanango Rd. in New Galilee. Constructed in 2007, the property is located at the intersection of Interstate 76 and Route 60. Louis Oliva and Rick O’Brien of Grubb & Ellis facilitated the transaction on behalf of the tenant, Boston-based Iron Mountain Inc., and the landlord, Turnpike Distribution LP, which consists of a joint venture between Pittsburgh-based Castlebrook Development, Cincinnati-based Al. Neyer Inc., and Pittsburgh-based The Erect Fund. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIF. — Voit Commercial Brokerage has completed two transactions, totaling $4.1 million, in Los Angeles County. In Downey, Calif., Benedict Partners LLC acquired a 23,200-square-foot property, which is located at 12406-12422 Benedict Ave., for $2.1 million. Rob Socci and Peter Castleton of Voit’s Anaheim, Calif., office represented the sellers, George and Margaret Maginn; Jeff Hubbard of Lee & Associates represented the buyer in the transaction. In a separate transaction, Guthrie Development Company completed the disposition of an 11,516-square-foot property, which is located a 7901 Somerset in Paramount, Calif., for $2 million. The property is located within the 158,000-square-foot Somerset Business Park. Louis Tomaselli, Mitch Zehner, Cameron Driscoll and Luke McDaniel of Voit’s Anaheim office represented the seller; Steve Bryant of Grubb & Ellis represented the buyers, Yungtai and Lisa Hsu.
SAN JOSE, CALIF. — San Mateo, Calif.-based The Castle Group, dba Morrison Park Apartments LLC, recently acquired a $19.7 million, 4.4-acre site at 381 Stockton Ave. in San Jose for the development of Morrison Park Apartments. The four-story, 250-unit apartment complex was originally designed as a for-sale condominium property, but due to the economy the project has been converted to a rental housing property. Completion is slated for late 2010. Keith Claxton of NAI BT Commercial San Jose, along with Borelli Investments, represented the undisclosed seller in the land transaction.
Despite being just south of Philadelphia, Delaware continues to maintain its presence in the New England market and its own identity. After a very active period from 2005 to 2007, office development in Wilmington’s central business district (CBD) is now taking a breather. The last project finished, the Renaissance Center at 4th and King streets, still has significant vacancies. The suburban market has also slowed, and new developers are taking a wait-and-see approach before speculatively breaking ground on new projects. This current slowdown in market activity is attributable partly to the market and partly to the usual summer slump. The slowdown has brought overall vacancy rates to 17.1 percent for Class A and B office product, including sublease space. The Wilmington CBD comes in with the highest rate at 20.5 percent (Class A and B, including subleases), while western New Castle County posts a rate of 6.2 percent, an anomaly compared to the other submarkets that lean more towards the CBD’s rate. Currently, rents for Class A space in the CBD can run from the low $20s to low $30s per square foot. Suburban rents for Class A space are equivalent, ranging from the low to high $20s. Leasing may …
STOWE, VT. — Broomfield, Colo.-based RockResorts International has entered into an agreement with a joint venture between Stonewater Partners and CastleGrace Management for the management of a resort project currently under construction in Stowe. Known as The Mansfield Inn at Stowe, the project will include for-sale residences, as well as luxury tented accommodations. Amenities will include a three-meal restaurant with a fine dining element; a 6,000-square-foot spa with six standalone, spa-themed cabins; a warming hut; and an outdoor pool and hot tubs. The project is scheduled to open in time for the 2010/2011 ski season. RockResorts, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vail Resorts, will manage all resort operations, provide technical advisory services and provide marketing licensing services to assist in sales for the project.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Orlando-based H.J. High Construction Co. recently completed the 57,000-square-foot Pine Castle United Methodist Church, located at 731 Fairlane Ave. in Orlando. The $9.07 million project, which features a 1,250-seat sanctuary, also includes classrooms, church offices, a lobby, a chapel and a youth auditorium.
JERSEY CITY, N.J., AND NEW CASTLE, DEL. — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has arranged two multifamily loans totaling $47.6 million. The first loan totals $33.8 million and will finance the pre-stabilization of Cliffs at Jersey City, a Class A, mid-rise property located in Jersey City, The loan carries a 5-year term with interest-only payments. The borrower is Brass Works Urban Renewal Co., and the lender is Fannie Mae. The second loan totals $13.8 million and will be used primarily to finance the acquisition of Hampton Walk, a Class B, garden-style property located in New Castle. Loan proceeds will also be used to renovate the units, as well as finance the purchase of an additional property in the area. The borrower is KGL Holdings Hampton Walk LLC, and the lender is Fannie Mae. Terms of the financing were not disclosed.
LEAGUE CITY, TEXAS — Capmark Finance has originated a total of $16.46 million in financing for the acquisition and renovation of two League City multifamily properties. Crows Nest Condominiums is a 176-unit property located at 501 Davis Rd., and Sandcastles Apartments, which was recently renamed Harbor Walk, is a 138-unit community located at 2751 FM 518. The loan proceeds comprised $14.75 million in first mortgage financing and $1.71 million in mezzanine debt. The fixed-rate loans carry 5-year terms with interest-only payments for the first 2 years, followed by a 30-year amortization schedule. Brant Smith and Andy Hill of Capmark’s Houston office originated the financing on behalf of the borrower, Houston-based Mosaic Residential. The primary lender is Fannie Mae, which utilized the company’s CI Mezz-Mod Rehab Program; RCG Longview acted as the mezzanine lender.