KANSAS CITY, KAN. — Newmark Grubb Zimmer has arranged the sale of a 517,391-square-foot industrial building in Kansas City for an undisclosed price. Overstock.com, an online furniture and home goods retailer, and Riverside Transport fully occupy the property, which is located at 5300 Kansas Ave. Mark Long and John Hassler of NGZ brokered the transaction. Sealy & Co. purchased the asset from BH Properties.
The joint effects of heavy supply additions, rising construction costs and the possibility of an looming recession have multifamily lenders in Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) exercising caution and restraint on new construction financing, even as jobs and people continue to flow into the metroplex and fuel demand for housing. The sector’s fundamentals are very encouraging. According to data from CoStar Group, the metroplex has added approximately 23,000 new units over the past 12 months. At just over 25,000 units, absorption during that period has more than adequate. Vacancy currently sits at 7.5 percent. In addition to the market adding 80,000-plus jobs and 100,000-plus people for several consecutive years, strong demand for Class B properties with value-add potential has kept rent growth moving forward. Concessions have begun to sprout up in a handful of submarkets that have seen particularly concentrated levels of new supply, but the metroplex still posted overall rent growth of 2.9 percent over the last 12 months, according to CoStar. In addition, lenders are keenly aware of the construction industry’s ongoing challenge to add skilled labor. Labor stress is creating longer construction timelines and stabilization periods. “Two years ago, we had subcontractors walking off our job sites because they …
NEW YORK CITY — LinkedIn has signed its eighth lease expansion at the Empire State Building in Manhattan. The deal increases LinkedIn’s footprint by three-and-a-half floors totaling 188,653 square feet. Since 2011, the online job posting and networking platform has grown to 501,600 square feet at the iconic building. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based LinkedIn has offices in more than 30 cities around the world. The company, acquired by Microsoft in 2016, has more than 15,000 full-time employees. There are approximately 645 million LinkedIn users worldwide. Empire State Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: ESRT) owns the Empire State Building, which rises 1,454 feet. Tenants at the property have access to a 15,000-square-foot fitness center, conference center and in-building dining options. With an Energy Star rating of 86, the Empire State Building is in the top 20 percent in energy efficiency among all buildings measured, according to ESRT. Sacha Zarba, Lauren Crowley Corrinet and Chris Hogan of CBRE represented LinkedIn in the expansion lease. Ryan Kass and Shanae Ursini of ESRT provided landlord representation. ESRT is a real estate investment trust that owns, manages, operates, acquires and repositions office and retail properties in Manhattan and the greater New York City metro area. The company’s portfolio …
TUSTIN, CALIF. — Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has brokered the sale of 2642 Michelle Drive at Create Tustin, a creative office building located in Tustin. A joint venture between Harbor Associates and Stockbridge sold the asset to Excelsior Partners for $16.8 million. At the time of sale, the 50,832-square-foot property was fully leased to Avid Bioservices (formerly Peregrine Pharmaceuticals), Advantage Sales & Marketing and GPA Consultants. Built in 1980 and renovated in 2017, the two-story building is situated on 2.8 acres within the Irvine Business Complex. The asset features efficient rectangular floorplates, contemporary interior finishes and modern creative office build-outs, as well as approximately 200 parking spaces. Sean Fulp, Ryan Plummer, Mark Schuessler, Paul Jones, Blake Bokosky and Brandon White of NKF represented the seller, while the buyer was self-represented in the transaction.
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK CITY — Blackstone Real Estate Partners IX, an affiliate of Blackstone (NYSE: BX), is acquiring a 65 percent controlling interest in Great Wolf Resorts Inc. Although the specific price of the investment was not disclosed, Blackstone and existing owner Centerbridge Partners LP will form a new $2.9 billion joint venture to own the company. Chicago-based based Great Wolf is an owner and operator of family-oriented entertainment resorts, with 18 locations around the country. Each lodge contains a full-service hotel, indoor waterpark, recreational activities and various food and beverage offerings. A new resort in Northern California is slated to open next year. “Great Wolf has enriched the guest experience and opened seven new lodges since 2015,” says Tyler Henritze, head of U.S. acquisitions for Blackstone. “We look forward to investing in these properties to further deliver for guests and grow the company.” Murray Hennessy, CEO of Great Wolf, says that the company stands to benefit greatly from Blackstone’s insights and expertise in hospitality. The sale comes at a time when theme park companies are benefitting from higher consumer spending on travel and leisure, according to Bloomberg. Blackstone has previously invested in SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. and helped buy …
SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Boston Properties Inc. (NYSE: BXP) has formed a joint venture with institutional investor Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) to develop Platform 16, a 1.1 million-square-foot office campus in downtown San Jose. Boston Properties, a developer and owner of Class A office buildings, holds a 55 percent ownership stake in the joint venture. The Silicon Valley project will comprise three buildings situated near Diridon Station, the largest multi-modal transportation hub in the Bay Area consisting of the Caltrain, VTA light-rail and the ACE train lines, as well as the planned BART and high-speed rail lines. Platform 16 will also be near Guadalupe River Park and adjacent to Google’s planned transit village spanning 8 million square feet. “Platform 16 is ideally located in one of the largest technology hubs in the country,” says Aaron Fenton, vice president of development for Boston Properties. “With easy access to public transportation, as well as local housing, culture, food and entertainment, Platform 16 will help companies attract and retain the talent they need to support their growth.” Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, Platform 16’s name originates from its proximity to Diridon Station and its planned 16 outdoor terraces across the …
NEW YORK CITY AND DALLAS — Blackstone Real Estate Partners IX, an affiliate of New York City-based global investment firm Blackstone (NYSE: BX), has agreed to acquire Colony Industrial, the Dallas-based industrial arm of Colony Capital Inc. (NYSE: CLNY). The deal is valued at approximately $5.9 billion. Terms of the deal call for Blackstone to purchase Colony Capital’s logistics portfolio, which consists of approximately 60 million square feet across 465 light industrial buildings in 26 U.S. markets. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter. The sale also includes Colony’s 51 percent ownership interest in a 4 million-square-foot portfolio of distribution assets and the affiliated operating platform that manages those properties. “This acquisition of high-quality warehouses demonstrates our continued strong conviction in logistics and positive e-commerce trends,” says Nadeem Meghji, head of real estate Americas at Blackstone. “As retailers continue to shorten delivery times and expand their last-mile footprints, we believe warehouses in dense population centers will continue to experience outsized demand growth.” Willkie Farr & Gallagher served as legal counsel; Morgan Stanley and Eastdil Secured served as financial advisors; and CBRE National Partners served as real estate advisor to Colony Capital. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett served as …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Paramount Group Inc. (NYSE: PGRE) has sold Liberty Place, a landmark office building in Washington D.C., to an undisclosed buyer for $154.5 million. The 172,000-square-foot office building is located at 325 7th St. NW in the East End submarket of Washington, D.C., less than a mile from Capitol Hill. The property comprises two incorporated buildings: the historic Fireman’s Fund Building built in 1882, and a 12-story glass and limestone office tower constructed in 1991. In 2014, Hickok Cole designed an interior repositioning of the office entrance and lobby. Paramount intends to use a portion of proceeds from the sale to partially fund its $722 million purchase of Market Center, a 753,000-square-foot Class A office building in San Francisco’s South Financial District. “We continue to execute on our capital recycling strategy by selling stabilized assets at attractive prices and redeploying that capital into higher-growth opportunities, such as Market Center,” says Albert Behler, president, CEO and chairman. Recent tenants at Liberty Place include electric service company PPL Corp., market consultant Sonecon, Canadian fertilizer company Nutrien and Teneo Hospitality Group. Paramount originally acquired Liberty Place from Beacon Capital Partners in June 2011. Though Paramount did not disclose the price, the …
CHICAGO — Industrious, a flexible workspace provider, has expanded its office space at Accenture Tower in Chicago. Industrious will now occupy more than 93,000 square feet, up from its original footprint of 46,500 square feet. The company says it signed the lease expansion due to overwhelming business demand. Industrious Ogilvie features shared workspaces, private offices and Canvas suites, its signature offering. Amenities include Wi-Fi, daily breakfast in a fully stocked café and networking events. The expanded space is expected to be open in the second quarter of 2020. KBS owns Accenture Tower, a 1.5 million-square-foot office tower. KBS spearheaded a multi-million-dollar renovation of the property in 2015. Wendy Katz and Matt Lerner of Cushman & Wakefield represented KBS in the lease transaction. Paul Reaumond, Mark Cassata and Ian Murphy of CBRE represented Industrious.
BETHESDA, MD. — Shareholders of Condor Hospitality Trust Inc., a lodging REIT based in Bethesda, have approved the proposed $318 million merger between Condor and NexPoint Hospitality Trust, a hotel REIT headquartered in Toronto. NexPoint and Condor expect the merger to close in the fourth quarter. As part of the deal, NexPoint will acquire Condor’s outstanding equity interests and operating partnership. “The transaction instantly expands [our] geographical footprint and balances NexPoint’s value-add portfolio with extended-stay hotels,” says Jim Dondero, CEO of NexPoint. “We believe the future for quality extended-stay and select-service hotels remains bright.” The shareholders of Condor (NYSE: CDOR) held a special meeting on Monday, Sept. 23 whereby 81.8 percent of the shares of Condor common stock voted in favor of adopting and approving the merger agreement, which NexPoint announced in late July. The merger allows NexPoint to enter several new markets, including Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi and South Carolina. The move will also expand the REIT’s presence in Florida and Texas. Condor Hospitality Trust currently owns 15 hotels in eight states totaling more than 1,900 rooms. The hotel flags in the company’s portfolio includes Hilton, Marriott and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). NexPoint Hospitality Trust began operations in …
