Investors have renewed their interest in office properties in the Washington, D.C. central business district (CBD) based on increasing tenant demand. The market is putting a higher value on the built-in amenities that exist in the CBD, like dining and entertaining options, transportation accessibility and architecturally timeless buildings. We can always tell the center of gravity of a city by where the brokerage shops locate. In D.C., CBRE’s latest move to the CBD from the East End puts all of the agency brokerage shops within feet of each other. With a healthy stock of historically significant, well-built office properties with value-add potential, the CBD is primed to continue its office renaissance. Transportation Infrastructure While the existing public transportation infrastructure in the CBD is an important factor driving businesses back to the submarket, shaving 20 to 30 minutes from commute times — whether by car, bus or train — is decidedly attractive to today’s employers. Combined with the variety of established dining, entertainment and hospitality options in the CBD, transportation is vital to attracting high-profile employers. The city’s law firms in particular have taken note. Over 20 notable practices have relocated their offices to the CBD in the last year alone. …
Records were meant to be broken. That’s a phrase commercial lenders have become fairly familiar with over the past few years. Multifamily lending, in particular, has enjoyed a good run. In the fourth quarter of 2018, the Mortgage Bankers Association released the MBA Annual Report on Multifamily Lending. According to the report, strong market conditions helped fuel a 6 percent increase in multifamily lending in 2017. Lenders provided a record high of $285 billion in new mortgages for apartment buildings with five or more units. Jamie Woodwell, vice president of commercial real estate research for MBA, cited a few reasons for this uptick in activity. “The multifamily lending market in 2017 benefited from improving fundamentals, rising property values and low interest rates,” he says. “The result was larger loan sizes and record levels of overall borrowing and lending…Demand came from borrowers and lenders of all sizes, with loan amounts ranging from thousands of dollars to hundreds of millions.” This breakneck pace continued last year as low unemployment, job growth and overall economic strength gave investors and lenders confidence in the market. Freddie Mac had its best year ever in terms of multifamily production in 2018. The government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) closed …
NEW YORK CITY — Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc. (NYSE: AHT) has acquired the Embassy Suites by Hilton New York Midtown Manhattan for $195 million, or $629,000 per room. The 41-story, 310-room hotel is located on 37th Street between 5th and 6th avenues, near Bryant Park and Times Square. While the seller was not disclosed, The Real Deal reports that AIG Global Real Estate owned the majority stake in the property. This is Ashford’s first direct hotel investment in New York City. According to data analytics firm STR, the number of hotel rooms in Manhattan that opened in 2018 was down 32 percent from 2017. Furthermore, for the first time since 2013, demand outpaced supply in both 2017 and 2018. “The hotel is a high-quality, well-positioned asset that we expect will benefit from the positive trends occurring in the dynamic Manhattan market,” says Douglas Kessler, Ashford’s president and CEO. “Having recently opened in 2018, the property is still ramping up operations, and we believe there is significant growth and upside to occur.” Indeed, Ashford reports that there are several new development projects in Midtown that are expected to fuel growth in the area. On a trailing three-month basis ending Dec. 31, 2018, the …
BAKERSFIELD, CALIF. — Colliers International has directed the sale of an industrial distribution center, located at 5801 District Blvd. within the Stockdale Industrial Park in Bakersfield. OLP Bakersfield Ca LLC, a private investor, acquired the property from ICI Property LLC for $10.8 million. Built in 1980 and situated on 15.4 acres, the 220,180-square-foot property features 24-foot to 28-foot clearance, expandable loading, sufficient power, secured outside yard areas and proximity to rail service. Men’s Wearhouse occupies the single-tenant property on an NNN lease basis. Patrick Barnes, Stephen Haupt, Christopher Maling and David Maling of Colliers represented the buyer and seller in the transaction.
SOMERVILLE, MASS. — Sports apparel and accessories company PUMA North America will open a new, 150,000-square-foot office headquarters at Assembly Row, a mixed-use destination in the northwestern Boston metro of Somerville. Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT) is developing Assembly Row. The new headquarters will be located at 455 Grand Union Blvd. The new building will total 300,000 square feet upon completion, and will bring together PUMA’s two nearby offices in Boston and Westford. The company expects the space to house about 550 employees across five floors beginning in 2021. The transit-served building also features a 19,000-square-foot roof deck complete with a recreational area and basketball court. Additional amenities include a fitness center, a kids’ room and bike storage. “We need to be faster than ever in the way we react and adapt,” says Adam Petrick, PUMA’s global director of branding and marketing. “Somerville is a city buzzing with creative, diverse energy that will help us live out our ‘Forever Faster’ mentality.” Assembly Row is a 40-acre project located along Interstate 93 and the MBTA Orange Line. The developer has launched Phase III of the project, which will feature more than $475 million in new development. Phase III will deliver a 500-unit …
NEWTON, MASS. AND WESTLAKE, OHIO — TravelCenters of America LLC (NASDAQ: TA) has agreed to purchase 20 truck stop locations from its primary landlord, Hospitality Properties Trust (NASDAQ: HPT), for $308.2 million. The 20 properties span 15 states. HPT will continue to own 179 properties that TA leases. The leases have been amended by both companies, which puts the 179 properties under five leases. The leases have all been extended by three years. Westlake-based TA expects to purchase nine of the travel centers for $140.5 million Jan. 17 and expects to complete the remaining purchases in two closings by the end of January. HPT expects to gain $160 million from the sale, which it plans to use to repay borrowings under its revolving credit facility and for general business purposes. When the sales are finalized, TA’s rent will fall by $243.9 million per year. Under the amended leases, TA’s rent will be reduced by $43.1 million per year. HPT will receive $70.5 million for backlogged payments in 16 quarterly payments from TA beginning April 1. The backlogged rent has been reduced from $150 million due to moving the payments up from June 2024. “As we move into the tenth year …
POMPANO BEACH, FLA. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the $62.3 million sale of Powerline Business Park, a 443,720-square-foot, small-bay industrial park in Broward County. The park comprises 24 small-bay buildings on about 26.4 acres. The property features 16- 20-foot clear heights, air-conditioned office space and illuminated parking, as well as dock-high truck loading and grade-level, overhead 12-by-14-foot doors. The park was developed between 1983 and 1994 and was 96.8 percent leased at the time of the sale. Mike Davis, Scott O’Donnell, Rick Brugge, Michael Lerner, Dominic Montazemi and Greg Miller of Cushman & Wakefield represented the locally based seller, Industrial Development Co., in the transaction. San Francisco-based Stockbridge was the buyer.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Loden Properties has sold a two-tenant shopping center adjacent to North Carolina State University in Raleigh for $7.4 million. The 24,656-square-foot asset is anchored by a 22,211-square-foot, urban-formatted Target and 2,445 square feet is leased to Guasaca, a fast-casual Venezuelan restaurant. San Francisco-based Stockbridge bought the property. Tom Kolarczyk, Justin Good and Warren Johnson of HFF represented the seller in the transaction.
U.S. stocks took a beating in the final month of 2018, with the S&P 500 falling 6.2 percent for the year and the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 5.6 percent. There was no Santa Claus rally on Wall Street down the stretch. Instead, the mood was more “bah humbug.” To add insult to injury, the year ended with a partial government shutdown amid a budget impasse in Washington, D.C. Then came along a strong December jobs report, which provided a reassuring sign that the U.S. economy remains on solid footing. Total nonfarm payroll employment grew by 312,000 in December, boosting job gains for the year to approximately 2.6 million, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The results easily surpassed economists’ predictions of 180,000 to 185,000 in monthly job gains. What’s more, revised employment figures show that employment gains in October and November were 58,000 higher than previously reported. The job gains were also broad-based. Leisure and hospitality employers added 55,000 jobs in December, followed by health care (50,000 jobs), professional and business services (43,000 jobs), construction (38,000 jobs), manufacturing (32,000 jobs), and retail (23,800 jobs). While the unemployment rate rose two-tenths of a percentage point from November …
LEE’S SUMMIT, MO. — Block & Co. Inc. Realtors has arranged the sale of Valle Vista shopping center in Lee’s Summit for an undisclosed price. The property sits on 5.4 acres on the southwest corner of 291 Highway and Chipman Road. Tenants at the fully occupied property include IHOP, Celsius Tannery, Ted’s Café Escondido, Vintage Stock and Five Guys. David Block and Max DiCarlo of Block represented the buyer, LS Valle Vista 2018 LLC. Block & Co. will handle leasing and property management for the new owner. Block Real Estate Services represented the seller.