WOODSTOCK, ILL. — Quantum Real Estate Advisors Inc. has brokered the sale of a 13,915-square-foot multi-tenant retail center in Woodstock for $1.8 million. The retail center is located at 11620 Catalpa Lane. The property is 80 percent occupied by national and regional tenants including Great Clips, Benjamin F. Edwards & Co., Anytime Fitness and Lucky Bernie’s. Chad Firsel of Quantum Real Estate Advisors represented the seller, a Chicago-based investment group. A private real estate investor based in the northern suburbs of Chicago was the buyer.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Stockbridge Capital Group has sold Cypress Park West I and II, a two-building, 225,757-square-foot office complex located at 6700 and 6750 N. Andrews Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. Hollywood, Fla.-based Naya USA Investment & Management purchased the office buildings from Stockbridge for $43.1 million. Ike Ojala, Hermen Rodriguez and Jorge Portela of HFF represented Stockbridge in the transaction. Situated on 18.5 acres adjacent to a Marriott hotel, the properties were 97 percent leased at the time of sale to Microsoft’s Latin American headquarters, Regus, Sprint, MSC Cruises and Southern Auto Finance Co. The complex’s amenities include an on-site café, conference facility, 24/7 security and a 660-space parking facility with electric vehicle charging stations.
ATLANTA — Federal Capital Partners (FCP) and Westbridge Partners have broken ground on Stockyards, an adaptive renovation of three historic warehouses in Atlanta’s West Midtown district. Expected to open in the first quarter of 2017, Stockyards is more than 65 percent pre-leased to office and retail tenants including The Painted Duck, a sister entertainment concept to The Painted Pin; Fitzgerald & Co., an Atlanta-based advertising agency; Momentum Worldwide, an Atlanta-based sports marketing firm; Weber Shandwick, a global communications firm; Mannington Mills Inc., a flooring and carpeting showroom; and a new restaurant concept from Charleston-based The Indigo Road. Stockyards will occupy three acres on the corner of 10th Street and Brady Avenue. Designed by architectural firm ai3, the development will total 95,000 square feet of Class A office space, 13,000 square feet of street-level restaurant space, 25,000 square feet of retail space on the lower level and a 400-space parking deck. Gay Construction is Stockyards’ general contractor, Cushman & Wakefield is handling the office leasing and SunTrust Bank, represented internally by Mark Hancock, is the project’s senior lender.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Tavistock Development Co. has named Columbus, Ohio-based Steiner + Associates as its retail planning, leasing and development partner for Lake Nona Town Center in Orlando. Phase I of the project opened in January, including an 85,000-square-foot office building, a Marriott Residence Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, 16,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and a five-story parking structure. Upon completion, the 100-acre project will anchor the 11-square-mile, master-planned Lake Nona community, which has had more than $3 billion in construction in the last eight years spanning 7.1 million square feet of residential and commercial properties. Located adjacent to Orlando International Airport, Lake Nona features neighborhoods, schools, the Lake Nona Medical City and United States Tennis Association’s New Home of American Tennis facility, the largest of its kind in the world. Initial phases of Lake Nona Town Center will comprise more than 1 million square feet of retail, restaurant, entertainment, office and hotel space.
ATLANTA — Cousins Properties (NYSE: CUZ) and Parkway Properties (NYSE: PKY) have agreed to a $1.95 billion stock-for-stock merger. The deal will simultaneously spin off of both companies’ Houston-based assets, creating a new publicly traded REIT called HoustonCo. The combined company will operate under the Cousins Properties name and continue to own Class A office towers in Sun Belt markets. The combined portfolio will include 41 properties totaling 15.8 million square feet of space in Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Charlotte, N.C.; Phoenix; and Orlando and Tampa, Fla. Although Parkway currently owns properties in Jacksonville, Fla., a Cousins investor presentation about the merger implied those buildings will be sold. Under the agreement, Parkway shareholders will receive 1.63 shares of Cousins stock for each share of Parkway stock they own. The combined company will create HoustonCo via a special dividend distributed to its shareholders once the merger is complete. Jim Heistand, Parkway’s CEO, will head HoustonCo after the spin-off. Cousins and Parkway shareholders will own about 52 percent and 48 percent, respectively, of both Cousins and HoustonCo. Both companies’ boards of directors approved the transactions unanimously. Affiliates of TPG, which own about 21 percent of Parkway’s outstanding common stock, have also agreed to …
STAMFORD, CONN., AND BETHESDA, MD.— Stockholders from Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR) and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) have approved Marriott’s acquisition of Starwood. The new entity will be the world’s largest hotel company with 30 brands, approximately 5,700 hotels and 1.1 million hotel rooms. The shareholder vote conducted at each company on April 8 passed easily with 97 percent of Marriott’s shareholders approving the transaction and 95 percent of Starwood’s shareholders approving the deal. “There is no doubt that this transaction puts our company on the best path forward,” says Thomas Mangas, Starwood’s CEO. “We remain excited about the opportunity this combination will create for our stockholders, associates, owners and guests.” At closing, Starwood stockholders will receive 0.8 shares of Marriott common stock, plus $21 in cash for each share of Starwood common stock. The transaction is on target to close by the middle of this year.
ATLANTA — China’s “sloppy” attempt to manage the devaluation of its currency, the renminbi, and the declining demand for Chinese products from the United States and Europe are the main culprits behind the stock market’s woes, says economist Dr. Rajeev Dhawan of Georgia State University (GSU). “Who got to the stock market bull?” asked Dhawan during the quarterly forecast conference held at GSU on Wed., Feb 24. “Just like in old Chuck Norris movies, the chief villain is the Chinese economy.” For the second time in six months, China’s attempt to manage the devaluation of its currency sent shockwaves through global equity markets. Year-to-date through Feb. 24, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 940 points, or 5.4 percent. What would lead China to devalue its currency? Dhawan says that China could be attempting to impress the United Nation’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) with the currency manipulation. Countries try to devalue their currencies in order to combat trade imbalances, point out industry experts. A weaker currency could help a country like China to boost trade exports, shrink trade deficits and reduce sovereign debt burdens, since a “weaker currency makes debt payments effectively less expensive over time,” according to Investopedia. Whatever …
NEW YORK CITY — Shutterstock has expanded its lease at the Empire State Building for an additional 25,300 square feet. The global provider of commercial imagery and music will now occupy 105,300 square feet at the building. The company’s headquarters has occupied 80,000 square feet at the building since 2013. Additional tenants at the Empire State Building are LinkedIn, Bulova, Coty, Global Brands Group, HNTB, Expedia, Skanska and Media General Digital. Paul Ippolito of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the tenant, while Ryan Kass, Fred Posniak and Shane Ursini provided in-house representation for the landlord, Empire State Realty Trust Inc., in the transaction.
LOS ANGELES — Stockdale Capital Partners has acquired a 140,054-square-foot medical office building in Los Angeles for an undisclosed sum. The building is located at 2100 W. 3rd St. The space was built in two phases between 1991 and 2007. It includes medical office, laboratory and general office space. Notable tenants at the property include UCLA, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, ViraCor-IBT Laboratories and the House Ear Clinic. Bob Safai, Matt Case and Brad Schlaak of Madison Partners represented the seller, a joint venture between Watt Investment Partners and Rockpoint Group, in this transaction.
STOCKTON, CALIF. — Hanley Investment Group has arranged the sale of Hammer Plaza, a 20,388-square-foot retail center located at 2701 E. Hammer Lane in Stockton. A Tracy, Calif.-based private investor acquired the property from a Stockton-based investor for $1.4 million. Built in 1980 and situated on 1.5 acres, the property was 55 percent vacant at the time of sale. Eric Vu of Hanley Investment Group represented the seller and buyer in the transaction.