With the local economy recovering from the Great Recession, the commercial real estate industry in Cincinnati is heating up. Strong office leasing activity in recent quarters has driven down the vacancy rate. From a high of 21 percent in the first quarter of 2011, total vacancy has steadily dropped to its current rate of 19 percent, the result of approximately 700,000 square feet of positive absorption, according to Jones Lang LaSalle. The real estate services firm tracks Class A and B office properties greater than 20,000 square feet, excluding owner-occupied medical and government buildings. The growth of Cincinnati businesses has sparked increased demand for office space, leading to approximately 1 million square feet of product currently under construction or planned for the next year. Meanwhile, the lending climate has improved greatly since the depths of the recession. Cincinnati has welcomed corporate relocations and expansions during the past year. Following several years of short-term lease renewals and tenants giving space back, this is welcome news that is already improving market fundamentals. Driving the increase in office demand is job growth in the healthcare industry as well as the professional and business services sector. The three largest leases within the last year …
PEMBROKE PINES, FLA. — The 296-unit Lakes at Pembroke, located at 9900 Sheridan St. in Pembroke Pines, has sold for $42 million. The property is 96 percent leased. Amenities include two swimming pools, sport courts, a playground, covered parking and a fitness center. Marc deBaptiste, Avery Klann and Hampton Beebe represented LaSalle Investment Management, the seller, in the transaction. The buyer was Atlanta-based Stockbridge Capital.
HOUSTON — HFF has arranged the sale of a four-property industrial portfolio located in Houston, which totals approximately 935,937 square feet. The properties include the six-building, 205,812-square-foot Astro Business Park, which is 93 percent leased and located at 8825-9087 Knight Road; the two-building, 225,475-square-foot Griggs 1 and 2, which is 91 percent leased and located at 5990-6018 Griggs Road; the four-building, 298,081-square-foot McCarty Business Park, which is fully leased and located at 245-279 McCarty Trail; and the four-building, 206,569-square-foot Westpark 1-4, which is 88 percent leased and located at 8710-8798 Westpark Drive. Rusty Tamlyn and Trent Agnew of HFF's Houston office, along with Randy Baird, Jud Clements and Robby Rieke of HFF's Dallas office, represented the sellers, Dallas-based Cobalt Capital Partners, in the sale. The buyer was San Francisco-based Stockbridge Capital Group.
RICHMOND, VA. — Apartment Trust of America (ATA) has arranged a $536.5 million recapitalization that includes the acquisition of 21 apartment communities, valued at $485 million, as well as the issuance of $50 million of preferred stock and $1.5 million of common stock. Elco Landmark Residential Holdings (ELRH) and its affiliates and partners, including DeBartolo Development and the Florida Value Funds, are contributing the multifamily properties in exchange for $187 million of partnership interests in ATA’s operation partnership, $16 million in cash and the assumption of $282 million in debt on the properties. “Over the past six years, we have worked to create a high-quality portfolio that produces strong returns for stockholders and a fiscally prudent balance sheet,” says Stanley Olander, CEO of ATA, a publicly registered, non-traded real estate investment trust. In conjunction with the transaction, the company has been renamed Landmark Apartment Trust of America (LATA). Joseph Lubeck, CEO of ELRH, will become the executive chairman of LATA’s board of directors. Upon completion of the 6,100-unit portfolio, LATA will own a total of 36 properties totaling 10,000 units in the southern U.S. “We are pleased that our investors will now also benefit from the larger, more diverse group …
BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS — An affiliate of Phoenix-based Cole Real Estate Investments has purchased 174 and 176 Middlesex Turnpike, a 328,232-square-foot trophy office complex located in Bedford, for $93.5 million. The buildings are fully leased to RSA Security, a division of EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC), a global network security provider. Bedford is located in Middlesex County, 15 miles to the northwest of Boston. Robert Griffin and Edward Maher of Cushman & Wakefield’s Capital Markets Group and Luis Alvarado of the firm’s Corporate Occupier & Investor Services Group represented the seller, Real Estate Capital Partners USA Capital Trust, in the transaction, and procured the buyer. Robert Corry of Cushman & Wakefield’s Office & Industrial Acquisitions group represented the buyer. The office complex is used as a research and development facility and is located on 54.5 acres. The complex features the two office buildings connected by a glass-enclosed sky bridge. The Gutierrez Company developed the office complex in December 2001. The complex was built with the bridge to allow RSA Security employees to move quickly between areas in order to collaborate with fellow engineers and designers. REITs, such as Cole Real Estate Investments, have been targeting areas outside of the core Boston market …
Limited multifamily rental development and additional hiring by local employers will sustain another strong year for the Louisville apartment sector during 2012. Despite a slight increase in vacancy during the first three months of the year, tight conditions prevail as many residents moved into apartments during the past two years. Local employers expanded payrolls during the past two years and more than half of the jobs lost in the metro during the recession have been recovered. The market continues to benefit from the revival of Ford, while the area’s logistics and transportation employers have added workers as more packages and freight move through Louisville en route to other markets. The reinvigorated drivers of apartment demand continue to benefit most locations around the metro, but none more than the submarkets encompassing suburban communities located beyond the inner beltway. Overall vacancy in this area, which contains about three-fourths of the market’s apartments, sits at less than 4 percent, with the Class A rate closer to 3 percent. A lack of new construction will keep rents and vacancies healthy in the Louisville metro area. The 35-unit Whiskey Row Lofts in the West Central submarket delivered in the first quarter, becoming the only market-rate …
AUGUSTA, GA. — Starbucks Coffee Co. (NASDAQ: SBUX) has broken ground on a $172 million, 180,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Augusta. The plant, which will be the first company-owned facility in the world to produce soluble products, will create 140 jobs when it opens in 2014. “Georgia is proud to welcome Starbucks to the growing community of global brands that make a home in our state,” says Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. “We understand that a company like Starbucks has its pick of places to do business, so we are indeed glad the strength of Georgia’s workforce and business environment attracted this manufacturing operation.” The facility will produce several Starbucks products that are currently manufactured abroad, including Starbucks VIA Ready Brew and the coffee base used in Frappuccino blended beverages as well as many ready-to-drink beverages. The plant is designed to be LEED certified. “During such challenging economic times, I am thrilled that we are creating jobs and building something special right here in Georgia,” says Peter Gibbons, executive vice president of Seattle-based Starbucks’ global supply chain operations. “Starbucks has long believed that there is a direct link between our success and the vitality of the communities in which we do business.” …
AUSTIN, TEXAS — American Campus Communities Inc. (NYSE: ACC), an Austin-based owner, manager and developer of student housing communities, will acquire 15 student housing properties with 6,579 beds — including two properties and an additional phase at an existing property currently under development — for $627 million. ACC, which has substantially completed its due diligence on the student housing portfolio, will acquire the properties from affiliates of Chicago-based Campus Acquisitions LLC. The acquisition will consist of the assumption of approximately $231.6 million of outstanding mortgage debt, the issuance of between $15 million and $50 million in common limited partnership interest in ACC’s operating partnership and between $345.5 million and $380.4 million in cash, which will be determined by Campus Acquisitions prior to closing. The properties in the portfolio are located in 11 of ACC’s existing markets, as well as four new markets: Baylor University in Waco, Texas; University of Southern California in Los Angeles; Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa; and Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. The 15 properties have a combined average distance to campus of nearly one-quarter mile. “We are very pleased to be adding 15 properties to the ACC portfolio that meet our investment criteria of …
NEW YORK CITY — The 250,000-square-foot 915 Broadway, an office building located at East 21st and Broadway, has sold for $140 million to a group of investors organized by Earle Altman, chairman of ABS Partners Real Estate. “We are delighted to continue our longstanding affiliation with this high-quality, well-located property,” says Gregg Schenker, principal of New York City-based ABS Partners. “The strong fundamentals of the location, superior construction, well-maintained infrastructure and future planned improvements will further increase the value of 915 Broadway over time.” The group of buyers includes fellow ABS Partners principals Schenker, Steven Hornstock and James Caseley, as well as real estate investors Richard Hadar, John Zirinsky and Jeffrey Fiel. The seller is a group of investors also organized by Altman that acquired the building in 1981 for $6 million. “This is one of several deals I have done with ABS during the last year, as I have been deploying significant capital I raised before the market collapse in 2007,” Hadar says. “915 Broadway is one of the best opportunities I have seen in quite a while in New York.” Simon Ziff, Russell Schildkraut and Jonathan Moore of The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group arranged acquisition financing through JPMorgan …
NEW YORK CITY — Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO) has agreed to buy a retail condominium located at 666 5th Avenue in New York City for $707 million. The 114,000-square-foot asset further expands Vornado’s 2.2 million-square-foot portfolio of Manhattan street retail. The space acquired by Vornado houses popular retail clothing chains including Uniqlo, Hollister and watch company Swatch. While this retail space has always had high value, the sellers, Crown Acquisitions Inc., Carlyle Group and Kushner Cos., achieved something truly unexpected with the $707 million sale. The property, which spans the length of an entire block, was valued at $525 million when Crown and Carlyle purchased a 49 percent stake in the building’s retail portion from Kushner in 2008. Last March, Crown and Carlyle sold a portion of the space to Zara’s parent company, Indetix Group, for $324 million. The company turned the 39,000-square-foot storefront into a store for its Zara clothing chain Arteixo. The new Vornado deal, when combined with the Indetix deal, drives the value of entire Fifth Avenue block to more than $1 billion. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Vornado was encouraged to make this deal to appease shareholders after a reported 31 percent drop in funds from …