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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 …

ORLANDO, FLA. — Orlando-based CNL Healthcare Trust, through a joint venture with Sunrise Senior Living (NYSE:SRZ), has purchased seven seniors housing communities valued at approximately $226 million. Sunrise will continue to operate the communities under a long-term management agreement. “This joint venture with Sunrise strengthens CNL Healthcare Trust’s senior housing portfolio and is consistent with our strategy of partnering with leading operators in attractive markets across the country,” says Stephen H. Mauldin, president and CEO of CNL Healthcare Trust. “As our nation’s demographics continue to shift, there is a growing demand for quality seniors housing and healthcare real estate, which continues to drive our attraction to these types of investments. With our team’s deep and broad healthcare operating and investment experience, CNL Healthcare Trust is well positioned to take advantage of opportunities.” The seven communities include Sunrise of Santa Monica in Santa Monica, Calif.; Sunrise on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C.; Sunrise at Siegen in Baton Rouge, La.; Sunrise of Metairie in Metairie, La., near New Orleans; Sunrise of Gilbert in Gilbert, Ariz., near Phoenix; Sunrise of Louisville in Louisville, Ky.; and Sunrise at Fountain Square in Lombard, Ill., near Chicago. The seven communities have an average age of less …

ELLICOTT CITY, MD. — Home Properties (NYSE: HME) has acquired the 1,350-unit Howard Crossing, a multifamily property located at 8730 Town and County Blvd. in Ellicott City, for $186 million. The sale price equates to approximately $138,000 per unit. “This newly acquired property is located less than one mile from Charleston Manor, an 858-unit property we acquired in September 2010 that has exceeded our underwriting expectations,” says Edward Pettinella, president and CEO of Home Properties. “Based on our familiarity with this submarket, we expect Howard Crossing will achieve similar success.” The property is 92.6 percent leased, with an average monthly rent of $1,111. The property offers 680 one-bedroom units and 670 two-bedroom units, with an average size of 854 square feet. Ninety-one percent of the units offer stacked washers and dryers in the units. Amenities include two pools, a business center, fitness center, basketball courts and tennis courts. Home Properties funded the purchase with proceeds from the issuance of $40 million on unsecured senior guaranteed notes, which are due on June 27, 2019, and have a 4.16 percent interest rate. Additionally, a line of credit and a $100 million unsecured bank demand loan with the same terms and rate at …

SYDNEY — Sydney-based DEXUS Property Group has sold a 65-property industrial portfolio, located in the central U.S., to Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII (NYSE: BX) for $770 million. The sale is the largest single industrial real estate portfolio transaction in the country so far this year. “The settlement of the central portfolio is a good result and allows our U.S. team to focus on the remaining West Coast portfolio and to leverage our local industrial real estate management and development enterprise going forward,” says Darren Steinberg, CEO of DEXUS. DEXUS now owns and manages 24 industrial properties in the U.S., valued at approximately $550 million, which total 6.8 million square feet. Additionally, the company manages $200 million in properties on behalf of U.S. third-party clients. “Since being established in June 2010, DEXUS’s U.S. team has assumed direct asset management control of the West Coast portfolio and taken an active role in leasing and managing the central portfolio,” Steinberg says. “This active approach resulted in significant improvement in occupancy of the central portfolio from 79 percent to 90 percent prior to its sale.” Included in the sale are three recently completed Class A distribution facilties leased to Whirlpool Corp. Eastdil Secured’s …

NEW YORK CITY — JD Carlisle and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners (DLJ RECP) have sold the 301-unit The Beatrice, a luxury apartment property located in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood, to Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) for $280 million. The property includes the top 29 floors of a 54-story, mixed-use tower located at 105 W. 29th St. “The sale of The Beatrice is testament to our development team’s consistent ability to deliver premier properties of the highest caliber,” says Jules Demchick, chairman of JD Carlisle. “EQR recognizes the tremendous long-term value this proven property offers. New York City Class A multifamily is a highly sought after asset class delivering solid returns to institutional investors. The Beatrice is just one example of the premium quality, institutional-grade product that JD Carlisle and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners have been successfully developing together for years.” The remaining portion of the building includes the 292-room Eventi Hotel and a 529-space parking garage. The Beatrice includes wall-to-wall windows, ceiling heights that range from 9 to 12 feet, hardwood oak floors, Caledonia granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, Textura Coquille porcelain, deep soaking tubs and Lacava, Grohe and Kohler fixtures. Amenities include a private residents’ lobby, landscaped …

NEW YORK CITY — Toll Brothers City Living, a division of Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL), and Starwood Capital Group, have formed a joint venture to develop a 200-room luxury hotel and a 159-unit condominium community adjacent to Pier 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The 10-story, eco-friendly hotel will carry Starwood Capital’s 1 Hotel brand, and the condominium community is marketed under the Toll Brothers City Living brand. “We are extremely pleased to be partnering with Toll Brothers to build one of the most exciting new developments in New York City in many years,” says Barry Sternlicht, chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group. “With its incredible views of the Manhattan skyline and the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, extraordinary amenities, attractive and affordable location, and close proximity to transportation hubs, Brooklyn Bridge Park is the perfect location to showcase the 1 Hotel and adjoining residences. This development will be perfectly positioned to take advantage of the significant renaissance occurring along the Brooklyn waterfront.” The development will be located immediately south of the DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) neighborhood and the Brooklyn Bridge, west of Brooklyn Heights and adjacent to the park entrance at Pier 1. The properties will feature …

While the reimbursement-dependent portions of the seniors housing market remain at a crossroads, other segments of the industry are benefitting from an improving economy and housing sector, according to a new research report completed by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services. The occupancy, rent and construction data is based on the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country as tracked by NIC MAP, a data analysis service of the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC). Independent living properties — which recorded the sharpest decrease in occupancy during the Great Recession — are now posting healthy gains. By the end of this year, average occupancy is projected to reach 90.4 percent, up 110 basis points from 2011. Rents are expected to climb 3 percent to an average of $2,780 per month. The quick turnaround in occupancy in the independent living segment is significant and a reflection of conditions in the market-rate apartment market, explains Gary Lucas, director of the National Seniors Housing Group at Encino, California-based Marcus & Millichap. “As nationwide occupancy for traditional apartments has soared over the past 2 years, rents have climbed to a level where traditional apartments are no longer …

BETHESDA, MD. — Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD) has agreed to purchase lender CWCapital for $220 million. The combination creates one of the largest commercial real estate lenders in the U.S. with $7.7 billion of loan originations in 2011. The acquisition also makes Walker & Dunlop the second largest multifamily lender nationally. The servicing portfolio of the combined entity exceeds $33.7 billion, according to Walker & Dunlop. The purchase price will include $80 million in cash and about $140 million in Walker & Dunlop stock. The price is subject to potential adjustment based on the company's stock price pending closing. “CWCapital is an exceptional company with an outstanding team and corporate culture very similar to Walker & Dunlop's,” says Willy Walker, chairman, president and CEO of Walker & Dunlop. “CW's people, credit discipline and client focus are highly regarded throughout the industry. It's a wonderful accomplishment to bring these two fantastic companies together and create a true industry force.” Based in Bethesda, Walker & Dunlop originates and sells a range of multifamily and other commercial real estate financing products. After the deal closes CW Financial will become Walker & Dunlop's largest shareholder. Michael Berman, CEO of Needham, Mass.-based CWCapital, will …