— By Ryan Sarbinoff, first vice president and regional manager, Marcus & Millichap — Phoenix ranks third among the major markets in terms of both total net in-migration and job creation since the end of 2019. The region has also posted one of the largest jumps in median household income. Combined, these factors underpin heightened demand for housing and support elevated multifamily development. While total deliveries will rise for the fourth consecutive year in 2024 to a record high of 22,000 rentals, apartment absorption has notably kept pace through mid-year. As such, metro-wide vacancy is on track to dip to 7 percent by December. This would mark both a 30-basis-point decline from the 2023 peak, as well as an 18-month low. The improving alignment of supply and demand will encourage a return to rent growth, albeit slight. The average effective rent will end 2024 at $1,585 per month, up from the year before but down 5.3 percent from the peak set in 2021. Apartment completions over the past year (ending in June) were most prevalent in the Avondale-Goodyear-West Glendale submarket, where a collective 5,200 units opened. This represented a 23.8 percent boost to existing stock. Yet, the substantial wave of openings …
PLEASANT PRAIRIE, WIS. — Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) has unveiled plans for a $3 billion expansion of the company’s pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Pleasant Prairie, located 37.5 miles south of Milwaukee. Lilly acquired the facility from Nexus Pharmaceuticals in April 2024. The Indianapolis-based company plans to start construction on the expansion next year. The expanded facility will focus on the production of injectable medicines, device assembly and packaging for medicines across numerous therapeutic areas. Lilly plans to implement automated features such as guided vehicles, robotics and production equipment in order to accelerate and increase the accuracy of medicine production. Lilly expects to add 750 jobs to the workforce at the facility, which currently comprises about 100 individuals. New jobs at the location will include operators, technicians, engineers and scientists. Additionally, the company states that more than 2,000 construction jobs will be created during the project’s development. “Today’s announcement represents our single largest U.S. manufacturing investment outside our home state of Indiana and will add to our ability to expand capacity to make both our existing and future pipeline of medicines right here in the Midwest,” said Edgardo Hernandez, executive vice president and president of Lilly Manufacturing Operations. Lilly states …
MORRISTOWN, N.J. AND NEW YORK CITY — Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ: VLY), the holding company for Valley National Bank, has sold $925 million worth of commercial real estate mortgage loans to Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM). Of the $925 million loan pool, $823 million had been previously identified and transferred to held for sale as of Sept. 30, 2024, as the firm sought to reduce its exposure to the commercial real estate sector. The loans were sold at a discount of 1 percent to value, which the bank expects will result in an immaterial net loss during the fourth quarter. Valley will retain customer-facing servicing responsibilities for the financings following the transaction. “The sale of this performing commercial real estate loan pool has helped to accelerate progress toward our strategic balance sheet goals,” says Ira Robbins, chairman and CEO of Valley. Valley is a regional bank with over $62 billion in assets under management. The company operates retail branch locations and commercial banking offices across New Jersey, New York, Florida, Alabama, California and Illinois. The Morristown, N.J.-based bank’s stock price closed on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at $10.48 per share, up slightly from $9.29 a year ago. Morgan Stanley & Co. …
NEW YORK CITY — Local real estate giant SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) has entered into an agreement to purchase the former PepsiCo. headquarters building in Manhattan for $130 million. A timeline for closing was not disclosed, nor was the name of the seller, although multiple news outlets report that the latter was Morgan Stanley. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the 11-story, 201,000-square-foot building is located at 500 Park Ave. at the corner of 59th Street. The property was originally constructed in 1960 as the beverage maker’s headquarters and has been institutionally owned and managed ever since. Tenants at 500 Park Ave. include Vera Wang, The Georgetown Co. and Friedland Properties. In addition, the building’s corner retail space is home to high-end furniture provider FRATO as its flagship New York City store and showroom. “Park Avenue is the best performing office market in New York City with historic low vacancy, and 500 Park Avenue will continue to benefit from opportunities in this fortress corridor that attracts top tier tenants and triple-digit rents,” says Harrison Sitomer, SL Green’s chief investment officer. Adam Spies, Doug Harmon, Adam Doneger, Joshua King and Marcella Fasulo of Newmark acted as advisors on the …
DETROIT — Developer Bedrock and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) have unveiled a conceptual plan to redevelop the Renaissance Center (RenCen) and 27 acres along the Detroit riverfront. According to the companies, the plan preserves the essence of Detroit’s skyline, right-sizes the RenCen’s footprint and connects the site to the heart of downtown. A surrounding entertainment district would feature restaurants, hospitality, residential and market space and complement Detroit’s Riverwalk, which draws more than 3.5 million annual visitors to the city. The project has an estimated price tag of $1.6 billion, according to Crain’s Detroit Business. First opened in 1976, RenCen is widely considered Michigan’s most iconic and recognizable property and serves as the headquarters of GM. The automaker purchased the asset in 1996 and has invested more than $1 billion in improvements to date. Earlier this year, GM unveiled its plans to leave RenCen for Hudson’s Detroit, the redevelopment of the former J.L. Hudson’s department store currently underway by Bedrock. GM plans to take occupancy in 2025. GM and Bedrock established a partnership earlier this year to study redevelopment opportunities for the RenCen site along with the City of Detroit and Wayne County. A team of urban planners, architects and …
RIDGEVILLE, S.C. — JLL has arranged the sale of Building D within Camp Hall Commerce Center, a 6,800-acre industrial park in the Charleston industrial market. The 1.1 million-square-foot facility is located at 2274 Volvo Car Drive in Ridgeville and was fully leased to an unnamed global car manufacturer at the time of sale. Completed in 2023, the cross-dock building features 40-foot clear heights, 208 dock-high doors, four drive-in doors, 84 dock levelers, 847 auto parking spaces and 804 trailer storage spaces. Rockpoint, a Boston-based real estate private equity firm, and Portman Industrial sold the property to Stockbridge for an undisclosed price. JLL represented the sellers in the transaction.
CHICAGO — Chicago-based JLL has brokered the $725 million sale of a seniors housing portfolio comprising 20 communities located primarily in the Sun Belt, Northeast and Midwest markets. Chicago Pacific Founders sold the portfolio to Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) in an all-cash transaction. Roughly two-thirds of the properties are independent living communities, with the remainder of the assets falling into the categories of assisted living and memory care. The communities are spread across 14 states including Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Chicago Pacific Founders owned the portfolio properties within an investment vehicle titled CPF Living Fund I. Jay Wagner, Rick Swartz, Jim Dooley and Sean Kirk of JLL’s Seniors Housing Capital Markets team, as well as Ted Flagg of Jones Lang LaSalle Securities (an affiliate of JLL), represented the sellers in the transaction. “As one of the largest seniors housing transactions closed year-to-date, this is a meaningful indicator that appetite for scaled seniors housing portfolios is back,” says Wagner. “The significant supply-demand imbalance, precipitated by tepid recent development levels, is setting up the markets for an incredible run on occupancy and margin growth over the medium term.” Grace …
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — Crunch Fitness has opened a new location at Hamilton Place, a shopping mall and mixed-use campus in Chattanooga. The property is owned by locally based and publicly traded CBL Properties. The new fitness venue is one of the final components of the mall’s Sears redevelopment project, which commenced in 2019. Other tenants that have backfilled the former Sears department store include The Cheesecake Factory, Mean Mug Coffeehouse, Malone’s, Dave & Buster’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods and an Aloft by Marriott hotel. Since March, CBL Properties has welcomed eight new concepts at Hamilton Place, including Taco Mamacita, Texas Roadhouse, Mr. Cow, Malone’s, Miniso, Vintage Stock, Dry Goods, Shoe Station, as well as a newly remodeled and expanded Buckle store. Additional openings are expected in 2025.
CHESTERFIELD, MO. — Keystone Construction Co. has broken ground on the new $60 million CarShield Sportsplex AAA Hockey & Futbol facility in the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield. Completion is slated for January 2026. The indoor and outdoor sports facility will accommodate the growing CarShield AAA Hockey & Futbol clubs, which serve more than 500 kids and 45 teams in metro St. Louis. The 325,000-square-foot project will be situated on 33 acres at 530 N. Eatherton Road. The development will include four indoor turf soccer fields, two indoor ice rinks, team locker rooms, a pro shop, training and fitness spaces, a restaurant, bar, concessions and classrooms. Outside, there will be three turf soccer fields, concessions, a dining patio and children’s playground. The project team includes civil engineer Stock & Associates and architect Gray Design Group.
CHICAGO, BUFFALO GROVE AND MOKENA, ILL. — JLL Capital Markets has arranged a $63 million loan for the refinancing of a five-building industrial portfolio in metro Chicago. The portfolio comprises the following properties: Asbury Drive, a 157,000-square-foot building in Buffalo Grove; Rockwell Logistics Center, a 174,262-square-foot property in Chicago; Mokena Logistics I and II, two buildings totaling 268,226 square feet in Mokena; and Halsted Pershing Business Center, a 104,008-square-foot asset in the Stockyards submarket of Chicago. The properties total 703,996 square feet with suites ranging from 25,100 to 174,262 square feet. The portfolio is home to 10 tenants spanning industries such as IT, electronics manufacturing, healthcare, construction, food distribution and government agencies. Colby Mueck, Brian Walsh and Tara Hagerty of JLL arranged the five-year, fixed-rate loan on behalf of the owner, Stream Realty Partners.