Commercial Property Executive

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    <title>Commercial Property Executive</title>
    <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/</link>
    <description>Our most recent real-estate news and articles</description>
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    <lastBuildDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2018 21:24:27 Z</lastBuildDate>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/pacific-hospitality-acquires-opens-dallas-hotel/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/pacific-hospitality-acquires-opens-dallas-hotel/</link>
      <category>South</category>
      <category>Dallas</category>
      <category>CPE</category>
      <category>Hotel</category>
      <category>Investment</category>
      <category>Development</category>
      <category>News</category>
      <category>Deals</category>
      <title>Pacific Hospitality Acquires, Opens Dallas Hotel</title>
      <description>The 256-key dual-brand hotel, opened under the Residence Inn and AC Hotel flags, broke ground in 2016 in the heart of the Dallas Midtown development.</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2018 20:53:13 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-30T20:53:13Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;figure id="attachment_1004225133" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/AC-Hotel-and-Residence-Inn-Dallas-by-the-Galleria.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;img class="wp-image-1004225133 size-medium" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/2/69905/images/AC-Hotel-and-Residence-Inn-Dallas-by-the-Galleria.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="233"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;figcaption class="wp-caption-text"&gt;AC Hotel and Residence Inn Dallas by the Galleria&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;Pacific Hospitality Group has acquired and opened the 256-key, dual-branded AC Hotel and Residence Inn Dallas by the Galleria. The firm bought the five-story structure from the developer, a joint venture ofAtlantic Hotels Group and Civitas Capital Group, funding the purchase with a $34.4 million loan, according to public records. The seller &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/dual-branded-marriott-hotel-slated-for-dallas/"&gt;broke ground on the development in 2016&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Located at 5460 James Temple Drive in Dallas, the building is positioned near the center of the $3.5 billion Dallas Midtown a mixed-use redevelopment project. A stone’s throw from the intersection of Interstate 635 and the Dallas North Tollway, the asset is approximately 10 miles from the city’s downtown core.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Shared amenities&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;AC Hotel Dallas by the Galleria contains 140 guestrooms, with the Residence Inn offering 116 suites targeted primarily at longer-term visitors. Both hotels share a range of amenities, including complimentary Wi-Fi, 17,020 square feet of meeting space, a fitness center, an outdoor pool and laundry facilities. Parking is available on-site for an additional daily charge.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“The AC Hotel and Residence Inn Dallas by the Galleria is our company’s first hotel in Texas and our first dual-branded Marriott property,”&lt;/em&gt; said Tim Busch, CEO &amp; founder of PHG, in a prepared statement. &lt;em&gt;“This property offers two unique and complementary options that leisure and business travelers, alike, will appreciate.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image courtesy of Pacific Hospitality Group&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/repositioned-ma-office-building-lands-first-tenant/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/repositioned-ma-office-building-lands-first-tenant/</link>
      <category>Northeast</category>
      <category>Boston</category>
      <category>CPE</category>
      <category>Office</category>
      <category>News</category>
      <category>Leasing</category>
      <title>Repositioned MA Office Building Lands First Tenant</title>
      <description>Campanelli has recently invested in the repositioning of the 188,000-square-foot 100 TECH office property in Stoughton, 50 miles south of Boston.</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2018 20:50:43 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-30T20:50:43Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;figure id="attachment_1004225217" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/100-TECH-in-Stoughton-Mass..jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;img class="wp-image-1004225217 size-medium" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/2/69904/images/100-TECH-in-Stoughton-Mass..jpg" alt="" width="300" height="240"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;figcaption class="wp-caption-text"&gt;100 TECH in Stoughton, Mass.&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;Onwer Campanelli has signed the first tenant at the recently redeveloped 100 TECH &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/grander-capital-buys-into-ma-office-campus/"&gt;office property in the Boston area&lt;/a&gt;. Collegium Pharmaceuticals (Collegium) has leased 50,678 square feet at the six-story property in Stoughton, Mass.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The building is located at 100 Technology Center Drive, within a roughly 50-minute drive of downtown Boston. The site, situated between two commuter rail stations, is adjacent to Route 24 and a five-minute drive from Interstate 93.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;100 TECH offers 188,000 square feet of rentable Class A office space. According to Yardi Matrix, the building was constructed in 1988. Collegium will occupy the entire third floor and half of the second story, with their lease beginning in summer 2018.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Recent improvements&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;Campanelli invested in the repositioning of the property, which provided upgrades of the infrastructure and common areas. Newly added features include:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;lobby finishes&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;café&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;fitness center, with a spin studio&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;meeting / conference space adjacent to the café&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;designated gaming spaces within the café&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;exterior patio seating&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;fire pit&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;multi-sport court&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;CBRE’s John Lashar and Steve Purpura worked on behalf of the pharmaceutical company. Mike Frisoli and Tyler McGrail of Newmark Knight Frank’s suburban team serve as exclusive leasing agents for the property.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“The property offers the flexibility to lease between 2,500 and 138,000 square feet of contiguous office space in a corporate headquarters setting, in the Route 128 South market,”&lt;/em&gt; said Stephen Murphy, partner &amp; principal of Acquisitions at Campanelli, in a prepared statement. &lt;em&gt;“Our goal was to create a best-in-class space, offering businesses a high-quality infrastructure and a complex of amenities that can’t be found elsewhere in this market.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/retail-outlook/</guid>
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      <category>National</category>
      <category>CPE</category>
      <category>Polls</category>
      <title>Retail Outlook</title>
      <description />
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2018 19:29:52 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-30T19:29:52Z</atom:updated>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/preferred-apartment-communities-grabs-2-retail-assets/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/preferred-apartment-communities-grabs-2-retail-assets/</link>
      <category>South</category>
      <category>Midwest</category>
      <category>Atlanta</category>
      <category>Nashville-Knoxville</category>
      <category>CPE</category>
      <category>Retail</category>
      <category>Investment</category>
      <category>News</category>
      <category>Deals</category>
      <title>Preferred Apartment Communities Grabs 2 Retail Assets</title>
      <description>Publix grocery stores anchor both community shopping centers, which total nearly 140,000 square feet in the Nashville and Atlanta areas.</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2018 17:15:27 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-30T17:15:27Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;figure id="attachment_1004225853" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Governors-Towne-Square-in-Acworth-Ga..jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;img class="wp-image-1004225853 size-medium" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/2/69898/images/Governors-Towne-Square-in-Acworth-Ga..jpg" alt="" width="300" height="233"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;figcaption class="wp-caption-text"&gt;Governors Towne Square in Acworth, Ga.&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;New Market Properties, a division of Preferred Apartment Communities, has acquired two grocery store-anchored shopping centers totaling 138,861 square feet near Atlanta and Nashville, Tenn. The seller of both properties was Brixmor, according to public records. New Market &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/pac-expands-shopping-center-portfolio/"&gt;purchased the assets on an all-cash basis&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“We are pleased to add two more Publix anchored centers to our growing Sunbelt portfolio,”&lt;/em&gt; said Joel Murphy, president &amp; CEO of New Market Properties, in a prepared statement. &lt;em&gt;“This acquisition increases the size of our portfolio to 41 grocery-anchored shopping centers across seven Sunbelt states, consistent with our strategy to acquire well-positioned grocery-anchored shopping centers in suburban Sunbelt markets with strong demographics and anchored by market leading grocers.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Grocery-anchored suburban properties&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;figure id="attachment_1004225856" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Greensboro-Village-in-Gallatin-Tenn..jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;img class="wp-image-1004225856 size-medium" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/2/69898/images/Greensboro-Village-in-Gallatin-Tenn..jpg" alt="" width="300" height="233"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;figcaption class="wp-caption-text"&gt;Greensboro Village in Gallatin, Tenn.&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;The 70,203-square-foot Governors Towne Square, situated 35 miles northwest of Atlanta at 6110 Cedarcrest Road in Acworth, is positioned along U.S. Highway 41. Exposed to 24,900 vehicles per day, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation, the retail asset is anchored by a 44,840-square-foot Publix grocery store. Other tenants include Vintage Liquors, Pacific Spice and Pacific Spice.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Located at 1483 Nashville Pike in Gallatin, Tenn., Greensboro Village sits along U.S. Highway 31 East, providing direct access into central Nashville, 25 miles away. The 68,658-square-foot asset is also anchored by a 45,600-square-foot Publix and 98 percent leased to a mix of tenants, including Edward Jones, Farm Bureau Insurance and a number of restaurants, according to the property’s leasing brochure. Brixmor acquired community shopping center in 2011 for $9.5 million, according to Sumner County records.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image via Google Maps and Google Street View&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/retail-expansion-kicks-off-near-atlanta/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/retail-expansion-kicks-off-near-atlanta/</link>
      <category>South</category>
      <category>Atlanta</category>
      <category>CPE</category>
      <category>Retail</category>
      <category>Development</category>
      <category>News</category>
      <category>Deals</category>
      <category>Leasing</category>
      <title>Retail Expansion Kicks Off Near Atlanta</title>
      <description>The second phase of The Shops at Belmont will add more than 10,000 square feet to the property. Two tenants have signed leases and expect to open this fall.</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2018 16:39:49 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-30T16:39:49Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;figure id="attachment_1004224560" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/The-Shops-at-Belmont-in-Smyrna-Ga..png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;img class="wp-image-1004224560 size-medium" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/2/69896/images/The-Shops-at-Belmont-in-Smyrna-Ga..png" alt="" width="300" height="225"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;figcaption class="wp-caption-text"&gt;The Shops at Belmont in Smyrna, Ga.&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;Halpern Enterprises has broken ground on the second phase of The Shops at Belmont, which will add 12,000 square feet to the existing 47,593-square-foot &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/sj-collins-sells-atlanta-area-retail-asset/"&gt;Atlanta-area community retail center&lt;/a&gt;. Halpern anticipates the first stores will open this fall. The asset is part of the larger, 48-acre mixed-use Belmont development, which includes medical offices, apartments and single-family homes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Located at the corner of Atlanta Road and Windy Hill Road in Smyrna, the project site is positioned a few miles west of the intersection of interstates 75 and 285, providing access to downtown Atlanta, 15 miles away. Cobb County’s transportation system operates a bus route along the northern edge of the development.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Growth in an emerging area&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“Smyrna is one of metro Atlanta’s hottest markets for residential infill, which is spurring growth in retail and new home development,”&lt;/em&gt; Steve West, vice president of acquisitions and development at Halpern Enterprises, told &lt;em&gt;Commercial Property Executive&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;em&gt;“More than your typical live-work-play environment, Belmont responds to the needs of the community by including retail, residential, medical and an elementary school in one place. The second phase of The Shops at Belmont further increases the center’s appeal by adding a fitness studio and an organic dining concept.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Two retailers, F45 Training and Real Subs Café and Deli, have signed leases to occupy a respective 2,400 and 2,100 square feet in the new part of the development. The first part of the shopping center, which opened in 2016, is home to a number of tenants including Creatwood Tavern, Opa Greek Village and Sprint. Halpern’s John Brozovic and Benjamin Halpern are marketing the remaining units in the second phase, as well as a vacant space in the first.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image courtesy of Halpern Enterprises&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/clarius-trades-phoenix-industrial-property/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/clarius-trades-phoenix-industrial-property/</link>
      <category>West</category>
      <category>Phoenix</category>
      <category>CPE</category>
      <category>Industrial</category>
      <category>Investment</category>
      <category>News</category>
      <category>Deals</category>
      <title>Clarius Trades Phoenix Industrial Property</title>
      <description>The two-building asset opened in 2017 and contains nearly 200,000 square feet. The structures are 71 percent leased to four tenants.</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2018 16:00:48 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-30T16:00:48Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;figure id="attachment_1004225688" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Meritex-Park-Sky-Harbor-in-Phoenix.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;img class="wp-image-1004225688 size-medium" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/2/69895/images/Meritex-Park-Sky-Harbor-in-Phoenix.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="233"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;figcaption class="wp-caption-text"&gt;Meritex Park Sky Harbor in Phoenix&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Meritex Co. has acquired a newly constructed 198,771-square-foot Class A industrial development in Phoenix for $23.7 million. The firm &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/top-10-cash-only-office-deals-of-2017/"&gt;acquired the property on an all-cash basis&lt;/a&gt;, according to Yardi Matrix. The asset, now known as Meritex Park Sky Harbor, opened in 2017. The seller, Clarius Partners, constructed the distribution center with an $11.6 million construction loan held by Wells Fargo Bank.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Located at 2625 and 2675 S. 16th St., the two multi-tenant buildings’ 11.7-acre parcel is positioned south of the intersection of interstates 10 and 17, within two miles of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The city’s central business district lies three and a half miles northwest.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Modern features&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;The 68,220-square-foot northern building features 28-foot clear heights, 28 loading docks and four drive-in doors. The southern structure includes 30-foot clear heights, 38 dock-high bays and four grade level doors. The asset includes a total of 201 parking spaces and is 71 percent leased to four tenants: WR Group, American Furniture Rental, CallBox and DWF.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“We are very excited to add these best-in-class assets to our portfolio as we continue to execute our investment strategy and expand our presence in Phoenix,”&lt;/em&gt; said Matt Wagner, director of acquisitions at Meritex, in a prepared statement. &lt;em&gt;“We targeted these properties due to the infill positioning near the airport, major transportation nodes, significant population and labor force concentration.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image courtesy of The Meritex Co.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/diluted-inventory-moderates-growth-in-manhattan/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/diluted-inventory-moderates-growth-in-manhattan/</link>
      <category>Northeast</category>
      <category>New York</category>
      <category>Feature</category>
      <category>MHN</category>
      <category>CPE</category>
      <category>Research Center</category>
      <category>News</category>
      <category>Matrix</category>
      <category>Research Center</category>
      <title>Diluted Inventory Moderates Growth in Manhattan</title>
      <description>Due to a quick increase in rental unit and condo development, rents and per-square-foot prices are sliding in the prohibitively priced market. </description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2018 15:05:26 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-30T15:05:26Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;figure id="attachment_1004197446" style="width: 400px" class="wp-caption alignright"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.multihousingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Manhattan-rent-evolution-click-to-enlarge.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;img class="wp-image-1004197446" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/1/69894/images/Manhattan-rent-evolution-click-to-enlarge.jpg" alt="Manhattan rent evolution, click to enlarge" width="400" height="172"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;figcaption class="wp-caption-text"&gt;Manhattan rent evolution, click to enlarge&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;Due to a quick increase in development of both rental units and condos, rents and per-square-foot prices are sliding in the prohibitively priced Manhattan market. Inventory is projected to join the nation in having a new cycle peak for expansion, meaning that rents will likely maintain their trend of moderation.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Employment growth continued in 2017 for all five boroughs, in relative sync with the national rate, as Manhattan continued to rely heavily on its financial sector. Construction is still having a moment in New York County, where megadevelopments are edging closer to completion. The World Trade Center redevelopment site has yet to add two new buildings—2 WTC and 5 WTC—while Essex Crossing, a redevelopment project that’s been 50 years in the making, is finally underway. The 1.7 million-square-foot master plan is set to add roughly 1,000 new units once all buildings are completed.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;With a robust multifamily pipeline of more than 10,000 units underway and an additional 27,000 in the planning and permitting stages, Manhattan is likely to maintain its fast-paced inventory expansion. As rents in the Lifestyle segment continue to slide, the New York County average rate will likely maintain its downward trend. Overall, New York City rents are bound to drop 1.0 percent in 2018.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.yardimatrix.com/Media/Downloads/File/428-Manhattan-Spring2018Outlook?utm_medium=Research-Center&amp;utm_source=MHN-CPE&amp;utm_campaign=428-Manhattan-Spring2018Outlook" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Read the full Yardi Matrix report.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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    <item>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/ac-hotel-opens-in-midtown-manhattan/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/ac-hotel-opens-in-midtown-manhattan/</link>
      <category>Northeast</category>
      <category>New York</category>
      <category>CPE</category>
      <category>Hotel</category>
      <category>Development</category>
      <category>News</category>
      <title>AC Hotel Opens in Midtown Manhattan</title>
      <description>The 290-key Marriott property located near Times Square is the the company’s first AC Hotel in New York City.</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2018 14:38:27 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-30T14:38:27Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/hotel-news-03.png"&gt;&lt;img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1004197605" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/2/69892/images/hotel-news-03.png" alt="" width="300" height="233"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Marriott’s 290-key AC Hotel New York Times Square opened in Manhattan. The property is the first of two planned for the borough this year, with a second expected to open in the Financial District.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“We are so pleased to welcome AC Hotel New York Times Square to the AC Hotels family as our first New York City property,”&lt;/em&gt; Benoit Racle, global brand leader of AC Hotels by Marriott, said in a prepared statement.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The hotel is located in &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/jpmorgan-chase-plans-new-hq-skyscraper-in-manhattan/"&gt;Midtown Manhattan&lt;/a&gt;, at 260 W. 40th St. It is near the Garment District and a half-block from the Times Square public transportation hub. Madame Tussauds is only three minutes away by foot and Times Square is within a 10-minute walk. Central Park is a little more than a mile away, while New York landmarks such as The Museum of Modern Art, the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center are also within walking distance.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Among the amenities of the design-driven hotel are a rooftop lounge, 24-hour fitness center and 3,365 square feet of event space.&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/robinson-weeks-breaks-ground-on-dfw-industrial-project/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/robinson-weeks-breaks-ground-on-dfw-industrial-project/</link>
      <category>South</category>
      <category>Dallas</category>
      <category>CPE</category>
      <category>Industrial</category>
      <category>Development</category>
      <category>News</category>
      <title>Robinson Weeks Breaks Ground on DFW Industrial Project</title>
      <description>The 562,640-square-foot development will include a 36-foot clear cross dock design, parking for 125 trailers and 360 vehicles, as well as 190-foot truck courts.</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2018 14:32:05 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-30T14:32:05Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;figure id="attachment_1004225247" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Airport-South-Logistics-Center-DFW.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;img class="wp-image-1004225247 size-medium" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/2/69891/images/Airport-South-Logistics-Center-DFW.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="233"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;figcaption class="wp-caption-text"&gt;Airport South Logistics Center-DFW&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;Robinson Weeks Partners has begun construction on a new industrial building at Airport South Logistics Center within the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Designed by Alliance Architects, Pacheco Koch was tapped to provide civil engineering services, while the Conlan Co. is serving as general contractor.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Situated at 3400 E. Airfield Drive, the property provides access to Airfield Drive, Walnut Hill and Valley View Lane, with close proximity to DFW Airport Terminals and Air Freight/Cargo facilities. The 562,640-square-foot project will include a 36-foot clear cross dock design, parking for 125 trailers and 360 vehicles, as well as 190-foot truck courts. The multi-tenant design is meant to accommodate users ranging from 140,000 square feet to the full building.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“We are excited to be starting another project in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. We are very bullish on Dallas/Fort Worth and have acquired and developed nearly &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/new-logistics-building-coming-to-metro-atlanta/"&gt;4.5 million square feet of industrial properties&lt;/a&gt; since 2010,”&lt;/em&gt; said David Welch, president of Robinson Weeks Partners, in a prepared statement. &lt;em&gt;“Dallas should continue to see strong population and job growth, leading indicators for industrial space demand, for the next several years. Notably, a significant portion of this demand will be generated from e-commerce related activities as companies continue to refine their final mile strategies.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;I&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;mage courtesy of Robinson Weeks Partners &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/vision-real-estate-expands-nj-office-footprint/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/vision-real-estate-expands-nj-office-footprint/</link>
      <category>National</category>
      <category>CPE</category>
      <category>Office</category>
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      <title>Vision Real Estate Expands NJ Office Footprint</title>
      <description>The firm purchased 20 Waterview Blvd. in Parsippany from Mack-Cali Realty Corp. for $12.9 million. The building is set to undergo extensive interior and exterior renovations. </description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2018 13:55:51 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-30T13:55:51Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;figure id="attachment_1004225259" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/20-Waterview-Boulevard-in-Parsippany.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;img class="wp-image-1004225259 size-medium" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/2/69888/images/20-Waterview-Boulevard-in-Parsippany.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="233"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;figcaption class="wp-caption-text"&gt;20 Waterview Blvd., Parsippany, N.J.&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;Vision Real Estate Partners has acquired a Class A office building in Parsippany, N.J., located within the Waterview Corporate Center in Morris County. According to Yardi Matrix, the firm purchased the asset from Mack-Cali Realty Corp. for $12.9 million. The sale was subject to a $16.6 million loan, held by A10 Capital. Earlier this month, the company secured a &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/nkf-capital-markets-arranges-97m-loan-for-nj-office-asset/"&gt;$97 million acquisition loan&lt;/a&gt; for Morris Corporate Center East &amp; West, two office buildings also in Parsippany.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Situated at 20 Waterview Blvd., the property comprises 226,317 square feet across four stories. This building is the largest of the premier office park’s assets, featuring flexible floor plates for suites ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 square feet. Constructed in 1988, the property is adjacent to Waterview Marketplace, a retail center anchored by Whole Foods that is currently under construction. Routes 46 and 202, as well as interstates 287 and 80 are all located nearby.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“20 Waterview Blvd. was particularly attractive to us and will undergo extensive redevelopment and rebranding as it combines future core-plus stability with a current value-add component on the leasing side,”&lt;/em&gt; said Sam Morreale, founder &amp; managing partner of Vision Real Estate Partners, in a prepared statement. &lt;em&gt;“We are planning extensive renovation projects to transform 20 Waterview Blvd. into a fully-amenitized building, providing current and future tenants with an enhanced corporate environment.” &lt;/em&gt;Renovations will include updating the lobby and collaborative spaces, exterior updates and the creation of amenity facilities.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;JLL served as the sales agent in the deal, while Colliers International will handle leasing.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image courtesy of Vision Real Estate Partners &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/economy-watch-gdp-growth-slower-in-q1/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/economy-watch-gdp-growth-slower-in-q1/</link>
      <category>National</category>
      <category>MHN</category>
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      <category>Economy Watch</category>
      <category>Research Center</category>
      <title>Economy Watch: GDP Growth Slower in Q1</title>
      <description>Real U.S. GDP increased 2.3 percent in the first quarter of 2018, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis' first estimate, coming in less than the 2.9 percent growth achieved in the previous quarter.</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2018 13:28:08 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-30T13:28:08Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;figure id="attachment_1004225817" style="width: 400px" class="wp-caption alignright"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm"&gt;&lt;img class="wp-image-1004225817" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/2/69887/images/BEA-GDP-1Q18.png" alt="" width="400" height="172"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;figcaption class="wp-caption-text"&gt;Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;Real U.S. gross domestic product increased at an annualized rate of 2.3 percent in the first quarter of 2018, according to the first estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Friday. In the fourth quarter, &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/economy-watch-us-gdp-slows-in-4q/"&gt;real GDP increased at an annualized 2.9 percent&lt;/a&gt;. The bureau will release further first-quarter estimates in the coming month or so. Generally, these revisions move the estimate upward, but not always.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The first-quarter increase in real GDP was spurred by contributions from nonresidential fixed investment, personal consumption expenditures, exports, private inventory investment, federal government spending, and state and local government spending. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As a percentage of GDP, residential property investment is now just a shade under 4 percent. That’s higher than during the years after the recession, when the number was as low as about 2.5 percent, but actually low by historic standards. Before the recession, residential investment was more than 6.5 percent of the total economy, and in the 1950s and even in the 1970s, the total often reached nearly 6 percent of GDP.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As for investment in non-residential structures, the total is about 3 percent of GDP, according to the BEA. That too is somewhat below the historic norm, which has tended to be between 3 percent and 4 percent of GDP. During the go-go 1980s, non-residential investment shot up over 5 percent, a height it has not seen since.&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/konica-minolta-consolidates-us-operations/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/konica-minolta-consolidates-us-operations/</link>
      <category>Northeast</category>
      <category>New York</category>
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      <title>Konica Minolta Consolidates US Operations</title>
      <description>The technology and IT services firm sold its Ramsey, N.J., headquarters through a sale-leaseback and acquired an adjacent industrial asset. The new campus will create 400 new jobs and house the firm's current Connecticut operations.</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2018 13:11:15 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-30T13:11:15Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;figure id="attachment_1004225094" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/1524776839_133.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;img class="wp-image-1004225094 size-medium" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/2/69885/images/1524776839_133.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;figcaption class="wp-caption-text"&gt;Konica Minolta campus in Ramsey, N.J.&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;Konica Minolta Business Solutions is consolidating its U.S. operations into a single campus, starting with the sale of its current headquarters at 100 Williams Drive in Ramsey, N.J. The technology and IT services firm sold the 106,400-square-foot property to LCN Capital Partners through a sale-leaseback.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The firm also paid $20.2 million to acquire the nearby 133 Williams Drive, a 171,500-square-foot industrial asset, from Prestige Motors, public records show. The building is set to house Konica Minolta’s warehouse operations, currently situated at 101 Williams Drive, an 85,000-square-foot warehouse/office property. The facility is set to undergo a 52,000-square-foot office and parking expansion.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Further plans&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;The company currently employs 474 people in the city and has received $29 million in Grow New Jersey tax credits. Following the changes, Konica plans to add 400 new jobs in the unified campus, as well as relocate its administrative and distribution operations from Windsor, Conn.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A Cushman &amp; Wakefield team comprising Richard Baumstein and Marc Graham, along with sale-leaseback specialists Ben Cooper and Peyton Horn represented Konica Minolta in the transactions. Savills Studley’s Dan Foley acted on behalf of Prestige Motors.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;“&lt;em&gt;Konica Minolta’s presence in this neighborhood dates to the early 1970s, when 101 Williams Drive was built&lt;/em&gt;,” Baumstein said in a prepared statement. “&lt;em&gt;The company’s various mergers and expansions into new product lines—including smart office technology products, industrial printing and managed services—are driving significant growth. This series of calculated moves paves the way for Konica Minolta to create an exciting, modern work environment while gaining efficiencies and accommodating future growth—all while remaining in place.&lt;/em&gt;”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Also in Ramsey, TA Associates Realty &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/local-investor-grabs-140-ksf-nj-office-asset/"&gt;recently sold a 140,000-square-foot office building&lt;/a&gt; to Highstone Equity Group.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image courtesy of Cushman &amp; Wakefield&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/acciona-announces-its-second-texas-wind-farm/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/acciona-announces-its-second-texas-wind-farm/</link>
      <category>National</category>
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      <title>ACCIONA Announces Its Second Texas Wind Farm</title>
      <description>The 145-megawatt Palmas Altas wind park is estimated to cost around $200 million and is slated to produce about 524 gigawatt-hours of clean energy yearly.</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2018 12:42:40 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-30T12:42:40Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;ACCIONA Energia will build its second wind farm in Texas—the company’s ninth in the U.S. The new 145-megawatt Palmas Altas wind park will be located in Cameron County, near the 93-megawatt San Roman wind farm ACCIONA developed in 2016.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Palmas Altas will consist of 46 wind turbines of Nordex technology—model AW125/3150 with a rotor diameter of 410 feet, mounted on a 287-foot steel tower—and will produce around 524 gigawatt-hours of clean energy annually. This is the equivalent of powering about 43,000 U.S. households and offset the emission of 503,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Long-term benefits&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;The wind project will require approximately 170 people at the peak of construction and, upon completion, will be staffed by a 10-person operations team. Over its 25-year lifespan, Palmas Altas is expected to generate $40 million in local tax revenue, as well as more than $44 million in lease payments to local landowners. The energy it will produce will be sold in the ERCOT-South Texas wholesale market.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“We are proud to undertake a new wind power project that consolidates the reactivation of our investment activity in the U.S. and confirms our commitment to grow in a controlled and profitable manner in a market that continues to offer very interesting opportunities for the &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/acciona-to-double-its-renewable-capacity-in-latin-america-by-2020/"&gt;renewables sector,&lt;/a&gt;”&lt;/em&gt; Rafael Esteban, CEO of ACCIONA Energy USA Global LLC, said in prepared remarks.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This new Texas wind project is estimated to cost about $200 million and grid connection is planned for November 2019. With the addition of Palmas Altas, the company’s U.S. wind capacity increases to 866 megawatts: ACCIONA has three wind projects in Oklahoma (329 MW), two in the Dakotas (192 MW), one in Illinois (101 MW) and one in Iowa (6 MW). In addition, it has a 64-megawatt concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in the Nevada desert.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Video courtesy of ACCIONA&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/new-orbital-atk-hq-breaks-ground-in-arizona/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/new-orbital-atk-hq-breaks-ground-in-arizona/</link>
      <category>West</category>
      <category>Phoenix</category>
      <category>Feature</category>
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      <title>New Orbital ATK HQ Breaks Ground in Arizona</title>
      <description>Willmeng Construction is building the 617,000-square-foot office project in Chandler, working on behalf of developer Douglas Allred Co. The campus will host the launch vehicles division for the aerospace giant.</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2018 12:24:13 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-30T12:24:13Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;figure id="attachment_1004225772" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/atk.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;img class="wp-image-1004225772 size-medium" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/2/69883/images/atk.jpg" alt="Willmeng Construction breaks ground on a new Orbital ATK Campus in Chandler" width="300" height="233"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;figcaption class="wp-caption-text"&gt;Willmeng Construction breaks ground on a new Orbital ATK Campus in Chandler&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;Douglas Allred Co. is developing a 617,000-square-foot campus for Orbital ATK in Chandler, Ariz., which will serve as the aerospace and defense technology’s launch vehicles division headquarters.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Willmeng Construction is building the project, and broke ground on the campus at the end of April.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“Located within Park Place, a 180-acre master-planned mixed-use development along Chandler’s Price Corridor, Orbital ATK’s campus will be the largest tenant in the business park, which is one of the largest in the city, totaling nearly 3 million square feet once completed,”&lt;/em&gt; James Murphy, Willmeng Construction’s president told &lt;em&gt;Commercial Property Executive&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In 2017, Orbital ATK signed a lease for Building 10, a 95,000-square-foot spec office within Park Place. Orbital ATK’s new Chandler campus will effectively increase the company’s footprint in Park Place by more than six times.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Budding Park Place&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;In 2007, Douglas Allred Co. invested in more than 72 acres of land at what is now known as Park Place. The development plan first began in 2008 and has fully leased all of the buildings constructed since the master-plan development first began.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;According to Murphy, Dave Allred was able to successfully lease out Park Place’s first three spec office buildings through the Great Recession, which gave him enough confidence to start his next spec building in the park when no one else was developing spec office in 2012.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“Not only did Allred not stop building, he built and leased himself out of inventory, and &lt;/em&gt;continued to build&lt;em&gt; right through the downturn in order to meet the demand for new space within Park Place,” &lt;/em&gt;he said.&lt;em&gt; “All office inventory to date at Park Place is fully leased, totaling in excess of 1.233 million square feet of inventory. Future inventory that will be delivered in Q1 2019 will add 270,000 more square feet.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When completed, Park Place will offer a variety of low- and mid-rise office space, executive suites, hotels, conference centers, light industrial parks as well as mixed-use and corporate campus settings.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Thriving Location&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;Situated on 47 acres, at the intersection of the Loop 101 and 202 freeways—one of Metropolitan Phoenix’s fastest-growing employment and innovation corridors—Orbital ATK’s new multiple-building facility consists of office space and 261,000 square feet of state-of the-art manufacturing space, strategically positioned within the campus.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“Good schools, neighborhoods, infrastructure, freeway access, a highly-educated workforce and the fastest growing labor base in Metro Phoenix make the Price Corridor an attractive location for businesses,” &lt;/em&gt;Murphy said.&lt;em&gt; “However, Park Place’s appeal is its unique, connected-campus environment and Allred’s ability to support tenants needs now and into the future.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The project is expected to be completed sometime next year.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Willmeng Construction was recently hired for the development of Tolleson Logistics Center, a new, 329,000-square-foot &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/trammell-to-develop-329-ksf-facility-in-phoenix/"&gt;industrial facility in Tolleson,&lt;/a&gt; Ariz.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image courtesy of Douglas Allred Co.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/australia-approves-solar-park-for-bitcoin-mining/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/australia-approves-solar-park-for-bitcoin-mining/</link>
      <category>National</category>
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      <title>Australia Approves Solar Park for Bitcoin Mining</title>
      <description>Located some 130 miles south of Perth, in Western Australia's Shire of Collies, the 20-megawatt facility should come online within the next six months.</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2018 12:09:56 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-30T12:09:56Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/solar-panel-2889317_1920-1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;img class="alignright wp-image-1004225706 size-medium" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/2/69882/images/solar-panel-2889317_1920-1.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="233"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;The Shire of Collie in Western Australia has received approval to build a 20-megawatt solar park. A future battery storage system is anticipated to be installed shortly after.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The company behind the project is Australia-based Hadouken Pty Ltd., which is owned by local energy entrepreneur Ben Tan. The solar farm will occupy 44.5 acres in the coal-mining town of Collie, in a rural area located 132 miles south of Perth, the state’s capital.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It will consist of 69,000 modules and five inverters to be installed within three to six months. According to local sources, the electricity produced by the &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/sterling-and-wilson-begins-work-on-54mw-solar-project-in-zambia/"&gt;photovoltaic farm&lt;/a&gt; will be used to power cryptocurrency mining activities and data center. The mining process is energy-intensive, as it requires significant computer and data resources.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The project is not the only solar facility underway in the area. A 20-megawatt Emu Downs solar farm was recently completed, a 10-megawatt Northam solar farm is currently under construction, while a 30-megawatt extension to the Greenough River solar park is proposed.&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/sterling-bay-nails-down-181m-loan-for-chicago-tower/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/sterling-bay-nails-down-181m-loan-for-chicago-tower/</link>
      <category>Midwest</category>
      <category>Chicago</category>
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      <title>Sterling Bay Nails Down $181M Loan for Chicago Tower</title>
      <description>The Class A office project continues the company’s streak of high-profile deals on the city’s Near West Side, including acquisitions, new developments and adaptive-reuse projects. </description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2018 11:43:26 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-30T11:43:26Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;figure id="attachment_1004225739" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/333-N.-Green-St..jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;img class="wp-image-1004225739 size-medium" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/2/69881/images/333-N.-Green-St..jpg" alt="333 N. Green St. in Chicago" width="300" height="233"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;figcaption class="wp-caption-text"&gt;Rendering of 333 N. Green St. in Chicago&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;A 19-story, 548,900-square-foot Class A office tower on Chicago’s Near West Side has taken a big step forward for local developer-owner Sterling Bay, with the company’s acquisition of $181.6 million in construction financing. HFF secured the floating-rate loan through Wells Fargo.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sited in the hot Fulton Market neighborhood, 333 N. Green St. will feature floor plates ranging from 13,634 square feet to 40,589 square feet, above 31,500 square feet of street-level retail and 326 spaces of parking on floors two through five. Amenities will include a 2,700-square-foot fitness center, 2,000-square-foot conference area, 5,590-square-foot tenant lounge and a private rooftop deck for tenant use.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The building, which targets LEED Silver certification, is 47 percent preleased to GroupM and will serve as its North American headquarters, and as the regional headquarters for WPP, its parent company.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The location boasts a Walk Score of 97 and a Transit Score of 89, being only five blocks from both the Morgan Street and Grand Avenue “L” stations and a short distance from the commuter rail access at Ogilvie Station.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;HFF’s debt placement team included Managing Directors Timothy Joyce and Danny Kaufman and Director Christopher Knight.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sterling Bay did not respond to &lt;em&gt;Commercial Property Executive&lt;/em&gt;’s request for additional information.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Near West Side Is Sterling Bay’s Turf&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sterling Bay’s panoply of past and future projects in Chicago’s West Loop/Near West Side is genuinely impressive.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;One of the highest-profile developments was 1KFulton, home to Google’s Midwest headquarters, along with other tech companies. During reconstruction, the original 10-story building, a former cold-storage warehouse, was supplemented with a new six-story addition. Though Sterling Bay &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/googles-chicago-hq-fetches-record-price/"&gt;sold the property to American Realty Advisors&lt;/a&gt;, of Glendale, Calif., for $257 million in mid-2016, it still handles leasing and property management.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And barely two months ago, Sterling Bay pulled off (in partnership with J.P. Morgan Asset Management), the biggest acquisition in its history, &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/sterling-bay-buys-chicago-office-tower-for-510m/"&gt;buying 600 W. Chicago Ave.&lt;/a&gt; from Equity Commonwealth for $510 million. Originally built in 1908 as a Montgomery Ward catalog warehouse, the 1.6-million-square-foot structure is now Groupon’s HQ and 94 percent leased overall.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Another recent Sterling Bay project was the Ace Hotel, at 311 N. Morgan St., across the street from 1KFulton. The 159-key boutique hotel, an adaptive reuse of a former cheese factory, opened in mid-2017.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In the pipeline is The Porch, at 330 N. Green St., an 18-story, 670,400-square-foot office building that will feature a five-story open-air deck. Designed by SOM, the tower is scheduled for delivery in 2020.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image courtesy of Sterling Bay&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/forest-city-jv-buys-300m-stake-in-cambridge-assets/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/forest-city-jv-buys-300m-stake-in-cambridge-assets/</link>
      <category>Northeast</category>
      <category>Boston</category>
      <category>Feature</category>
      <category>CPE</category>
      <category>Office</category>
      <category>Investment</category>
      <category>News</category>
      <category>Deals</category>
      <title>Forest City JV Buys $300M Stake in Cambridge Assets</title>
      <description>The properties include 486,000 square feet of predominantly life sciences office space, in addition to a parking facility and commercial space.</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2018 10:24:45 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-30T10:24:45Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;figure id="attachment_1004225700" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/300-Massachusetts-Ave.-in-Cambridge-Mass..jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;img class="wp-image-1004225700 size-medium" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/2/69880/images/300-Massachusetts-Ave.-in-Cambridge-Mass..jpg" alt="300 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, Mass. " width="300" height="240"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;figcaption class="wp-caption-text"&gt;300 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, Mass.&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;In a joint venture with Madison International Realty, Forest City Realty Trust Inc. recently completed the purchase of its partner’s interest in five assets at University Park at MIT, a 2.3 million-square-foot mixed-use science and technology park in Cambridge, Mass. The value of the ownership stake in the group of assets, which partially comprise 486,000 square feet of office space, is $302 million.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“University Park at MIT is one of the most productive assets in our portfolio, making the opportunity to acquire our partner’s interest compelling,”&lt;/em&gt; David LaRue, president &amp; CEO of Forest City Realty Trust Inc., said in a prepared statement. &lt;em&gt;“We believe selectively acquiring partner interests in strong operating properties is one of our best and lowest-risk capital allocation options.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The University Park purchase includes three low-rise buildings, one of which is 300 Massachusetts Ave., a 245,000-square-foot office/research/laboratory facility occupied in its entirety by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. since its completion in 2016. The 119,000-square-foot multi-tenant office structure at 350 Massachusetts Ave. is also part of the group, as is 38 Sidney St., a 122,000-square-foot office/research/laboratory structure with a tenant roster featuring prominent pharmaceutical and health-care companies. The remaining assets include a 975-space parking facility and a 50,000-square-foot commercial space, both of which are connected to the 210-key Le Méridien Cambridge-MIT at 20 Sidney St.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Strategic moves&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;Forest City’s joint-venture transaction dovetails with the REIT’s ongoing &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/forest-city-initiates-major-retail-selloff/"&gt;strategic transformation&lt;/a&gt; into a company focused on office, mixed-use and residential assets sited in the country’s strongest markets. Perhaps the single largest move in the process came in September 2017 with Forest City’s announcement of plans to sell its &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/madison-international-buys-nyc-retail-portfolio-for-1b/"&gt;controlling interest&lt;/a&gt; in a 2.1 million-square-foot retail portfolio to its co-owner, Madison, for $1 billion.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“We continue to focus on completing our transformation, including the redeployment of our retail portfolio ownership stakes into office and apartment assets in core markets,”&lt;/em&gt; LaRue said during Forest City’s fourth quarter 2017 earnings conference call on February 9, 2018.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/does-tax-reform-provide-life-support-for-the-retail-market/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/does-tax-reform-provide-life-support-for-the-retail-market/</link>
      <category>National</category>
      <category>CPE</category>
      <category>Retail</category>
      <category>ViewPoint</category>
      <title>Does Tax Reform Provide Life Support for the Retail Market?</title>
      <description>After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the question remains whether the retail sector will reap benefits that will allow it to more easily navigate its evolving business model driven by changing consumer preferences.</description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 27 Apr 2018 18:09:06 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-27T18:09:06Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;p&gt;&lt;img class="alignright wp-image-1004225469 size-medium" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/2/69867/images/Jackson_Laura-e1524852533941.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="280"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;Four months after the passage of the &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/tax-changes-hike-investor-optimism/"&gt;largest tax reform in 30 years&lt;/a&gt;, known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the question remains whether the retail sector will reap benefits that will allow it to more easily navigate its evolving business model changes driven by changing consumer preferences.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The most significant impact of the TCJA to retail is the decrease in corporate tax rates, as most retailers are organized in corporate form. Under prior law, corporations were taxed on income at a graduated, four-step rate, which topped out at 35 percent. When adding in state and local income taxes, retailers often had effective tax rates upwards of 37 percent. With this lower federal rate of 21 percent, brick-and-mortar retailers will have more money to invest in marketing and distribution, making it easier to compete with e-tailers like Amazon.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In addition to the cut in the corporate rate, retailers may benefit from the reduced rates that individual taxpayers will receive starting in 2018. The TCJA widens the individual tax brackets while lowering the top tax bracket from 39.6 percent to 37 percent and maintains the bottom tax rate at 10 percent. This will put more money into consumers’ pockets, which retailers hope to translate into more spending at their stores. Geographically, these results may vary due to the limitation of state and local tax deductions in high-tax states such as New York and California.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Other provisions included in the TCJA, like special depreciation deductions, may boost development for some retail corporations. The TCJA has reinstituted the concept of “bonus” depreciation, which allows companies to immediately expense an investment in equipment, rather than depreciate it over a period of five or seven years. However, an oversight in the final TCJA draft omitted “qualified improvements.” Unless a technical correction is issued by the IRS, property that falls under this category would not be eligible for the immediate deduction and would instead have to be depreciated over 39 years.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Changing Practices&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;Due to the rise in electronic retail giants, some brick-and-mortar retailers are shifting the way they are operating their business. One big box retailer is growing its “small store” model, building smaller scale stores where a typical store would not fit, like large cities or college campuses. The bonus depreciation provisions of the TCJA may benefit these new stores by allowing the write-off of fixed assets.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Other real estate companies with retail portfolios are deploying technology to maximize returns on their portfolio. Kimco Realty Corp. recently introduced “Pop It Up Here!,” an online database of available pop-up sites. Short leases to pop-up shops will give adjacent retail tenants instant customer access and foot traffic, while maximizing the landlord’s ability to procure a long-term tenant. While REITs may not experience significant federal tax savings from the TCJA, retailers may invest their tax savings in technology to promote branding and grow the bottom line.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Shopping malls across America are taking a different approach to meeting the needs of evolving consumer demands by offering experiential shopping and food halls alongside traditional retail stores. Prior to the TCJA, all business meals and entertainment were 50 percent deductible. Under the new law, business meals will remain 50 percent deductible, but the entertainment portion is no longer deductible. With the entertainment deduction eliminated, it is unclear whether shopping centers anchored by group entertainment options, such as movie theaters and bowling alleys, will suffer. A larger impact could be to the businesses surrounding stadiums and concert halls.  If business executives are no longer motivated from a tax perspective to take clients out, will the nearby retailers suffer due to the decline in foot traffic?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Tech retailers also stand to gain in big ways from the TCJA. One of the main objectives of the TCJA was to migrate to a “territorial system” for taxation. To get there, the TCJA includes a provision for a one-time repatriation tax of 15.5 percent on income kept in foreign corporations. It is expected that companies will be able to bring back billions of dollars in cash into U.S. operations. What will companies do with all the cash repatriated? Plans to create thousands of new jobs and build new U.S. facilities are in the works.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Earlier this year, some states announced plans to conform with the changes to the federal tax system, but the majority have not released information on how the new rates and rules will play into computing state taxable income. Keeping track of the different rules by state will become a heavy administrative burden for large scale retailers with stores in every state.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Many of the provisions under the new tax reform are favorable to the retail industry. Retailers themselves will use the cash from tax savings to invest in their brand and improve the shopping experience intended to create additional sales. Retailers are optimistic that consumers will invest their tax cash savings in their products.  It remains to be seen whether the influx of cash from tax savings will be enough to lure shoppers to stores and create the economic boost that many retailers need.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Laura Jackson is a managing director in the tax practice of the Real Estate &amp; Infrastructure industry group at FTI Consulting. She may be contacted at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:laura.jackson@fticonsulting.com"&gt;&lt;em&gt;laura.jackson@fticonsulting.com.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The views expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily the views of FTI Consulting Inc, their management, their subsidiaries, their affiliates, or their other professionals. FTI Consulting, Inc., including its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a consulting firm and is not a certified public accounting firm or a law firm.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/midtown-miami-hotel-lands-21m-construction-loan/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/midtown-miami-hotel-lands-21m-construction-loan/</link>
      <category>South</category>
      <category>Miami</category>
      <category>CPE</category>
      <category>Hotel</category>
      <category>Finance</category>
      <category>Development</category>
      <category>News</category>
      <category>Deals</category>
      <title>Midtown Miami Hotel Lands $21M Construction Loan</title>
      <description>The 153-room hotel—expected to open in mid-2019—will be situated at the corner of Northeast 34st Street and Biscayne Boulevard, a few blocks away from the Shops at Midtown Miami.</description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 27 Apr 2018 15:48:35 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-27T15:48:35Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;figure id="attachment_1004224995" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/3400-Biscayne-AC-Marriott-Miami-Midtown.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;img class="wp-image-1004224995 size-medium" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/2/69861/images/3400-Biscayne-AC-Marriott-Miami-Midtown.jpg" alt="AC Marriott Miami Midtown" width="300" height="225"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;figcaption class="wp-caption-text"&gt;AC Marriott Miami Midtown&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;Aztec Group has arranged $21.3 million in construction financing for the development of AC Marriott Hotel, a 153-key hotel in Midtown Miami. Florida Community Bank provided the loan, secured by Aztec Managing Director Boaz Ashbel on behalf of Midtown Lodging 2 LLC.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Located at 3400 Biscayne Blvd., at the corner of Northeast 34&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; Street and Biscayne Boulevard, the new hotel is scheduled for completion in mid-2019. The location sees traffic counts currently in excess of 21,000 vehicles per day.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Amenities and features&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;Featuring a glass design, the property will include amenities such as a business center, restaurant and bar/lounge, fitness facility, swimming pool, meeting space, valet parking and guest laundry. 3H Hospitality will manage the property.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“We are currently at a point where landing a hotel construction loan, even in strong hospitality markets like Miami, poses a challenge,”&lt;/em&gt; Ashbel said in prepared remarks. &lt;em&gt;“Despite that, this product offering—with its strong brand affiliation and highly-visible location, defies the odds. With a financially strong and experienced borrower, there was little doubt of securing favorable financing terms.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In a recent financing transaction, Aztec Group worked with TotalBank to secure a &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/proposed-miami-springs-hotel-receives-15m-loan/"&gt;$15 million loan&lt;/a&gt; for the construction of Comfort Inn &amp; Suites Hotel in Miami Springs, Fla. Ashbel facilitated the deal on behalf of an entity led by Steven Marin and Michael Pfeffer.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Rendering courtesy of Aztec Group&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/tru-by-hilton-expands-texas-footprint/</guid>
      <link>https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/tru-by-hilton-expands-texas-footprint/</link>
      <category>South</category>
      <category>San Antonio</category>
      <category>CPE</category>
      <category>Hotel</category>
      <category>Development</category>
      <category>News</category>
      <title>Tru by Hilton Expands Texas Footprint</title>
      <description>The 95-key Tru by Hilton Downtown San Antonio marks the brand's second property in the state and its first adaptive reuse project, creating the hotel from the facade of the Gillespie Ford Building.</description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 27 Apr 2018 15:28:00 Z</pubDate>
      <atom:updated>2018-04-27T15:28:00Z</atom:updated>
      <atom:content type="html">&lt;![CDATA[&lt;figure id="attachment_1004224623" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Tru-by-Hilton-Downtown-San-Antonio.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;img class="wp-image-1004224623 size-medium" src="https://media.atre.yardi.com/2/69859/images/Tru-by-Hilton-Downtown-San-Antonio.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="233"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;figcaption class="wp-caption-text"&gt;Tru by Hilton Downtown San Antonio&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;Tru by Hilton has expanded its Texas footprint by opening up its newest hotel in downtown San Antonio. This debut marks the second Tru by Hilton property in the state and its first adaptive reuse project, creating the Tru by Hilton Downtown San Antonio from the facade of the Gillespie Ford Building. The hotel is owned and managed by Baywood Hotels.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The first two floors of the new hotel kept the property’s original pie-shaped framework, while restoring the exterior stuccowork and creating a larger lobby area. The 95-key hotel Tru by Hilton features a complimentary build-your-own Top It breakfast bar, a 24/7 Eat. &amp; Sip., mobile check-in, a social media wall, a fitness center, free Wi-Fi, a business center and a 2,880-square-foot lobby with work, play, eat and lounge areas.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“The San Antonio property is an example of how we are strategically pursuing adaptive reuse projects to open in higher barrier-to-entry markets,”&lt;/em&gt; said &lt;a href="https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/tru-by-hilton-expands-in-three-college-towns/"&gt;Alexandra Jaritz, global head, Tru by Hilton&lt;/a&gt;, in a prepared statement. &lt;em&gt;“We want to be wherever our guests are traveling.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Tru by Hilton Downtown San Antonio is within close proximity to the San Antonio Riverwalk, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, SeaWorld, the Alamo, Lackland Air Force Base and Rivercenter Mall.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image courtesy of Hilton&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;]]&gt;</atom:content>
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