ICM Realty Group Acquires Andrew S. Webb Babies ‘R’ Us Plaza in West Palm Beach, FL

Babies 'R' Us Plaza, West Okeechobee Boulevard and Haverhill Road, West Palm Beach, FL

 

West Palm Beach, FL – ICM Realty Group, the international real estate investment and management firm, announced today that it has purchased the Babies ‘R’ Us Plaza.

The 80,000 SF multi-tenant, retail building is located on the corner of West Okeechobee Blvd and  Haverhill Road in West Palm Beach FL.

As part of the purchase, ICM has committed to completing significant capital improvements, including significant exterior renovations, a new roof, signage and landscaping and upgraded building systems to

be more energy efficient.

Bruce Timm

In addition, ICM intends to immediately commence an aggressive leasing campaign focused on adding new retailers to the building’s already impressive tenant roster.

"We are happy to be investing in a market that continues to demonstrate a dynamic resurgence in leasing activity and one that we think is poised for strong growth,” said Bruce Timm, ICM’s CEO. “This

investment signals our ongoing commitment to the Southeast Florida market and to building ICM Realty Group’s reputation as a world-class real estate investment manager.”

Babies ‘R’ Us Plaza is strategically located along the highly utilized Okeechobee Blvd corridor amongst numerous retail and hospitality amenities.

With frontage and access points on both West Okeechobee Blvd and Haverhill Road, along with its direct access to I-95, the building maintains superior accessibility and visibility.

With its ability to accommodate a new user in excess of 13,000 SF, the building is poised to capitalize on the recovering leasing market.

"We are very pleased to have the opportunity to invest further in this market and are fortunate to have purchased a building with such a high quality group of tenants and individuals," said ICM Managing

Director Andrew Webb.

 “Babies ‘R’ Us Plaza represents a unique opportunity for its occupants to locate in a well located asset that will have all the traits and amenities of a newly developed retail building.

The building’s central location also allows companies to access multiple customer pools in order to attract and retain shoppers from all areas of the West Palm Beach metro.”

ICM has partnered with Cohen Commercial Realty for the property management and leasing of Babies ‘R’ Us Plaza in order to deliver the best service possible.

Cohen is a West Palm Beach based real estate

leasing and management company with over 15 years of experience and over one million square feet of retail space currently under management in Southeast Florida.

 

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Andrew Webb

ICM Realty Group, LLC

7900 International Drive, Suite 150

Bloomington, MN 55425, USA

Tel:    +1 952 883 3107

Email: awebb@icmgroup.net

Web:   www.icmgroup.net

HFF San Diego expands its investment sales group with addition of Nicholas Frasco

Nicholas Frasco

SAN DIEGO, CA – HFF announced today that Nicholas Frasco has joined the firm as a director in its San Diego office.  Mr. Frasco will specialize in investment sales in San Diego with a primary focus on office, industrial and retail properties.

Mr. Frasco has more than six years of experience in the industry and prior to joining HFF he worked in the commercial brokerage group at Voit Real Estate Services in both their Orange County and San Diego offices.

  He is a licensed commercial real estate broker in the state of California and is a member of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties and the American Industrial Real Estate Association. 

Mr. Frasco holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and received his certificate in real estate finance, investments and development from the University of San Diego.

Nick Psyllos

“HFF has strategically grown its West Coast investment sales team over the past few years with exceptional talent such as Nicholas.”  said senior managing director Nick Psyllos, who leads the investment sales effort in HFF’s San Diego office.

“He will be an invaluable resource to not only our San Diego office but our national investment sales platform, and we look forward to having him as part of the HFF team.”

  

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Kristen M. Murphy

Associate Director

HFF | One Post Office Square, Suite 3500 | Boston, MA 02109

Main: 617-338-0990 | Direct: 617-848-1572 | Cell: 617-543-4873 | www.hfflp.com

krmurphy@hfflp.com

HFF secures $11.3 million refinancing for medical office building complex in Chattanooga, TN

Atrium Memorial Medical Office Buildings, 1949 Gunbarrel Road, Chattanooga, TN

FLORHAM PARK, NJ – HFF announced today that it has secured an $11.3 million refinancing for Atrium Memorial Medical Office Buildings, a two-building, 102,705-square-foot medical office complex in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

               Working on behalf of Diversified Realty Ventures (DRV), HFF placed the three-year, floating-rate, non-recourse bridge loan with Colony Capital. 

Michael Klein

               The property is comprised of The Atrium Professional Building, a 57,855-square-foot, two-story building and the Atrium – Surgery Center, a 44,850-square-foot surgery center building. 

The buildings are connected via an air-conditioned skywalk and share parking at the 6.83-acre site.  Atrium is located at 1949 Gunbarrel Road, one-half mile from Erlanger Hospital East Campus and adjacent to the Hamilton Place Mall approximately 20 minutes from downtown Chattanooga. 

               The HFF team representing the borrower was led by director Michael Klein.

               “The borrower was seeking a short term solution that would enable them to take out their existing debt on a non-recourse basis and have the ability to earn-out additional proceeds for tenant improvements, leasing commissions and capital improvements as they executed their business plan,” said Klein. 

“Colony Capital provided the borrower with an aggressive floating rate, a structure that catered to the borrower’s needs, and closed within a tight time frame.”

               Diversified Realty Ventures (DRV) is a privately-held real estate investment firm with offices in Bethesda, Maryland and Richmond, Virginia.

 For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Kristen M. Murphy

Associate Director

HFF | One Post Office Square, Suite 3500 | Boston, MA 02109

Main: 617-338-0990 | Direct: 617-848-1572 | Cell: 617-543-4873 | www.hfflp.com

krmurphy@hfflp.com

HFF arranges $85 million construction loan for TripAdvisor headquarters in Needham, MA

Rendering of planned six-story, 280,000-SF corporate headquarters building
for TripAdvisor in Needham, MA

 

Riaz Cassum

BOSTON, MA – HFF announced it has arranged an $85 million construction loan for the six-story, 280,000-square-foot, built-to-suit corporate headquarters of TripAdvisor in Needham, Massachusetts.

               HFF worked on behalf of the borrower, a joint venture of Normandy Real Estate Partners and Greenfield Partners, to secure the floating-rate loan.  The lender group was led by RBS Citizens and also included People’s United Bank. 

               Due for completion in 2015, TripAdvisor’s headquarters will consist of a custom-built, LEED Certified Gold office building with an employee cafeteria, fitness center and meeting areas, along with an 1,100- space parking garage. 

The property is situated on 4.7 acres along First Avenue in the larger Center 128 mixed-use development directly fronting Route 128/Interstate 95 in Needham, about eight miles west of downtown Boston.       

The HFF team representing the borrower was led by senior managing director Riaz Cassum, director Porter Terry and senior real estate analyst Brett Paulsrud.

Porter Terry

“Normandy and Greenfield had the vision and persistence to transform an underutilized group of 1950’s era R&D buildings into an amenity-rich corporate office location and HFF was thrilled to play a part,” said Cassum.

The RBS Citizens and People’s United Bank teams were respectively led by senior vice presidents William Butler and David Lewis. 

“RBS Citizens was thrilled to help both Normandy and Greenfield bring TripAdvisor to Center 128,” added Butler.       

                Normandy Real Estate Partners is a leading real estate operator and investment manager headquartered in Morristown, NJ with offices in Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C.

Normandy currently manages a series of discretionary real estate funds totaling approximately $1.5 billion of equity commitments.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Kristen M. Murphy

Associate Director

HFF | One Post Office Square, Suite 3500 | Boston, MA 02109

Main: 617-338-0990 | Direct: 617-848-1572 | Cell: 617-543-4873 | www.hfflp.com

krmurphy@hfflp.com

Two New Tenants Sign on at Aventura Optima Plaza in Aventura, FL

Aventura Optima Plaza, Aventura, FL

  

Randy Olen

MIAMI, FL, Jan. 23, 2014 - Colliers International South Florida is pleased to announce that Fossil Partners, LP (NASDAQ: FOSL) a global design, marketing and distribution company, and Soffer Health Institute, led by founder and board certified cardiovascular specialist Dr. Ariel Soffer, MD, FACC, have both become the newest tenants to sign on at Aventura Optima Plaza.

They join KAWA Capital Management, The Bloom Organization, Morales Law Group, Nexsys International and Dolce Living Investments, LLC, who also signed leases in the building earlier this year.

Aventura Optima Plaza is an 114,000-square-foot Class A office and medical project that is on track to become only the second high-rise office building in Florida to be certified LEED Platinum.

Ryan Ackerman

Fossil, which specializes in consumer fashion accessories, will occupy 11,401 square feet of office space to house its Latin American headquarters on the eighth floor of the east building. Soffer Health Institute will occupy 4,577 square feet on the ground floor of the west building.

"Aventura Optima Plaza differentiates itself from its competition due to an impressive and environmentally friendly design, as well as a solid and reliable ownership group," said the building's leasing representative, Randy Olen, Executive Vice President of Colliers International South Florida.

"The building's ownership group has a history and reputation of securing quality tenants for their assets, both at Aventura Optima Plaza, as well as their other projects in Mexico City, because they build outstanding projects and treat their tenants like family..."

Randy Olen of Colliers International South Florida exclusively represented the landlord in both transactions while Ryan Ackerman of CB Richard Ellis represented Fossil Partners and Kyle Sorel of Florida Medical Space represented Soffer Health Institute.

Kyle Sorel

Aventura Optima Plaza consists of a nine-story east tower fronting Biscayne Boulevard and four-story west building connected by a 457-space covered parking garage. 

The project just completed the 20,000-SF "green" rooftop facility above the parking structure which includes an exercise room and outdoor, landscaped jogging trails. 

Additionally, a fifth-level water patio connecting the parking garage and east building has also been opened to tenants featuring seating areas and a floating deck constructed using reclaimed wood. Two escalators in the front of the building take tenants and visitors from the ground level to the building lobby located on the mezzanine level.

  

 For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Crystal Proenza

Vice President of Marketing and Culture

Colliers International South Florida

Commercial Real Estate Services

Tel: 305 476 7138

Email: crystal.proenza@colliers.com

www.colliers.com

Washington DC’s Iconic L’Enfant Plaza Hotel to Undergo Major Renovation after Acquisition by Hotel Group

  

  

Washington, DC,  Jan. 23, 2014—L’Enfant DC Hotel LLC announced today the purchase, for an undisclosed amount, of the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C. 

Will Gibbs

The landmark 372-key property was acquired by the company on December 3rd. The hotel was immediately closed upon transfer in anticipation of a major renovation.

The yet-to-be-branded hotel is located in the heart of Southwest Washington’s most dynamic mixed-use development, which includes quality retailers and Class A office space.

This location is one block from many of Washington’s premier attractions, including The National Mall, The Washington Monument and The Smithsonian. 

Also within minutes are The United States Capitol, US Supreme Court and The White House. Virginia and Maryland are easily accessible for guests of the hotel through the L’Enfant Plaza Metro Station located beneath the hotel. Many federal agency headquarters are within walking distance.

            “This is one of the premier locations in the Nation’s Capital and serves both leisure and business guests,” said Will Gibbs, senior vice president, L’Enfant DC Hotel LLC. “Our plans to restore the hotel to 4 Diamond status are being developed now with intentions to re-open the hotel in 2015.

Vlastimil Koubek

“The current development of an additional 58,000 square feet of retail space adjacent to the hotel and the future development plans of 1.8 million square feet of mixed-use commercial property on the Potomac River’s Southwest waterfront one block away make the potential for the hotel to be at the height of its 40-plus-year history.”

 Opened as a luxury property in 1973, The L’Enfant Plaza Hotels boasts 372 guest rooms and suites. It was designed by architect Vlastimil Koubek and named after Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the first surveyor and designer of the street layout for the Washington D.C.

 The property features 21,000 square feet of conference and banquet space, including a 700-seat ballroom, two restaurants, two bars, coffee kiosk, retail spaces, health club, business center and a rooftop pool.

L’Enfant DC Hotel LLC is an affiliate of Stanford Hotels Group 

 (www.stanfordhotels.com) which operates 13 hotels and has four additional hotels under construction and development stages located in Times Square, New York City; South Lake Union, Seattle; Fifth and Stewart, Downtown Seattle; and South of Market, San Francisco.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

  

Jerry Daly, media

Daly Gray Public Relations

(703) 435-6293

jerry@dalygray.com

Gemstone Hotels & Resorts Awarded Management Contract for Essex Culinary Resort and Spa in Burlington, VT

  

            PARK CITY, UT and BURLINGTON, VT, Jan. 23, 2014—Gemstone Hotels & Resorts, a full-service hotel management company that specializes in owning and operating luxury and upscale urban hotels and resorts, today announced the company has assumed management of the 120-room, AAA Four Diamond Essex Culinary Resort and Spa in Burlington, Vt.

Jeff McIntyre

The resort is at 70 Essex Way in Essex (Burlington) VT and is situated on 18 acres tucked between Vermont's Green Mountains and Lake Champlain.

"Essex Culinary Resort and Spa is a hand-in-glove fit with our growing portfolio of 18 luxury and upscale resorts and hotels," said Jeff McIntyre, principal of Gemstone.

 "Essex is smartly on-trend for today's food-savvy, wellness-focused traveler, and our team has a unique understanding of the operational and marketing needs of one-of-a-kind resort properties. Gemstone specializes in creating and celebrating 'brands of one'."

"More and more, we see leisure, group and business travelers looking for an experience, not just a place to stay. The authentic, local experience that is the essence of Essex clearly resonates with their guests," noted Thomas Prins, principal of Gemstone.

 "We look forward to tailoring our proven marketing and management systems to The Essex  in order to attract active, travelling foodies who want to expand their culinary skills and knowledge while savoring locally-inspired fine cuisine."

Thomas Prins

The resort's culinary experience, includes two restaurants, 10,000 square feet of indoor meeting space and catering venues, and one of the most unique and rustic wedding locations in all of New England—The Ponds. 

The true distinguishing feature of “Vermont's Culinary Resort”, is the in-house “Cook Academy”, where guests have the opportunity to learn from the resort's world class chefs in special classes and daily samplings.  

The school and the resort's food and beverage offerings are under the direction of award-winning, certified European master chef Arnd Sevier.  The hotel's restaurants, Amuse and The Tavern, are led by two-time Vermont Iron Chef Shawn Calley.

Essex Culinary Resort and Spa also features the area's only full-service spa, The Spa at Essex, with ten treatment rooms, a fitness center, indoor lap pool, a seasonally available outdoor pool and hot tub and a full-service salon.  The resort also is home to Vermont Tennis Vacations, listed among Vermont's best by Tennis Magazine, and the area's only 18 hole executive golf course.  

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Lauralee Dobbins, media

(703) 435-6293

Lauralee@dalygray.com

 http://www.essexresortspa.com

.

Marcus & Millichap Arranges Sale of Rolling Hills Apartments in Tallahassee, FL for$6.4 Million

  

Rolling Hills Apartments, 280 John Knox Road, Tallahassee, FL

  

Francesco 'Frank' Carriera

TALLAHASSEE, FL,  Jan. 23, 2014 – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has announced the sale of Rolling Hills Apartments, a 152-unit multifamily community located in Tallahassee, Fla., according to Richard D. Matricaria, regional manager of the firm’s Tampa office. The asset sold for $6,440,000.

Francesco “Frank” Carriera and Michael Regan, vice presidents investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the Georgia-based seller, a private investor. 

 The listing agents also procured the buyer of the property a private investor from Tallahassee, Fla.

Rolling Hills Apartments was built in 1972 and are located at 280 John Knox Road in Tallahassee, Fla.  The property consists of seven, two-story buildings comprised of one-, two and three bedroom units. In 2004, 18 three-bedroom/three-and-a-half bathroom townhome units were added. 

All townhome units have back patios with views of a natural spring-fed lake.  Property amenities include on-site laundry facilities, washer and dryer appliances in all townhome units, washer and dryer connections in select units, a fitness center, barbeque and picnic area, a clubhouse and a pool.

Michael Regan

“We generated nine offers from buyers located in the Southeast, Northeast and Central U.S. regions, says Carriera. 

  “The incredible amount of interest we received in the offering, allowed for multiple offers over the seller’s expectations, with several buyers offering non-refundable deposits immediately upon execution of the purchase contract,” adds Carriera. 

“The Tallahassee market allows investors from all over Florida to take advantage of buying investments at slightly higher yields than most other markets in Florida.  Additionally, investors are attracted to Tallahassee due to the stable government and higher education employment opportunities,” concludes Carriera.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Richard D. Matricaria

Regional Manager, Tampa

(813) 387-4700

www.MarcusMillichap.com

Northeast PCG Closes New York and Connecticut Sale in Active Year-End Market

35 Thompson Street, New Haven, CT

Edward Jordan

WHITE PLAINS, NY and  BRIDGEPORT, CT– Investment sales broker Northeast Private Client Group has announced the year-end sale of four apartment properties: 

• 34 Pier Street, Yonkers, NY;
• 137 East 233 Street, Bronx, NY;
• 35 Thompson Street, New Haven, CT;
• 50 Maple Avenue, Cheshire, CT. 

The four properties traded in separate transactions for a combined value of $4,955,000, representing a blended 7.0% capitalization rate on current Net Operating Income.

Edward Jordan, JD, CCIM, the firm’s managing director, led a team of agents based in White Plains, NY, and Bridgeport, CT, that represented the sellers and buyers in the four separate transactions. 

“The success of these transactions are proof positive of our commitment to relationship-based brokerage,” said Jordan. “With our relationships and market expertise across the region, we identified the buyers best suited to these specific investment opportunities.”

Steven D'Ambrosio

The 34-unit multifamily property at 34 Pier Street in Yonkers, NY, sold for $2,400,000 in a transaction assisted by Steven D’Ambrosio, an associate in the firm’s White Plains, NY, office.  The price equates to $70,588 per unit, which represents a gross rent multiplier of 7.0 and a capitalization rate of 6.5%. 

The 8-unit mixed-use property at 137 East 23 Street, Bronx, NY, sold for $990,000 in a transaction assisted by Anthony Watkins, senior associate in the firm’s White Plains, NY, office.  The price equates to $123,750 per unit, which represents a gross rent multiplier of 8.8 and a capitalization rate of 7.4%.

The 6-unit mixed-use property at 35 Thompson Street, New Haven, CT sold for $475,500 in a transaction assisted by Bradley Balletto, regional manager in the firm’s Bridgeport, CT, office.  The price equates to $79,250 per unit, which represents a gross rent multiplier of 7.8 and a capitalization rate of 8.5%. 

The 8-unit multifamily property at 501 Maple Avenue, Cheshire, CT, sold for $1,090,000 in a transaction assisted by Taylor Perun, an associate in the firm’s Bridgeport, CT, office.  The price equates to $136,250 per unit, which represents a gross rent multiplier of 8.7 and a capitalization rate of 7.1%. 

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Randy Savicky

Founder/CEO

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