Major outlet center owner Tanger has acquired another high-end shopping center. The 640,000-square-foot Pinecrest Mall is an open-air, grocery-anchored, mixed-use property in Orange, Ohio, part of Cleveland’s affluent eastern corridor. The $167 million purchase also included the asset’s residential and office components.

Such developments continue to gain popularity across the country, according to Michael Romer, co-managing partner at Romer Debbas.

“This is yet another example of the growing live-work-play trend in commercial real estate,” Romer told Commercial Property Executive. “With a housing shortage nationally, pairing shopping, dining and entertainment together with residential is a smart play on numerous fronts.”

“Open-air shopping has led the charge in the recent comeback of brick-and-mortar shopping, with recent foot traffic on par with prepandemic numbers,” added Rick Strauss, principal with Odyssey.

A Whole Foods Market anchors Pinecrest, alongside retailers Alo Yoga, UNTUCKit, Madewell, Sephora, Warby Parker, Indochino, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, REI, Nike and several others. Dining choices include Shake Shack, Kitchen Social, First Watch, Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, Silverspot Cinema and Pinstripes.

Tanger’s buying spree; open-air heats up

Over the past 16 months or so, Tanger also acquired The Promenade at Chenal in Little Rock, Ark., and Bridge Street Town Centre in Huntsville, Ala.

In October, Tanger Outlets Nashville opened, featuring 60 stores across seven buildings. The 290,000-square-foot, open-air shopping center in southeast Nashville was 97 percent leased at that time.

In August, CTO Realty Growth bought Carolina Pavilion in Charlotte, N.C., Millenia Crossing in Orlando, Fla., and Lake Brandon Village in Tampa, Fla. The three open-air shopping centers totaling some 1.2 million square feet sold for $137.5 million.

The post Tanger Pays $167M for Open-Air Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

A joint venture between Westminster Capital and GEIS sold Gateway Commerce Center, a 434,171-square-foot, Class A industrial property in Streetsboro, Ohio, to EQT Exeter. The asset traded for $40.2 million, according to CommercialEdge data. JLL represented the seller.

FNS, a 3PL company, is the sole tenant, occupying the entire building. It inked the lease in the third quarter last year, Newmark reported. Prior to the deal, the facility had been vacant for nearly two years.

The cross-dock facility features 32-foot clear heights, 56 dock doors, eight drive-in doors and 180-foot truck courts. Gateway Commerce Center may be divided into 100,000-square-foot units.

READ ALSO: Lower Rates Signal Increase in Industrial Sales

Located at 10242 State Route 43, the building is roughly 32 miles southeast from downtown Cleveland and about 27 miles northeast of downtown Akron, Ohio. Interstates 480 and 80 can be found within 5 miles of the facility.

JLL Senior Managing Directors John Huguenard and Sean Devaney, as well as Managing Director Ed Halaburt, led the Investment Sales and Advisory team representing Westminster and GEIS in the transaction.

The duo teamed up in 2020 to build the facility on a speculative basis. Funding included a $20.3 million note issued by the Lake Forest Bank & Trust Co., CommercialEdge shows. JobsOhio’s Site Inventory Program—which offered grants and low-interest loans for speculative projects—also provided debt. Gateway Commerce Center was the first Northeast Ohio development to benefit from the program.  

At that time, the project tied with a 434,000-square-foot industrial property in Glenwillow, Ohio, for Northeast Ohio’s largest speculative facility, JLL reported. Investcorp bought that facility in 2020 as part of a portfolio deal.

Metro Cleveland’s industrial assets trade at a bargain

Greater Cleveland’s industrial sales volume clocked in at $254 million year-to-date through August, a CommercialEdge report shows. Assets traded at an average of $49 per square foot, substantially below the $132 national average. Only metro Kansas City, Mo., recorded a lower figure, $48 per square foot.

Earlier this year, Caspian Group purchased Shoreway Commerce Park for $9 million from First Interstate Properties. The 445,682-square-foot industrial park is in an Opportunity Zone within Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

The post EQT Exeter Buys Cleveland-Area 434 KSF Industrial Asset appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Cardinal Health has unveiled plans for a nearly 249,000-square-foot distribution center in Walton Hills, Ohio, as it continues to its strategy of modernizing its U.S. operations and increasing warehouse capacity.

The facility, which is slated to be operational by spring 2025, will be more than 30 percent larger than the location in nearby Solon, Ohio, it will replace.

Intended to support Cardinal Health’s U.S. Medical Products and Distribution business, the warehouse will integrate new technology solutions, deliver operational efficiencies and provide expanded capacity in the Cleveland area.

READ ALSO: Industrial Development Pipeline Shrinks

The future distribution center will rise in the Forward Innovation Center East industrial park, a 1 million-square-foot, 111-acre property that was the site of the former Ford Motor Co. Stamping Plant. The campus borders Interstates 271 and 480, has access to the Northern Southern Columbus & CSX North Baltimore rail line and is less than 18 miles from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

Cardinal officials said Northeast Ohio is a major health-care hub and critical market that the company’s medical products and distribution business has serviced for more than 25 years.

Expanding and modernizing

The Walton Hills site is one of several new locations Cardinal Health has been investing in over the past several years as it grows its footprint and modernizes its distribution capabilities.

In April, the company broke ground on a 575,000-square-foot medical distribution center in Columbus, Ohio, at the Rickenbacker Global Logistics Park. The property is about 10 miles from downtown Columbus.

Last year, the firm opened two new distribution centers in Central Ohio, one supporting the U.S. Medical Products and Distribution business in Groveport and a second property in Grove City handling products for the at-Home Solutions business. The facilities total more than 782,000 square feet.

Cardinal also opened a new medical products replenishment center last year in Montgomery, N.Y., which strengthens on-hand inventory levels and the ability to rapidly restock its distribution network.

And, later this year, Cardinal will celebrate the opening of a new nearly 317,000-square-foot  distribution center in Boyleston, Mass., near Boston. That facility will provide expanded warehouse capacity and specialized handling capabilities for products requiring refrigeration.

The post Cardinal Health to Expand Medical Distribution Footprint appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The University Hospitals Wellness Campus at 8655 Market St. in Mentor, Ohio, has changed hands. According to Lake County records, Lake Development Authority was the owner of the property. CBRE U.S. Healthcare Capital Markets represented the seller in the transaction.

Lake Health, part of the University Hospitals Health Systems, occupies the entire facility. Public records show University Hospitals held a ground lease agreement with the owner. In August last year, Mentor University Hospitals Urgent Care clinic relocated from 8655 Market St. to 6900 Center St., Cleveland.com reported.

READ ALSO: Emerging Trends for CRE in 2024 and Beyond

Completed in 2017, the two-story building encompasses a total of 85,977 square feet. The Class A outpatient clinic provides a variety of services, including physical therapy, sports medicine, urgent care, primary care, integrative medicine, cardiology, pain management, orthopedics, imaging and a clinical laboratory.

The campus covers 8.8 acres and has access to U.S. Route 2. Downtown Cleveland is 25 miles southeast of the property. Medical facilities in the surrounding area include Lake Ambulatory Care Center, UH Mentor Hopkins Health Center, Erieside Medical Group and University Hospitals Urgent Care Mentor, among others.

The CBRE team involved in the deal included Vice Chairman & Managing Director Chris Bodnar, Senior Vice President Zack Holderman, Senior Director Trent Jemmett, as well as Vice Presidents Cole Reethof and Jesse Greshin.

Medical offices, still on the rise

Between January 2023 and January 2024, four other primarily medical office buildings changed hands in the Cleveland-Akron market, totaling some 80,000 square feet, CommercialEdge data shows.

Investor interest in outpatient clinics continues to be on the rise, despite the economic challenges that have made their mark on the commercial real estate sector over the last year. The medical office sector still thrives due to its specificity.

The post Metro Cleveland MOB Changes Hands appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Northmarq arranged the $13 million acquisition loan through Standard Insurance Co. The permanent fixed-rate note carries a 3-year term with 2 years interest only and a 30-year amortization schedule.

The property previously traded in 2001 for $3.7 million, according to CommercialEdge data. Built in two phases, in 1912 and 1942, Shoreway Commerce Park underwent a rehabilitation process in 2010, which turned a partially occupied truck manufacturing site into a logistics and distribution hub.

The 27-acre complex comprises two buildings featuring sky lights, climate control, 85- to 105-foot truck courts, rail doors and 22 parking spaces. Located at 799 E. 73rd St., in an Opportunity Zone within Cuyahoga County, the property is near Interstate 95, which allows easy access across the Cleveland metropolitan area.

Northmarq Managing Director Andy Finn from the Minneapolis Debt + Equity office, in collaboration with Vice President Mark Jeffries of the Denver office, secured the financing for the borrower.

The demand for industrial space remained high in the Cleveland market in the fourth quarter of last year due to low vacancy and a lack of speculative construction, according to a recent Cushman & Wakefield report. Investment sales totaled 2.2 million square feet across 27 deals, up 340 percent over the quarter.

The post First Interstate Properties Sells Cleveland Industrial Campus appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

West Bay Plaza is located just 15 miles from downtown Cleveland. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

Carter Properties has purchased West Bay Plaza, a 147,135-square-foot grocery-anchored shopping center in Westlake, Ohio. Heritage Development sold the asset for $41.7 million, according to CommercialEdge data. The same source shows that Goldman Sachs provided a $29.2 million loan for the acquisition.

JLL Capital Markets brokered the transaction, with Director Michael Nieder and Managing Director Keely Polczynski leading the Investment Sales and Advisory team working on behalf of the seller. Goodman Real Estate Services Group’s Vice President & Director of Investment Sales Kyle Hartung represented Carter Properties in the deal.

Completed in 1974, the property underwent a cosmetic renovation from 2018 to 2022. West Bay Plaza comprises three buildings on a 17-acre site. The center is anchored by HomeSense, Sierra Trading Post, Ulta and Fresh Thyme Market, which serves as the most trafficked location in the state of Ohio. At the time of the sale, the property was 92.5 percent occupied by tenants such as DryBar, Pet Supplies Plus, Kirkland’s, Chipotle, Chase and Club Pilates.

At the beginning of this year, Orion Real Estate Group and Limestone Asset Management have jointly purchased a 188,389-square-foot retail center in Miami, for $70.5 million. JLL Capital Markets brokered the transaction and Goldman Sachs provided the acquisition financing.

READ ALSO: CPE Asks: When Will It Be a Good Time to Invest in Retail?

A well-located asset

Situated at 30100 Detroit Road, the retail center is within the Western Cuyahoga County. The grocery-anchored shopping center is near Interstate 90, which provides direct access to downtown Cleveland. West Bay Plaza serves a population of almost 150,000 individuals within a 5-mile radius, in an area where the average household income exceeds $125,000, with an overall buying power of $7 billion.

Crocker Park, a lifestyle center with a mix of retail, office and luxury residences, is within walking distance of the retail center. The Class A, mixed-use development receives approximately 10 million visitors annually, drawing significant consumer demand to West Bay Plaza.

The post Carter Properties Pays $42M for Grocery-Anchored Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Western Reserve and Unity Clinic anchor Western Reserve Health Center. Image courtesy of Anchor Health Properties

Anchor Health Properties has completed Western Reserve Health Center, a 53,000-square-foot medical office building in Hudson, Ohio. The development team included DesignGroup as architect, construction company The Albert M. Higley Co. and engineering firm Thorson Baker + Associates.

The Hudson Planning Commission approved the site plan for construction in September 2021 and the project was announced in early 2022. Anchor Health, in partnership with Western Reserve Hospital also applied for a 50 percent property tax exemption.

Anchor Health obtained a $17.9 million construction loan from Synovus Bank in June 2022, with a maturity date set for 2025, CommercialEdge data shows. The medical office building’s development was valued at $20.2 million.

READ ALSO: In the Office Sector, MOBs Are a Star Attraction

The three-story building is on a 51-acre lot that allows for future expansion and features a community room and retail amenities with the possible addition of a café. The facility provides various services such as endocrinology, gastroenterology, medical weight loss, orthopedics, lab and imaging, rheumatology, ophthalmology, primary care, infusion and podiatry. Western Reserve Hospital and the independent physician network Unity Health Network are the property’s anchor tenants.

The health center took shape at 231 Seasons Road, near U.S. Route 8, some 10 miles from Akron and 30 miles from downtown Cleveland. The facility is surrounded by a variety of medical providers, including Cleveland Clinic Stow-Falls Express and Outpatient Care, Unity Health Network, Summa Health Medical Group Stow-Kent Internal Medicine and Pioneer After Hours Clinic North, among others.

Anchor’s growing portfolio

Anchor Health has been expanding its portfolio throughout the first half of 2023. The company made its entry in the Columbus market with the acquisition of a 38,327-square-foot medical office building in Grove City, Ohio, and added a 34,681-square-foot medical office building in Sebastian, Fla., to its list of assets.

In July, the company grew its Georgia portfolio of nearly 1 million square feet with the purchase of Forsyth Physicians Center. The 91,940-square-foot medical facility is some 40 miles northeast of Atlanta.

The post Anchor Health Completes Cleveland-Area Medical Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Erie Commons. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

America’s Realty has purchased Erie Commons and Great Lakes Plaza, two shopping centers totaling 312,866 square feet in Mentor, Ohio, in a $14.6 million deal.

Devonshire and Sachs Cos. were the sellers, according to CommercialEdge data. Eastern Union arranged the $10.9 million in acquisition financing provided by First Bank, with Senior Managing Director Marc Tropp working on behalf of the borrower. The financing carried a loan-to-value ratio of 75 percent.

The 232,386-square-foot Erie Commons property encompasses two buildings completed in 1973. Devonshire acquired the shopping center in 2014 for $18.3 million, according to CommercialEdge data. The center sits on a 23-acre site at 7960-8000 Plaza Blvd. Situated at 7830 Plaza Blvd., Great Lakes Plaza comprises 80,480 square feet of retail space and was completed in 1997. Both properties are located in Cleveland’s Lake County submarket, near the intersection of Route 20 and Interstate 90.

The acquisition of the two shopping centers brings America’s Realty’s Ohio portfolio to 18 retail centers, totaling approximately 3.4 million square feet. The company currently owns 113 properties nationwide.

Since the beginning of 2022, the retail sector has been making a strong comeback. The sector has remained resilient in recent months and continues to rebound from challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many retailers are focusing on creating a positive shopping experience and fostering a sense of community.

The post America’s Realty Buys 2 Cleveland-Area Retail Centers appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Latest rendering of the Sherwin-Williams new R&D center. Image courtesy of Sherwin-Williams

Paint and coating manufacturer Sherwin-Williams has broken ground on its new global R&D center in Brecksville, Ohio. Governor Mike DeWine, together with other public officials and company executives gathered on Friday for the groundbreaking ceremony.

Sherwin-Williams has been planning the expansion for more than a year through its “Building our Future” initiative, first announced in February 2020. The plan calls for an investment of at least $600 million for the development of both the Brecksville property, as well as a new, 1 million-square-foot headquarters in downtown Cleveland.

READ ALSO: Why Slow Return-to-Office Doesn’t Threaten Office REITs Now

In May of this year, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections voted on the rezoning of 18 acres within the development area, bringing Sherwin-Williams’ total footprint at the site to 119 acres, according to an article by Cleveland.com. DiGeronimo Cos. sold portions of land within its Valor Acres project to Sherwin-Williams for $15.2 million in October 2020. Valor Acres is a separate mixed-use project developed by DiGeronimo Cos. that will be anchored by Sherwin-Williams’ new research center.

The 600,000-square-foot new R&D facility will rise on a site just east of Interstate 77, at the intersection of Miller Road and Brecksville Road. Housing chemists, engineers, technicians and support teams, the innovation hub will support product development, coatings research, color technology and process engineering. Sherwin-Williams expects the project to generate 3,000 construction jobs and be complete in 2024.

Growing in Northeast Ohio

Brecksville Site Plan. Image courtesy of Sherwin-Williams.

Welty Gilbane, a joint venture of Welty and Gilbane Co., was picked by Sherwin-Williams to act as construction manager for both its Brecksville facility and the new downtown Cleveland headquarters. HGA Architects and Engineers will act as base building and interior architect for the R&D center. CBRE will act as real estate and economic development advisor.

In downtown Cleveland, Sherwin-Williams is planning to build a 36-story office tower, where it plans to relocate its employees. The building will be situated at the north-east corner of West 6th Street and West Superior Avenue.

The company expects to grow its workforce by 11 percent in the coming years. The two facilities will have enough room to accommodate more than 3,500 employees. Future growth plans call for the addition of as many as new 400 staff members.

Adjacent to the Sherwin-Williams development is Valor Acres. Sitting on the site of a former U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that was shuttered in 2011, the mixed-use project is being built by DiGeronimo Cos. In 2018, the developer and the City of Brecksville entered into a Development Agreement for the use of the site. Current plans call for the construction of 160,000 square feet of office space, 150,000 square feet of retail, a 120-key hotel and more than 200 luxury apartments and condominiums.

In June of this year, a joint venture of DiGeronimo Cos., Weston Inc. and Scannell Properties purchased the 210-acre site that housed the industrial operations for Ford Motor Co. in Brook Park, Ohio. The land traded for $31.5 million, public records show, and the new owners are considering a new mixed-use development at the site.

The post Sherwin-Williams Breaks Ground on Global R&D Facility appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

18300 Snow Road, Brook Park, Ohio, former Ford Motor Co. site. Image courtesy of Weston Inc.

A 210-acre site that once housed industrial operations for the Ford Motor Co. in Brook Park, Ohio, will soon be converted into a project that could help shape the future of the Northeast Ohio region. Weston Inc., DiGeronimo Cos. and Scannell Properties recently joined forces on the acquisition of the Cleveland-area property, with plans of redeveloping it into a unique commercial area.

READ ALSO: How Economic Health Will Energize CRE

According to Cuyahoga County records, the partnership, officially identified as DROF BP I LLC, purchased the former Ford property from the automobile manufacturer in a transaction valued at $31.5 million. Carrying the address of 18300 Snow Road, the sprawling site is presently home to a 1.7 million-square-foot building that had operated as an automotive engine assembly and casting plant. The two-story structure, which includes 120,000 square feet of office space, first opened in 1955 and underwent substantial upgrades and an expansion in 1990 and 1998, respectively, before Ford shuttered the doors in 2012.

The property is currently zoned for heavy industrial uses and provides a location that would be attractive to a variety of tenants. Sited roughly 10 miles southwest of downtown Cleveland, the onetime Ford facility is positioned adjacent to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport as well as a public rail station, and approximately 10 miles from the Cleveland Port. Weston, DiGeronimo and Scannell have not disclosed specifics about plans for the site just yet, however, they expect to reveal additional information over the coming months.

Playing to Cleveland’s strengths

Weston et al are offering no hints regarding the vision for the redevelopment they describe as a project that “will absolutely be transformational to the region.” Yet, area fundamentals indicate that the partners would certainly see success should they move forward with a premier industrial campus. Cleveland has recorded seven consecutive quarters of positive net absorption, leading to a consistently declining vacancy rate that fell to 4.6 percent in the first quarter of 2021, the lowest in three years, according to a report by Colliers International.

18300 Snow Road, Brook Park, Ohio, former Ford Motor Co. site. Image courtesy of Weston Inc.

Northeast Ohio as a whole is firing on all cylinders. “Despite the large inventory of manufacturing properties and limiting lakefront geography, Northeast Ohio’s industrial real estate market competes as a logistic hub. This subtype of the industrial market that serves modern warehousing, distribution and supply chain logistics is expected to continue its rapid expansion for the next several years,” according to the Colliers report. “The shift to online shopping that accelerated during the lockdown phase of the pandemic, along with consumer expectations for faster delivery times, is expected to generate growing demand for industrial space.”

Should the developers pursue rezoning options at the former Ford site, they may consider following the lead of other builders in Cleveland and undertake a mixed-use project. The Avian at Thunderbird is J-Roc Development’s adaptive reuse of an old warehouse resulting in the creation of a modern office destination at the 21-acre, mixed-use Thunderbird development on Scranton Peninsula. Additionally, Ceres Enterprises and Citiroc Real Estate Co. have repurposed the former historic NASA Glenn Research and Development buildings into a mixed-use property featuring luxury apartments and a boutique hotel near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

The post JV to Redevelop Ford Plant in Metro Cleveland appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Lake Health Beachwood Medical Center. Image courtesy of Newmark

A joint venture of New Manna Partners and University Hospitals has sold Lake Health Beachwood Medical Center, a 69,800-square-foot facility in Beachwood, Ohio, for $58.3 million. Newmark Global Healthcare Services arranged the transaction.

NMP broke ground on the acute-care hospital in 2018, in partnership with Lake Health and a group of 20 physicians. Hasenstab Architects and Robert Rosencrans, managing partner of Walden, Aurora, were also part of the development team. According to public records, the developer had acquired the 4.9-acre site at 25501 Chagrin Blvd. in 2017 for $3.2 million.

The two-story clinic, which became fully operational in 2020, houses surgery and radiology on the first floor. The second floor encompasses a patient care unit, laboratory, physical therapy space and pharmacy, as well as several physician office spaces. Specialty services provided also include orthopedics, urology, spine, general surgery and pain management.

The property is some 11 miles east of downtown Cleveland and less than 1 mile from downtown Beachwood, just west of Interstate 271. The upcoming MetroHealth Glick Center, a 270-bed hospital at W. 25th St., is situated some 12 miles west of the asset.

The Newmark brokerage team facilitating the transaction included Vice Chairmen Todd Perman and Terry Coyne, together with Senior Managing Director Jay Miele and Associate Director Richard Gerakitis.

Just last week, another Newmark team assisted the seller in the record-breaking disposition of a 29,991-square-foot medical office building in Newport Beach, Calif.

A solid Beachwood footprint

Beachwood Medical Center was Lake Health’s first hospital outside of Lake County. In 2019, University Hospitals became a minority partner in the project through the acquisition of a portion of NMP’s interest. Earlier in April, Lake Health became a member of the UH health system through membership substitution.

UH is also the owner of Ahuja Medical Center, a 144-bed hospital located 1 mile south of the Lake Health facility. In March, UH revealed plans for a $236 million expansion of the Ahuja facility to encompass a 216,000-square-foot hospital building and a 78,000-square-foot sports medicine clinic. Groundbreaking is slated for later this year, with completion anticipated for 2023.

The post Cleveland-Area Medical Facility Sells for $58M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

2909 Pleasant Center Rd., Fort Wayne, Ind. Image courtesy of JLL

Raith Capital Partners has walked away with $140 million on the disposition of a collection of 12 industrial properties spanning roughly 3 million square feet in the Midwest. With the assistance of JLL Capital Markets, the private investment firm sold the nearly fully leased assets to three different buyers in separate transactions after having successfully executed a years-long asset management strategy at each facility.

READ ALSO: Industrial Real Estate Clear Leader in Moody’s Report

The industrial portfolio consists of buildings located in metropolitan Cleveland, as well as facilities in Fort Wayne and Bloomington, Ind.—all of which are markets that have not always been at the top of industrial investors’ list. However, JLL Capital markets solicited a deep and diverse buyer pool that responded in kind, resulting in a broad and competitive process that even yielded some parties that were new to the sector and/or the market. The Midwest’s rather newfound popularity among industrial investors is no fluke.

“I would say that the industrial sector nationally is well positioned, and the Midwest is certainly included in that,” Sean Devaney, managing director with JLL Capital Markets, told Commercial Property Executive. “The fundamentals on the user front remain healthy across virtually all Midwest markets. As for the capital side, the Midwest offers an opportunity to get a little yield premium compared to coasts which for some investors is critical.” JLL Capital Markets’ John Huguenard, Kurt Sarbaugh Peter Moriarty, Joe Messina and David Stecker joined Devaney in the representation of Raith.

Hot properties

Raith sold the bulk of its portfolio, a 2.1 million-square-foot group of properties in the Cleveland area, to Plymouth Industrial REIT for $94 million. The 10 multi- and single-tenant Ohio buildings are approximately 90 percent leased to 15 tenants and include: 3400, 3111, 3081, 3325, 3375 and 3425 Gilchrist Road. in Mogadore; 4122 Shuffel St. N.W., and 2100 and 2210 International Parkway in Canton; and 1366 Commerce Dr. in Stow. The approximately 274,500-square-foot building at 2100 International is one of the more recent properties that Raith had added to its holdings, having acquired the fully leased, build-to-suit facility in 2018 for roughly $14.1 million.

3400 Gilchrist Road, Mogadore, Ohio. Image courtesy of JLL

The remaining two Indiana assets, the 764,200-square-foot bulk distribution center at 2902 Pleasant Center Road in Fort Wayne and the 125,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution center at 555 N. Daniels Way in Bloomington, came under the ownership of STAG Industrial Inc. and Legacy Investing LLC, respectively. Located on more than 114 acres, 2909 Pleasant is a single-tenant facility that is fully occupied by a vehicle parts supplier, and the 19-acre 555 N. Daniels property, featuring freezer and cooler space, is triple net leased to a global health-care and pharmaceutical company.

As Devaney noted in a prepared statement, the JLL and Raith teams collectively thought it best to pursue multiple transactions to efficiently transact on the overall portfolio, given the variety of individual deal profiles.

The post Raith Capital Pockets $140M on Sale of 3 MSF Portfolio appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

West Market Street Station. Image courtesy of First National Realty Partners

First National Realty Partners has acquired West Market Street Station, a 54,232-square-foot, Whole Foods Market-anchored shopping center in Akron, Ohio. S.J. Collins Enterprises, the initial developer, sold the property after five years of ownership. According to public records, the 2015 land sale included a $11.9 million construction loan from State Bank & Trust Co.

The property is located at 1745 W. Market St. in Wallhaven neighborhood, along the U.S. Route 18 retail corridor. Cleveland is 30 miles north of the asset, while Interstate 77 is less than 5 miles away.

West Market Street Station opened in the fall of 2017. The current tenant roster includes Salon Lofts and Orange Theory Fitness. There are 71,000 residents with an average income of roughly $70,000 living within a 3-mile radius of the site.

Earlier this year, another Whole Foods-anchored asset changed hands in suburban Chicago. The 50,000-square-foot, single-tenant building traded in a 1031 exchange for roughly $25 million.

The post First National Realty Expands Ohio Retail Footprint appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Image by startup38 via Pixabay.com

Plymouth Industrial REIT has acquired a Class B industrial portfolio in Akron and Canton, Ohio, totaling 2.1 million square feet. According to the buyer, the $94 million acquisition is projected to provide an annual current yield of approximately 7.5 percent.

The portfolio consists of 10 buildings that are 98.7 percent leased. The assets host a total of 16 tenants from several industries including transportation, logistics, healthcare, manufacturing and food and beverage.

The acquisition is set to bring Plymouth’s footprint in metro Cleveland to more than 3.5 million square feet, with the company’s Ohio portfolio at more than 7 million square feet. The other six Cleveland assets are located in Twinsburg, Findlay, Avon and Solon. The REIT also owns seven properties in Cincinnati and eight in Columbus.

In October, Plymouth formed a $150 million equity joint venture with Madison International Realty to acquire value-add and opportunistic industrial properties. Plymouth will own a 20 percent interest in the joint venture.

The post Plymouth Buys Ohio Industrial Portfolio for $94M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Victory Commerce Center. Image courtesy of JLL

A 434,000-square-foot Class A distribution and fulfillment center in a Cleveland suburb fully leased by Amazon was among the 32 industrial properties totaling approximately 3.5 million square feet in four major markets that Investcorp acquired for $280 million.

READ ALSO: Industrial Real Estate Will Need More AI and Robotics: NAIOP

Victory Commerce Center, completed in 2019 by owner Westminster Capital at 43500 Victory Parkway in Glenwillow, Ohio, was sold for $50 million to an affiliate of Investcorp, a global private equity company, according to Cuyahoga County, Ohio, records. County records also show the Investcorp affiliate received a $31.3 million loan from MetLife Real Estate Lending LLC toward the purchase. Amazon leased the entire facility in July. The property is located within the larger Diamond Business Center, which is home to several other institutional-quality corporate users. It is situated 3.5 miles from the intersection of Interstates 271 and 480 and 9.5 miles from the Interstate 80 Ohio Turnpike.

Investcorp said the new acquisitions expanded the firm’s U.S. industrial holdings to about $2 billion in value, with 22 million square feet across more than 260 buildings. The latest transactions comprise a 96 percent leased portfolio of Class A and B warehouse distribution and flex industrial buildings with a diversified tenant base across a range of industries. Most of the properties are located in the Cleveland and Chicago industrial markets but other MSAs in the mix include Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio.

Investcorp, which was the second-largest international buyer and fourth-largest international seller of U.S. real estate in 2019, is focusing much of its real estate investments in industrial, warehouse and logistics assets.

Herb Myers, managing director and co-head of Real Estate North America at Investcorp, said in a prepared statement the pandemic had underscored the importance of industrial real estate assets located near major population and logistics hubs. He added e-commerce sales are experiencing accelerated growth and are expected to generate between 400 million and 1 billion square feet of excess demand for industrial space over the next several years. Myers said the newly acquired properties align with the firm’s criteria for targeting stable, cash flow-generating assets with further upside potential.

Babak Sultani, managing director in the placement and distribution team at Investcorp, said in a prepared statement Investcorp also expects there will be greater demand for industrial real estate assets like those acquired due to greater supply chain diversification and more on-shoring of goods in the U.S. to maintain higher inventory levels.

JLL’s multiple roles

JLL marketed the 40.4-acre Glenwillow property on behalf of the seller, Westminster Capital. Investcorp engaged a separate JLL team to place the acquisition loan and a third JLL team brokered the long-term, triple net lease with the existing, investment-grade tenant.

Matthew Van Wie, vice president of asset management at Westminster Capital, said in prepared remarks the timely lease-up and successful sale of Victory Commerce Center is a reflection of the demand for well-located modern industrial space, as well as a testament to assembling the right team. He credited JLL, developer Geis Cos. and the village of Glenwillow for contributing to the success of the development.

The JLL Capital Markets team representing the seller was led by Senior Managing Director John Huguenard and Managing Director Sean Devaney. The JLL Capital Markets Debt Placement team included Managing Director Matthew Schoenfeldt, Senior Managing Director Michael Gigliotti, Executive Managing Director Mike Tepedino and Senior Director Brian Walsh. The JLL Agency Leasing team was led by Vice President David Stecker.

Devaney said in prepared remarks there was robust interest in the property because of the tenant, strong fundamentals and opportunity to acquire a mission-critical facility leased at market rents.

The post Behind Investcorp’s $280M Portfolio Acquisition appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

MetroHealth hospital tops out in Cleveland. Image courtesy of Turner Construction Co.

MetroHealth has topped off its 11-story, 270-bed new hospital under construction that is part of a $1 billion plan to transform and modernize buildings on the 52-acre campus in Cleveland. Construction began on the new hospital in April 2019 and is scheduled to be completed in April 2022.

Jeff Abke, senior project manager with Turner Construction Co.’s Cleveland office, said in prepared remarks the hospital project includes a multi-level connector building that will attach to the existing Critical Care Pavilion, which was completed in 2016 in one of the early phases. A central utility plant and loading dock will be completed in unison with the new hospital.

READ ALSO: How COVID-19 Is Shaping Health-Care Real Estate: JLL

In addition to Turner, other construction management partners include Adrian Maldonado and Associates, Ozanne Construction, McTech and Donley’s. According to Abke, there are about 350 workers on site who have been working together through the pandemic to keep the hospital construction safely on schedule. A MetroHealth blog post noted the crews have installed more than 8.6 million pounds of structural steel for the building’s framework.

Project Details

Walter Jones, senior vice president, campus transformation, noted in the blog post that the job site will grow to about 500 workers in the coming months. He said the installation of the glass exterior-wall cladding had begun and would continue into next spring. The interior work on lowers floors is also underway, including plumbing infrastructure, ductwork and interior wall framing. Jones said the central utility plant construction is also moving along quickly with walls and roof in place. Cooling towers, water tanks, pumps, electrical switch gears, emergency generators and chillers have been installed. The old hospital will be demolished when the new building reaches completion. A 1,500-space parking garage has already been built.

The project is being financed by $946 million in hospital-revenue bonds that were sold in May 2017. No taxpayer money is being used for the project. A $100 million fundraising campaign led by the MetroHealth Foundation will support the campus’ expanded green space and community programs. Part of the health system’s transformation focuses on creating more green space at MetroHealth’s facilities through Cuyahoga County, including 25 acres of green space around the new hospital. MetroHealth has four hospitals, four emergency departments and more than 20 health centers and 40 additional sites across the county.

The post New Cleveland Hospital Tops Out appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

12501 Rockside Road. Image courtesy of Industrial Commercial Properties

Industrial Commercial Properties has acquired a former Kmart building in Garfield Heights, Ohio, for $1.4 million. The seller of the property at 12501 Rockside Road was a private investor based in California. The transaction was part of a 1031 Exchange, facilitated by NorthStar Title Services.

ICP obtained a $2.1 million acquisition and development loan from Home Savings Bank, according to Cuyahoga County records. This transaction marks the property’s first sale since it was constructed in 1977.

The new owner is planning major renovations for the 89,300-square-foot facility. Its structure and height allow for an adaptive reuse project, which could bring an assembly, warehouse or retail development. This is not the first time ICP has acquired a former Kmart location, with plans to repurpose the property. Earlier this year, the company acquired the former Dillard’s store at Midway Mall in Elyria, Ohio.

According to Chris Semarjian, ICP’s owner, this redevelopment aims to retain and create jobs in the city. Vic Collova, Mayor of Garfield Heights, said in a prepared statement that the vision behind this project promises to bring a long-term benefit to the community.

Spreading across 9.3 acres, the property is nearly 4 miles from the Interstate 480 intersection with Interstate 77 and 14 miles from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Numerous restaurants and shopping centers are within 1 mile of the facility.

The post ICP Buys Former Kmart Building appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

1 Allen Bradley Drive. Image courtesy of Mohr Capital

Mohr Capital, a Dallas-based real estate investment firm, has sold a 460,000-square-foot net leased office building in the Cleveland suburb of Mayfield Heights, Ohio, in an off-market transaction for $61.1 million—one of the largest deals in the company’s history. The buyer of the property, which is fully leased to Rockwell Automation for 13 years, remained undisclosed.

Rodrigo Godoi and Kyle Campbell, who both serve as directors of acquisitions for Mohr Capital, represented the firm throughout the transaction. No brokers were involved.

READ ALSO: Newmark Knight Frank Arranges Office Building Sale in Cleveland Suburb

The firm bought the asset about two years ago when it was in foreclosure proceedings and Rockwell Automation only had three years left on its lease, according to Godoi. He said in a prepared statement that Mohr Capital saved Rockwell Automation millions of dollars in rent while stabilizing the property with a long-term lease that created substantial value for both parties. Rockwell Automation, a provider of industrial automation and information products, has about 2,000 employees at the Mayfield Heights site.

Mohr Capital acquired the office center for $52 million two years ago. The asset had been part of Norman Rockwell Ohio LLC’s portfolio. Located at 1 Allen Bradley Drive, the property spans 36 acres and is comprised of three office buildings that were completed in 1995. It has an adjacent parking lot that can accommodate up to 970 vehicles. The tenant owned the property until 2005, when it was sold to First Industrial Realty Trust in a sale-leaseback deal. Norman bought the asset in 2006 from UBS Realty Investors but filed for foreclosure in April 2017, according to Yardi Matrix data. The company had been unable to pay a $52 million loan it had assumed during the acquisition in 2006, when it bought the property for $65.4 million, Crain’s Cleveland Business reported.

Tight Suburban Submarket

Located in Cleveland’s underserved East submarket, the property is near Interstate 271 and approximately 30 minutes from the urban core.

Newmark Knight Frank’s Cleveland Office Market report for the third quarter notes that the submarket’s vacancy rate decreased by 50 basis points to 11.6 percent from the previous quarter, compared to 17.3 percent for the overall Cleveland market.

NKF’s research showed rental rates further stabilized with asking rates about $18.93 per square foot, down 34 cents per square foot from the previous quarter. The report stated that despite the decrease in asking rent, the East submarket had the highest overall rent for the all the suburban submarkets.

The post Suburban Cleveland Office Property Sells for $61M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Metro Center. Image courtesy of Newmark Knight Frank

Newmark Knight Frank Director Susan Licciardi and Managing Director Marc Braun have represented Rzepka & Associates, an affiliate of TransCon Builders Inc., in the sale of a 55,799-square-foot office building in Independence, Ohio. The transaction closed for $5.5 million, with an affiliate of Realife Real Estate Group purchasing the Class B asset. According to Yardi Matrix data, $4.1 million of the purchasing price came via a loan held by Sabal Financial Group.

Known as Metro Center, the property is located at 6500 Rockside Road, in the Rockside Corridor submarket, off Interstate 70. The three-floor building is approximately 10 miles from downtown Cleveland, where Stark Enterprises plans to bring online its latest asset, nuCLEus.

The property provides spacious offices ranging from 1,000 to 4,525 square feet, on-site conference rooms as well as a 200-space parking lot. TransCon Builders, which completed Metro Center in 1988, has been the sole owner and manager of the property for the past 31 years. The company will continue to manage the asset after the sale.

If you’d like to be featured in Brokers’ Corner, send your deal to deals@cpe-mhn.com.

The post Newmark Knight Frank Arranges Office Building Sale in Cleveland Suburb appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

JACK Cleveland Casino. Image via Google Street View

VICI Properties Inc. and an affiliate of JACK Entertainment LLC have agreed that VICI will acquire JACK Cleveland Casino, in downtown Cleveland, and JACK Thistledown Racino, in nearby North Randall, Ohio, for about $843.3 million in cash. The announcement comes barely a month after VICI closed its $558 million acquisition of JACK Cincinnati Casino.

At the same time, VICI will enter into a master triple-net lease agreement with JACK Entertainment related to the Cleveland and North Randall assets. The master lease will have an initial total annual rent of $65.9 million, for an implied cap rate of 7.8 percent, and an initial term of 15 years, with four five-year tenant renewal options. VICI will also provide a $50 million loan secured by certain non-gaming real estate assets of Rock Ohio Ventures LLC, JACK Entertainment’s parent entity.

READ ALSO: Demand Dampens Amid Building Surge in Cleveland

In a prepared statement, JACK Entertainment CEO Mark Dunkeson noted that other Cleveland assets operated by JACK sister companies include the Cleveland Cavaliers, Avenue Shops at Tower City and the May Co. Building. He added that JACK has invested more than $700 million into the casino and racino since the properties opened.

JACK Cleveland Casino opened in May 2012 in the historic Higbee Building in Cleveland. The property features about 96,000 square feet of gaming space, 1,300 gaming machines, more than 120 table games and eight food and beverage outlets. The property is connected to the 205-key Ritz-Carlton and 440-key Renaissance hotels.

JACK Thistledown Racino opened in April 2013 and reportedly is the leading thoroughbred racino in metro Cleveland. The property is sited on 129 acres and features about 57,000 square feet of gaming space, 1,459 gaming machines and six food and beverage outlets.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions and is expected to close in early 2020. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is the financial advisor and Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP is the legal advisor to VICI Properties in the agreement.

Multiple competitors

In 2018, total commercial casino gaming revenue in Ohio rose nearly 5 percent from the prior year, to a record $1.9 billion, according to the State of the States 2019 survey from the American Gaming Association. The associated gaming tax revenue to the state, from Ohio’s four casinos and seven racinos, was $622.6 million.

Despite these healthy numbers, Ohio’s casinos face substantial competition from neighboring states, the survey notes. Both West Virginia racinos and Indiana riverboat casinos draw Ohio customers, Pennsylvania recently allowed expansion of gaming at truck stops, and Cincinnati gaming properties would become vulnerable if Kentucky should ever approve commercial gaming.

The post VICI Inks $843M Cleveland Casino Deal appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Erie Commons – Great Lakes Plaza. Rendering courtesy of ShopOne

ShopOne Centers REIT, the landlord of Erie Commons – Great Lakes Plaza in Mentor, Ohio, recently added At Home as its newest tenant. The company, which has been expanding its footprint, leased 85,000 square feet to the home décor firm. The deal involved the relocation of a few businesses, including Burlington, Famous Footwear and Hobby Town USA from Erie Commons to the adjacent Great Lakes Plaza.

At Home is expected to open in early 2020, while the other three retailers have recently opened their stores at this location. Meanwhile, ShopOne plans to complete the property’s Joann façade later this fall.  

The 312,000-square-foot Erie Commons – Great Lakes Plaza is located at 7900 Plaza Blvd., directly across Great Lakes Mall and off State Route 20. The property can also be accessed via Interstate 90, which links the shopping center to Cleveland. The asset was completed in 1973 and benefits from great visibility from Plaza Boulevard, with daily traffic counting more than 34,000 cars.

The post ShopOne Secures Tenant for Cleveland-Area Retail Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

8247 Pittsburg Ave. N.W. Image courtesy of Stan Johnson

Stan Johnson Co.’s Director Rob Gemerchak, Managing Director Jeff Hughes, and Associate Director Jeff McKinney have represented Industrial Commercial Properties in the sale of its recently completed office and distribution center in North Canton, Ohio. The 107,500-square-foot property is located at 8247 Pittsburg Ave. N.W. and is fully leased to ComDoc, a subsidiary of Xerox. The buyer is a subsidiary of Global Net Lease.

The facility is a build-to-suit for the tenant and it will operate as ComDoc’s new corporate headquarters. It includes the company’s national parts reclamation center and regional distribution center. The property is located on the Interstate 77 corridor and is approximately 12 miles from Akron Airport. 

ICP has been very active in the Cleveland metro area, having acquired a number of distribution centers and former retail stores. Their latest acquisition is the former Dillard’s store within Midway Mall in Elyria, Ohio.

If you’d like to be featured in Brokers’ Corner, send your deal to deals@cpe-mhn.com.

The post Stan Johnson Represents ICP in Cleveland Deal appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Midway Mall. Image via Google Street View

Industrial Commercial Properties has acquired a new retail property in Elyria, Ohio—the former Dillard’s store at Midway Mall. The new property encompasses 159,000 square feet and has been empty since 2007. ICP, known known for converting the former Randall Park Mall in North Randall into an Amazon fulfillment center, plans to redevelop this site as well.

READ ALSO: ICP Buys Former Sears Distribution Center in Metro Columbus

Located on Ohio State Route 57, the 1.1 million-square-foot Midway Mall is home to more than 100 specialty stores, with JCPenney, Best Buy, Dunham’s Sports and Johnny K’s Power Sports as anchor tenants. The 18-acre site can be accessed via interstates 80 and 90.

The transaction comes approximately six months after the company’s acquisition of the Sears building and Sears Auto Center, part of the same retail center. Earlier this summer, the company also purchased a 1.4 million-square-foot former Kmart distribution center in Warren, Ohio, bringing ICP’s portfolio in the Warren/Youngstown/Austintown market to more than 3.5 million square feet. 

The post ICP Continues Expansion in Cleveland Area appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Jeremy Bates, Vice President, CBRE. Image courtesy of CBRE

CBRE has hired Jeremy Bates as vice president of the company’s Cleveland retail team. The industry veteran will be involved in regional business as well as both agency and occupier work.

Prior to joining CBRE, Bates served as vice president of commercial leasing with Stark Development, where he was responsible for leasing the company’s 8 million-square-foot retail and office portfolio. During the past 15 years, he has brought many major national retailers to both Cleveland and other major markets across the U.S. Jeremy Bates has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from the American InterContinental University.

Last year, CBRE also added Kenneth Stern to its team. Stern serves as first vice president of the company’s Cleveland office. The retail real estate veteran specializes in leasing and selling outparcels to food and beverage users. Stern has been in the industry for more than three decades and prior to joining CBRE, he was with DDR Corp., the same company that Bates worked for between 2012 and 2014.

The post CBRE Strengthens Cleveland Retail Team appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

541 Perkins Jones Road. Image courtesy of Industrial Commercial Properties

Industrial Commercial Properties has purchased 541 Perkins Jones Road, a 1.4 million-square-foot former Kmart distribution center in Warren, Ohio. The building is on the outskirts of the Youngstown area, close to other major distribution centers, such as FedEx and Macy’s.

“This is our footprint and it was the largest distribution center available probably in the Tri-State region,” Chris Semarjian, ICP’s owner, told Commercial Property Executive. “It was always well cared for by Kmart and it is a corporate facility, full mechanized with conveyor and sorting and modules.”

Earlier this week, ICP acquired a 570,000-square-foot former Sears distribution center in Groveport, Ohio. Since 2014, the Cleveland-based company has acquired five Ohio properties from Sears/Kmart, counting this latest deal: the Sears retail building at the former Randall Park Mall in North Randall, the former Sears store at Midway Mall in Elyria, which includes a freestanding Sears Auto Center, and a former Kmart store in Streetsboro.

Overall, ICP has purchased nearly 2.5 million square feet of Sears/Kmart properties and the latest deal brings the company’s holdings in the Warren/Youngstown/Austintown market to approximately 3.5 million square feet.

A building’s transformation

According to Semarjian, the property is designed to function best as a multi-tenant complex and his company is currently working with three tenants to take a portion of the building.

“We see the lack of product available on the market and we see the opportunity to take this building and most likely multi-tenant it with anywhere from two to six tenants and we think we will get it wrapped up in the next 12-14 months,” he said. “We are big-building redevelopers and the likelihood of this building going to one tenant is pretty slim.”

From a condition perspective, the property is pristine, but anytime ICP turns a single-use building into a multi-tenant building, it means the addition of walls, some docks in certain places, more restrooms, offices and subdividing utilities. Other changes to come include transitioning the lighting to LED and tearing out some of the racking.

The post ICP Acquires 1.4 MSF Ohio Distribution Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Streetsboro Crossing. Image via Google Street View

An affiliate of Pine Tree Opportunity Corp. is the new owner of the 89,500-square-foot Streetsboro Crossing shopping center in suburban Cleveland. The company bought the asset from Brixmor Property Group Inc., which worked with HFF’s Senior Directors Clinton Mitchell and Amy Sands to close the deal. William Barry of Draper & Kramer arranged the financing.

Located at the intersection of highways 14 and 43 in Streetsboro, Ohio, the asset is a few miles of Interstate 80 and approximately 30 miles of downtown Cleveland. The property was 94 percent occupied at the time of the sale, with Giant Eagle taking up 69,000 square feet. The grocery store is the only one within a 7-mile radius. Lowe’s and Target are shadow-anchoring the shopping center. 

“Streetsboro Crossing is an outstanding addition to Pine Tree’s portfolio, especially as the first wholly owned center by our new retail REIT,” said Conor Bossy, executive vice president & director of acquisitions with Pine Tree, in a prepared statement.

The same team of HFF brokers worked on several other retail deals across the Midwest, including the sale of Woodgrove Festival, a 157,276-square-foot shopping center in Woodridge, Ill. 

If you’d like to be featured in Brokers’ Corner, send your deal to deals@cpe-mhn.com.

The post Pine Tree Affiliate Buys Suburban Cleveland Retail Asset appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The first floor houses the reception and lounge area as well as an activity hub while the second floor features a large café, the workspace area, conference rooms and a variety of agile workspace stations. The anchor piece of the 15,000-square-foot building is an interior staircase connecting the two floors.

Personalized design elements include a moss wall with the company’s motto, a wall in the café showing updated photos of employees and their families and company events as well as a wall filled with a collection of Pez dispensers. The conference room is entirely painted in red and includes a skull wall made of black felt.   

“The renovated Vocon headquarters is a complete 180 from the original space. It flows better; it’s more conducive to group work and it is designed to grow and adapt with the company,” said Co-Founder & Design Principal Deb Donley, in a prepared statement.

Last year, the company completed a number of other large design projects in Cleveland, including Forest City’s 110,000-square-foot downtown headquarters. 

The post Vocon Completes Cleveland HQ Renovation appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

nuCLEus. Image courtesy of Stark Enterprises

A few days after filing with the city of Cleveland the new scaled-down project for nuCLEus, Stark Enterprises named Cushman & Wakefield |CRESCO as leasing manager of the property’s office component. Initially planned as a 54-story building, the mixed-use development will now encompass two 24-story towers connected via a pedestrian laneway.

The property will be positioned on a 3-acre site at the corner of East 4th Street and Prospect Avenue, north of Quicken Loans Arena. It is expected to encompass approximately 2 million square feet, divided between 400,000 square feet of office space atop a six-story parking garage, 250 residential units and 80,000 square feet of retail space.

Plans for the multifamily component include a range of amenities such as a pool, fitness center, spa, indoor/outdoor meeting space, pet wash and state-of-the-art conference center. They are expected to span approximately 38,000 square feet.

“The nuCLEus project is the second moving piece in our mission to change Cleveland’s skyline and enhance the connectivity of the city, and we are looking forward to work with Cushman & Wakefield |CRESCO to accomplish this goal,” said Stark’s COO Ezra Stark, in a prepared statement.

Stark Enterprises owns assets in eight states across the country, including a six-story property in Brooklyn, which it bought for $98 million.  

The post Cushman & Wakefield to Lease Stark Enterprises’ 2MSF Cleveland Asset appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Royalton Collection

Berkadia has secured a $19 million construction financing for Royalton Collection, a retail development in Strongsville, Ohio. The three-year, interest-only loan represents 73 percent loan-to-cost, carries a competitive interest rate and was closed with 50 percent of the retail space pre-leased.

Located at 17800 Royalton Road, Somera Road’s development will include approximately 74,000 square feet and will be anchored by HomeGoods, with Panera Bread and Outback Steakhouse outparcels. The asset is within close proximity to interstates 71 and 80, with several shopping centers on a 2-mile radius.

Director Dan Geuther of Berkadia’s Cleveland office secured the construction financing through CIBC Bank. Geuther was recently involved in the $33.2 million financing arranged for U.S. Bank Center in Cleveland.

“Somera took a unique approach to this transaction by acquiring a vacant office building and successfully rezoning the land to permit retail development; thereby adding significant value to the site. This creative entry to the transaction, combined with significant pre-leasing from a high-quality tenant roster, should enable Somera to generate superior returns for its investors,” Geuther said, in a prepared statement.

Rendering courtesy of Berkadia

The post OH Retail Development Receives $19M Construction Financing appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

(Left to right) Bill Kern, Andy Hill

Industrial Commercial Properties, a Cleveland-based real estate development company specializing in commercial and industrial rehabilitation, build-to-suits and economic redevelopment, has appointed Bill Kern as executive vice president and Andy Hill as senior vice president of finance.

In his new position, Kern will oversee the company’s asset management practices, will be involved in transactions and development projects, and will spearhead ICP’s increased focus on tenant retention. Prior to joining the company, Kern held the position of senior vice president of leasing and national accounts at Site Centers Corp., a publicly traded real estate investment trust. There, he was responsible for directing the leasing department for western U.S. and Puerto Rico. He also held leadership positions in the development and transactions departments. Kern has a degree in economics from Colgate University.

As senior vice president of finance, Hill will direct ICP’s financial planning and accounting practices, and will oversee the company’s relationships with lending institutions, investors and the financial community. Hill spent 13 years at Forest City Realty Trust as vice president. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration with majors in finance and marketing from Ohio University and has a Master of Business Administration degree from Miami University.

“They can help foster and expand our partnership with Industrial Realty Group, while simultaneously supporting our expanding ICP portfolio and tenant base,” said Chris Semarjian, owner of ICP. 

Image courtesy of Industrial Commercial Properties

The post ICP Expands Leadership Team appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

23000 Millcreek Blvd.

Time Equities Inc. has acquired a 163,000 square-foot office building in Highland Hills, Ohio, from PNC Bank, for $7.6 million. CBRE arranged the deal on behalf of the buyer. The four-story property will be delivered fully vacant.

The office building is located at 23000 Millcreek Blvd. and can be accessed via interstates 271 and 480. Completed in 1997, the asset provides floor plates ranging between 38,800 and 42,300 square feet as well as a parking lot accommodating up to 375 vehicles, according to Yardi Matrix data.  

The surrounding area is home to a number of medical offices, including Foglietti Fostyk Plastic Surgery, University Hospitals Rehabilitation Hospital and Cleveland Clinic South Pointe Hospital, as well as a number of multifamily properties. Downtown Cleveland, which has been seeing a surge in residential construction, is approximately 15 miles away while Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is 20 miles from the asset.

Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix     

The post Time Equities Buys Cleveland-Area Office Building appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Pinecrest

The owners of Pinecrest, a 750,000-square-foot, mixed-use development in the Cleveland suburb of Orange Village, Ohio, have refinanced the 58-acre development with a floating-rate loan provided by Square Mile Capital Management LLC. The loan will be used to replace the existing construction debt and fully stabilize the asset.

Pinecrest’s ownership includes Fairmount Properties, DiGeronimo Cos. and an unidentified Northeast-based investment manager. The sponsors were represented by Trey Morsbach and Jim Curtin of HFF, who had also assisted the developers with securing joint venture equity for the project in June 2016 and $142 million in construction financing in May 2017.

“Pinecrest is a one-of-a-kind asset in a strong submarket, and it offers a diverse and exciting retail tenant roster,” Matthew Drummond, Square Mile Capital managing director, said in a prepared statement. “Sponsors Fairmount Properties and DiGeronimo Companies have created a true live/work/play complex. Both companies have a track record of success in Cleveland and have strong reputations in that metropolitan area. We’re confident that their market expertise – particularly Fairmount’s excellent tenant relationships – will continue to make Pinecrest a success.”

Completed in the spring of 2018, Pinecrest is located on Harvard Road, just off Interstate 271, east of Cleveland’s CBD at the center of Orange Village’s retail trade area. The project has about 400,000 square feet of retail with tenants including Whole Foods Market, REI,  Silverspot Cinema, Pinstripes, West Elm, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Vineyard Vines and Orangetheory Fitness. The property also has 160,000 square feet of office space in two adjoining Class A buildings, 87 luxury rental units and a one-acre park. A four-story, 145-key AC Hotel by Marriott is also located at Pinecrest.

Square Mile Deals

Square Mile Capital, a New York City-based institutional real estate and investment management firm, has been busy with numerous deals this month, including several in the multifamily sector. The firm originated a $185 million loan for a joint venture between Laconia Development and Vanke Holdings USA to develop the SPIRE Condominiums, a 352-unit residential building under construction in Seattle.

In New York City, Square Mile Capital originated a $131.5 million loan for The Moinian Group to convert a 31-story office building at 17 Battery Place in Lower Manhattan into a residential property. When the conversion is complete, the property will be re-branded 2 Washington Street and feature 345 residential units with more than nine floors of high-end amenities, including a rooftop pool, a music study and co-working space.

The post Ohio Mixed-Use Center Gets $172M Refi appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

1350 Euclid Ave.

Less than a month after securing a $100 million refinancing for Ernst & Young Office Tower in Cleveland, Berkadia arranged another loan in the city, on behalf of The Wolstein Group, the owner of the U.S. Bank Center on Playhouse Square. The $33.2 million loan features a 10-year term and a 67 percent loan-to-value ratio. Senior Managing Director Mark Vogel and Director Dan Geuther secured the financing through Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

According to Yardi Matrix data, the property is subject to a $22 million loan with Deutsche Bank which matures in 2022. Royal Bank of Scotland originated the financing in 2012.

Located at 1350 Euclid Ave., the US Bank Center was completed in 1989. The 15-story building encompasses 283,000 square feet of which 15,000 are for retail use. It features an on-site conference center and auditorium with 74 seats and a parking lot accommodating 417 vehicles.

The office property can be accessed via Highway 20 and is several blocks from Wolstein Center. There are several bus stops in the area, along Euclid Avenue, as well as a number of restaurants and entertainment venues.

Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix

The post Berkadia Finances Cleveland US Bank Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Ernst & Young Office Tower

Berkadia has secured $100 million in refinancing for Ernst & Young Office Tower, a property located in downtown Cleveland. The Wolstein Group received the loan through JP Morgan, with mezzanine debt from Axonic. The two-year permanent financing features an adjustable interest rate, three one-year extension options, an 80 percent loan-to-value ratio and interest-only payments.

Located at 950 Main Ave. in Cleveland’s waterfront district, the 23-story Ernst & Young Office Tower is very close to dining facilities and several transportation means, including an Amtrak station. Completed in 2013, the asset features 465,000 square feet of leasable office space. On-site amenities include garage parking, a dry cleaner and a fitness center. At the time of the financing, the building was 95 percent occupied.

Senior Managing Director Mark Vogel and Associate Director Eric Bevilacqua of Berkadia’s Cleveland office secured the refinancing on behalf of The Wolstein Group.

In November, Berkadia secured $45 million for the Powers Industrial Portfolio, a 17-building mix of industrial and warehouse facilities in Danbury, Conn.

Image via Google Maps

The post Cleveland Office Tower Receives $100M Refi appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

155 S. Superior St.

CODA Management Group is getting ready to break ground on a Class A self- storage facility in downtown Toledo, Ohio. The company, in partnership with its private investors, acquired the 88,000-square-foot historical building at the beginning of the month and plans to remodel it by late 2019. The new facility is expected to encompass 700 indoor units. 

The asset is located at 155 S. Superior St., at the intersection of Superior and St. Clair streets, and dates from the early 1900s. Prior to the acquisition, it had been used for the storage of business records. The remodeled property will be climate controlled and feature electronic access control, 24-hour video surveillance and enclosed loading areas. The customer service office will include a convenient shop offering moving and packing supplies.

“Our demand projections show that the storage space our new facility will bring to downtown Toledo is much needed by businesses and residents alike,” said Martin Taradejna, CODA’s acquisition and investor relations lead, in a prepared statement.

The need for self storage space has energized investment activity in several Ohio markets during the past quarters. Last year, Marcus & Millichap brokered the sale of an eight-property portfolio totaling more than 3,000 units throughout seven cities in Ohio, including Toledo.

Image via Google Street View

The post CODA Management Eyes Self Storage Makeover for Vintage Ohio Property appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Arcapita Cleveland portfolio

A joint venture between Arcapita and Weston has acquired a seven-property industrial portfolio in Cleveland, Ohio. The portfolio totals 655,000 square feet of high-quality space and is currently occupied by a tenant roster of companies dealing in logistics, technology and assembly.

The Bahrain-based investors teamed with Ohio-based real estate owner-operator Weston for its knowledge and history in the area. Weston will now serve as the leasing and managing agent for the portfolio.

According to Arcapita CEO Atif Abdulmalik, the purchase is part of the company’s U.S. industrial strategy to target quality assets in close proximity to major population centers that enjoy strong consumer demand and developed supply chain infrastructures. Arcapita has made more than 80 investments with a total transaction value in excess of $30 billion. 

“Expanding our U.S. real estate footprint is a key pillar of our growth strategy, and I am pleased with the progress our U.S. team has achieved in building our industrial portfolio,” he said.

Booming industrial market

According to the latest Colliers’ Cleveland industrial market report, demand for distribution space is expected to increase in the year ahead, driven by a boom in e-commerce and increased supply chain sophistication. The increasing demand for warehousing and distribution space has impacted the segment.

In fact, during the third quarter of 2018, Cleveland’s industrial market recorded nearly 500,000 square feet of positive net absorption and the overall market vacancy rate increased by 10 basis points to 4.9 percent thanks to the influx of new inventory.

The report also noted that the manufacturing sector has recorded two consecutive years of job growth in excess of three percent even as the local economy continues to diversify.

In July, Broadstone Net Lease Inc. acquired Anderson-DuBose Distribution Center, a 210,497-square-foot industrial facility outside of Warren, Ohio for $39.7 million from a REIT managed by U.S. Realty Advisors LLC.

Image courtesy of Arcapita

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Former Sears in Mentor, Ohio

CBRE is listing to sale two former Sears properties in northeast Ohio totaling roughly 35 acres. Both sites feature department stores with freestanding automotive service centers and parking, and both are located within shopping centers. One asset is in Mentor at the Great Lakes Mall and the other in Middleburg Heights at Southland Shopping Center.

The former Sears in Mentor is located at 7875 Johnnycake Ridge Road, east of Cleveland and along the north coast of Lake Erie. The 20-acre site features a three-story, 208,712-square-foot retail building and a free-standing two-story 19,771-square-foot auto center. The former department store, which closed in 2017, was an anchor tenant for the Great Lakes Mall, which has around 150 stores and a number of restaurants.

The asset in Middleburg Heights’ modernized Southland Shopping Center is located at 6950 W. 130^th St. The 14.93-acre site features a 350,000 square-foot retail building and a two-story building which includes a 70,066 square-foot auto center.

CBRE’s Joseph Khouri, first vice president, and Kevin Moss, senior associate, are the exclusive listing agents.

Image courtesy of CBRE

The post CBRE Tapped to Sell Former Sears Stores in OH appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

1111 Superior Ave.

The glass-clad, Class A office high-rise known as 1111 Superior Ave. in Cleveland has just changed hands. With the assistance of commercial real estate and capital markets services provider HFF, American Landmark Properties Corp. sold the 559,300-square-foot property to Zamir Equities LLC.

“We had a strong showing of investors for a highly sought-after, value-add office investment in downtown Cleveland,” Jaime Fink, senior managing director with HFF, told Commercial Property Executive. Joining Fink in the representation of American Landmark were Jeffrey Bramson and John Merrill, fellow senior managing directors, in addition to Bryan Rosenberg and Patrick Shields, directors with HFF.

1111 Superior made its debut in Cleveland’s central business district in 1983 and underwent its most recent renovation in 2014. Today, the 28-story property is 83.4 percent leased and home to the likes of IBM Corp., MetLife Services & Solutions, Asurint and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, which holds the anchor position with nearly 92,500 square feet at the LEED Silver-certified property. The investment community took note.

According to Fink, potential buyers were attracted to 1111 Superior’s diverse tenancy, state-of-the-art amenities and the “mark-to-market opportunity with below-market rental rates.” 

HFF and other parties involved in the change in ownership of 1111 Superior are keeping mum on the sale price. The property last traded for $19.5 million in 2014, when it was just 50 percent occupied due to original anchor tenant Eaton Corp’s exit. Per Cuyahoga County records, 1111 Superior has a 2017 taxable market value of nearly $33.9 million.

The Cleveland appeal

As noted in real estate investment services firm Marcus & Millichap’s 2018 forecast for Cleveland, “Declining vacancy and a stable economy will buoy investor interest in the Cleveland office market this year.” The prediction is proving true.

In addition to the 1111 Superior transaction, notable office deals year-to-date include Rugby Realty’s acquisition of the 575,000-square-foot Aecom Centre for approximately $36.9 million and KRA Management’s $16.7 million purchase of the Tower at Erieview, a 770,000-square-foot building. And a group of investors including DRA Advisors and the Wolstein Group snapped up 200 Public Square, a 1.3 million-square-foot office skyscraper, for $187 million.

Image courtesy of HFF

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James Eppele, president & CEO of Jacobs Real Estate Services

The Richard E. Jacobs Group has appointed James Eppele as the new president & CEO of Jacobs Real Estate Services (JRES), one of its affiliate companies. Eppele replaces Doug Miller, who had held the position for nearly four years.

The 32-year commercial real estate veteran has been with Cleveland-based JRES since 1999 and most recently served alongside Miller as executive vice president, a role he held for the past six years. Under Eppele’s leadership, JRES will focus primarily on its development and brokerage business.

Previously, Eppele held similar executive positions with New England Development in Boston and The O’Connor Group in New York City. A native of Northeast Ohio, Mr. Eppele is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati and the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

“JRES will continue to focus on its local, large-scale land development projects, including the 622-acre Chagrin Highlands development, 225-acre Richard E. Jacobs Health campus and 200-acre Chester Road Corridor projects in Avon,” said Eppele in a prepared statement. “We thank Doug for his many contributions to our company’s success over his career, particularly in the area of establishing a premier, third-party commercial property management business.”

Miller has joined Millennia Commercial Group Ltd. as president.

Image courtesy of JRES

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Richmond Town Square Mall

DealPoint Merrill has made another retail acquisition in Richmond Heights, Ohio. After buying the former Macy’s department store at the Richmond Town Square Mall, the company added the other anchor, a 248,000-square-foot former Sears department store to its portfolio. The two acquisitions were closed as DealPoint is planning a $70 million mixed-use project at the site.

CEO David Frank directed the deal while President Sterling McGregor handled the due diligence. Jason Limbert, director of acquisitions with DealPoint, completed the purchase.  

Located at 691 Richmond Road, the store has been vacant since March 2017. It sits on a site of more than 23 acres where DealPoint plans to build a 375-unit luxury multifamily property, a 98-key hotel and an 8,000-square-foot restaurant. More ground-level retail space is scheduled to be added to the apartment building, along with a public park, plaza and additional recreational amenities.

The company’s retail investment in Ohio has been on the rise this year. This summer, DealPoint bought one of downtown Cleveland’s Giant Eagle Shopping Centers, with plans to redevelop the property into a CubeSmart self storage facility.

Image via Google Street View   

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30339 Diamond Parkway

Plymouth Industrial REIT has acquired a 400,000-square foot, Class A industrial building in Cleveland for $27 million in cash. The property was 100 percent leased to four tenants at the time of sale, including Royal Appliance Manufacturing Co. and Ryder Logistics. The buyer, which recently expanded its Chicago-area portfolio with two manufacturing facilities, has signed an agreement to buy another industrial property totaling 1.1 million square feet in Cincinnati. 

Located at 30339 Diamond Parkway, the asset is in Cleveland’s Southeast submarket. Completed in 2007, the cross-docked building features two drive-ins and drive-thru access. Additionally, the property includes 15,801 square feet of office space. Interstates 480 and 271 provide easy access to neighboring cities and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is within 25 miles.

The Cincinnati acquisition, which is expected to close later this month with a $24.8 million sales price, is set to be funded with the issuance of approximately $10.8 million in operating partnership units and the assumption of roughly $14 million of existing mortgage debt. The property is currently 92 percent leased to 12 tenants and spreads across 103 acres.

“Cleveland and Cincinnati are attractive markets for us. … In addition to the stabilized income from strong current occupancy, the acquisitions offer opportunities to leverage our leasing expertise on future renewals in tight markets, significantly diversify our tenant base and secure future development potential,” Pendleton White, president & chief investment officer of Plymouth Industrial REIT, said in prepared remarks.

Image via Google Maps

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Richland Mall

Out of the Box Ventures, a Lionheart Capital subsidiary, has acquired the 733,633-square-foot Richland Mall in Mansfield, Ohio. The transaction excludes Sears and Avita Health Systems, which are both separately owned. The acquisition represents the company’s first enclosed mall purchase.

Located just off state highway 30, Richland Mall is the only significant retail offering within a 45-mile radius from Cleveland to Columbus. The property is along Interstate 71, the major travel route connecting the two Ohio metros. Macy’s, JCPenney, Victoria’s Secret, American Eagle Outfitters, Chuck E. Cheese’s, Bath & Body Works, Champs Sports, GameStop, Lenscrafters, Christopher & Banks and The Finish Line are among the shopping center’s tenants. 

The new owner intends to add entertainment and fitness offerings to the property. “Out of the Box is exploring green energy and other technology improvement options, and we look forward to forming fruitful partnerships with the mayor and local municipality to increase the use and appeal of the center to local residents of all ages,” said Lionheart Capital Founding Partner & CEO Ophir Sternberg, in a prepared statement.

Robert Marona, senior vice president & senior director of leasing for Madison Marquette, will spearhead leasing efforts for the mall. The CRE investment and operating company recently announced merger plans with PMRG.

Image via Google Street View

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Ken Stern, first vice president, CBRE

After recently announcing that the company will be undergoing a transformative reorganization at the beginning of 2019, CBRE has appointed Ken Stern as first vice president to the company’s Cleveland office. Stern is a retail real estate veteran specialized in leasing and selling outparcels to food and beverage users. At CBRE, he will be working nationally to enhance the company’s representation of retail landlords who are seeking to place restaurants, bars and other uses around their centers.

Stern has been in the industry for 31 years, and prior to joining CBRE he was with DDR Corp. for 22 years. His last position there was senior vice president of peripheral development. He was responsible for managing, supervising, and strategically planning DDR’s national platform of peripheral land opportunities, with a primary focus on leasing, land sales and development to national and regional restaurants.

“The food-and-beverage category probably is the hottest sector for retail-center investors these days, as nearly every property is adding restaurants to define and support the experience it offers shoppers,” Todd Caruso, senior managing director leading CBRE’s representation of retail investors in the Americas said, in a prepared statement.  

Stern holds a BS in business administration and management, real estate and insurance from Penn State University. He is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), where he currently sits on the Executive Board for the Food for Thought Committee.

Image courtesy of CBRE

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More than one year after closing a 110,000-square-foot lease at Cleveland’s Key Center, Forest City Realty Trust Inc. is ready to move into its new headquarters. The company worked together with Vocon to turn the space into a collaborative office for approximately 500 employees. The new design alternates open spaces fostering collaboration with private areas in a way which allowed the tenant to reduce its footprint by 40 percent. The relocation is taking place one month after Forest City announced its merge with Brookfield Asset Management Inc.

The new headquarters is located at 127 Public Square and occupies seven of the tower’s 57 floors. In delivering it, Vocon has eliminated the private executive offices using an activity-based planning model to design the office. Another innovative element was planning the main reception and conference center areas as a two-level urban center space featuring a luminous ceiling where the entire company can gather up for events. In addition to the office’s new features, Forest City employees can also take advantage of the various building amenities which include concierge service, valet parking, coffee shop in the lobby, newsstand and complimentary Wi-Fi.

According to real estate data provider Yardi Matrix, the tower and adjacent Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Center changed hands last year in a $227.5 million transaction. The new owner, The Millennia Cos., secured a $220 million loan from Bank of America to buy the asset from Columbia Property Trust. Originally completed in 1991, the property went through cosmetic renovations in 2015.

Images courtesy of Yardi Matrix and Vocon

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13820 Lorain Ave.

Three months after closing the sale of one of downtown Cleveland’s Giant Eagle Shopping Centers, DealPoint Merrill secured financing for redeveloping the store into a new CubeSmart self storage. The $6.6 million construction loan will be used toward upgrading the existing building structures, improving the landscape and the 10,500-square-foot exterior drive, as well as adding a new restaurant. The new facility is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2019.  

Located at 13820 Lorain Ave., the property is part of a busy retail and business corridor in Cleveland. The former Giant Eagle store encompasses 56,500 square feet and is situated on a 4.3-acre site in an area which is home to several auto dealerships, restaurants and hospitality properties. A CTA Red Line is a few blocks away. 

DealPoint Merrill’s CEO David Frank negotiated the transaction, and President Sterling McGregor handled the due diligence for the financing. Other recent retail activity in downtown Cleveland includes a Dollar General store on 3040 Fulton Road and the 190,000-square-foot Lee Harvard Shopping Center at 4071 Lee Road.     

Rendering courtesy of DelPoint Merrill

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3040 Fulton Road

Quantum Real Estate Advisors Inc. has brokered the sale of a single-tenant retail building in Cleveland’s Clark-Fulton neighborhood. An institutional investment firm out of Los Angeles purchased the 7,489-square-foot property for $1.6 million. At the time of the sale, the asset was leased to Dollar General.

Located at 3040 Fulton Road, the building is 3 miles south of downtown Cleveland. The area attracts consumers at nearby Clark Avenue, which intersects with Fulton Road and has several dining and retail businesses operating. The asset is located in an easily accessible area, with several bus stops nearby and with interstates 71 and 490 within a mile distance. Clark West 30th Shopping Center is also within a 10-minute walk.

Jack Farritor, vice president of Quantum Real Estate Advisors, Inc., represented the seller in the transaction. “This asset was purchased before property construction finished. The buyer met their acquisition criteria, while the seller disposed of the asset with financial goals attained,” Farritor said, in a prepared statement. The company brokered a similar $1.8 million deal in Illinois, which involved a fully-leased 5,000-square-foot retail property. 

Image via Google Maps

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Tower at Erieview

KRA Management is the new owner of Cleveland’s iconic Tower at Erieview. The company has bought the asset from RAIT Financial Trust for $16.7 million according to data provided by Yardi Matrix. A team of brokers from HFF represented the seller in the deal and procured the buyer.

The 40-story Tower at Erieview is located at 1301 E. Ninth St. in downtown Cleveland and is considered to be the fourth tallest office property in the metro. The total size nears 770,000 square feet with floor plates averaging 19,000 square feet.

Class A Office Tower

Completed in 1962 and renovated in 2012, the asset offers an array of amenities including indoor heated parking, a 40,000-square-foot fitness center with a three lane lap pool, yoga, spinning studios and a spa. In addition to the office component, the tower also encompasses a two-story, glass-enclosed retail center offering a mix of retail stores and a food hall.

The central location of the tower provides tenants with immediate access to several attractions including Playhouse Square, the Warehouse District, The Flats and Public Square and Gateway. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is approximately 15 miles away. The property can be reached via interstates 90, 71 and 77.

HFF brokers working on behalf of the seller were Directors Bryan Rosenberg and Patrick Shields, as well as Managing Directors Jaime Fink, Jeffrey Bramson, John Merrill and Doug Rodio. According to Yardi Matrix, RAIT owned the asset for 12 years, having bought it from Minshall Stewart Properties. At the end of 2017, the company also let go of $17.5 million Four Resource Square in Charlotte, N.C.

Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix

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Anderson-DuBose Distribution Center

CBRE National Partners has arranged the sale of Anderson-DuBose Distribution Center, a 210,497-square-foot industrial facility outside of Warren, Ohio. According to public records, Broadstone Net Lease Inc. acquired the property for $39.7 million from a REIT managed by U.S. Realty Advisors LLC.

Located at 5300 Tod Ave. S.W., Anderson-DuBose Distribution Center is part of Ohio Commerce Center and it is close to Interstate 80. The property is currently occupied by The Anderson-DuBose Co., a distributor of frozen, refrigerated and dry foods, as well as paper goods and other products. Completed in 2012, the asset was built according to the needs of the distribution company, and in 2017 it was extended in order to meet increased throughput of product.

Jeffrey Shell and Amie Sweeney of CBRE Corporate Capital Markets, along with Michael Hines, Brian Fiumara, Brad Ruppel and Lauren Dawicki of CBRE National Partners, represented the seller in the transaction. Steve Roth of CBRE Debt & Structured Finance secured the financing on behalf of the buyer/borrower.

In early 2018, CBRE’s Akron office brokered the sale of two former Wrayco facilities in Stow, Ohio. The manufacturing buildings encompass approximately 240,000 square feet.

Image courtesy of CBRE

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Lee Harvard Shopping Center

Arnold J. Eisenberg Inc. has arranged the $12.8 million sale of Lee Harvard Shopping Center in Cleveland to First National Realty Partners. ECP Commercial IV, a subsidiary of Excelsior Capital Partners, is the former owner of the 190,00-square-foot retail property. Arnold J. Eisenberg represented the seller in this transaction.

Located at 4071 Lee Road, the shopping center serves around 125,000 residents living within a three-mile radius. At the time of the sale, the asset had a 96 percent occupancy rate, with tenants including Dave’s, Goodwill, Family Dollar, Cleveland Dental Institute, Huntington Bank, PNC Bank, Oak Street Health, Villa and the US Post Office. Many of the key tenants have been operating their businesses in the center for more than 15 years.

A shopping center with history

Originally built in 1949, Lee Harvard Shopping Center was the first African American-owned and -managed shopping center in the country. Residents from the neighborhood initially purchased the property in the 70s. In 1999, the center went through a major redevelopment. Following a foreclosure sale, Excelsior Capital Partners began investing in capital improvements at the shopping center. The company upgraded the roof and landscaping, repaved the parking lot and renovated 44,500 square feet of leasable space.

Arnold J. Eisenberg Inc. President Steve Eisenberg and Broker Lisa Wiener worked on behalf of the seller in this deal. Lately, the buyer has been active in the Cleveland market. First National Realty Partners also acquired Walgreens, a commercial asset located on a neighboring pad. The company paid almost $18.4 million for the property.

Image via Google Street View 

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LTC Properties Inc. has sold six senior housing communities to National Health Investors Inc. for $67.5 million. The 320-unit Sunrise Portfolio includes five assisted living and one memory care property in five locations across Cleveland, Columbus and Erie, Pa.

The buyer planned for $500,000 in capitalized transaction costs and $1.8 million for capital improvements. An affiliate of Bickford Senior Living will lease the properties at an initial rate of 6.9 percent with annual fixed escalators and a 15-year maturity.

A draw on NHI’s revolving credit facility funded the acquisition. The transaction, structured to close simultaneously with the April 30 lease expiration on the properties, is expected to provide LTC a net gain on sale of approximately $48 million in the second quarter. KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. and CS Capital Advisors LLC worked as financial advisors for the seller, while Sherry Meyerhoff Hanson & Crance LLP acted as LTC’s legal advisor.

“This transaction demonstrates the asset value of our portfolio, affording us the opportunity to strategically recycle capital and continue investing in newer, modernized assets,” said Wendy Simpson, LTC’s chairman & CEO, in prepared remarks.

NHI had previously expanded its portfolio with the purchase of a 121-bed skilled nursing facility in Waxahachie, Texas, for $14.4 million.

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Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president & CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., the largest and oldest independent iron ore mining company in the U.S., is set to hold a groundbreaking for its $700 million hot-briquetted iron (HBI) production plant on April 5, 2018 in Toledo, Ohio.

The Toledo plant, announced in June 2017, will produce 1.6 million metric tons per year of customized HBI. The Cleveland-based company will be the sole producer of high-quality customized feedstock for the domestic electric arc furnace steelmakers located in the Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes market currently imports commercial quality pig iron and HBI from countries including Russia, Ukraine, Brazil and Venezuela.

The plant is expected to begin operating in the summer of 2020 and create 130 new jobs. Construction is expected to generate about 1,200 jobs. The project will be located at the Ironville Terminal in the Port of Toledo, about 117 miles from the company’s Cleveland headquarters. The site provides proximity to future customers, as well as access to affordable gas and multiple rail carriers.

“Today we are launching a new era for the iron and steel industry in the United States. As Cleveland-Cliffs begins the construction of the first hot-briquetted iron (HBI) production plant in the Great Lakes region, we are taking the initial steps to enable EAF steelmakers to produce the specs associated with high margin steels for sophisticated end markets, such as automotive and others,” Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president & CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs, said in a prepared statement.

City, State Incentives sweeten deal

The deal includes $30 million in state incentives and the City of Toledo agreed to provide an expansion incentive of 30 percent, estimated at $1 million. Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz are among the officials expected at the Thursday groundbreaking ceremony.

The new plant will enable Cleveland-Cliffs, which has been a major supplier of iron ore pellets to the North American steel industry from its Minnesota and Michigan mines, to also supply companies that use electricity to produce steel. The Toledo facility is also expected to boost production at Northshore Mining Co. in Silver Bay, Minn., where the HBI-ready taconite pellets needed for the Toledo plant will be produced, according to the Duluth News Tribune.

Image courtesy of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

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Rendering of the Convergent Campus, Westlake, Ohio

Two new office buildings are expected to come online within the Convergent campus in Westlake, Ohio. Convergent East and Convergent West will accompany the existing headquarters of Equity Trust, adding more than 100,000 square feet of Class A space to the area’s inventory. Developer Infinity Construction and architecture firm Vocon expect to finalize each building within nine to 12 months. Upon completion, JLL will be the exclusive leasing agent.

“We’re eager to add to Greater Cleveland’s growth by developing world-class, collaborative office environments inspired by local landmarks like the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Convergent campus will be the first of its kind in Northeast Ohio, with high-caliber aesthetics coupled with integrated spaces that foster innovation,” said Vocon Director Dave Robar, in a prepared statement.

Both buildings will encompass three floors of flexible workspaces. Amenities are expected to include floor-to-ceiling windows, outdoor balconies and walking trails, among others. The campus is close to Crocker Park, Cleveland’s CBD and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and can be easily accessed via the interchange at Interstate 90 and Crocker Road.

Image courtesy of JLL

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10701 E. Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio

BGL Real Estate Advisors, a divison of Brown Gibbons Lang & Co., facilitated the sale of a part of the Wade Park campus in Cleveland, Ohio, to an affiliate of CGA Real Estate Services. The acquisition comprises 115,462 square feet of office space, 122 senior housing units for homeless veterans, a 19,321-square-foot tier 3 data center, a 2,080-unit structured parking facility and one acre of vacant land. The anchor tenant of the office component is the Department of Veterans Affairs that occupies nearly 85,000 square feet.

The property is considered to have an important impact on the city’s economy, as it employs more than 600 people in office, administrative and health-care jobs. It is adjacent to the Louis Stokes Veterans Affairs Medical Center and connected to it through a skywalk.

Located at 10701 E. Blvd., within the University Circle District, the campus extends from East Boulevard to Magnolia Drive and overlooks Rockefeller Park. Nearby are the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Natural History Museum, Case Western Reserve University, as well as several gardens. Downtown Cleveland is less than 10 miles away.  

Image courtesy of BGLREA

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Wrayco’s former manufacturing building in Stow, Ohio

CBRE’s Akron office has brokered the sale of two former Wrayco facilities in Stow, Ohio. The manufacturing buildings are approximately 180,000 and 60,000 square feet, respectively. The buyer is an unidentified investor but, according to Akron Beacon Journal, a Michigan industrial manufacturing company purchased the asset.

Located at 858 Seasons Road and 5010 Hudson Drive, the two buildings sit next to each other. They provide easy access to two national roads and Interstate 80. Downtown Akron is 13 miles to the south, while Cleveland is within a 35-minute drive.

The new owner has a tenant in tow that will soon begin hiring as well as performing upgrades to the buildings to meet the company’s requirements. Wrayco Industries, a company that specialized in manufacturing leakproof vessels for heavy construction equipment, ceased its Ohio operations in December 2016, when it laid off 80 employees.

Senior Associates Steve Lazarides and Dean Bacopoulos of CBRE’s Akron office were part of the team that arranged the transaction. Earlier this year, CBRE also facilitated the sale of a 20,774-square-foot manufacturing building in Dayton, Ohio.

Image via Google Street View

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The Marketplace at Four Corners in Aurora, Ohio

Institutional Property Advisors has facilitated the sale of Marketplace at Four Corners, a 525,708-square-foot shopping center in Aurora, Ohio, for $55.7 million. A New York-based 1031 exchange investor purchased the retail asset from the Florida-based seller. Anchored by Walmart, Kohl’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods and HomeGoods, the shopping center was almost fully occupied at the time of the deal.  

Located at 7155-7175 Aurora Road, Marketplace at Four Corners is approximately 25 miles southeast of Cleveland in an established retail trade area that serves the metro’s suburbs. The property is easily accessible from interstates 271 and 480. Opened 16 years ago, Marketplace at Four Corners includes major tenants such as Marshalls, Big Lots, Michaels and PetSmart, but also small shop tenants: Five Below, Famous Footwear, AT&T, Subway, Best Cuts and GNC. Walmart is on an existing ground-lease and the next two largest tenants both renewed their leases the past year.

Senior Directors Scott Wiles, Erin Patton and Craig Fuller, together with Dean Zang of the IPA Mid-Atlantic retail team, worked on behalf of both the buyer and the seller in this deal. Last year, the same IPA team brokered the sale of North Heights Plaza, an 182,453-square-foot shopping center in Dayton, Ohio.

Image via Google Street View

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One Cleveland Center, 1375 E. 9th St., Cleveland

Bellwether Enterprise has secured a $57 million refinancing for Optima International, the owner of One Cleveland Center. The company will use the money to refinance the property’s high interest rate debt and fund tenant improvements. The 10-year CMBS loan, originated by Rialto, features a 30-year amortization schedule.

“Downtown Cleveland in particular continues to be a hotspot for new and growing companies, and our work with One Cleveland Center highlights our expertise in enhancing vital properties in key business hubs,” said Bellwether President Ned Huffman, in a prepared statement.

Senior Vice Presidents Jim Doyle and Ross Halloran arranged the refinancing.

Iconic tower

One Cleveland Center is located at 1375 E. 9th St., and is the fifth tallest office tower in the city’s downtown area. It provides 543,945 square feet of space, of which 53,000 square feet are designated for retail use, according to Yardi Matrix. The 31-story building features a glass lobby, on-site café and conference center, and a 1,100-square-foot parking garage.

The property was originally built in 1983, and went through a series of renovations, the last round being completed in 2011. It has been part of Optima’s portfolio for almost 10 years.

The office tower is close to Cleveland State University and can be reached via Interstate 90 using the St. Clair Avenue N.E. exit.

Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix

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Mohr Capital has bought a 460,000-square-foot office center in Mayfield Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, for $52 million. The property, which was part of Norman Rockwell Ohio LLC’s portfolio, is fully NNN leased by Rockwell Automation Inc. and serves as the second employment center for the company. 

The asset is located at 1 Allen Bradley Drive and spans 36 acres. The three office buildings which make up the center were completed in 1995, along with the adjacent parking lot which can accommodate up to 970 vehicles.

Acquisition history

The tenant owned the property until 2005, when it sold it to First Industrial Realty Trust, Yardi Matrix data shows. Norman then bought the asset in 2006 from UBS Realty Investors but, according to Crain’s Cleveland Business, was unable to close on the loan and filed for foreclosure in April 2017. 

The property is close to Interstate 271 and is approximately 30 minutes from downtown Cleveland. The nearby area hosts the offices of other companies such as Ferro Corp., Selman & Co. and Elk & Elk Co. 

Rodrigo Godoi, director of acquisitions with Mohr Capital, negotiated the transaction. In December 2017, Mohr Capital invested $11.4 million for acquiring another office asset in Charlotte, N.C.

Images courtesy of Yardi Matrix

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382 Rosemont Road, North Jackson, Ohio

Newmark Knight Frank has arranged a long-term lease on behalf of Stag Industrial Inc. at one of its Ohio warehouses. The new tenant, Columbus-based Palmer-Donavin Manufacturing Co., plans to occupy 230,805 square feet at 382 Rosemont Road in North Jackson, Ohio, by the end of the year.

“This new space offers Palmer-Donavin a well-maintained property with great access to Interstate 76 and the Ohio Turnpike,” said Terry Coyne, NKF Cleveland’s vice chairman, in prepared remarks.

Crane facility

Built in 2001 on a 22.8-acre lot, the property offers a total of 307,315 square feet and features 24- to 38-foot clear heights, 10 drive-in doors and heavy cranes. Recent enhancements include ESFR sprinklers, several docks and a new office segment totaling 2,300 square feet.

Coyne, who brokered the lease, is also marketing the remaining space at the facility. Executive Vice President Michael Mullady and David Ford of CBRE’s Special Properties Group represented the tenant in the deal. 

This was not the first time NKF worked with Stag. In the summer, the brokerage was involved in Stag’s fourth industrial acquisition in Pittsburgh. 

Image courtesy of NKF

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GARDINER presents Springfield’s staff with Energy Star Award (Pictured left to right: Kevin Pugely from GARDINER, Mike Smith and Dustin Boswell from Springfield Local School District and Nate Smik from GARDINER.)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded Springfield High School & Junior High School the Energy Star Building Label, making it the only K-12 building in Summit County to receive the distinction, while also placing it among the most energy efficient K-12 school facilities in the U.S.

The district’s partner in finding and implementing energy conservation strategies, GARDINER, presented the award via representatives Dustin Boswell, business manager, and Mike Smith, maintenance supervisor.

“When we opened this facility in 2014, our promise to the community was to be as efficient as we could with the operating dollars that we had,” Boswell said in a prepared statement. “Although the building was new, we identified early on that we weren’t getting the most from our new systems. The Energy Star award really symbolizes that we’ve stayed committed to that promise for our students and the community.”

“Anything we can do to make the environment better for students and save money at the same time is a win-win. The superintendent and the board have really been supportive on this effort,” added Smith. “It’s great recognition for the district.”

Sustained growth

A building that scores a 75 or greater on the EPA’s scale of 1-100 may be eligible for Energy Star certification. Springfield High School & Junior High improved from a 69 score a year ago to its current score of 86, which qualified the project for the award.

“The approach that GARDINER took was unique,” said Boswell. “It was very customized and collaborative with our staff. We identified specific issues with our building and how we could operate it better and saw things improve in a gradual, systematic way.”

Images courtesy of GARDINER

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The Mickey Thompson Performance Tires and Wheels facility in Stow, Ohio

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp. purchased a 219,765-square-foot industrial asset in Stow, Ohio, a suburban community within the Akron metropolitan area, for $19.5 million. The building is expandable by 50,000 square feet. 

Located at 4651 Prosper Drive, on some 15.4 acres, the building is 10 miles from the junction between interstates 80 and 480. The facility is net-leased for 10 years to Mickey Thompson Performance Tires and Wheels and is guaranteed by Cooper Tire and Rubber Co., a Delaware corporation.

“Mickey Thompson is one of the most prominent leaders in making racing tires and their parent company, Cooper Tire, is the fifth largest tire manufacturer in North America. Mickey Thompson has been in this market for over 25 years and they recently outgrew their existing facility,” said Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp. President & CEO Michael Landy, in a prepared statement.

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp. is one of the oldest public equity REITs in the U.S. The company’s portfolio consists of 108 properties totaling some 18.8 million rentable square feet.

Image via Google Street View

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Amazon unveiled plans to open its fifth Ohio-based fulfillment center in Euclid, expected to add more than 1,000 full-time jobs.

Most recently, the company announced the construction of new facilities in Monroe and North Randall, and is already operating in Etna and Obetz. In addition to its already strong base of fulfillment centers in Ohio, the company is also developing a new 189 megawatt wind farm in Hardin County, Ohio.

“Our growth in Ohio is the result of an outstanding workforce and incredible customers,” Sanjay Shah, Amazon’s vice president of North America customer fulfillment, said in a company release. “We are proud to be adding 1,000 new jobs to the more than 6,000 Amazonians already working in the state.”

The new facility will feature 650,000 square feet of space and will be utilized for picking, packing and shipping popular items such as as electronics, books, housewares and toys.

Significant expansion plans

In the last 30 days, Amazon has committed itself to creating 3,000 new jobs and repurposing more than 125 acres of underutilized property.

“Over the last two years, we’ve been laser focused on creating jobs,” Armond Budish, Cuyahoga County executive, said “It’s very exciting to support a second Amazon distribution center, creating another 1,000 jobs for residents in the county, in addition to the 2,000 jobs at the Randall Park Mall site. These newly announced Amazon projects provide two great advantages: 3,000 new jobs and valuable repurposing of two vacant malls.”

Image courtesy of Amazon.com Inc. 

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Cleveland rent evolution, click to enlarge

The Cleveland multifamily market is growing slowly, particularly in submarkets outside the urban core that still face difficulties stemming from the last downturn. The city center appeals to investors and residents alike, with signs of emerging opportunities. However, the metro is steadily losing residents, while rent growth—2.0 percent year-over-year as of June—is underperforming.

Education and health services, a sector that added 6,500 jobs in the 12 months ending in May, is leading economic growth. The Cleveland Clinic’s $276 million specialized cancer center opened in March, further fueling this surge. Fields requiring highly skilled workers, such as biotechnology, are rapidly expanding, in stark contrast to leisure and hospitality, transportation and manufacturing, which together contracted by roughly 4,600 positions. Financial activities, construction, and professional and business services also posted consistent job gains, supporting Cleveland’s diversifying economy and benefiting the office market.

The growing number of renters looking to live near work, transportation, retail and entertainment options, coupled with limited housing supply, is stimulating rent growth. Cleveland’s occupancy rate for stabilized properties was 95.1 percent, the highest among Ohio metros although 50 basis points below the national average. As construction activity was modest in the first two quarters of 2017—only 146 units came online—we expect rent growth to remain above 2.0 percent by year-end.

Read the full Yardi Matrix report.

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Bowling Green State University located in Bowling Green, Ohio, has announced the opening of the Kuhlin Center, the first facility to be completed as part of a $200 million master plan set in motion in conjunction with program manager, JLL. Upon completion, the overall project would add two new major residence buildings and two new dining centers, delivering next-generation teaching and learning spaces throughout the university’s revitalized campus.

A Long-Term Initiative

In line with the academic-focused phase of the long-term initiative, BGSU will be renovating, constructing, demolishing and upgrading more than a dozen buildings across the campus. Such an example is the Kuhlin Center, which accommodates the School of Media and Communication. The facility was renovated to foster innovation and include production and broadcast studios, as well as convergence labs.

The academic-focused improvements follow the student services phase of the plan, which were completed in 2011 when JLL helped BGSU deliver more than 1,300 new beds and complete two new standalone dining centers. The projects enabled BGSU to increase enrollment and also supported the university’s financial goals by eliminating more than $2 million in budget overages.

“The way students learn is evolving. It isn’t just about sitting in chairs and listening to a lecture. It’s about embracing new ideas, technology and collaboration. Our new and renovated studios, laboratories and classrooms are designed to shape learning experiences in hands-on ways. Partnering with JLL has helped us successfully transform our facilities and boost our campus’s appeal, without wavering from our core mission of educating students,” Steve Krakoff, vice president of Capital Planning and Campus Operations at BGSU, said in prepared remarks.

Ambitious Academic Projects

In line with the academic-focused long-term initiative and with JLL’s support, BGSU is upgrading buildings campus-wide with state-of-the-art technology and designs.

Moseley Hall will feature modern flexible biology and chemistry labs within the 100-year-old masonry structure. The facility is set to open this fall. University Hall will be refurbished in such a way as to preserve its architectural integrity, while providing a new focal point for admissions, student support services and learning. The building is also scheduled to be completed this fall. Hanna Hall will undergo an extensive renovation that will add cutting-edge innovation labs, active learning classrooms, collaboration spaces and high-tech trading lab.

“These improvements strengthen the campus community, support a culture of collaborative learning and demonstrate BGSU’s passion for enriching the overall student experience. Not only is BGSU giving students an even greater chance to develop critical professional skills, but the master plan puts BGSU ahead in the growing competition to attract the best prospective students and faculty,” Jon Kolp, vice president of project and development services group at JLL, said in prepared remarks.

Additionally, BGSU has completed significant infrastructure upgrades, including a new centralized chiller plant that allows for the safe and efficient operations of multiple buildings. A second regional chiller plant is underway, along with major electrical upgrades that will support the growing demands of the infrastructure bought by modern renovations.

Images courtesy of JLL

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21337 Drake Road, Strongsville, Ohio

Foundation Software Inc., a developer of accounting software for construction companies, expanded its Ohio footprint with the acquisition of an additional building in Strongsville. The new 17,865-square-foot property is located just one mile from the company’s main office campus.

Fully remodeled space

The 1988 warehouse at 21337 Drake Road used to incorporate 40 to 60 closed offices. Upon acquisition, Foundation Software Inc. completely gutted and remodeled the space into an open floor plan, which will host one of the company’s departments.

The property sits on 3.2 acres and was last traded in 2015 for $1.6 million, according to PropertyShark data. The seller was Fred & Matt Realty Ltd.

Foundation Software Inc., now an employer of more than 250 people, first moved to Strongsville in 2013, when it acquired a 48,000-square-foot property at 17999 Foltz Pkwy. Back in 2013, the Ode Family Corporate Campus had a 35 percent occupancy.

Image via Google Street View

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The North Olmsted Towne Center in Cleveland

The Glimcher Group purchased North Olmsted Towne Center, a retail center in the Southwestern Cleveland neighborhood of North Olmsted, for $15.9 million, according to Crain’s Cleveland. The seller, Norcar Co. LLC of McLean, Va., first acquired the asset back in 2013 for $17.8 million.

Located at 24954-25102 Brookpark Road, about 17 miles southwest of Cleveland, the shopping center is on the north side of Interstate 480, at the corner of Brookpark Road and Great Northern Boulevard. The asset is anchored by La-Z-Boy, Tile Shop, Party City, David’s Bridal and shadow-anchored by a 123,000-square-foot Target store that is separately owned. 

Buckeye State buys

The company already owns six other retail centers in Northeast Ohio, including the Elmhurst Plaza in Warren, the Belden Village Commons in Canton and the Landrwood Plaza in Pepper Pike. North Olmsted Towne Center features four buildings along Brookpark Road. At the time of purchase, the asset was 94 percent leased.

The sale does not include second-floor office space in the purchased buildings that is still owned by the original developer of the property, an affiliate of Carnegie Management Co.

The Glimcher Group owns more than 7 billion square feet across 50 shopping center properties. 

Image via Google Street View

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GrafTech’s Former HQ in Parma, Ohio

Two years after relocating its headquarters and research center to Independence, Ohio and Brooklyn Heights, Ohio, graphite company GrafTech International tapped Hanna Commercial Real Estate to sell its former world headquarters in Parma, Ohio.

A team of brokers consisting of Principal & Managing Director Mark Abood, Auctioneer & Sales Associate Anna Maria Hamm and Principal & Executive Manager David Stover will exclusively represent the seller. The 20-acre property located at 12900 Snow Road is listed at just under $4 million, according to Cleveland.com.

The facility offers 300,000 square feet of office and industrial space and more than 600 parking spaces. The office space accommodates executive and administrative offices, board rooms and conference rooms, workstations, bullpen areas, meeting rooms, training auditoriums and a full cafeteria. The warehouse space was designed to facilitate GrafTech’s research, featuring high-tech labs, research, development and testing areas, as well as a number of recreational and lounge areas for employees.

Located less than 12 miles from downtown Cleveland and 4 miles from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, the property is part of a busy business corridor and is highly visible from Interstate 77, Interstate 71, Interstate 480 and the Ohio Turnpike. The nearby area is also home to several dining and shopping venues including a Giant Eagle Supermarket and an IHOP restaurant.

Although GrafTech decided to leave its headquarters of 58 years, the area has continued to expand its retail sector, with a Gordmans store having joined The Shoppes at Parma at the end of 2016.

Image courtesy of Hanna Commercial Real Estate

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Fresenius Medical Care, North Houston, Texas

National Asset Services has been appointed property and asset manager of six health care and retail properties in four states. Properties include Sherwood Village shopping center in San Angelo, Texas, and five newly built medical office buildings in Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Massachusetts. With the latest additions, the company’s portfolio now includes more than 70 properties nationwide.

Located at the intersection of Sherwood Way (U.S. Highway 67 Business) and Sunset Drive, Sherwood Village was built in 2006 on 1.69 acres. The center features a mix of tenants, including Dickey’s Barbeque Pit, Pro Cuts, FedEx Office, Eyemart and Verizon Wireless. Tenant-in-common co-owners appointed NAS property manager of the 15,407 square-foot center. The company acted as a consultant during the recent refinancing of the property investors’ 10-year CMBS loan.

Sherwood Village, San Angelo, Texas

KB Exchange Trust entrusted NAS with property management and asset management responsibilities for five, single-tenant medical office properties. The properties are occupied by Fresenius Medical Care, an integrated provider of products and services for patients undergoing dialysis due to chronic kidney failure individuals.

The first is an 8,403-square-foot property at 4810 E. Sam Houston Parkway in North Houston, Texas. The property is located just south of the 250-acre Gene Green Beltway 8 Park near the Sam Houston Parkway.

The second is an 8,318-square-foot clinic in Crockett, Texas, which serves Houston County residents. The property is located at 2001 E. Bowie Ave., on Route 34 near the intersection of State Highway 304 and Interstate 287. The nearest dialysis clinic is more than 30 miles from the property.  

The third property is a 9,800-square-foot medical facility at 3280 W. 25th Street in Cleveland. The asset is located on Cleveland’s Westside on U.S. Highway 42, just off interstates 90 and 71, near Grace Hospital Medical Center, a 731-bed medical center. NAS also manages another Fresenius facility in Cleveland, a one-story, 31,365-square-foot asset built in 2015.

The fourth property is a 7,104-square-foot medical office at 321 Meridian Ave. in Scranton, Pa. The asset is located two miles west of the Regional Hospital of Scranton, an 186-bed medical facility.

The last property is a 10,165-square-foot clinic at 1515 State St. in Springfield, Mass. The facility is located less than one mile northeast of Vibra Hospital of Western Massachusetts.

Images courtesy of NAS

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Matthew Lichtner and Richard Heltzel of Accurate Group

Accurate Group, a nationwide provider of real estate appraisal, title and compliance services, expanded its sales team with two new appointments: Matthew Lichtner, who will join the company’s West Coast office as senior vice president, and Richard Heltzel, who will transition from his role as director of ValueNet, a division of Accurate Group, to vice president, national account manager.

Lichtner’s responsibilities will include driving new title and valuation sales, marketing the company’s valuation and AMC services, and promoting the ValueNet suite of products, especially on the West Coast. He brings more than 30 years of experience in the mortgage lending industry, having held several leading positions with companies such as Closing Corp, Service Link, Decision Ready Solutions, Steward Lender Services and First American Corp.

Heltzel has been with Accurate Group for seven years, having managed the company’s Alternative Valuation Division in Cleveland and contributing to the company’s growth as an Appraisal Management Company. When Accurate acquired ValueNet, Heltzel moved to Chicago to take on the director position, overseeing Accurate’s GroundWorks inspection business. He is expected to grow Accurate Group’s title and valuation sales in the northeast region.

Images via LinkedIn

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HFF has secured $142 million in financing for the development of Pinecrest, a 58-acre, 650,000-square-foot mixed-use lifestyle project in the Cleveland suburb of Orange Village, Ohio.

HFF worked on behalf of development partners Fairmount Properties and the DiGeronimo Cos., to place the construction loan with a syndicate of banks including Huntington Bank, KeyBank, First National Bank, First Commonwealth Bank and Flagstar Bank.

Scheduled for completion in spring 2018, Pinecrest will offer more than 400,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and entertainment. Tenants such as Whole Foods, REI, Silverspot Theaters, Pinstripes, West Elm, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Vineyard Vines and Kona Grill have already secured spots. The project will also include a 145-key AC Hotel by Marriott, 87 luxury apartments, a one-acre town center and The Offices at Pinecrest, which will consist of two adjoining 75,000-square-foot Class A office buildings positioned above the retail and restaurant level.

The HFF debt placement team representing the borrower was led by Senior Managing Director Trey Morsbach, Managing Director Danny Kaufman and Director Jim Curtin.

Video courtesy of Pinecrest

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Dallas-based Preston Hollow Capital, an independent specialty finance company, recently secured $49 million in financing for Pinecrest, a $240 million retail, residential and entertainment project, currently under construction in Orange Village, Ohio. Pinecrest is being developed by Fairmount Properties and its joint venture partners, including Lennar Commercial and members of the DiGeronimo family as well as Lewanski Development.

Located at Harvard Road, near Interstate 271, Pinecrest sits on a 58-acre site and will include 87 luxury apartments, 400,000 square feet of retail space, 150,000 square feet of Class A office space, a 145-key AC Hotel by Marriott, as well as a 1-acre programmable town center. National brands and regional boutiques and establishments such as Whole Foods, REI, West Elm, Pinstripes, Silverspot Cinemas, Orangetheory Fitness, Vernaculare are just a handful of tenants available at Pinecrest. The project is slated for completion by mid-2018.

“Bringing the Pinecrest transaction to closing was a significant and complex process, and critical to completing this $240 million live, work, play and stay environment,” said Fairmount Properties Principal Adam Fishman, in a prepared statement.

The development also received a helping hand from Lennar Commercial, which made an initial investment of $17 million in the project.

Images courtesy of Pinecrest website

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Parkwood’s headquarters in Cleveland

The Riverside Co. recently sold a nonvoting minority stake to Parkwood LLC, a limited partner in multiple Riverside funds. Parkwood’s acquisition of just under 10 percent of the firm will all be in primary capital. An employee option plan has also been established to retain and reward employees. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Jones Day advised Riverside on the deal.

According to Crain’s Cleveland Business, the cash investment at the management level will be used exclusively to grow existing initiatives, including controlling equity funds, minority investment funds and some credit-related funds.

“This investment is a natural element of Riverside’s three decades of growth and its position as a leader at the smaller end of the middle market,” said Riverside Co-CEO Béla Szigethy.

Founded in 1988, the Riverside Co. currently has more than 80 companies in its international portfolio. Based in Cleveland, Parkwood offers investment advisory services, financial and tax services, multi-generational estate planning and other professional services.

Image via Google Street View

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The office building at 343 West Bagley Road in Berea, Ohio

Green Bridge Real Estate recently represented ETB University Properties LLC, a subsidiary of Baldwin Wallace University, in the sale of a Class B office building located in Berea, Ohio. Blaze Realty LLC, a local buyer, acquired the asset for $1 million. At the time of the transaction, the building was home to Buyer Quest, which will continue to be an anchor tenant.

Sitting on 1.3 acres at 343 West Bagley Road in the heart of Berea, a western suburb of Cleveland, the 1973-built property is the former headquarters of an equity trust. Boasting open office floor plans, the four-story building can accommodate large corporate tenants or be further subdivided for smaller users. The office building is close to several dining options, the Berea Plaza Shopping Center and 17 miles from downtown Cleveland.

The anchor tenant, Buyer Quest, now leases approximately 8,600 square feet of space for its corporate headquarters. Buyer Quest has been in the building since June 2014, when it also renamed the asset in their name. Currently, the building offers a mixture of private offices and open cubical areas, ideally suited for professional services, call centers, medical and non-profits services. At the time of sale, the fourth floor of the building was vacant.

The new ownership is planning to update the mechanical systems and modernize the equipment.

Image courtesy of Green Bridge Real Estate

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The Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Toledo-Perrysburg in Ohio

Toledo, Ohio—MCR, the seventh largest hotel owner-operator in the United States, recently announced it has completed the renovation of the 98-key Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Toledo-Perrysburg in Ohio.

Highlights of the renovation include new carpeting installed throughout the whole building, new beds, couches, chairs and televisions in all guestrooms. A remote projection screen in the meeting room, new lounge furniture surrounding the outdoor patio as well as a convenience store will also added.

Located at 9753 Clark Drive, the hotel is just minutes from numerous manufacturing, healthcare and leisure demand generators in Toledo, Ohio. The Hampton Inn & Suites Toledo-Perrysburg offers convenient access to Interstate 75 and the Ohio Turnpike. Only 8 miles from downtown Toledo, the hotel is close to the renowned Toledo Art Museum, Toledo Zoo, Hollywood Casino Toledo and the University of Toledo.

Image courtesy of Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton

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David Lukes, DDR’s new president and CEO

Beachwood, Ohio—DDR Corp., a shopping center owner and manager, is continuing its executive shifts, recently announcing that recently announcing that a team of former Equity One executives will take over leadership of the company. David Lukes has been named president and CEO of the company. He will replace Tom August, who had just taken over the job last July, and will also join the DDR board of directors. The firm also added Michael Makinen as executive vice president and COO, taking over the latter role from William Ross, who was brought on from Forest City Realty Trust last December. Matthew Ostrower has also been hired as executive vice president, CFO and treasurer. The CFO position had been vacant for nearly a year, after David Oakes was appointed from CFO to CEO in February 2015, before his termination in July 2016.

“One of DDR’s key objectives over the past year has been to ensure long-term management succession,” Terrance Ahern, chairman of the board, said in the news release.

“As a result, the board and Tom were in agreement and very pleased when the opportunity arose to have David, Mike and Matt join DDR. We believe that with the addition of David and his team, the company is well positioned to continue to successfully navigate today’s dynamic retail and capital markets environment.”

David Lukes currently has the fourth CEO job at DDR since 2010. He served as CEO of Equity One from June 2014 to March 2017. Prior to that, he was president and CEO of Sears Holdings Corp. affiliate Seritage Realty Trust. Lukes also served as president and CEO of Olshan Properties, as well as COO of Kimco Realty Corp.

Makinen will occupy the same position as he had at Equity One from July 2014 to March 2017. Before joining Equity One, he served as COO of Olshan Properties. He also served as head of real estate and development with several major retailers.

Matthew Ostrower was formerly executive vice president, CFO and treasurer at Equity One between 2015 and 2017. Previously, Ostrower held several roles at Morgan Stanley, including associate director of European research and head of U.S. REIT Equity Research. Ostrower was also a member of the board of Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust from 2010 to 2015.

Recently, Equity One officially merged with Regency Centers Corp.

Image via LinkedIn

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Cleveland rent evolution, click to enlarge

Cleveland has been one of the slowest-growing metros in recent years, but while its real estate fundamentals continue to lag the rest of the country, there are signs of emerging opportunities.

Employment growth has been steady for the past six years as a more diverse workforce has emerged and the region has gradually severed ties to its industrial past. Consistent job gains in health services and education have bolstered the employment market, while formerly traditional sectors, such as construction and manufacturing, lost positions. The metro continues to develop its biomedical and innovation centers, and in December, top cancer center University Hospitals broke ground on its Rainbow Center for Women & Children, located within Cleveland’s Health-Tech Corridor.

Rent growth across the metro remains slow but steady, and strong gains were made in certain downtown and lakeside areas. New construction is also concentrated in Downtown Cleveland, as well as four other core submarkets. Construction jobs may return to the metro, as completions are expected to increase 400% in 2017 compared to 2016. Given the relatively soft real estate fundamentals, the metro remains affordable, and may provide investors with unique growth opportunities as the region continues to reinvent itself.

Read the full Yardi Matrix report.

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Hyland’s global headquarters in Cleveland

Cleveland—Hyland, a provider of software for managing content, processes and cases, recently announced its plans to expand the campus at its global headquarters in Cleveland’s Westlake submarket. Construction has already begun to add roughly 70,000 square feet to the company’s global headquarters.

Located at 28105 Clemens Road, the new third wing of the building will include office space for an additional 400 employees and a training center. This is the second time in the past four years that Hyland has expanded its global headquarters.

“This expansion reflects our continued growth and is one of many initiatives underway to support our growing global customer base. We feel fortunate to be in this position and look forward to welcoming employees, customers and partners to our new space,” said Bill Priemer, president & CEO of Hyland, in a prepared statement.

The addition is scheduled to be completed by May 2018. Hyland aims to hire 330 employees this year. According to cleveland.com, the software company currently has 2,232 employees globally, including approximately 1,600 at its Westlake campus. Of those, roughly 765 employees work in Hyland’s research and development building.

Image courtesy of Hyland

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Home2 Suites by Hilton recently announced its newest property, Home2 Suites by Hilton Cleveland Beachwood. Featuring 91 suites, the hotel is owned by Beachwood Hotels LLC and managed by Atlantic Hospitality and Management.

Located at 3589 Park East Drive, off I-271 in the Beachwood suburb, the new hotel provides access to university hospitals and Cleveland Clinic campuses, as well as many Fortune 500 companies and local universities and colleges. The property is 20 minutes to downtown Cleveland and 1 mile from the Eaton Corp. and Aleris office. The town of Chagrin Falls, the shops and restaurants at Legacy Village and Beachwood Place are nearby as well. The Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is 30 minutes away.

“With our dynamic sports teams and attractions, more visitors are visiting Cleveland annually. Our spacious and value-driven extended stay accommodations are a grand slam for those seeking a fresh, new way to travel,” said Mike O’Neill, general manager of Home2 Suites by Hilton Cleveland Beachwood.

The pet-friendly hotel has all-suite accommodations with fully equipped kitchens and modular furniture, as well as complimentary Internet. Spin2 Cycle, a combined laundry and fitness area, Home2 MKT for grab-and-go items,and a complimentary daily breakfast are among the hotel’s amenities. Guests can also enjoy the indoor saline pool, outdoor patio, fire pit and grill area.

The new hotel will contribute to the greater Cleveland area’s yearly growth in tourism, which brought in a record high of 17.6 million visitors in 2015, according to cleveland.com.

Images courtesy of Home2 Suites by Hilton

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Cleveland—The 1.3 million-square-foot Key Center, which includes the tallest building in Ohio, has changed hands for $267.5 million, going from ownership by Columbia Property Trust, a national office REIT, to The Millennia Cos., a Cleveland-based multifamily property development and management firm.

Key Center

The deal included the iconic 57-story Class A office tower, the adjacent 400-key Marriott Hotel, a 10-story historic bank building and a 982-stall parking garage. Constructed in 1991, the tower was 82 percent leased with major tenants like Key Bank and BakerHostetler law firm prior to the sale but is now more than 95 percent occupied. The anchor tenant in the office tower, KeyCorp, extended its occupancy of approximately 487,000 square feet in a 2013 deal that extends its lease through June 2030.

“I am honored to be part of such an iconic asset and one with such a rich history of excellence,” Frank Sinito, principal & CEO of Millennia, said in a prepared statement. “I believe everyone is excited to see this trophy property back in the hands of a local owner.”

With the sale, Atlanta-based Columbia has exited Cleveland and completed its disposition program. The REIT, which recently sold three Houston assets totaling 1.2 million square feet for $272 million, has completed $1.2 billion of dispositions since January 2016 and $3.3 billion since January 2012. Columbia said it will use the proceeds in its target markets—San Francisco, New York, Atlanta and Washington, D.C., where the REIT now owns and operates 17 office properties containing 8 million square feet.

Columbia, which had owned the mixed-use property since December 2005, put it up for sale in September 2015.

“Key Center is the most recognizable icon on the Cleveland skyline, and we were determined to take a patient approach in order to identify the right buyer for this significant asset,” Nelson Mills, Columbia president & CEO, said in a prepared statement. “Our diligence has now been rewarded, allowing us to exit the Cleveland market at a price within our expectations and accelerate our focus on high-barrier markets.”

“With $3.3 billion of assets sold in suburban and secondary markets since early 2012 and another $2.6 billion of acquisitions in markets such as New York and San Francisco, we now possess a truly remarkable high-barrier office portfolio,” he said.

Last month, Columbia sold its Houston portfolio to Spear Street Capital for $272 million. The office properties were located at: 5 Houston Center, a 27-story, 581,000-square-foot tower in downtown Houston; Energy Center I, a 332,000-square-foot property along Interstate 10 in the Energy Corridor, and 525 Post Oak Blvd., a 12-story, 274,000-square-foot building in the Galleria submarket.

Sinito plans on moving his companies, comprised of Millennia Housing Management, Millennia Housing Development, Millennia Housing Capital, Millennia Hospitality Group and American Preservation Builders, to Key Center. He originally looked at Key Center as a prospective tenant when he decided to pursue the acquisition.

Millennia intends to spend about $24 million in renovations to the office tower lobby, the plaza and hotel, Sinito said. Local firms, including Vocon, K2M Design, Project Management Consultants LLC, and The Albert M. Higley Co., have begun working on design plans, he said.

Mark Vogel, senior managing director of Berkadia Capital Mortgage, secured the debt for the transaction, according to Millennia. A consortium of banks led by Citibank that includes Bank of America, Deutsche Bank and Apollo Capital provided senior mortgage and mezzanine debt financing.

“The institutions involved in this transaction acted extremely aggressively. They provided a substantial portion of the required capital and worked diligently with Sinito’s entire team,” Vogel, the local head of Berkadia’s Cleveland office, said in prepared remarks. “This was a team effort where local advisors played instrumental roles.”

Millennia said the lending group offered a loan to facilitate the acquisition, future improvements and immediate costs that were used to take the building’s occupancy to over 95 percent.

Vogel worked with Sinito and attorney Albert Adams of BakerHostetler to structure the financing.

Sinito also credited the Benesch law firm and RSM accounting firm with helping Millennia close the deal.

“It took a collaborative effort to complete this transaction,” Sinito said. “My heartfelt thanks go out to everyone involved on both sides of this deal. Columbia’s team worked side by side with me to get this deal done and I thank them for their efforts.”

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Room at Four Points Cleveland Airport Hotel

Cleveland—Marriott International recently announced the opening of Four Points Cleveland Airport, the brand’s first hotel in Cleveland.

The refurbished property is owned NextGen Hotels and has 147 guestrooms, as well as approximately 6,500 square feet of adaptable meeting space. Additional amenities include an indoor heated pool, a 24-hour fitness center, business center and free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel. The property is conveniently located near Progressive Field, FirstEnergy Stadium, the University of Cleveland and a wide variety of shops, restaurants and entertainment venues.

“We are thrilled to bring Four Points to Cleveland and anticipate the hotel will help meet rising demand for high-quality lodging in close proximity to the airport and downtown,” said Paige Francis, vice president of global brand management at Four Points, in prepared remarks.

Four Points is on track to expand its portfolio of rooms by nearly 60 percent in the next five years with new hotels strategically opening in different corners of the globe. There are more than 20 hotels expected to open in North America by the end of 2017.

Image courtesy of Four Points by Sheraton Cleveland Airport

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Embassy Suites Cleveland Rockside

Cleveland and Cincinnati—American Hotel Income Properties REIT LP of Vancouver, B.C., has agreed to acquire for approximately $124 million three Embassy Suites by Hilton hotels totaling 782 guestrooms in the Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati metro areas. The portfolio is being acquired at a weighted-average cap rate of about 8 percent on trailing 12 months NOI.

The 284-key Embassy Suites Columbus Dublin is in Dublin, Ohio, at the convergence of I-270 and State Route 161, about 15 miles north of downtown Columbus and near the Ohio State University campus.

The 271-key Embassy Suites Cleveland Rockside is in Independence, Ohio, about 10 miles south of downtown Cleveland and 12 miles east of Cleveland Hopkins Airport, at the convergence of interstates 77 and 480. The hotel is near a number of demand generators, including the homes of the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Browns.

The 227-key Embassy Suites Cincinnati Rivercenter is on the Ohio River overlooking downtown Cincinnati in Covington, Ky. The hotel is near the Northern Kentucky Convention Center and the Duke Energy Convention Center.

The seller was not identified, and AHIP declined to provide additional information requested by Commercial Property Executive.

The three hotels are being acquired for about $159,000 per guestroom, which is below AHIP’s estimate of replacement cost. The REIT expects to fund the purchase price using a portion of the net proceeds from a recently announced bought deal offering of units, plus a new $65 million CMBS loan.

The mortgage is expected to have a 10-year term, with interest-only payments for the first three years and then amortized over a 30-year period for the remaining seven years. It’s expected to have a fixed interest rate of approximately 4.7 percent for the entire term.

This transaction is expected to close in late January.

The hotels will be managed by AHIP’s exclusive hotel manager, Tower Rock Hotels & Resorts Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of O’Neill Hotels and Resorts Ltd.

“AHIP’s ability to use conservatively financed, long-term, low-cost, fixed-rate debt with a significant interest-only period highlights a key aspect of our strategy of providing consistent and stable returns to our unitholders,” Rob O’Neill, AHIP’s CEO, said in a prepared statement.

The hospitality market in Columbus contradicts the general national trend, with demand outpacing supply, in part because of ongoing renovations at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, according to an Integra Realty Resources mid-year 2016 report.

In Cleveland, a 3.0 percent room count increase in advance of the Republican National Convention followed a 3.5 percent jump in the first half of 2015, according to a second-half 2016 Midwest hospitality report from Marcus & Millichap. Average occupancy fell 60 basis points to 60.8 percent, and RevPAR has dipped slightly year to date.

And in Cincinnati, robust demand drivers have allowed the hotel sector to post respectable gains in occupancy and ADR, in turn generating RevPAR growth of 6.1 percent, again according to Marcus & Millichap.

Image courtesy of Embassy Suites Cleveland Rockside

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The Oswald Centre in Cleveland is the home base of Skye Group, a retail project manager that is now part of CBRE’s retail service offerings.

Cleveland—CBRE Group Inc. recently announced the acquisition of Skye Group, a provider of retail project management, shopping center development and tenant coordination services in the U.S. and Canada. This acquisition enhances CBRE’s position in the retail market by boosting its retail project management service offerings. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Based in the Oswald Centre on 1100 Superior Ave., in Cleveland, Skye is a local consulting firm founded in 2000. Its client list consists of retail real estate investors such as Simon, JLL, Howard Hughes, Westfield, LaSalle Investment Management, Vornado Realty Trust, New England Development, Ivanhoe Cambridge, Forest City, Westfield and Steiner & Associates, as well as brands such as Barneys New York.

“Joining CBRE is an excellent fit for our business and our retail clients will benefit from CBRE’s breadth of occupier and investor solutions. I look forward to working with our new colleagues at CBRE to take our business and our ability to service our clients to an even higher level,” said Bradley Sanders, president of Skye Group, in prepared remarks.

With more than 25 years of development industry experience, Sanders has managed the retail development process for 300-plus of the company’s projects in North America. He will lead CBRE’s retail project management business and report to Mark Fewin from CBRE’s project management services. The business will be known as CBRE | Skye.

“Skye has earned the reputation as a reliable and efficient solution for shopping center investors and occupiers,” said Fewin. “The firm’s ‘early stage’ work for clients in project management and large-scale construction will create new client service opportunities in the retail market.”

Image via Google Street View

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Home2 Suites by Hilton Cleveland Independence

Cleveland—Home2 Suites by Hilton recently announced its newest property, the 105-key Home2 Suites by Hilton Cleveland Independence. The hotel is owned by Gates Mills, Ohio-based Cloverleaf Partners and managed by MillGate Hospitality.

Located at 6200 Patriots Way in the Rockside Road business district, the property is just off Interstate 77 and 15 minutes away from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The location provides convenient access to dining and shopping options, as well as sports and entertainment venues in downtown Cleveland, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Home2 Suites by Hilton Cleveland Independence offers all-suite accommodations with fully-equipped kitchens and modular furniture. Amenities include complimentary internet, meeting spaces, as well as a fitness area, an indoor saline pool and fire pit. The property is also pet-friendly.

“Our new hotel offers guests modern spacious suites in a convenient suburban environment. We are excited to offer an affordable extended-stay lodging option for business and leisure travelers to the Independence/Cleveland area,” Carla Gold, general manager of Home2 Suites by Hilton Cleveland Independence, said in prepared remarks.

Most recently, Home2 Suites by Hilton opened a 111-key hotel near Denver International Airport.

Image courtesy of Home2 Suites by Hilton

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CapitalWorks’ new office at the Oswald Centre, Cleveland

Cleveland—CapitalWorks LLC is moving its offices from Beachwood, Ohio to the Oswald Centre in downtown Cleveland, the company announced recently. The 1999-founded firm will begin operating out of the new office starting December 19^th. Vocon, a full-service architecture and interior design firm, shaped the new space.

Located at 1100 Superior Ave. on the 17^th floor, suite 1725, the office is approximately 1 mile from Burke International Airport and less than 15 minutes from the junction between interstates 77 and 90. “The new location will accommodate our firm’s needs and enable more networking opportunities. We are excited about the surge of activity happening in downtown Cleveland and we want to be part of it,” said Richard Hollington, CapitalWorks’ CEO and managing director, in a prepared statement.

“With the firm’s continued success and growth, it forced us to evaluate our space needs as well as the integration of new technology” added Mike Harding, CFO at CapitalWorks.

Based in Cleveland, CapitalWorks acquires lower middle-market companies in the manufacturing, aerospace, specialty chemicals business services, and value added distribution industries, and provides the capital and support to develop. Recent acquisitions include Paradigm Windows, Chemtron Corp., Bancsource Inc., Avtron Aerospace, Ripley Tools and Capewell Aerial Systems.

Image via Google Street View

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Johnston Controls Hall of Fame Village, Canton, Ohio, rendering

Canton, Ohio—Johnson Controls is teaming up with Hall of Fame Village LLC—a partnership between the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Los Angeles-based Industrial Realty Group—to create the first “smart city” sports and entertainment venue as part of an 18-year, multi-million naming rights deal.

In a plan that is now estimated to cost nearly $600 million, The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, is developing a Hall of Fame Village around its museum and the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. The project will include nine components including renovations to the museum and stadium. The other parts of the project, expected to be completed in 2019, will be a four-star hotel and conference center, sports performance center, a Center for Excellence training and educational facility, youth sports complex, an assisted living facility, restaurants, retail and the Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Experience, which will be a $120 million virtual reality attraction and amusement park.

Johnson Controls, a Milwaukee-based global energy and technology company that creates intelligent buildings, efficient energy solutions and integrated infrastructure to support “smart cities,” was given naming rights to the overall project, the virtual reality attraction and the annual Hall of Fame enshrinement festival. The price paid for the naming rights deal was not made public but the Canton Repository newspaper quoted unnamed sources saying it was a nine-figure deal. The company would only said that the agreement ranks in the top 80 percentile of sports naming rights and is the largest ever for the market size.

“This historic agreement will ensure that the Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village will be the first ‘smart’ sports and entertainment city and will serve to inspire generations of fans as a showcase for state-of-the-art technology products and services to deliver world-class fan experiences,” Pro Football Hall of Fame President David Baker said in a prepared statement.

A professional services contract calls for Johnson Controls products, services and solutions to be used within the village, including the museum. Johnson Controls will provide building management systems, HVAC equipment, fire and security systems and other technology to yield operational cost savings.

“Our innovative, integrated technologies will provide the right combination of safety and security at the Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village in an environment that demonstrates how we connect ‘cities’ that run smartly and reliably,” Kim Metcalf-Kupres, vice president and chief marketing officer at Johnson Controls, said in a prepared statement.

Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Trustees President Randy Hunt called the partnership “historic and far-reaching,” adding that it would have a positive impact not only on the project but on the game of football and the community of Canton.

Baker told the Canton Repository that the hope is that Johnson Controls plan to build the first smart sports and entertainment city would “encompass not only Hall of Fame Village, but potentially a lot more of Canton.”

The completion of the Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village in 2019 will coincide with the NFL’s 100^th season and subsequent centennial celebration in 2020. The village is the largest project under construction in Ohio and will be a top tourist destination when completed. It is expected to have an economic impact on the region of at least $15.3 billion in its first 25 years.

Image courtesy of Pro Football Hall of Fame

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TRG’s new distribution facility in Westlake, Ohio

Westlake, Ohio—Technology Recovery Group, a TruWest Co., plans to relocate its distribution warehouse for retail-based operations to 1006 Crocker Road in Westlake, a suburb located 12 miles west of downtown Cleveland. TRG is the leading hardware solutions provider in the mobile computing and barcode printing industry and is currently headquartered at 31390 Viking Parkway in Westlake. The company will utilize the new space for distribution and retail rollouts amidst consistent growth.

The current 80,000-square-foot world headquarters that TRG moved into in 2014 was originally intended to last at least 10 years. However, as TRG has seen a 30 percent growth rate in the past decade, a larger footprint was needed to accommodate the company. Although TRG was already planning the development of a 30,000-square-foot office on Lake Road in Rocky River, Ohio, customer growth outpaced construction. The new building was originally slated to open in late 2017, but so far no set date for completion has been finalized.

In the new warehouse, dozens of employees will handle barcode scanners, printers, RFID equipment, cash registers and other point-of-sale devices from assembly through staging to configuration and deployment to retail stores.

“Our retail operations division has grown so rapidly in 2016 that we’ve completely run out of space for retail packing, staging and rollouts. This new expansion will allow us to fulfill all of our customers’ needs more quickly and it provides us with the option to expand in the future,” said Dave Foyer, TRG’s vice president of operations and retail services, in prepared remarks.

TRG’s international division, TRG Global, is based in Nijmegen in the Netherlands, and handles repairs and services throughout the European Union. In addition to its European Division, TRG has service centers in Cincinnati and Toronto.

Image via Google Earth

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Groundbreaking ceremony at National Interstate’s campus in Richfield, Ohio

Richfield, Ohio—National Interstate Insurance Corp. broke ground on its third Richfield campus building. The five-story, 117,000-square-foot structure will connect the two existing buildings through walkways. The new $25 million development will host approximately 200 employees the company plans to hire in the next few years.

The new hires will benefit from a larger company cafeteria, additional wellness facilities and several outdoor decks and patios. Campus amenities will encourage customer interaction, as the new spaces will be able to host more visitors.

“After months of planning, we are excited to begin construction of what will become the main building on our campus. The construction of this new building is yet another sign to our customers, employees, business partners and the community of our commitment to growth and to Northeast Ohio,” Tony Mercurio, president & CEO of National Interstate, said in a prepared statement.

At completion, National Interstate’s Richfield campus will feature 300,000 square feet of office space housing nearly 1,000 employees. For the selection of staff, National Interstate partnered with JobsOhio, a non-profit organization designed to drive job creation and new capital investment throughout the state. Village of Richfield and the Revere School District are also supportive partners of the insurance company’s expansion project.

Image courtesy of National Interstate Insurance Co.

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Parma, Ohio—The Shoppes at Parma, a PECO Real Estate property, is a 750,000 square-foot open air center in the largest suburb of Cleveland that recently announced the reopening of two of its previous stores, Kay Jewelers and American Commodore Tuxedo. Both retailers have remained with the shopping center while everything transformed around them. Now they are moving into new retail space with even better visibility.

The Shoppes at Parma, Ohio

Located on either side of the recently opened Rally House, Kay Jewelers and American Commodore Tuxedo are adjacent to Dick’s Sporting Goods and near the entrance on West Ridgewood Drive. Situated just 8 miles southwest of downtown Cleveland at the intersection of Ridge Road and West Ridgewood Drive, The Shoppes at Parma has become a town center for the community due to its proximity to University Hospitals Parma Medical Center, Parma City Hall, the Parma branch of the Cuyahoga County Library and Parma City School District’s multipurpose Byers field. Traffic counts exceed 50,000 vehicles per day due to its location in the densely populated area south of I-480, between I-71 and I-77.

The Shoppes at Parma is in the middle of a multi-phase redevelopment. Anchored by J.C. Penney and Dick’s Sporting Goods, the shopping center features specialty retailers, services and a wide variety of dining options. Gordmans, Walmart Supercenter and Marc’s grocery store are amongst the most recent tenants. The shopping center is also preparing to welcome new stores such as ULTA, Shoe Dept. Encore, rue21, Five Guys and Pearle Vision. In addition to the new tenants, The Shoppes at Parma now has an online presence at www.shoppesatparmaoh.com.

Founded a century ago as a single storefront, Kay Jewelers has grown to more than 1,100 stores from coast-to-coast and today is the number one jewelry store in America. American Commodore Tuxedo is a cooperative of family-owned and operated businesses serving the community with men’s formalwear in a selection of tuxedo and suit rentals.

“Both Kay Jewelers and American Commodore Tuxedo are dedicated to the special occasions in our lives. We are happy that they are getting a fresh look in a new location to celebrate their ongoing commitment to The Shoppes at Parma,” said Michelle Devlin, general manager for The Shoppes at Parma, in a prepared statement.

In 2012, Phillips Edison & Co. purchased the former Parmatown Mall after it had been placed in receivership. The company redeveloped the property as an open air retail shopping destination with a new name, The Shoppes at Parma.

Images courtesy of The Shoppes Parma

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The Forest City Savings and Trust building in Cleveland (image via Google Street View)

Cleveland—Brown Gibbons Lang & Co. Real Estate Advisors (BGL) has completed a $60 million residential and commercial mixed-use financing for Snavely Group. The multi-faceted financing will support the adaptive reuse conversion of the former historic Forest City Savings and Trust building, as well as the ground-up development of a high-end, market-rate apartment community in Cleveland.

The development will be located at the intersection of West 25th Street and Detroit Avenue, transforming three of the four corners of the intersection. The financing will allow for the construction of 194 Class A apartment units with premier amenities at the northwest corner, 250 enclosed and secured parking spaces (180 spaces will be underground), second-floor pool and amenity deck, a 1,750-square-foot fitness center, 1,900-square-foot community room and a 1,500-square-foot boutique grocery and convenience store.

The converted version of the Forest City Savings and Trust building will feature 38 affordable units, 36 surface parking spaces, 12,600 square feet of office space for The Beauty Shoppe, 7,000 square feet of restaurant space, 11,000 square feet of additional office/retail space on the east end of the complex and a 19,000-square-foot arts-and-culture nonprofit school called The Music Settlement. Scheduled to open in late summer 2017, the school will serve approximately 150 early childhood program students, 75 music and music therapy students and have about 50 employees. According to cleveland.com data, studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments will range from 500 to 1,100 square feet. Rents are planned to range from $1,000 to $2,500 a month.

One of the future buildings at the intersection of West 25th St. and Detroit Ave.

The financing consisted of senior construction debt, subordinated bridge debt, municipal city and state agency debt, New Markets Tax Credit Equity and sponsor equity. Financial institutions including First Merchants Bank, Citizens Bank, First National Bank, Enterprise Community Loan Fund and Cleveland Development Advisors, as well as multiple city and state agencies such as the City of Cleveland, Village Capital and Cuyahoga County were represented in the transaction. Capital One, Cleveland Finance Fund and Cleveland Development Advisors were involved with the New Markets Tax Credit Equity structuring and syndication.

“BGL’s strong industry relationships and real-time market knowledge were instrumental in achieving the financial closing. In today’s ever-changing financial climate, BGL’s ability to navigate obstacles and foresee future problems defines their ability to add value to the real estate development process,” said Peter Snavely Jr. from Snavely Group.

BGL specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory services, debt and equity placements, financial restructuring advice, valuations and fairness opinions.

Just last month, BGL secured $81 million in financing for the conversion of the historic Standard Building in Cleveland into high-end apartments.

Image courtesy of cleveland.com and via Google Street View

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William Anderson, VP, Atwell

Cleveland—Atwell, a national consulting, engineering and construction services company, has appointed Thomas Lucey as director of land development in the firm’s Cleveland office. In his new role, Lucey will provide strategic leadership support, while expanding Atwell’s services throughout the Midwest.

With nearly 30 years of experience, the new director has previously served as a leader and manager for engineers, architects, contractors as well as vendors, overseeing development projects across the country. Prior to joining Atwell, he founded Sunzera, a New York-based developer of private solar energy facilities, where he also served as principal. Other roles include senior partner at APD Engineering & Architecture, a company focused on land development projects and senior associate at The Sear Brown Group, a large multi-discipline/multi-office engineering company.

“We are excited to have Tom join our team. His land development knowledge and experience and ability in tackling complex, multi-faceted projects at the local, regional and national level will serve our clients well,” Atwell VP, William Anderson, said in prepared remarks.

Lucey holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Syracuse University.

Image via LinkedIn

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American Greetings Headquarters, Westlake, Ohio

Cleveland—Berkadia has recently announced the $92 million financing of American Greetings’ new headquarters in Westlake, Ohio. The company’s senior managing director of the Cleveland office, Mark Vogel, secured the loan through Bank of America Merrill Lynch on behalf of the Ohio-based borrower, H&L Property Co. The 10-year loan has a 4.8 percent fixed interest rate, a 65 percent loan-to-value ratio and a 25-year amortization schedule. The deal was completed October 5^th.

The opening of American Greetings’ new headquarters in Westlake, Ohio

American Greeting’s new main office is located on a 13.5-acre lot at 1 American Road in Crocker Park, just twenty miles from downtown Cleveland. The American Greetings Creative Studios, as the new headquarters is called, encompasses 600,000 square feet of office space and 60,000 square feet of first-floor retail. The building houses nearly 1,600 employees that used to work out of a 1.6 million-square-foot space in Brooklyn, Ohio.

“This was a cutting-edge financing only made possible with the efforts of a lot of smart people. It took over six months of hard work,” said Vogel.

Founded in 1906, the company’s major greeting card lines are American Greetings, Carlton Cards, Gibson, Recycled Paper Greetings and Papyrus. Other paper product offerings include party goods, gift-wraps and boxed cards. According to Berkadia, American Greetings generates annual revenue of approximately $1.9 billion.

Images courtesy of Berkadia via Bliss Integrated Communication

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Click on image to enlarge.

As a component of the slow-growth Rust Belt, Cleveland’s multifamily rent levels have historically lagged the national rate. However, despite recording a below average 3.1 percent year-over-year rent growth through August 2016, the metro is displaying relatively stable fundamentals.

The Weston/Citymark project, the nuCLEus high-rise and the 925 Building renovation—three Downtown investments that add up to more than $1 billion in value—are on the verge of redefining the city’s skyline and adding 2,300 units to Cleveland’s multifamily stock. As skilled Millennials and downsizing Baby Boomers are renting more and more in downtown Cleveland and surrounding submarkets, old office buildings are being converted to upscale residential or mixed-use properties. The hospitality industry was boosted by this summer’s Republican National Convention and the Cavaliers’ National Basketball Association championship. The education and health services sector continues to add consistent numbers of highly paid jobs, easing the city’s transition from a postindustrial center to a diversified economy.

Taking into account the city’s still-shrinking population, multifamily fundamentals are promising. Strong demand has increased occupancy levels by 210 basis points in recent years, development reached cyclical peaks in 2015 and more than 11,500 units are currently in different stages of development.

Read the full report.

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Oatey Co. headquarters in Cleveland

Cleveland—Oatey Co., a global manufacturer and distributor of plumbing and related products, has recently opened its new 7-acre headquarters on Emerald Parkway Drive. Donley’s Inc. served as the construction manager at risk and Vocon was the designer of the new office.

The two-story facility includes a 2,800-square-foot patio overlooking the Rocky River Reservation. Bordering the Cleveland Metroparks, the mass of the building is constructed from dark bronze and stone, while native plant species are used throughout the landscape. The new facility is a sustainable and energy-efficient space that incorporates a variety of open and closed conference areas. Amenities include multiple indoor cafes, outdoor picnic areas, a fitness suite and an outdoor walking trail. The structure houses 130 people and consolidates office workers and executives from Oatey’s three Cleveland operations.

The project was designed for maximum energy efficiency meeting ASHRAE Standard 189.1 Standard for the Design of High Performance Green Buildings, and it’s also pursuing LEED Silver certification.

Oatey Co. is a 100-year old manufacturing company that employs approximately 800 people globally and has production facilities or sales offices in Canada, China, India and Latin America. Oatey Co. distributes more than 6,000 plumbing products.

Image courtesy of Vocon

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Jim Clark, former EVP, Continental Real Estate Cos.

Columbus, Ohio—NGKF recently completed the acquisition of Columbus-based Continental Realty Ltd., which includes the leasing and property management divisions of Continental Real Estate Cos. The financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. The move will bolster NGKF’s presence in the Midwest, helping drive growth opportunities for the firm’s existing Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus operations.

“The acquisition of Continental Realty Ltd. is a strategic and opportunistic investment in our growth strategy to acquire businesses that are entrepreneurial at the core in key markets, both gateway and secondary,” Michael Sheinkop, president of brokerage services at NGKF, said in prepared remarks. Continental Real Estate Cos.’ development arm is not part of the transaction.

Jim Clark, former executive vice president of Continental Real Estate Cos., will head the office as managing director. Bringing in more than two decades of experience in the field, Clark joined Continental in 2014. Prior to this, he served with Duke Realty for almost 20 years, first as vice president and then as senior vice president.

Clark holds a Master of Science degree in banking and financial services from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in public relations from Ohio State University.

Image via LinkedIn

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AC Hotels by Marriott in Pinecrest, Orange Village, Ohio

Cleveland—DelMonte Hotel Group has announced the development of a 145-key AC Hotel by Marriott in suburban Cleveland. The four-story hotel featuring ground-floor retail space is scheduled to open in the spring of 2018.

Cleveland.com reported back in April that the property is part of the city’s new 58-acre, mixed-use Pinecrest development, which will comprise 400,000 square feet of retail space, 150,000 square feet of office space and 90 residential units in the east side village of Orange.

According to Alexander DelMonte, president of DelMonte Hotel Group, the company will develop and operate the new hotel. “The AC brand is a perfect fit for the Pinecrest development. We believe that the expectations of travelers have grown to include more than just a clean room and our strategy of building hotels within vibrant mixed use communities provides our guests with access to the amenities they are seeking,” added DelMonte in prepared remarks.

Rendering courtesy of AC Hotels by Marriott

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Gordmans store opening at The Shoppes at Parma

by Evelina Croitoru

Cleveland— PECO Real Estate Partners (PREP), a real estate operating and asset management company, has announced that Gordmans opened a 45,000-square-foot anchor store at The Shoppes at Parma in suburban Cleveland.

Gordmans is the latest brand to join the $95 million, 750,000-square-foot redevelopment located in Parma, Ohio. The Shoppes at Parma is already home to retailers such as JCPenney, Walmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Marc’s Stores, among others.

The property located at 8253 W. Ridgewood Drive between Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart features a wide variety of goods and is the fastest expanding retail company in the U.S. The new store is Gordman’s third location in the Cleveland market, following the stores in Aurora and Mentor that opened in 2015.

“The addition of Gordmans to our tenant roster is a huge step in the successful execution of our merchandising strategy for The Shoppes at Parma,” Scott Mitchell, PREP’s senior vice president of leasing, said in a prepared statement.

Image courtesy of PECO Real Estate Partners

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Terminal Tower in Cleveland

Cleveland—Forest City Realty Trust Inc. has announced the sale of the 52-story Terminal Tower to an affiliate of K&D Group. The 597,000-square-foot office building sold for $38.5 million.

Located at 50 Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Terminal Tower has been Forest City’s headquarters since 1997 and will continue as such until the middle of 2018. As the largest tenant, Forest City occupies roughly 250,000 square feet on the building’s lower floors, space which K&D intends to convert into 293 apartments. According to The Plain Dealer, the company will compete for a large state tax credit aimed at restoration and renovation of historic buildings.

Terminal Tower has been the tallest building outside of NYC until 1964 and is part of Cleveland’s Tower City Center, a mixed-use center comprising three high-rise office buildings and a retail shopping center. The building has undergone a four-year, interior and exterior renovation project completed in 2010, which restored its façade and observation deck and added computerized, energy-efficient systems.

Terminal Tower office workers have quick access to restaurants, retail stores, a fitness center and two full service banks, Key Bank and PNC Bank. Nearly 80 percent of Cleveland’s public bus lines end in front of Tower City, which is directly linked through regional rail lines to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, the lakefront, as well as the eastern and western suburbs.

Image courtesy of user EurekaLott via Wikimedia Commons

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Cleveland Standard Building

Cleveland—BGL Real Estate Advisors LLC has completed the arrangement of $81.0 million in development financing for Weston Inc.’s conversion of the historic Standard Building in downtown Cleveland into high-end apartments, BGL announced Tuesday.

The multi-faceted capital structure consists of:

• Senior construction debt;
• Subordinated bridge debt;
• Municipal city and state agency debt;
• Federal and state historic tax credit equity; and
• Weston Inc. GP equity.

The financial institutions included were Huntington National Bank, Fifth Third Bank, First Commonwealth Bank, Peoples Bank and Cleveland Development Advisors, while the Ohio Water Development Authority and Ohio Development Services Agency also were represented in the transaction. Piper Jaffray, the Port of Cleveland, RSM US LLP and Stonehenge Capital were involved with the capital lease and historic tax credit equity structuring and syndication.

Originally built for Standard Bank in the 1920s, the 20-story Standard Building is being converted from its current use as Class B office space into one- and two-bedroom market-rate luxury apartments, with first-floor retail.

“The addition of apartments to Cleveland’s critical mass is important for the development of the city, and this transaction has allowed us to successfully contribute to it,” Weston chairman T.J. Asher said in a prepared statement.

Neither BGL nor Weston provided Commercial Property Executive with requested additional information, such as the current timeline for the redevelopment project.

With employment up 1.8 percent this year in Cleveland, the demand for apartments is strong, according to a second-quarter report from Marcus & Millichap, which notes that “In particular, many corporations are increasing their presence in the downtown area in order to appeal to young professionals seeking a live-play-work lifestyle.”

The report specifically highlights the renovation of numerous older downtown office and retail buildings into high-end rentals and mixed-use spaces. But despite this activity, demand is expected to outpace supply, resulting in tighter vacancy and average rents that continue to climb.

Image via Google Street View

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Salesforce Tower, Indianapolis

Chicago—Hertz Investment Group has acquired a four-property office portfolio totaling 3.1 million square feet from Equity Commonwealth for $416.9 million.

“One of Hertz’ primary growth strategies has been to acquire best-of-class office buildings in the central business districts of midsize markets, and we feel very fortunate to include four such properties in one deal,” Judah Hertz, Hertz founder & chairman, said in a prepared release. “What’s critical is that we remained true to our acquisition strategy and followed our sound financial objectives.”

The acquisition, the largest in Hertz’ history, included the 19-floor North Point, an 878,000-square-foot office complex at 901 Lakeside Ave. in Cleveland, which is currently 78 percent occupied; and the 37-story, 100 E. Wisconsin in Milwaukee, which overlooks the Milwaukee River. The 435,629-square-foot building was 88 percent leased at the time of the sale to a tenant roster that includes Michael Best & Friedrich, Wells Fargo and the Marcus Corp.

Two Indianapolis properties were also included in the sale. The PNC Center, a 650,000-square-foot Class A office building at 101-115 W. Washington St.; and the 48-story, 1 million-square-foot former Chase Tower (recently renamed the Salesforce Tower) at 111 Monument Circle.

With the acquisition, Hertz’s portfolio now consists of 21.7 million square feet of office space in 22 cities and 17 states.

Last month, Equity Commonwealth completed the sale of a 121,901-square-foot office property at 8701 N. Mopac in Austin, Texas, for $21.5 million and year to date, has sold $1.1 billion of assets, inclusive of 27 properties and 7.2 million square feet. The company’s portfolio now consists of 38 properties and 16.9 million square feet.

Image courtesy of Salesforce

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Frank Jackson, mayor, City of Cleveland

Cleveland—Sixteen months after acquiring healthcare intelligence cloud company Explorys, IBM Corp. is angling to land a permanent home for its new subsidiary in the form of a 43,000-square-foot office building. Hemingway Development Co. is hoping to construct, according to a Cleveland Plain Dealer article. The project’s future hinges on a decision by the Cleveland City Council on incentives for the planned office destination.

Hemingway proposes to build an office structure at 10500 Cedar Ave., right next to the renowned Cleveland Clinic. Local officials are clearly game. In July, a City Council ordinance called for authorization for the director of Economic Development to apply for a HUD 108 Empowerment Zone loan totaling as much as $4.9 million to help Hemingway with the construction of the office property. Additionally, the Office of Mayor Frank Jackson is recommending 10 years of 60 percent tax abatement on the $11.1 million project’s construction, according to the Plain Dealer article, which also notes that a green-light on an incentive package will pave the way for Explorys to lease the entire building with an option to expand the facility to 80,000 square feet.

The City Council is scheduled to consider the incentive package and give it the thumbs up—or thumbs down—Wednesday, August 10.

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The former Rolling Acres Mall in Akron, Ohio

Akron, Ohio—The Akron City Council recently approved a plan to seek bids to demolish the dilapidated Rolling Acres Mall, the Akron Beacon Journal reports. The city allocated $450,000 for the demolition, which could be completed within the next three months.

Originally developed by Forest City Enterprises, the 1.3 million-square-foot mall opened in August 1975 and officially closed in 2008, with the last retailer leaving late-2013. Last month, after several failed public auctions, the city of Akron became owner of the interior of the mall, now owning approximately 277,000 square feet of building and 54 acres of land. Five adjacent buildings, all former department stores, belong to private owners, including JCPenney.

Several ideas for the future of the site have been discussed, but officials have not yet announced a timeline and exact destination of the large lot. Proposed projects include retail, housing and a youth sports complex. Late-June, the local publication also reported that a group of investors from China have expressed their interest in the site, which could be developed into a light manufacturing hub.

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