Adriana Pop
Adriana Pop is a senior editor with Commercial Property Executive and Multi-Housing News. She joined CPE and MHN in 2012, with an academic background in economics, English and Italian. She currently curates the CPE Sneak Peek newsletter, highlighting noteworthy stories and emerging topics for readers. Connect with her at adriana.pop@cpe-mhn.com or on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ioana-adriana-pop-811772108/.
Hilton Worldwide to Open First Dual-Branded Property in France
Hilton Worldwide plans to develop its first dual-branded property in France. Located near Disneyland Paris in Val d’Europe, the dual-branded Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton by Hilton Val d’Europe will also be the first development of its kind in Europe.
Local Investor Group Acquires 188,000SF Office, Storage, Industrial Space in Indianapolis
Private investor group Alcatraz Investments, LLC has acquired the 188,000-square-foot Indianapolis Enterprise Center on the near-east side of the city. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The facility features office as well as storage and industrial space, and serves small business customers in the downtown Indianapolis market. Alcatraz Investments now plans to upgrade the property, which has experienced four years of deferred maintenance. Scott Meyers, the company’s principal, has owned the center once before, from 2005 to 2007. “We’re genuinely excited about the opportunity to add this property back into our portfolio, having sold it back in 2007,” said Meyers. “The timing was perfect, as demand for storage and Industrial space is growing in this market, and the need for small, affordable office space has never been greater than during the recession.”
Northwestern Mutual Unveils Plans for $300M Downtown HQ
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance has announced plans for a $300 million, 840,000-square-foot office tower in Downtown Milwaukee. Pending city approvals, construction could be complete by 2017. The project is contingent on $48 million in tax increment financing. The new high-rise would replace Northwestern Mutual’s 34-year-old headquarters, the 451,964-square-foot, 16-story East Building at North Cass and East Mason streets (pictured). That facility currently houses about 1,100 employees. Northwestern Mutual expects to release renderings of the proposed tower by mid-2013.
Waihonua at Kewalo High-Rise Receives Financing
Alexander & Baldwin has announced that a portion of the $206 million cost of the planned Waihonua condominium high-rise in Honolulu will be financed through a $120 million construction loan from First Hawaiian Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Bank of Hawaii and Central Pacific Bank. Alexander & Baldwin’s subsidiary Waimanu Development L.L.C. is part of a consortium developing the high-rise under the name Kewalo Development L.L.C. and also including N1189 L.L.C., Armstrong Homes Ltd. and BSC Waihonua L.L.C., which is owned by BlackSand Capital Management, according to the Pacific Business News.
City of Raleigh Approves Dorothea Dix Lease Agreement to Create Urban Park
The Raleigh City Council’s lease of the Dorothea Dix Hospital campus will enable the city to move forward with its plan to reconvert the 325-acre property into an urban park. The city council has agreed to lease the Dorothea Dix Hospital campus from the State of North Carolina for up to 99 years. The lease agreement will be executed by the end of the year. “The plan is the most appropriate way of preserving this open space as a park, while at the same time providing revenue to the state,” Gov. Bev Perdue said in a news release. Under the terms of the agreement, the city will pay the state a rate of $500,000 annually, plus a 1.5 percent yearly increase over the length of the lease term.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Opens First Le Méridien Hotel in Mexico City
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Trinity Investments and Terra Investments have announced the opening of the first Le Méridien Hotel in Mexico City.
Sheraton Hotels & Resorts Completes $230M Renovation of Hawaiian Properties
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. has announced the completion of an approximately $230 million renovation of four of its Sheraton properties in Hawaii. The multi-year revitalization project included the $188 million renewal of the Sheraton Waikiki resort on Oahu. The 31-floor hotel features 1,636 renovated rooms, new landscaping and pools, redesigned convention facilities, as well as new restaurants and bars.
Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and the properties’ owners also invested $6.5 in the renovation of the 508-room Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa, $16 million in the improvement of the 394-room Sheraton Kauai Resort, and $20 million in the remodeling of the Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa at Keauhou Bay.
New York Opportunity Fund to Spend $17M on Acquisition, Rehab of Vacant Downtown Building
LRC Opportunity Fund of New York plans to purchase and renovate the vacant 10-story office building at 227 Fayetteville in Raleigh. According to the NewsObserver, the company expects to close on the sale by the end of the year. “Our plans are to do a total renovation,” Edward Kulik, a co-founder of LRC, told the newspaper. The investor intends to renovate the building’s façade while retaining some of the 1960s materials. Plans also call for a retail portion on the ground floor. The building has been on the market since a 50-year lease agreement between a branch of Wachovia bank and the owners of the land expired on Jan. 31, 2011. LRC expects to spend around $17 million on the acquisition and renovation of the property.
HVMG Opens New Hampton Inn & Suites in Greater Pittsburgh
Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG) of Atlanta has announced the opening of a Hampton Inn & Suites property along the Waterfront in West Homestead, just seven miles from downtown Pittsburgh. It is the fourth hotel the company manages in the Greater Pittsburgh area. The new Hampton Inn & Suites/Waterfront-West Homestead features 113 rooms including 33 suites, 1,000 square feet of meeting space, an indoor swimming pool and a 1,500-square-foot outdoor terrace and deck. Amenities include free hot breakfast, free parking, 24-hour business center, access to the on-site fitness center and free high-speed Internet in each guest room.
Pergo Distribution Center in Garner Sells for $8M
Exeter Property Group has acquired the Pergo distribution center in the Greenfield business park in Garner for $8 million. According to the Triangle Business Journal, the property was sold by four family trust groups working through First American Exchange Co., an intermediary for 1031 tax-deferred real estate exchanges. CBRE Raleigh’s J.D. “Butch” Miller, managing director and Ann-Stewart Patterson, senior associate, represented First American in the transaction. The distribution center was built in 2002 and offers 175,230 square feet of warehouse space coupled with 4,770 square-feet of office space on a nearly 11-acre lot. It is fully leased to Pergo, a widely known laminate flooring manufacturer. In May 2012, CBRE renewed the Pergo lease on behalf of the landlord.