Scott Baltic
Scott Baltic has been a contributing editor with Commercial Property Executive since 2011 and also wrote for its predecessor, Commercial Property News. He started writing about CRE in 1988 for a group of Chicago-based publications and in 1989 became the editor of Midwest Real Estate News. After moving on from there in 1991, Baltic continued writing occasionally about real estate, for publications like the Chicago Sun-Times, National Real Estate Investor, Urban Land, Shopping Center World and Architect’s Newspaper. He earned a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and has a bachelor’s from North Park University.
Merger of Drugstore Giants Changes Course
Under the new $5.2 billion deal, Walgreens Boots Alliance will purchase 2,186 stores from Rite Aid Co., along with three distribution centers and related inventory.
Silicon Valley Project Lands $79M Construction Loan
Development on Broadway Station will start in the third quarter, with delivery expected in the summer of 2019. Chan Zuckerberg Initiative already preleased the entire building.
The Domain Thrives in Austin
TIER REIT is about to begin construction on a 324,000-square-foot, 16-story office building within the booming live-work-play community on the city’s northwest side.
Belay Investment JV Bets $70M on Portland
Belay Investment Group and L&L Investment Partners plan to purchase and reposition Portland office, multifamily and mixed-use properties. As its first investment, the JV acquired an asset comprising two 1940s-era warehouses in the city’s Guild’s Lake submarket.
HTI to Buy Sibling’s Portfolio for $120M
Following the transaction’s closing, American Realty Capital Healthcare Trust III expects to liquidate and dissolve. The sale comprises 19 properties totaling approximately 468,000 square feet.
DDR, Madison International Recap $1B Retail Portfolio
The joint venture refinanced 52 grocery-anchored shopping centers totaling 7 million square feet. The properties are predominantly located in Florida and elsewhere in the Southeast.
Final Deal Inked for $1.6B Penn Station Addition
The project’s centerpiece will be the conversion of the century-old James A. Farley mail sorting room in Midtown Manhattan into the 255,000-square-foot Moynihan Train Hall.
Paramount Lands $300M Refi for Manhattan Asset
The REIT engaged Eastdil Secured to arrange the financing for 712 Fifth Ave., a 52-story, 543,000-square-foot Class A office tower in the Plaza District.
NYC Towers to Undergo Ambitious Upgrades
The buildings completed in the 1920s and 30s total 1.1 million square feet and sit not far from the massive Hudson Yards development.
CBRE to Buy Majority Stake in Caledon
Caledon manages some $7 billion of assets for institutional investors through a combination of direct investments and primary funds. Closing is expected to occur later this year, subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.