News
Summit Hotel Properties to Buy Five New Orleans Hotels for $135M
Publicly traded REIT Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. has announced entering a definitive purchase agreement for a five-hotel portfolio in Louisiana. The properties, all located in the Greater New Orleans Area, are expected to be purchased for approximately $135 million.
Skanska USA Commercial Development’s First Seattle Effort Holds Groundbreaking
Stone34 was designed to become a door opener for the Burke-Gilman Trail, and will serve a diverse population for the area. It features ground floor retail and four levels of office space totaling 129,000 square feet. 8,500 square feet of outdoor pedestrian area are included in the building plans. The ambiance will be secured through wide sidewalks, group seating, plaza spaces and bike rails designed by landscape architect Swift & Company. The ground floor spaces arranged by Skanska were an essential design feature for Stone34’s anchor tenant, Brooks Sports Inc.
Akron’s Key Building to Hit the Auction Block; Canton’s Huntington Plaza Sold to Ameritrust
One of downtown Akron’s landmark office towers will soon hit the auction block. The Key Building will be offered at a public auction in late February through Auction.com.
The 11-story building was constructed in 1911. It sits on 0.42 acres at 159 S. Main St. According to Auction.com, the former KeyBank Building was 29.95% occupied as of October 31, 2012. It has 158,259 square feet of rentable space. In 1988, the building underwent renovations. The property is located next to many city attractions. Lock 3 Park, John S. Knight Center, and Canal Park are all nearby.
DunnhumbyUSA Breaks Ground on New Downtown Cincinnati HQ
DunhumbyUSA broke ground on Thursday, January 31, on its new headquarters building at Fifth and Race streets in downtown Cincinnati. Hundreds of people were present at the ground breaking ceremony. Among them, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory and other city, state and company officials.
Dubbed the ”Dunnhumby Centre”, the new building will cost $122 million to build. It will sit in the heart of downtown and will have 280,000 square feet of office space, 30,000 square feet of street-level retail space and an above and below ground parking garage with 1,000 spaces.
Economy Watch Weekly: A Tepid Start to the New Year
CPE’s economic analyst, Dees Stribling, gives his update for the week ending Feb. 1, including an analysis of the tepid performance in jobs, GDP and consumer confidence.
Starwood Capital’s Group Du Louvre Sells Four Leading Hotels in France
Starwood Capital Group’s Groupe Du Louvre has sold four premier luxury hotels in France as part of the company’s ongoing plan to monetize the GDL hotel portfolio.
Highwoods Sells Two Assets for $14.6M; Kite Realty Buys Publix-Anchored Center
Raleigh-based Highwoods Properties, Inc. has sold two non-core assets in Orlando for $14.6 million in cash. The two office properties—Metrowest Commerce Center and Cambridge in Orlando—encompass 134,000 square feet.
Dudley Square Affordable Housing Project Awarded MassDevelopment Bond
Two residential projects planned for Boston’s thriving Roxbury neighborhood have received $9 million in tax exemptions from MassDevelopment, the stat’s finance and development agency, who issued the bond on behalf of Dudley Greenville LLC.
Plum Creek-Rockefeller JV Envisions Inland Ports, Manufacturing, Office Uses for 4,700 Acres
Plum Creek Timber Co., of Seattle, and New York’s Rockefeller Group have signed a memorandum of understanding “to evaluate and pursue joint venture development projects” on 4,722 acres of land in the U.S. Southeast. The tracts are intended for commercial development, including manufacturing and distribution facilities, as well as inland ports and office buildings.
NAP Breaks Ground on $600M Avalon Mixed-Use Development in Alpharetta
Nine months after the ambitious Avalon mixed-use development finally got the approval of the Alpharetta City Council, developer North American Properties is now one step closer to deliver what it fondly calls “the Southeast’s preeminent experiential development”.