Regions

Wereldhave USA, a unit of a Dutch real estate property company, now owns the only two Class A, high-rise office towers to be built in downtown San Diego in the last 17 years after acquiring the 15-story DiamondView Tower for $161 million. The 305,255-square-foot tower, adjacent to Petco Park and located at 350 Tenth Ave., was sold by a partnership of Cisterra Partners, which developed the building, and The Prudential. The project broke ground in June 2005 and its first two tenants, Cox Communications/Channel 4 Studios and San Diego Interconnect Operated by Cox Media had moved in by late March,…

After 15 years of leasing space in the Nowlin Tower, San Antonio-based Southwest Business Corp. opted to purchase the building for $38.5 million from Newport Beach-based Buchanan Street Partners. Located at 9311 San Pedro, the 13-story multi-tenant Class A office building has 236,400 square feet. Valued at $26 million by the Bexar County Central Appraisal District, Nowlin Tower and the adjoining five-level parking structure were constructed in 1986 on 3.3 acres. The is located near San Antonio International Airport. The building won San Antonio BOMA’s “Building of the Year” award in 2007. The property underwent extensive capital improvements including a…

A 232-acre parcel of land in Jackson Township, Pa., will soon become home to household and special products manufacturer Church & Dwight Co.’s new Arm & Hammer integrated laundry detergent manufacturing plant and distribution center, now that ground has broken at the York County site. The new 1.1 million-square-foot facility (pictured), to be located about 25 miles southwest of Scranton and 100 miles north of Philadelphia, will allow Church & Dwight to bring all five of its Central New Jersey operations under one green roof. The price tag on the entire project, from land acquisition to build-out, is $170 million….

Located on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the El Capitan Building–where Disney premieres each of its new movie releases–was listed for sale Wednesday with an initial price tag of $31 million. The building (pictured), located at 6834-6838 Hollywood Blvd., is being sold by its owner, CUNA Mutual Group and will be marketed by CB Richard Ellis Inc. The six-story, 85,000-square-foot, Class A building includes the movie cinema, office space and a retail store. Known as a tourist draw, it is located directly across from the Kodak Theater, where the Academy Awards are presented. The owner renovated the office building with…

Toronto-based FirstService Corp.’s acquisition of a 65 percent interest in GVA Williams is a natural pairing and will prove to be a truly symbiotic relationship, according to executives involved in the deal.Terms of the deal, which is expected to close by the end of the month, were not disclosed, but GVA Williams executives will retain the balance of the company’s equity and will continue to run the firm, which will be re-branded as Williams Real Estate, a FirstService Company.One of the leading full-service commercial real estate providers in the New York City and tri-state region, Williams Real Estate will become…

Nine years after originally opening its doors, the new MotorCity Casino Hotel has officially wrapped up its three-year expansion with the completion of its 1,886-seat Sound Board Theater live performance venue. The comprehensive $300 million upgrade by Marian Ilitch, who became the sole owner when she bought out her partners in separate deals totaling over $630 million in 2005, also involved the development of additional gaming space, as well as a new hotel and dining options. MotorCity Casino (pictured) holds the distinction of being Detroit’s only locally owned and operated casino, and is also recognized for its incorporation of the…

Prudential Mortgage Capital Company announced it has closed on a $46.5 million loan in Mexico for Verde Realty. The loan will be pooled with an existing $93 million loan to give the borrower, Verde Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V., a subsidiary of Verde Realty Operating Partnership L.P., a total of $139.5 million in funds. Verde Realty was formed to invest in real estate opportunities close to the border between the United States and Mexico. The $46.5 million loan is an 84 month fixed rate loan. The pooled loans are backed by 22 manufacturing properties in Mexico totaling over 4.7…

Financing to the tune of $55 million has been put in place for the Keswick Park Apartments, a 406-unit multi-family asset in Crofton, Md., about 25 miles northeast of Washington, D.C., and 25 miles south of Baltimore. Acting on behalf of Boston-based borrower Berkshire Property Advisors L.L.C., real estate investment banking and commercial mortgage brokerage firm Johnson Capital orchestrated the financing. The backing came in the form of a seven-year fixed-to-float loan with a 6.11 percent interest rate–through Freddie Mac’s Acquisition-Rehab program. The interest-only financing will be amortized over 30 years following the first four years of the term. “We…

A 1,400-acre master-planned development 20 minutes east of Downtown Dallas has come under new ownership and new plans for the project have emerged. Transcontinental Realty Investors acquired Travis Ranch, which is already under development along Lake Ray Hubbard, from IHP Capital Partners. Located off Highway 80, Travis Ranch existed just a few years ago as a full-fledged ranch owned by former Texas Governor Bill Clements, whose home is still on the site. Transcontinental is planning to erect a regional shopping center and a multi-family residential community on a portion of the property centering on a natural lagoon. The commercial and…

Carmel Partners Inc., acting through its Carmel Partners Investment Fund III L.P., has added a 230-unit multi-family property in Fairfax, Va., to its portfolio by taking Avera Station off the hands of Atlanta-based Beazer Homes in a $65.8 million transaction. The Northern Virginia property, completed only two months ago at a cost of approximately $50 million, was originally conceived as a condominium development, but under the ownership of Carmel Partners, it has undergone a change in name and property type. Avera Station is now Carmel Vienna Metro and is being marketed as an apartment community. Fund III closed in October…