Happy Friday to All!

Avison Young acquires Madison Marquette’s retail services, a company builds a 96-unit building in Florida using Lego-like blocks, and Atlanta’s Flatiron building hits the market. Inflation comes in above expectation for December, oil prices creep up following U.S. and U.K. joint air strikes, Bitcoin rallies above $49K before plunging, and Google files notices for layoffs

Note: Yes, I owe you all a debt survey will work on finalizing it this weekend while I’m trapped in a blizzard

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Capital Markets

Market News

• Inflation Comes In Hotter Than Expected

  December CPI numbers came out Thursday, with a month-over-month increase of 0.3% and year-over-year increase of 3.4%. Estimates had projected a 0.2% monthly increase and 3.2% annual increase. Core CPI, excluding food and energy, had an annual increase of 3.9%, beating estimates of 3.8%. Core CPI rose 0.3% month-over-month, in line with projections. The results cast doubt as to when and how many rate cuts the Fed might issue this year

• Bitcoin Rally Tops $49K Thanks To ETF Approvals

  Bitcoin broke $49,000 briefly on Thursday following a rally as bitcoin spot ETFs began trading. Bitcoin started the day below $46,000 before rallying to $49,000 and then ending below $46,000 once more

• Oil Price Rise Following U.S./U.K. Strikes on Houthis

  Oil prices rose after Britain and the United States carried out military strikes against targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. Brent and WTI futures climbed 2.25% and 2.4% to $79.15 and $73.75 per barrel. The Houthis had been attacking cargo ships in the Red Sea, targeting those from the U.S. and Israel, in retaliation for the war in Gaza. Major shipping companies stopped traversing the Suez Canal and Red Sea routes in December, rerouting via southern Africa instead. The longer and more expensive routes have pushed up ocean freight rates

• Google Layoffs Announced

  Google had previously announced a reorganization impacting 30,000 jobs thanks to advancements in A.I. On Wednesday, the company filed notices for mass layoffs in the Bay Area which are expected to begin March 10 and run through October. The company is laying off a few hundred employees from several teams: design and services, knowledge and information products, core engineering and Google Assistant

CRE Headlines

• Avison Young Acquires Madison Marquette Retail Business Lines

  Toronto-based Avison Young has acquired Madison Marquette’s retail property management, retail marketing, retail leasing and specialty leasing services across the U.S. The acquisition adds 35-plus team members including, property management, property accounting, marketing, market intelligence, agency leasing and specialty leasing professionals. The teams will integrate with Avison Young’s markets in Los Angeles, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Indiana, Arkansas, Maryland, Virginia, Atlanta, Florida and add a new market in Seattle

• Apartments Made of Legos

  Coastal Construction completed a 96-unit apartment building in Palm Springs, FL using Lego-like bricks called Renco. The blocks are made of a fully recyclable mix of repurposed glass and plastic, calcite dust, and resin. Renco has been licensed and approved for construction in the U.S. has undergone over 400 tests to ensure structural integrity and safety. The material is rated to withstand a Category 5 storm. Compared to a conventional project built with concrete, the apartment building was built 20% faster and 20% cheaper. Most surprising, was that 11 unskilled workers were able to build the entire asset in under two months with basic tools and a color-coded manual

• Atlanta’s Flatiron Building Hits The Market

  You might think that’s a typo, its not. Based on a quick Wikipedia search, Atlanta’s Flatiron building, now known as FlatironCity, was built in 1897, five years before New York’s Flat Iron building in 1902. Lucror Resources has listed the 11-story Atlanta historic building for sale after acquiring it for close to $2M in 2014 and investing ~$12M in renovations. The building is 67% leased and is now a hub for startups

Deals Deals Deals

Sales

• Life Sciences: Breakthrough Properties acquired a 65% stake in Callan Ridge, a two-building life science campus development in San Diego, CA from Healthpeak Properties. The transaction valued the stabilized asset at $236M and represented a 5.3% cap rate

• Multifamily: Weidner Apartment Homes acquires a 288-unit multifamily asset in Mesa, AZ from Alliance Residential 

• Office: J Street Space acquires Tower 180, a 386K sf office tower in San Diego, CA to convert into hotel, retail, and residential uses by mid-2026

• Industrial: Berkeley Partners acquires three industrial assets in Boston, MA for $30M from Stockbridge Real Estate

Debt

• Multifamily: Namdar Group secures a $160M construction loan and a $80M bridge loan from SCALE Lending for two separate multifamily assets in Jersey City, NJ

• Hospitality: Doradus Partners lands a $41M bridge loan from Peachtree Group to refinance the 181-key Home2 Suites by Hilton Charlotte Uptown in Charlotte, NC

• Multifamily: Palladium Group secures a $25M loan from Thorofare Capital to refinance a 71-unit multifamily asset in Philadelphia, PA

Developments

• Senior Housing: Conifer Realty and Community Preservation Partners obtain $571M in financing for the redevelopment of a 526-unit apartment complex in Rochester, NY into an affordable senior housing

• Multifamily: Gold Coast Florida Regional Center secures a $133M loan to refinance a mixed-use asset in Hollywood, FL

• Hospitality: Left Lane to open Hotel Bardo Savannah, a 149-room resort in Savannah, GA

• Multifamily: WinnDevelopment secures funding for The Westcott, a $69M, 114-unit multifamily community development south of Salem, MA. The asset is expected to be completed in mid-2025 and was financed with a combination of LIHTC, American Rescue Plan Funds, and other agencies

• Industrial: Constellation Real Estate Partners acquired a 26-acre site in Houston, TX to a 537K sf speculative warehouse

• Industrial: A JV between PCCP and Midwest Industrial Funds broke ground on a 337K sf speculative industrial facility in Jacksonville, FL. Completion is scheduled for December. The developer acquired the land for $3.5M and obtained a $19M construction loan from CIBC Bank 

Distress

• Retail/Office: Rialto Capital Advisors on behalf of a CMBS trust, files a pre-foreclosure complaint on Metropole Realty Advisors’ 681 Fifth Ave in New York, NY. Metropole took out a $215M CMBS loan in 2016 when the asset was 91% leased. Since then, occupancy has dropped to 52% with the owner not making interest payments since July

Leasing

• Industrial: Maersk signs a 1.2M sf lease at Westcore’s 8140 Caliente Road in Hesperia, outside of Los Angeles, CA

• Office: The Department of Defense signs a 15-year, 46K sf lease at PRP’s 4825 Mark Center Drive in the D.C. area

Meme Summary

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