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Tag: commercial real estate

Colliers to manage, lease City Center at Oyster Point

Colliers will be the leasing and management company for City Center at Oyster Point in Newport News, Florida-based real estate investment firm Murphy Property Group announced last week.

Colliers will manage nearly 600,000 square feet across nine buildings. City Center, which is 52 acres, serves as sort of a central downtown area for Newport News and is a high-density, mixed-use development zoned for 250,000 square feet of retail, 1 million feet of Class A office space and 600 residences. MPG purchased the portfolio in 2021, and their holdings include nearly 450,000 square feet of Class A office space and more than 100,000 square feet of retail space.

“We have seen a trend where companies are moving to Class A mixed-use submarkets as a way to encourage employees to get back to the office,” Perry Frazer, executive vice president, said in a statement. “Amenity-rich Class A offices are in high demand as recruiting and retention are critical to companies moving forward in 2023. City Center checks all the boxes as a vibrant, active, walkable community filled with best-in-class companies.”

Colliers’ Frazer, Brian Davidson and Robbie Berndt will handle office leasing. Harrison Hall, Peter Vick, Tyler Brooks and Maddy Spear will handle retail leasing. Todd Willett and Jessica Poyner will lead full-service property management.

Fredericksburg medical building sells for $6.85M

A medical office building in Fredericksburg sold for $6.85 million, Charlotte, North Carolina-based outpatient health care real estate firm Flagship Healthcare Properties LLC announced Wednesday.

Built in 2007, the 16,483-square-foot medical office building is located at 1071 Care Way, adjacent to the 450-bed Mary Washington Hospital. The building is 100% leased to the Rappahannock Women’s Health Center and the Laboratory Corporation of America (Labcorp).

“Market-leading tenants, quality of the real estate and location adjacent to the campus of Mary Washington Hospital just checked all the boxes,” Gerald Quattlebaum, Flagship’s executive vice president of acquisitions, said in a statement.

Flagship Healthcare Properties bought the property through its real estate investment trust, Flagship Healthcare Trust Inc. Jim Kornick and Joe French from Avison Young represented the seller, which Flagship declined to disclose. PA & Associates LLC owned the property, according to Fredericksburg property records.

Flagship Healthcare Properties manages more than 5.3 million square feet of health care real estate in more than 240 properties with over 580 tenants. The portfolio of Flagship Healthcare Trust Inc., or Flagship REIT, includes 2.48 million square feet of medical office space and 300 tenants.

Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer promotes marketing director

Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer has promoted Kristan Cole to vice president of marketing and brokerage services, the commercial real estate company announced Jan. 9.

Cole will lead the firm’s overall marketing strategy as well as provide leadership and oversight of Thalhimer’s research, design, communications and brokerage services teams.

“Kristan’s ability to initiate creative solutions to support our brokerage and property management teams is invaluable,” Executive Vice President Eric Robison said in a statement. “She is keenly aware of the resources available on our platform and promotes executing our business with a best-in-class approach to marketing across all of our business lines.  She is a tremendous talent and we look forward to her continued growth at Thalhimer.”

Cole, who joined the firm in July 2021 as marketing director, has 18 years of strategic and creative marketing experience in real estate and higher education. Since joining the firm, she has combined the marketing and brokerage services teams into one department, upgraded Thalhimer’s website, established and executed multiple business development initiatives, overseen automated marketing efforts and established revenue-generating opportunities for the marketing department, according to a news release announcing her promotion.

She is active in Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Richmond, serving as chair of the organization’s network liaison committee and previously served on the philanthropy committee. She has a bachelor’s degree in creative advertising from Virginia Commonwealth University.

 

 

 

Va. Beach office building sells for $15.5M

Charlottesville-based Seminole Trail Management LLC is the new owner of Pinehurst Centre, a 99,337-square-foot office building in Virginia Beach, Colliers announced Jan. 9.

Virginia Beach-based real estate developer Robinson Development Group sold the four-story, Class A office building to Seminole Trail for $15.5 million. The office is located at 477 Viking Drive in the Lynnhaven area. RDG acquired the building in June 2000.

Tenants include Financial Security Group, Progressive Casualty Insurance and Davenport & Co.

Colliers’ Will Bradley and Mark Williford represented the seller.

Nat’l Science Teaching Assoc.’s Arlington HQ sells for $14M

The Arlington headquarters of the National Science Teaching Association has sold for $14 million, CBRE announced Thursday.

Washington, D.C.-based The Fortis Cos., a real estate development and investment company, purchased the 48,000-square-foot building at 1840 Wilson Blvd. The transaction also includes two on-site restaurants: Rhodeside Grill at 1836 Wilson Blvd. and Il Radicchio at 1801 Clarendon Blvd.

The building is flour floors and has an underground parking garage with 136 spaces and is less than a quarter mile from the Courthouse Metro station.

CBRE represented NSTA in the transaction, led by Dean Stiles and John Sheridan.

Roanoke custom printing company buys building for $1.65M

Roanoke-based custom screen-printing and embroidery company Press Press Merch LLC purchased a Roanoke County building for $1.65 million as its new business location, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer reported Wednesday.

Press Press Merch bought the 32,926-square-foot property at 4721 Starkey Road, just outside the city, from Starkey Road Properties LLC.

The company also makes posters, postcards, stickers and other promotional products.

Barry Ward, Bill Poe and Price Gutshall of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the sale negotiations on behalf of the seller.

Franklin Johnston Group sees father-son succession

The Franklin Johnston Group, has promoted W. Taylor Franklin to CEO, succeeding his father, Wendell Franklin, who has become chairman, the Virginia Beach-based real estate development, investment and management firm announced last week.

Taylor Franklin previously served as the firms’ chief operating officer and Wendell Franklin served as CEO for the past decade.

The Franklins, Steve Cooper and Tom Johnston left Norfolk real estate firm S.L. Nusbaum in 2013 to co-found The Franklin Johnston Group. As chairman, Wendell Franklin will be less involved in day-to-day decision making and instead will seek to leverage his institutional and industry knowledge to facilitate dialogue and perspective around the company’s short- and long-term goals, Taylor Franklin told Virginia Business.

As COO, Taylor Franklin oversaw company operations, new business and partnership acquisitions and new development opportunities. The firm had nearly 500 employees in Virginia in 2022 and nearly 600 across seven states. As CEO, Taylor Franklin will continue to focus on building the company’s brand, team, culture and strategic initiatives for all aspects of  TFJG’s management and development business. The firm will not name a new COO, but Taylor Franklin said the move “will give TFJG the opportunity to continue to build upon our development footprint throughout the commonwealth and management presence up and down the East Coast.”

Last year, Taylor Franklin was tapped as the youngest King Neptune in the 48-year history of Virginia Beach’s Neptune Festival. He also serves as vice chair of Norfolk Collegiate’s board of trustees and as a trustee for his alma mater, Virginia Wesleyan University. He is assistant secretary of the Virginia Beach Development Authority and is chairman and president of the Chesapeake Bay Wine Classic Foundation.

 

Exclusive: Colliers names new Va. exec. managing director

Colliers has named Jamie Thomas executive managing director and brokerage market leader for Virginia, effective Monday, the company told Virginia Business.

Thomas, a Richmond native and Virginia Commonwealth University graduate, replaces J. Scott Adams, whose role shifted to prioritize client services and investment sales across Virginia and North Carolina. Adams had been serving as executive managing director since November 2021.

Thomas will oversee brokerage operations, recruitment, retention and business development in Richmond, Norfolk and Charlottesville, overseeing about 60 brokers across the three markets.

He joins Colliers from Commonwealth Commercial Partners LLC, where he led a team of 18 overseeing a large real estate portfolio in Virginia. He has more than 25 years of experience directing commercial real estate operations. He has served as managing partner of GVA Advantis and is the 2023 president of the Greater Richmond Association for Commercial Real Estate (GRACRE). 

“My past experience in both Richmond and Norfolk really led me to be uniquely qualified, knowing the markets, knowing all the people,” Thomas said. His goals, he added, include continuing growth, enhancing office culture and “keeping everybody happy and making sure they have the resources or access to resources that Colliers offers.” He also wants to mentor younger brokers, he said.

Richmond apartments sell for $19.3M

Arlington-based Ritz Banc Group has acquired the Forest Ridge Apartments complex in Richmond from Colony Management for $19.3 million, Colliers announced Jan. 4.

The apartment community has 135 units and is located in the Stratford Hills neighborhood, at 2665 Granite Hills Circle. Most of the units have townhome-style floorplans.

The new owners are planning renovations to the community.

 

Richmond receives 5 proposals for City Center project

Five groups of developers sent in proposals to redevelop Richmond’s newly rebranded City Center Innovation District, a 9.4-acre downtown area that includes the closed Richmond Coliseum, the Richmond Economic Development Authority and the Greater Richmond Convention Center Authority announced Wednesday.

An evaluation panel will assess the five entries and pare them down to a short list this winter, according to the announcement.

The development teams include:

  • Capstone Development LLC, a Maryland-based real estate development company that’s part of the Diamond District redevelopment team;
  • City Center Gateway Partners;
  • Lincoln Property Co., a Dallas-based real estate developer;
  • Richmond Community Development Partners; and
  • Sterling Bilder LLC, a Richmond-based developer.

In November, the two Richmond authorities issued a request for interest to redevelop City Center, with a submission deadline Tuesday to be considered for the project’s first phase. According to the city’s 242-page request for interest (RFI), the plan must include demolition of the Coliseum, which has been closed since 2019, and development of a hotel with at least 500 rooms and meeting space. The City Center Innovation District Small Area Plan suggests adding public green spaces on part of the Coliseum footprint, with a main plaza at the intersection of North 6th and East Clay streets that could “serve as a citywide convening space” for concerts, festivals and ice skating when weather permits. Smaller spaces could be used for outdoor dining, playgrounds or other uses, according to the small area plan, which was released in November 2021.

Capstone Development is part of the RVA Diamond Partners team, which is the joint venture that the city has selected to redevelop the Diamond District, a 67-acre property that includes The Diamond, the Richmond Flying Squirrels’ baseball field.

Richmond Community Development Partners was a finalist for the city’s Diamond District redevelopment project as part of a group that included San Francisco-based commercial real estate company JMA Ventures, Houston-based Machete Group and Tryline Capital, which has offices in Connecticut and New York, the Richmond office of Gilbane Building Co., Richmond-based Davis Brothers Construction Co. and Charlotte, North Carolina-based Odell Associates Inc. It’s not known if the members remain the same for the City Center proposal.

Sterling Bilder’s Joshua Bilder submitted a $1.4 billion proposal to the city in 2019 to redevelop the City Center area, including a $168 million renovation to the Coliseum, an $8 million hotel in the historic Blues Armory building and a $17.4 million apartment complex. Bilder proposed the plan as an alternative to the NH District Corp.’s $1.5 billion Navy Hill proposal to replace the Coliseum, a plan that eventually was rejected by Richmond City Council in early 2020.

A full list of companies and investors making up the development teams vying for the City Center project — including City Center Gateway Partners and RCDP — was not included in Wednesday’s announcement. In late November, the two city authorities hosted an in-person site visit attended by several architecture firms, developers, builders and others, including Baskervill, Capital Square, Capstone, Hourigan Group and W.M. Jordan Co.