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Tag: commercial real estate

Riddle Associates names new president

Riddle Associates, a Chesapeake-based commercial industrial real estate brokerage, promoted Lindsey Riddle Elliott to president and principal broker in November, the brokerage announced Wednesday.

Elliott formerly served as executive vice president and has been with Riddle for 15 years. She replaces her father, Robert L. Riddle, who founded the firm in 1988 and is now semi-retired. The independently owned commercial industrial real estate brokerage company provides services in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. It has five employees and six agents.

Elliott is a 2008 graduate of George Mason University. She earned her Virginia real estate license in 2008 and her broker’s license in 2011. She also earned her North Carolina real estate license in 2021.

Chesterfield shopping center sells for $4.8M

The Corner Shops at Chesterfield Towne Center has a new owner.

Midlothian Pike Investments sold the 8,120-square-foot retail center for $4.8 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer’s Capital Markets Group announced Nov. 22.

1834 East 4 Street LLC purchased the shopping center, located at 11530 Midlothian Turnpike, as an investment as part of a 1031 tax-deferred exchange.

Tenants at the shopping center, located at 11530 Midlothian Turnpike, include Xfinity, Sleep Number, CPR Cell Phone Repair and Compete Dental Care of Richmond.

1834 East 4 Street LLC purchased the center as an investment as part of a 1031 tax-deferred exchange. Clark Simpson and Erik Conradi of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer Capital Markets Group, as well as Ted Levin, also with Thalhimer, handled the sale negotiations on behalf of the seller.

Harvey Lindsay acquires condo management portfolio

Harvey Lindsay Commercial Real Estate acquired a management portfolio of 50 buildings in the Hampton Roads region, the Norfolk-based real estate firm announced Tuesday.

A Harvey Lindsay representative said the financial terms of the acquisition from Norfolk-based leasing and property management company Cavalier Land were confidential. Harvey Lindsay will assume management of the portfolio, which spans 30 associations and 750 condo owners, on Jan. 1, 2024. The majority of the buildings are located in Norfolk, with some in Virginia Beach, according to a Harvey Lindsay representative.

The company will create an association management division and hire two employees currently responsible for association operations, including Adams Darden, Cavalier Land’s common interest community manager, who will join Harvey Lindsay in January as director of association management.

“The condominium and HOA management division gives Harvey Lindsay another way to serve our region and our clients. We have made substantial investments in personnel and technology — making it possible to operate this portfolio to the highest quality standards,” Robert King, president and chairman of Harvey Lindsay, said in a statement.

Founded in 1919, Harvey Lindsay provides brokerage services, asset management and property management in the Hampton Roads region.

One South Commercial to split from One South Realty

Richmond-based One South Commercial will become a standalone firm, splitting from its 15-year partnership with One South Realty Group, the firm announced Wednesday. 

The transition will be complete by early 2024. 

Tom Rosman, director of commercial brokerage, has headed up the commercial division of One South Realty Group since 2008 and will lead the new company.

One of the goals of the new company, he told Virginia Business, is “to create an opportunity to offer ownership stakes to some of the commercial team members.” The firm has 10 brokers and two administrative employees, but it hopes to grow in the next year or so, Rosman said.

The company will still be based in Richmond, but it brokers transactions all over the commonwealth. Rosman said they are searching for a new office space to suit their needs and future goals.

Fed’s Fifth District economy grows slightly

The economy in the Federal Reserve’s Fifth District (a multistate region including Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Maryland) grew slightly in recent weeks, according to the latest edition of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, released Wednesday.

Published eight times per year, the Beige Book is based on anecdotal information about economic conditions gathered from the nation’s 12 Federal Reserve Banks. It is compiled from reports by bank and branch directors, as well as information gathered from business contacts, economists, market experts and other sources. Wednesday’s release is an update from the Fed’s Oct. 18 report.

Here’s what the most recent Beige Book edition revealed about the direction the economy is taking:

Employment in the Fifth District rose moderately in the previous few weeks, although the labor market remained tight. To retain workers, one general contractor reported wage increases as large as 15% for its highest performers. Trucking firms reported that drivers were more readily available but that it remained difficult to hire skilled mechanics.

Year-over-year price growth remained elevated in the latest Beige Book reporting period but moderated slightly. Prices received by service providers increased a little more than 4% compared with last year, down from the peak of about 7%, according to Fed surveys. Prices received by manufacturers increased by just over 2% compared with last year.

Fifth District manufacturers’ reports were mixed. A textile manufacturer reported an increase in demand from clients who had worked through excess inventories that built up during the COVID-19 pandemic. A furniture manufacturer, however, reported the home furniture industry had been in an 18-month recession, and the manufacturer did not expect demand to increase soon. Several respondents reported they had invested in automation to increase productivity and manage costs.

Ports in the Fifth District reported that trade volumes were down in this reporting period. Imports were flat year-over-year but slightly up month-over-month, mainly from increased consumer goods coming in. Exports were down for the most part. Ports did not have issues with container congestion.

Trucking firms saw low underlying demand, particularly on the industrial side, as freight volumes for construction materials were down. Companies reported they had not had issues maintaining their fleets of trucks and trailers and that new equipment orders had no significant backlogs.

Consumer spending increased modestly in recent weeks, according to the Fed. Clothing and grocery stores reported increasing or steady sales and demand, but furniture and appliance stores reported decreases in purchases. Travel and tourism respondents reported steady to increasing activity.

Residential real estate sales volumes and buyer traffic decreased due to low inventory and higher mortgage rates. New listings were down, and days on the market increased slightly but stayed below historic averages. Although sellers often dropped sales prices or provided concessions for homes that had been on the market for more than 30 days, upward pressure on home prices, especially in more desirable neighborhoods, continued. Builders reported a high cost of materials, labor, trades and financing.

Commercial real estate sources reported slow market activity. The industrial and retail markets were fairly stable, reporting low vacancy rates and rising rental rates. Office building owners offered concessions, incentives or tenant improvement allowances to secure new leases, effectively lowering rental rates. Thanks to new construction coming to market, multifamily rents were flat or down.

In the financial sector, loan demand continued to slow, particularly in the commercial and consumer real estate segments. Sources attributed the softening to high interest rates and global and domestic political concerns. Many institutions increased deposit interest rates, focusing on money market accounts and certificates of deposit, to support deposit retention and growth.

Demand for services and revenues for nonfinancial service providers in the Fifth District remained stable. Wage and expense pressures began to moderate. One respondent expressed concern that demand could soften as student loan repayments restarted and consumers saw decreased discretionary income.

100 People to Meet in 2024: Builders

These Virginians are building the future in bricks and mortar with major development projects in communities across the commonwealth. 

Duke Dodson

CEO, Dodson Cos./Dodson Development Group
Richmond

A Richmond native, Duke Dodson grew up vacationing in Colonial Beach. “It was a mini-Atlantic City then, but legal changes forced casinos out of business,” says the developer. When Dodson saw an opportunity to invest in reviving the downtown waterfront, he was all in.

Dodson’s $25 million Colonial Beach mixed-use development, which includes a hotel and a wine and cheese shop, is expected to create 250 jobs. 

Dodson founded his company in 2007, and although Colonial Beach is a major focus, he has Richmond projects as well, including a group of mixed-use properties on East Broad Street. In 2024, Dodson has plans for a baseball card shop and sports bar in Scott’s Addition.

 

Mike Hopkins

Managing director, Fairwinds Landing
Norfolk

Mike Hopkins got a glimpse at seeing projects through from start to finish as a general counsel for international shipping giant Maersk Line. It’s proved to be good experience for his current job, leading the development of Fairwinds Landing, a $100 million maritime operations and logistics center at Lambert’s Point Docks in Norfolk supporting Hampton Roads’ offshore wind, defense and transportation industries.

Development partners The Miller Group, Balicore Construction and Fairlead Integrated broke ground on Fairwinds Landing in June. Tenants so far include Newport News Shipbuilding and Dominion Energy. Dominion will monitor and coordinate construction of its $9.8 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind farm from its operations center there. It’s been “the best kind of job of my life so far,” says Hopkins, adding it’s exciting to be on the ground floor of a new endeavor.

 

Whitson Huffman

Co-CEO, Capital Square
Glen Allen

Whitson Huffman has been real estate firm Capital Square’s co-CEO for a bit longer than a year, but he’s not new to the industry. Before joining his father-in-law Louis Rogers’ firm in 2018, Huffman made his bones at Ernst & Young and JBG Smith.

A graduate of Georgetown University and a Washington, D.C., native, Huffman says he expects Capital Square, which specializes in sponsoring tax-advantaged real estate investments and developing high-end multifamily properties across the nation, to continue growing its institutional real estate business in 2024 with new Class A properties with top amenities and prices to match. Capital Square is the largest multifamily housing developer in Richmond’s trendy Scott’s Addition neighborhood.

Huffman serves on the board of the Maymont Foundation, which oversees the popular, 100-acre Richmond public park and former Victorian estate, where he enjoys taking his three young children.

 

Shawn Tibbetts

Chief operating officer, Armada Hoffler
Virginia Beach

As COO for the commercial real estate giant behind Virginia Beach’s Town Center, Shawn Tibbetts aims to “servant lead” — acting as a team captain instead of coach. “When a team sees that the leader is in the game with them and playing the game with them — win, lose or draw — that’s powerful.” Tibbetts also focuses on providing healthy returns for Armada Hoffler’s shareholders while coping with changing demand for office space. A graduate of William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business, Tibbetts was previously the Port of Virginia’s COO and president until 2019, when he joined Armada Hoffler.

“This was a heck of an opportunity and awesome company with foundational elements that I believe are going to propel us into the next level in the future,” he says.

Ed Walker

Developer
Roanoke

Ed Walker estimates he’s built more than 500 apartments and helped redevelop several neighborhoods over the past two decades, but he doesn’t consider himself a developer.

“I think of it as community investing,” he says. “I’ve been a catalyst, but the colleagues I’ve worked with have made these projects reality.”

To date, Walker has been involved in multiple redevelopment projects that have transformed Danville and Roanoke, where he maintains two residences. He started The Bee Hotel and revived Roanoke’s historic Grandin Theatre. This year, Walker came back from the brink of retirement for his final act: redeveloping the sprawling campus of a former rayon factory in Roanoke. Dubbed Riverdale, the industrial property is set to include 375 apartments and a commercial building in phase one, and Walker is partnering with the City of Roanoke on the $50 million project.

Check out the other 100 People to Meet in 2024.

Bonaventure acquires Norfolk apartments for $42M

Alexandria-based real estate company Bonaventure has acquired Monticello Station, a Class A apartment building in downtown Norfolk, for $42 million, the company announced last week. 

The 121-unit building at 328 Freemason St. has one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. S.L. Nusbaum previously owned the property, according to Bonaventure. 

Bonaventure will rename the building Attain Downtown East. In addition to the apartments, it has 33,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, including Buffalo Wild Wings, 7-Eleven and Sushi King as tenants. 

“With its prime location, numerous amenities and long-term financing, Monticello Station directly aligns with the type of assets we seek to acquire and manage in our perpetual life multifamily fund,” Bonaventure CEO and founder Dwight Dunton said in a statement. “As part of our investment management platform, this vehicle provides investors access to strategic diversification across our target markets as well as predictable income. We are pleased [to] expand our footprint in Norfolk and the greater Hampton Roads area, and look forward to capitalizing on the opportunities in our investment pipeline to grow our carefully constructed portfolio.”

Bonaventure also owns Attain Downtown, another apartment building at 450 Boush St. in downtown Norfolk. 

Bonaventure has $2.3 billion of assets under management and manages more than 6,500 apartment units across 35 communities in the mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions.

Amazon HQ2 impact on housing market short-lived, report says

The June opening of Amazon.com’s $2.5 billion East Coast headquarters in Arlington County only had a short-lived impact on home prices, and it’s hard to pinpoint HQ2’s direct impact due to other factors affecting residential costs, according to a report released this month by Bright MLS Research.

When Amazon announced it would bring 25,000 highly-paid workers to its second headquarters in Arlington County in November 2018, there were fears that the development would displace low-wage residents in the area, and only high-income earners could live there.

“It has been difficult to identify the true impact Amazon has had on housing costs — specifically on — home prices in Arlington and the surrounding area,” according to the Nov. 13 report. “Home prices tend to be high in places close to jobs and amenities. Arlington has an unparalleled location across the river from the District of Columbia. Furthermore, over the past two decades, the county has also pursued land use policies and economic development strategies to make Arlington attractive to young professionals and families.”

The pandemic was a complicating factor, upending where people work while the government’s response fueled housing demand, the report adds.

“While the announcement prompted both elation and anxiety, the effect on the housing market was short-lived as the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting government and business responses to the pandemic have had a much bigger impact on the housing market,” Bright MLS Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant said in a news release about the report.

Ryan McLaughlin, CEO of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors, agreed that it’s hard to pinpoint the impact of HQ2’s announcement and its first phase of construction on the housing market. The pandemic started about two months after the start of HQ2’s construction.

“I think the full impacts of HQ2 are yet to be seen,” he said, pointing out the shift in how people work and other economic factors, such as mortgage rates, low inventory and high interest rates.

Amazon opened Merlin, its first tower, and one of the twin 22-story buildings that make up Metropolitan Park, HQ2’s first phase, in June. About 8,000 employees currently work there. Amazon delayed construction of HQ2’s second phase, known as PenPlace, in March, as the Fortune Global 500 tech company laid off 18,000 workers.

A George Mason University report in 2018 estimated only about 10% of Amazon’s workers would live in Arlington County, while 60% would live in other parts of Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland and elsewhere, according to the new report.

“I think the long-term impacts, certainly for Arlington, Northern Virginia and the Greater D.C. metro region will be very strong,” McLaughlin said. “There’s a reason why HQ2 selected Northern Virginia as the place where they wanted to invest.”

Rockbridge tent manufacturer to expand, add 60 jobs

Natural Bridge-based fabric shelter systems manufacturer XFactor Solutions Global has leased 34,000 square feet to expand in Rockbridge County, with plans to create 60 jobs, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced Thursday.

The company, which acquired the assets of Creative Tent International in October, will use the industrial space at 70 Douglas Way in Natural Bridge Station for light manufacturing and warehousing of large commercial-grade tents, according to Carmen Elliott with Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, who handled the lease negotiations on behalf of XFS Global.

The new facility offers an expanded footprint and enhanced capabilities including large format welding, fabric sewing and cutting, metal, weld and fabrication and the ability to kit products for customer requirements according to XFS’ website.

The 60 jobs will include welders, sewers and general assembly workers. XFS Global has a 10-year lease on the industrial space.

XFS Global moved Creative Tent International manufacturing from Las Vegas to Natural Bridge Station.

“Our new Virginia headquarters brings us much closer to our customers, and our new facility will greatly enhance our manufacturing capabilities,” Paul Wilcox, vice president of business development and market growth, said in a statement. “Being strategically located near our customers means reduced lead times, improved service team response times and further alignment with our strategic partners, ultimately leading to new product offerings, operational efficiencies and increased value for our commercial customers and their businesses.”

XFS Global serves military, government, commercial and industrial clients.

Former Lynchburg Chapstick factory sells for $1.9M

A 218,818-square-foot industrial property in Lynchburg where Chapstick was once manufactured has sold for $1.9 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer said.

Valley Properties purchased the industrial/manufacturing building, located at 1000 Robins Road, from KDC/One as an investment. KDC/One, a global contract manufacturer of personal beauty and home care items based in Canada, announced in 2022 that it would close the location, where as many as 675 full- and part-time employees worked, by the end of 2023, according to The News & Advance.

Norman K. Moon Jr. and Thacher Jennings, both of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, handled sale negotiations on behalf of the seller.

Chapstick, a lip balm created by Lynchburg pharmacist Charles Browne Fleet in the 1890s, was at one point manufactured in the building, Moon told Virginia Business. Fleet sold the Chapstick formula, and rights to it, to his friend John Morton for $5 in 1912, according to a company history. Morton revamped the product, and created the Morton Manufacturing Co., which produced Chapstick in Lynchburg until 1963, when it was bought by Richmond-based A.H. Robins Co. A Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company, Robins went bankrupt in the 1980s amid thousands of lawsuits over its Dalkon Shield birth control device and was acquired by American Home Products. That company in turn became Wyeth, which was acquired by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer in in 2009 for $68 billion.