3 Feb, 2021

Amazon unveils phase 2 of Va. HQ; Pershing Square ups stake in Howard Hughes

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By Dawood Fakhir


TOP NEWS IN REAL ESTATE

* Amazon.com Inc. unveiled plans for the second phase of its new Northern Virginia headquarters, dubbed HQ2, which involves three 22-story office buildings and smaller retail buildings surrounded by woodlands, an outdoor amphitheater, a dog run and parking for about 950 bicycles, The Wall Street Journal reported. The centerpiece will be the fourth and tallest tower of the development, a 350-foot structure dubbed the Helix, which will feature two spiraling outdoor walkways with trees and plants, the report said.

* Billionaire William Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management LP raised its stake in developer Howard Hughes Corp. to about 25% as the hedge fund bets that more Americans will migrate to warmer, lower-tax cities, The Wall Street Journal reported. Pershing bought an additional around 4.7% interest in Howard Hughes between June and January, the publication reported, citing public filings.

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➤ US housing market: Home starts, sales up in December 2020

Chart Watch: The U.S. housing market ended December with month-over-month increases in new- and existing-home sales, and housing starts.

➤ US corporate bankruptcy count rises in January as pandemic rages on

Chart Watch: A total of 45 companies have declared bankruptcy so far this year, with the largest share coming from the consumer discretionary category.

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OFFICE

* Brandywine Realty Trust partnered with a global institutional investor for its roughly $287 million mixed-use project within the 14-acre Schuylkill Yards development in University City, Pa. The 570,000-square-foot project at 3025 JFK Blvd. will include 326 luxury rental residences, 200,000 square feet of life science/innovative office space, 29,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor amenity space and 9,000 square feet of retail.

* WeWork Cos. Inc. is shutting its location in Block 23 in downtown Phoenix on Feb. 26, the Phoenix Business Journal reported. The We Co. unit will also be leaving several Bay Area buildings, a spokesperson of the company confirmed to the San Francisco Business Times, without identifying the buildings. The company operates in 25 locations in Marin County, San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Palo Alto, San Mateo, Emeryville, Berkeley and San Ramon areas of California, the publication noted.

* The Related Group received approval from Miami Beach Design Review Board for the development of its One Island Park mixed-use office project on Terminal Island in Miami Beach, Fla., The Real Deal reported. The development at 120 MacArthur Causeway will comprise two, five-story class A office buildings and a four-story parking garage, among other features.

RESIDENTIAL

* Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System is committing $250 million to the Cortland Growth and Income Fund, IPE Real Assets reported. The open-ended core-plus fund's strategy is to focus on suburban assets in Sun Belt markets which were attractive before the COVID-19 pandemic and may be more compelling in a post-COVID world, the news outlet said.

* GenCap Partners sold the 320-unit Park at Estancia multifamily property within the master-planned community of Estancia Hill Country in Austin, Texas, to Churchill Forge for an undisclosed amount.

INDUSTRIAL

* Global plastics manufacturer Plastipak Packaging Inc. is expanding its lease at Duke Realty Corp.'s 3200 Kingsley Road property in Garland, Texas, by more than 70,000 square feet, the Dallas Business Journal reported. The company will now occupy 470,590 square feet under a new long-term lease at the 531,950-square-foot building.

HEALTHCARE

* Universal Health Services Inc.-affiliate Pasteur Healthcare Properties acquired a 32.3-acre site in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., to develop into a medical campus, the South Florida Business Journal reported. The property was sold by Pasteur Commercial Investments LLC, an affiliate of Kolter Group.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* Cross-border investment into U.S. commercial real estate in 2020 plummeted 54% year over year and fell 34% on the year in the first half of 2020, Commercial Observer reported, citing CBRE.

MARKETS

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