S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of real estate news stories published throughout the week.

A new framework for building valuation is emerging as investors and owners increasingly adopt sustainability in their real estate portfolios and demand for green initiatives increases among occupiers.

Factors such as improving resilience, reducing carbon emissions and promoting employee well-being are expected to have greater weight in the determination of real estate's financial value and how much income it can generate, JLL said in a new report.

With increasing awareness among investors of the direct impact of climate change on real estate assets, owners could employ early assessment of their portfolios in order to evaluate exposure to risks such as wildfire or drought, Lori Mabardi, environmental, social and governance research director at JLL, said.

Property owners are also expected to prioritize reducing carbon emissions in their portfolios, or they stand to lose out on the premiums on sale and rent that can be brought in by green certifications.

Lastly, a favorable property valuation in future could mean a building is able to provide an environment that promotes the health and well-being of those using the premises.

Bulking up

* DigitalBridge Group Inc.'s DigitalBridge Investment Management platform raised $8.3 billion in capital commitments for its second flagship fund. The DigitalBridge Partners II LP fund has already invested in nine portfolio companies focused on towers, easements, hyperscale data centers and other areas.

* Diversified real estate investment trust Nexus REIT will change its name to Nexus Industrial REIT to reflect a focus on industrial assets. The company said it signed agreements to purchase such assets across Canada in 2022 and 2023, including an approximately 550,000-square-foot distribution center project in Ontario, which it will buy for C$116.5 million.

Property moves

* CyrusOne Inc. agreed to sell its four data centers in Houston for roughly $670 million. DataBank Holdings Ltd., a DigitalBridge Group portfolio company, is buying the Houston West I, II and III and Houston Galleria data centers.

* Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. acquired campuses in Andover, Mass., for a total of $341 million, Commercial Property Executive reported, citing public records. In separate transactions, Atlantic Management Corp. sold its property at 3000 Minuteman Road for $190 million, and Spear Street Capital sold its 30, 100 and 200 Minuteman Road and 138 River Road properties for a combined $151 million.

* Armada Hoffler Properties Inc. completed the $246 million acquisition of a 79% stake and an additional 11% economic interest in the 23-story Exelon building in Baltimore. Beatty Development Group LLC will retain a 10% stake in the mixed-use building, which has 444,000 square feet of office space, 103 multifamily units and 38,500 square feet of retail space.

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