TOP NEWS IN REAL ESTATE
* JPMorgan Chase & Co. is marketing for sublease about 800,000 square feet of office space across two buildings in Manhattan, N.Y., Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The company is offering about 700,000 square feet at 4 New York Plaza in the Financial District and more than 100,000 square feet at 5 Manhattan West in the Hudson Yards area, according to the report.
* Amazon.com Inc. is under contract to acquire the Central Steel & Wire plant on the southwest side of Chicago for about $45 million from Ryerson Holdings Corp., the Chicago Tribune reported, citing people familiar with the deal. The site can be developed into an at-least 1.5-million-square-foot warehouse, the publication said.
➤ S&P 500 short interest retreats further as hedge funds remain wary
Burned by the GameStop experience, hedge funds are fearful of getting squeezed again by retail investors.
➤ NAV Monitor: US equity REITs trade at 0.4% discount to NAV at February-end
Chart Watch: The self-storage sector traded at the highest premium to net asset value, while the office, regional mall and diversified sectors traded at high discounts.
OFFICE
* Certain office submarkets in Manhattan fared well in weathering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the corridor along Park Avenue between 44th and 61st streets showing the strongest demand relative to available space during the fourth quarter of 2020, The Real Deal reported, citing the relative strength submarket index, or RSSI, figures issued by KPG Funds and Newmark. The Westside came out as the weakest submarket in the quarter, which included the area between 41st and 65th streets from Ninth Avenue to the Hudson River, along with the blocks between 48th and 65th streets from Seventh to Ninth avenues.
RETAIL
* Tricor Financial Corp. sold the 88,456-square-foot Cobblestone Commons shopping plaza west of Boynton Beach, Fla., for $38 million, The Real Deal reported. Cobblestone USA acquired the property, which spans 12 acres at 8767 Boynton Beach Blvd.
RESIDENTIAL
* Signature Development Group Inc. secured $130 million in construction financing for the development of an apartment project in Oakland, Calif., according to Newmark, which arranged the financing. The Brooklyn Basin – Parcel G project will include 371 multifamily apartment homes and 31,000 square feet of retail space on an approximately 2.67-acre plot of land.
* Harbor Group International LLC purchased an eight-property portfolio totaling 2,322 apartments, including two apartment communities in Charlotte, N.C., the Charlotte Business Journal reported, citing Mecklenburg County real estate records. The company acquired the Harlowe Apartments for $30 million and The Residences at West Mint for $60.2 million from San Francisco-based McDowell Properties.
* Lennar Corp. is planning to redevelop part of the 104.3-acre Presidential Estates Golf Club at 19438 NE 18th Ave., near Aventura, Fla., into 223 homes after rezoning, the South Florida Business Journal reported. The homes will be constructed on the western side of the site, while the golf course would remain on the southern and western portions.
HEALTHCARE
* CareTrust REIT Inc. acquired four continuing care retirement communities in the Camarillo, Carlsbad, Rancho Mirage and San Juan Capistrano submarkets of California, totaling 637 units for an initial investment of about $126.1 million. The communities were developed by Marriott International Inc. between 1999 and 2000.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Howard Hughes Corp. laid off about 900 employees during 2020, the Houston Business Journal reported, citing documents filed with the SEC. Most of the affected employees were working at the company's three hotel properties in The Woodlands and at the Seaport District restaurants, according to the publication.
* Koch Real Estate Investments, the real estate arm of conglomerate Koch Industries Inc., is emerging as a major investor in real estate during the pandemic, taking advantage of the depressed market and targeting distressed real estate assets, The Wall Street Journal reported. The company recently invested in an unfinished multibillion-dollar hotel and casino project on the Las Vegas Strip, as well as backed Amherst Holdings LLC’s single-family-rental business and in a Nashville, Tenn., office development.
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