Commercial real estate
* Brookfield Asset Management Inc. closed on a $750 million mortgage, which is the biggest slice of a $1 billion refinancing of the 666 Fifth Ave. office condominium in Manhattan, N.Y., The Real Deal reported, citing records filed with the city. In August 2018, Brookfield purchased the ground lease of the property for about $1.29 billion from Kushner Cos. LLC, after Vornado Realty Trust sold its 49.5% stake in the asset back to Kushner.
ING Bank provided the $750 million loan for the tower that Brookfield plans to renovate and reposition. Apollo Global Management LLC is expected to provide Brookfield a $300 million mezzanine loan as part of the final deal, the report added.
* Developer Icon Realty Management LLC is planning to sell a two-tower project comprising 104 condominiums at the Upper East Side in Manhattan for an aggregate of $714 million, The Real Deal reported, citing an offering plan approved by the New York State Attorney General in December 2018.
The asking price translates to an average of nearly $6.9 million per unit, making the project the priciest development north of 80th St. on the East Side, according to the Jan. 3 report. Icon secured a $425 million loan from Bank of the Ozarks and Apollo Global Management in 2017 to fund the towers at 301 E. 80th St. and 301 E. 81st St.
* McSam Hotel Group LLC sold a development site at 140-146 W. 24th St. in Manhattan to Magna Hospitality Group for $113 million, The Real Deal reported, citing city records. McSam purchased the site from Extell Development Co. for $61 million in October 2017.
* Industrial landlord Prologis Inc. sold six warehouses, encompassing about 500,000 square feet in SeaTac, Wash., to LBA Realty LLC for $98.5 million, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported, citing public records.
The properties occupy 29.5 acres at 18850 Eighth Ave. S. and 811 S. 192nd St.
* CIM Group LP secured a $123 million loan from Blackstone Group LP to fund the $138 million purchase of a 36-story office building at 444 N. Michigan Ave. in Chicago, The Real Deal reported. A venture led by CIM agreed to purchase the 515,000-square-foot building from Germany-based investor GLL Real Estate Partners GmbH.
The loan deal was signed Dec. 21, 2018, along with the acquisition, the Jan. 3 report added, citing Cook County property records.
* Starwood Real Estate Income Trust Inc. acquired a 1,150-unit Florida multifamily portfolio, which consists of two properties each in Jacksonville and Naples, from an affiliate of its adviser, Starwood REIT Advisors LLC, for approximately $100 million, excluding closing costs.
The deal wrapped up Jan. 3, alongside the purchase of a Phoenix property for roughly $46 million and a Savannah, Ga., asset for $36 million.
* Chicago-based real estate investment firm Newport Capital Partners paid $72 million to acquire the Edens Plaza Shopping Center in Wilmette, Ill., from a joint venture of Chicago firms 11 East Partners and Draper & Kramer, The Real Deal reported.
Citing a village planning document, the publication added that NorthShore University HealthSystem will set up a new facility, with an estimated cost of nearly $29 million, inside the retail center, where a 161,000-square-foot Carson's department store formerly served as the anchor tenant. NorthShore signed a 10-year lease with the joint venture in September 2018.
* Lennar Corp. obtained a construction loan worth $55.6 million from SunTrust for its 369-unit apartment project in Doral, Fla., The Real Deal reported, citing property records. The project will be built on an 11-acre site at 10500 N.W. 78 St., which Lennar acquired for $21.7 million in 2017.
Housing
* The Wall Street Journal featured a report on single family-focused residential real estate investment trusts American Homes 4 Rent and Tricon American Homes LLC, which are looking to build entry-level homes to meet rising demand. American Homes 4 Rent is constructing new homes throughout the Southeast, in addition to its more than 52,000 rental homes across the country. CEO David Singelyn said the company can build houses for a price equal to the cost of buying existing homes.
Tricon, which plans to buy up to 12,000 single-family properties, agreed to acquire an entire 135-home phase of a subdivision outside of Houston up front, to help developers get the project off the ground. Separately, another single-family REIT, Invitation Homes Inc., was noted as saying that it does not wish to take on the associated development risk.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng rose 2.24% to 25,626.03, while the Nikkei 225 was down 2.26% to 19,561.96.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 increased 1.40% to 6,786.47, and the Euronext 100 was up 1.25% to 908.69.
On the macro front
The employment situation report, the PMI services index, the EIA natural gas report, the EIA petroleum status report and the Baker-Hughes rig count are due out today.
Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.
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