Commercial real estate
* Fannie Mae, which recently signed an 850,000-square-foot lease at Boston Properties Inc.'s Reston Gateway project in Reston, Va., is planning to sell three properties in Fairfax County, Va., and possibly lease them back until it moves to Reston Gateway in 2022, the Washington Business Journal reported, citing a company spokesman.
The properties include a 400,664-square-foot building at 11600 American Dream Way in the Reston Technology Center that is assessed at roughly $102 million. The other two buildings, on Worldgate Drive in Herndon, Va., are assessed at roughly $52 million, according to the report.
* A Morgan Stanley joint venture that acquired the former Macy's Inc. Men's Store in San Francisco's Union Square for $250 million is planning an overhaul of the building, the San Francisco Business Times reported. Morgan Stanley and Blatteis & Schnur acquired the 263,640-square-foot 120 Stockton St. property in early 2017.
The single-tenant building will be converted to house up to six retailers, two floors of office space and a rooftop restaurant, the report noted.
Macy's was also recently reported to be looking at opportunities to sell the roughly 240,000-gross-square-foot, stand-alone I. Magnin portion of its main Union Square building in San Francisco.
* Recently formed data center venture EdgeCore Internet Real Estate is planning a project on more than 33 acres in Richardson, Texas, The Dallas Morning News reported, citing filings with the city that indicate that Mount Elbert Capital Partners is seeking zoning for the project.
Mount Elbert partnered with Canadian pension fund manager OPTrust and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC for the venture that aims to invest around $2.0 billion to develop, acquire and operate data centers across North America.
* Bloomberg News featured a report on office landlords' increasing use of amenities and perks to attract and retain tenants in Manhattan, N.Y., amid increased competition resulting from new construction. Landlords including SL Green Realty Corp., Brookfield Property Partners LP, Silverstein Properties and others are offering various apps and amenities to increase the appeal of their buildings to corporate employees.
* The Dilweg Cos. acquired the Pershing Point Plaza office building at 1375 Peachtree St. in Atlanta for $75 million, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the transaction. The property spans 409,579 square feet and was sold by CBRE Global Investors on behalf of California State Teachers Retirement System.
The property is 59% leased and counts healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente as a tenant. The buyer plans more than $10 million of improvements for the asset, the report noted.
* Coastal Ridge Real Estate bought the 324-unit Spectra multifamily community in Fort Myers, Fla., in partnership with H. Katz Capital, Columbus Business First reported. The deal marks Coastal Ridge's second Florida acquisition in a month, the report noted.
The 2017-built property was sold by Stock Development.
* Net apartment leasing in Houston totaled roughly 14,000 units in the fourth quarter of 2017 as residents affected by Hurricane Harvey sought rental units, The Dallas Morning News reported, citing RealPage. Houston's leasing activity was the highest in the nation during the period. RealPage noted that Houston rentals accounted for roughly a fourth of nationwide leasing activity in the last quarter of 2017.
The Dallas-Fort Worth area came in second place with net leasing totaling more than 4,700 apartments. Los Angeles came in third place with 3,333 apartment leases.
Housing
* Los Angeles' 90014 ZIP code took the top spot in RentCafe's rankings of the 20 fastest-gentrifying ZIP codes in the U.S., The Real Deal reported. Median home values in downtown Los Angeles have increased roughly 700% from 2000 to 2016.
Washington, D.C.'s 20001 ZIP code came in second with a 200% increase in home values, followed by Houston's 77003 ZIP code in third place and Philadelphia's 19123 in fourth place. New York City's 10039, encompassing Upper Manhattan's far east side, snagged the fifth spot with a 356% increase in home values.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng rose 2.09% to 30,510.73, while the Nikkei 225 climbed 1.79% to 21,417.76.
In Europe around midday, the FTSE 100 gained 0.94% to 7,182.87 and the Euronext 100 rose 0.83% to 1,014.58.
On the macro front
The Redbook and the factory orders report are due out today.
Now featured on S&P Global Market Intelligence
Data Dispatch: US real estate ETFs log net outflows of $903M in February: Chart Watch: All U.S. real estate ETFs posted negative total returns on both a monthly and yearly basis, trailing the S&P 500.
The Daily Dose is updated as of 7:30 a.m. ET. Some external links may require a subscription. Articles and links are correct as of publication time.
