Commercial real estate
* New York-based AllianceBernstein Holding LP is scouting at least 200,000 square feet of office space and has short-listed a number of cities including Nashville, Tenn., and Charlotte, N.C., the Nashville Business Journal reported, citing unnamed sources.
The report noted that the investment firm was previously reported to be considering moving some employees out of New York amid cost-cutting measures.
* A Simon Property Group Inc. joint venture is seeking $2 billion to refinance the Aventura Mall in the Miami suburb of Aventura, The Real Deal reported, citing Trepp.
The financing will be used to repay a $1.2 billion commercial mortgage-backed securities loan that Simon Property and Turnberry Associates secured in 2013. Simon Property has a 33.3% stake in the mall, with Turnberry owning the remaining 66.7%.
* Atlanta-based law firm Smith Gambrell & Russell LLP is mulling options for a new lease of up to 100,000 square feet of office space, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported. The law firm is based in Cousins Properties Inc.'s 1230 Peachtree St. tower in Midtown and has roughly 3.5 years remaining on its lease. According to the report, Smith Gambrell could pursue a lease renegotiation with its landlord, move to another existing tower or anchor any of the various office developments in the Midtown pipeline.
* Blackstone Group LP's Strategic Capital Holdings Fund acquired a passive, minority equity stake in Rockpoint Group, a global real estate investment management firm. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Citing unnamed sources familiar with the details, Bloomberg Markets reported that the stake is roughly 20%. Rockpoint has an opportunistic real estate strategy that targets office, multifamily and hospitality properties in coastal markets. It closed its fifth fund at $3.3 billion in March 2016, Bloomberg Markets noted.
The Real Deal noted that Rockpoint has emerged as a key investor in New York real estate in the past few years. According to reports, it acquired a New York City office tower in January for $465 million and is jointly acquiring an apartment complex in a $905 million deal.
* The Wall Street Journal featured a report on SL Green Realty Corp.'s practice of buying back its own shares at discounted prices using proceeds from sales of real estate assets into the private market at high values. In an interview, SL Green CEO Mark Holliday said buying back stock is a company's "ultimate expression" of confidence in its stock value.
The practice has helped curb a further decline in the company's share value at a time when the Dow Jones Equity REIT Index has fallen 7.4% for the year, although the strategy has not been widely adopted by the REIT industry, the publication pointed out.
* Toll Brothers Inc.'s Toll Brothers City Living is targeting a sellout of $323.5 million at its 77 Charlton St. condominium project in Manhattan, N.Y.'s Hudson Square, The Real Deal reported, citing plans filed with the New York state Attorney General's office.
The 161-unit luxury development will comprise two connected 15-story buildings, together spanning more than 208,000 square feet of residential space. The company acquired the site for $56.5 million in 2012, the report noted.
* Extell Development Co. is selling $107 million of preferred shares in the $4 billion Central Park Tower condo project in Manhattan, according to a report by The Real Deal, citing filings from the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
The share sale will bring in $94 million of funding for the New York-based diversified property company's development of the 95-floor condo project on the site. The development has received financing from various sources, including $400 million from retail giant Nordstrom Inc., which will open a seven-story flagship store at the base of the building.
* Kiska Development is seeking buyers for a development site on Manhattan's Lexington Avenue across the street from Welltower Inc. and Hines' senior-housing and medical facility project, The Real Deal reported. The site has roughly 175,000 square feet of development rights, and the zoning allows residential, office, hotel and medical use with no height restrictions, the report noted, citing sources familiar with the property.
Hines and Welltower paid roughly $1,030 per square foot for their development site in 2016, and a similar pricing would value Kiska's site at roughly $180 million, the report noted. A JLL team is marketing the asset, for which an asking price is unclear, according to the report.
* AJ Property Management is seeking between $120 million and $125 million for a 15-story office building in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, The Real Deal reported, citing Rosewood Realty Group's Aaron Jungreis, who is brokering the property. The 231-239 W. 29th St. asset spans 144,300 square feet and is 95% leased on mostly short-term agreements ranging from two to five years.
* Zeckendorf Development received a $175 million refinancing package from HSBC for its planned luxury condo project at 520 Park Ave. in Manhattan, The Real Deal reported, citing property records. The 54-story project has a target sellout of more than $1 billion.
* A Bainbridge Cos. affiliate sold the recently completed 250-unit Bainbridge Coral Springs multifamily complex in Coral Springs, Fla., to a Morris Cos. entity for $71.7 million, The Real Deal reported.
Housing
* D.R. Horton Inc. plans to develop a 596-home master-planned community spanning 225 acres in Newnan, Ga., the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported, citing plans filed with the city. The Poplar Road Crossings community would be one of the largest single new residential projects in metro Atlanta in recent years, the report noted.
The proposal is slated to go before the mayor and city council March 15.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng fell 0.53% to 31,435.01 and the Nikkei 225 dropped 0.87% to 21,777.29.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 had risen 0.26% to 7,157.38 and the Euronext 100 was up 0.24% at 1,026.40.
On the macro front
The Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations and EIA Petroleum Status Report are due out today.
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