Taylor Williams

By Taylor Williams Sometimes you just have to keep it real. In the world of mixed-use retail, featuring a blend of shops, restaurants and entertainment venues that is both unique in its totality and true to its surrounding market on individual levels is crucial to placemaking. As a concept, placemaking is somewhat difficult to define on paper but fairly easy to identify in the moment — the undeniable sense that the combination of what you are buying, eating, drinking and experiencing is simply not replicable anywhere else. Placemaking is, ironically, an idea that is very difficult to quantify, yet is intrinsically worth every dollar spent on design, construction and marketing — and then some. A longtime developer of mixed-use properties in Dallas once told this writer that the idea of bringing together a critical mass of residential, office and hospitality uses within one site — threaded and connected by retail, restaurants, green spaces and walkable infrastructure — is only novel to American consumers. Europeans have lived, worked and played that way for decades. And thanks to rolling swaths of land, surging population growth, rapidly evolving public infrastructure and the good-ole pro-business mindset, Texas has positioned itself as a leader in…

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — CBRE has brokered the $27 million sale of a multifamily development site in White Plains, located north of New York City. The site at 60 S. Broadway spans 3.6 acres on the eastern edge of the downtown area and is approved for the development of two high-rise buildings totaling 814 units. Jeffrey Dunne, Eric Apfel and Travis Langer of CBRE represented the seller, Quarterra Multifamily Communities, in the transaction. The buyer was an affiliate of New York-based investment and development firm Stagg Group. A construction timeline was not disclosed.

FARMINGVILLE, N.Y. — BRP Cos. has completed Arboretum at Farmingville, a 292-unit multifamily project on Long Island. The 62-acre site at 20 Maple Lane is located within the Town of Brookhaven and includes a public park with walking trails and picnic areas. The development consists of 82 two-bedroom flats, 82 lofts, 63 two-bedroom townhomes, 14 three-bedroom townhomes and 51 three-bedroom single-family houses, with 30 units reserved for workforce housing. The amenity package comprises a fitness center with a yoga room, pool and cabana area, clubhouse with an entertainment kitchen, courts for tennis, pickleball and bocce ball, a putting green, playground, dog run and a business center with conference rooms. Santander Bank financed construction of the project, which began in summer 2022, and Basis Investment Group was the preferred equity investor. Rents start at $3,495 per month for a two-bedroom, market-rate apartment.

CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS — Dwight Mortgage Trust, the affiliate REIT of New York City-based Dwight Capital, has provided a $36 million bridge loan for the refinancing of La Joya by Azali, a 336-unit waterfront apartment community in Corpus Christi. The property comprises 14 three-story residential buildings that house 120 one-bedroom units, 192 two-bedroom residences and 24 three-bedroom apartments. Units feature granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and private patios/balconies. Amenities include a pool, fitness center, business center, clubhouse, dog park, playground, media/game room, demonstration kitchen, conference room, billiards lounge and outdoor grilling and dining stations. The borrower was Azali Homes.

NEW YORK CITY — Rose & Rose has signed a 14,067-square-foot office lease at 250 Broadway in Lower Manhattan. The real estate law firm will occupy the entire 30th and 31st floors of the 648,000-square-foot building, which has undergone a host of capital improvements in recent years. Jacob Wolkenfeld of Norman Bobrow & Co. represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Brad Gerla, Michael Rizzo and Alex Benisatto of CBRE, along with internal agent Anne Holker, represented the landlord, AmTrust RE.

PHILADELPHIA — Red Oak Capital Holdings has provided a $9.2 million bridge loan for Ridge Avenue Apartments, a 32-unit multifamily project in Philadelphia. The five-story building includes 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and offers amenities such as a fitness center and a rooftop terrace, as well as off-street parking. The borrower, an affiliate of local development and management firm Vich Properties LLC, will use the proceeds from the two-year, interest-only loan to retire existing debt and complete construction of the project.

DALLAS — Clear Technologies Inc., a provider of data storage and management services, has signed an 8,286-square-foot office lease at The Quorum, a five-story, 86,750-square-foot building in North Dallas. Michael Doherty of Lincoln Property Co. represented the tenant, which is relocating from the nearby building at 16415 Addison Road, in the lease negotiations. Sunwest Real Estate Group owns The Quorum.

ALVARADO, TEXAS — Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services has negotiated a 16,000-square-foot lease at an industrial flex building in Alvarado, a southern suburb of Fort Worth. The tenant, Legend Conversion, which provides custom automotive build-outs, will occupy the entire building at 4209 Longhorn Drive, which features 25-foot clear heights, four grade-level doors and two dock-high doors. Todd Lambeth and Cade Navarro of Bradford represented the landlord, AAN Development LLC, in the lease negotiations.

WYLIE, TEXAS — Locally based brokerage firm STRIVE has arranged the sale of a 23,900-square-foot warehouse in Wylie, a northeastern suburb of Dallas. According to LoopNet Inc., the property at 1141 Bozman Road comprises four buildings that were delivered in phases over the past several years, with Phase I completed in 2022 and Phase II completed in early 2024. Bryan Meyer and Jennifer Pierson of STRIVE represented the seller and procured the buyer, both of which were California-based investors that requested anonymity.

MONTGOMERY, TEXAS — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap, has brokered the sale of Harbor Shores, a 284-unit apartment community located north of Houston in Montgomery. The property, which was built in phases between 2016 and 2023, is located on the shores of Lake Conroe and offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Amenities include two pools, pickleball courts, a fitness center, clubhouse, and business center. Greg Austin, Travis Austin, Jackson Hart and Will Balthrope of IPA, along with Kyle Devillier of Marcus & Millichap, represented the seller, an entity doing business as NRG Conroe Villas LP, in the transaction. The quintet also procured the buyer, CEG Multifamily.