Finance awards
Chicago — The local office of Cohen Financial secured $31.8 million in debt placement and loan origination for properties in Illinois and Florida.
For Pointe Plaza in Niles, Ill., Cohen Financial secured $24 million in debt placement for an undisclosed private investor. Anchors for the 161,344-sq.-ft. center include Walgreens and Office Depot.
For Columbia Promenade in Kissimmee, Fla., Cohen Financial secured $5.4 million in debt placement for an undisclosed private REIT. Anchors for the 65,870-sq.-ft. center include Publix Supermarket. The lender for both transactions was an undisclosed life insurance company.
Los Angeles — NorthMarq Capital arranged $28 million in financing for Natomas Marketplace in Sacramento, Calif. The financing, obtained on behalf of an undisclosed borrower, was provided through Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide Life Insurance Co. Anchors for the 492,566-sq.-ft. center include The Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Applebee's.
Robert Hervey in NorthMarq's Los Angeles office and Jeff Haskell in the company's San Francisco office arranged the financing. Minneapolis-based NorthMarq is a national real estate banker with offices in 10 cities.
Sales and acquisitions
Boston — Locally based CB Richard Ellis/Whittier Partners Northeast Retail Investment Team negotiated the sale of three retail properties in New England for more than $40 million.
Boston-based Fern Realty LLC acquired the 120,411-sq.-ft. North Attleboro shopping center in North Attleboro, Mass., for $17.1 million from Redrock LLC of Boston. Anchors include HomeLife, CompUSA, and Michael's.
Philadelphia-based WP Realty Inc. acquired the 182,847-sq.-ft Jordan Lane shopping center in Whethersfield, Conn., for $13 million from Hartford, Conn.-based Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers. Anchors include Super Stop & Shop, Fashion Bug, and Big Lots.
Columbia, S.C.-based Country Plaza LLC acquired the 89,112-sq.-ft. Country Plaza shopping center in Grafton, Mass., for $10 million from Providence, R.I.-based Grafton Associates. Anchors include Super Stop & Shop.
Angola, Ind. — Atlanta-based Equity Investment Group acquired Country Fair shopping center in Angola from locally based Charles R. Sheets, Trust. The purchase price was $2.3 million. The 99,924-sq.-ft. community center is anchored by Scott's Foods and Low Bob's Tobacco.
Chicago — Stone Street Partners and Dearborn Street Building Associates acquired three high-profile retail properties along Chicago's trendy East Oak Street. Financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed. The properties at 47, 49 and 51 East Oak St. were sold by Marc A. Benaim Declaration of Trust, which was represented by locally based Joseph V. Farago Realtors Ltd. Benaim, a noted Chicago hair stylist who died in 1996, was a mainstay in the area for 21 years. Tenants at the properties include Leigh Jones, Glasses Ltd., Chacok, Darabin, Ltd., and St. John.
SIDEBAR: Marketing office supplies to the faithful
Sarasota, Fla. — Locally based ChurchPlaza, which sells products and services to churches, joined forces with Delray Beach, Fla.-based Office Depot to market office products to the $49 billion church market.
The agreement allows ChurchPlaza to sell Office Depot's product line via ChurchPlaza.com. Office Depot will provide preferred pricing and free delivery to churches using the site.
In addition to the new line of Office Depot products, ChurchPlaza.com brings together thousands of items — from pews and pulpits to copiers and phone systems — in an online store for pastors, church leaders and administrators.
It also offers a buyers' list of frequently ordered church office products. The site serves as a complementary distribution channel to ChurchPlaza's offline business, which is supported by approximately 90 full-time sales affiliates throughout the United States.