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Commercial News
ArtsDistrict Brooklyn Arrives This Summer
ArtsDistrict Brooklyn, an immersive and experiential arts venue, will open this July at 25 Franklin St. in Greenpoint. Founded by David Galpern and Charles Roy, ArtsDistrict Brooklyn (AD/BK) will feature the U.S. premiere of “Limitless AI” by internationally renowned artists Ferdi & Eylul Alici of Ouchhh Studio, the Istanbul-based creators of the awardwinning 2018 “Poetic AI.”
For AD/BK, the artist couple has reimagined and expanded their original work as “Limitless AI,” a 70-minute show.
Vast datasets of painting, science and nature were fed into an artificial intelligence algorithm that taught itself to create new works derived from those sources — 15 billion Leonardo da Vinci paintings and brushstrokes; millions of physics textbooks from Galileo to Stephen Hawking and a real-time depiction of a live musician’s brainwaves as they emotionally respond to their own music. “Limitless AI” will be presented as a 10,000-square-foot immersive experience and feature over 70 projectors.
Jollibee Opens First Downtown LA Location
Philippines-born international restaurant chain Jollibee, known for its Chickenjoy fried chicken and Jollibee Chicken Sandwich, opened in Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) on May 12 at 729 West 7th St. in the heart of the city’s Financial District.
The brand is best known for its take on an American favorite — fried chicken. Some customer favorites include: flagship product Chickenjoy, delicately hand-breaded to be crispy on the outside, cooked with precision to be juicy on the inside and marinated to the bone for next-level flavor; Spicy Chickenjoy, the fiery version of the classic Chickenjoy; chicken sandwiches and peach mango pie, made with peaches and real Philippine mangoes.
The DTLA location joins Jollibee’s two existing restaurants in the Metro Los Angeles area — 3821 Beverly Blvd. (East Hollywood) and 2700 Colorado Blvd. (Eagle Rock). In addition to the new DTLA location, Jollibee plans to open a second location in West Covina, California, by the end of 2022.
Newmark Acquires Retail Advisory Firm Open Realty
Continuing to grow its global retail footprint, Newmark Group has acquired North American retail real estate advisory firms Open Realty Advisors and Open Realty Properties. Dallas-based Open Realty will join Newmark’s Retail Services business line with an extensive national and global top-tier client roster, and its founders will assume significant leadership roles to expand Newmark’s global retail footprint. Open Realty is led by Mark Masinter, who heads the firm’s macro strategy and business development; Johnny Siegel, who spearheads tenant advisory services and asset management strategies for clients and Steve Merkle, who co-leads tenant advisory business endeavors. Masinter and Siegel join Newmark as chairman of global retail and president of global retail, respectively. Merkle joins as vice chairman. Newmark’s recent acquisition was of real estate advisory firm BH2. In the retail space, Newmark’s previous acquisitions include London-based Harper Dennis Hobbs, New York-based RKF and ExcessSpace, in 2019, 2018 and 2015, respectively.
Photo courtesy of PRNewswire
Photo courtesy of PRNewswire
Mark Masinter, Johnny Siegel, Steve Merkle
Photo courtesy of Newmark
Prologis Bids for Duke Realty
Global logistics real estate company Prologis Inc. has repeated its proposal to purchase Duke Realty in an all-stock transaction for $61.68 per share, a premium of 29% to Duke’s closing price on May 9.
Prologis sent a letter to Duke Chairman and CEO James B. Connor a proposal under which Duke shareholders would receive 0.466 shares of Prologis common stock for each share of Duke Realty that they own. Following personal dialogue between the executive teams, Prologis first sent a letter to Duke Realty on November 29, 2021 regarding a potential transaction at an exchange ratio of 0.465, representing a 20% premium to Duke Realty’s stock price at the time. On May 3, 2022, Prologis modestly increased the proposed exchange ratio — representing a 34% premium to Duke Realty’s stock price at the time — in a final attempt to engage privately to reach agreement on a mutually beneficial transaction. Duke Realty rejected the Prologis proposal that same evening.
On May 10, Prologis reiterated the offer, adding that it had engaged Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to assist in completing this transaction. The next day, Duke again declined the offer and said it has retained Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC as financial advisor and Hogan Lovells as legal advisor.
Silverstein Properties has acquired a 34,000-square-foot site at 505 East Tyler St. in Downtown Tampa, Florida, with plans to develop a 770,000-square-foot residential tower with 430 residential rental apartments, approximately 15,000 square feet of retail and a 600-space parking garage. Silverstein will serve as the lead developer for the project.
The three-quarter acre site property was acquired by Silverstein and Cantor Fitzgerald L.P. through their Cantor Silverstein Opportunity Zone Trust Inc. (CSOZ Trust), a Qualified Opportunity Fund. The seller is an affiliate of 1754 Properties LLC, an institutional owner, operator and lender of hotels and other real estate based in Weston, Florida and its partner at Triangle Capital Group.
The project site is in upscale Northern Downtown Tampa, home to over 3,700 businesses and access to nearby restaurants, area nightlife, the Riverwalk pedestrian trail, Amalie Arena, the University of Tampa and Tampa General Hospital.
Watermark Lodging Trust To Be Acquired By Brookfield Real Estate Funds
Consolidation continues in hospitality, with private funds managed by Brookfield to acquire Watermark Lodging Trust for $3.8 billion in cash, including the assumption of debt and preferred equity. Brookfield will acquire all common shares of Watermark for $6.768 per Class A share and $6.699 per Class T, a premium of over 7.5% from the most recently published Net Asset Values per share as of December 31, 2021. The Watermark portfolio is comprised of high-quality lodging assets consisting of 25 properties totaling over 8,100 rooms. These luxury and upper upscale assets are located in drive-to leisure destinations and gateway urban cities across 14 states with a high concentration in the Sun Belt region.
“Hotels and resorts of this scale and quality are difficult to replicate,” said Lowell Baron, managing partner and chief investment officer in Brookfield’s real estate group. “This portfolio is well positioned given its concentration in high barrier to entry coastal destinations, gateway cities and the Sun Belt.”
