FRANKLIN, TN—Capital Bank Financial Corp. named Ali Ayca as consumer market executive for Middle Tennessee, based in Franklin, Tennessee. Ayca has 16 years of banking and retail management experience. He attended Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the Walden University School of Management, and is involved in many local community activities, including Nashville Young Leaders, Junior Achievement, and Habitat for Humanity. Ken Kavanagh, Capital Bank's consumer bank executive, commented, “The Middle Tennessee region is an important growth market for Capital Bank, and we are delighted to welcome someone with Ali's experience and leadership skills to the team.”

DEAL TRACKER

FLORENCE, AL—Mission Capital Advisors' Debt & Equity Finance team arranged a $15.25-million, non-recourse loan for Florence Square, a 226,886-square-foot shopping center on the main retail corridor of Florence. The loan will cover major capital improvements, including the demolition of a building that was previously occupied and recently vacated by Kmart upon expiration of its lease; the construction of two brand new buildings that will be occupied by Academy Sports + Outdoors and PetSmart; and the development of two new additional outparcels, which will add another 8,000 square feet. The Mission Capital team of Gregg Applefield, Alex Draganiuk and Jamie Matheny secured the loan on behalf of the sponsor, a joint venture between Triangle Capital Group and Arcadian Cap Group, LLC, which acquired the property in 2014. “Kmart vacated in April of 2016, when its lease expired, and within a few months, the sponsor was able to fill the space with two desirable creditworthy tenants, Academy and Petsmart, which will be new additional anchor tenants for the center,” says Applefield. “The speed with which this re-tenanting took place was a significant factor underlying the competitive terms of the loan, and we were able to structure the deal with aggressive pricing and no recourse except for a lien-free completion guarantee of the new construction.”

ATLANTA—SunTrust Banks' subsidiary, SunTrust Bank, closed on the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of the operating subsidiaries of Pillar Financial, LLC, which includes receiving Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Federal Housing Administration Agency license transfer approvals. “This acquisition strategically expands the commercial real estate capabilities of SunTrust, making the bank one of a select number of agency lenders,” says Kathy Farrell, SunTrust Commercial Real Estate Executive. “It also provides Pillar and Cohen clients access to expanded products and capabilities including: bridge loans, equity for affordable housing developments, and a full suite of capital markets capabilities through SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.” The acquired assets include Pillar's multifamily lending business, which is comprised of multi-family affordable housing, healthcare properties, senior housing, and manufactured housing specialty teams. Additionally, the transaction includes Chicago-based Cohen Financial's commercial real estate investor services business, offering loan administration and advisory services, as well as their mortgage brokerage business.

SPRING HILL, TN—Hilton's Hampton by Hilton brand announced the opening of its newest property, Hampton Inn by Hilton Spring Hill. The 83-room hotel joins the family of Hampton by Hilton and Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton. Located at 2052 Crossings Boulevard, the new hotel is managed by Halifax Hotels. The hotel is less than two miles from a General Motors plant and about 45 minutes from the city of Nashville.

ATLANTA—Officials from the City of Atlanta, Invest Atlanta, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, US Department of Housing and Urban Development as well as community leaders and executives from Wingate Companies and Columbia Residential, celebrated the grand opening of City Lights Apartment Homes this week. City Lights has been awarded The National Association of Home Builders “Gold Achievement Award” for best 55 over Apartment Home in 2016. The development is an 80-unit affordable senior community in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward that broke ground in January 2015. Wingate also announced plans to start Phase II of its redevelopment of the Village of Bedford Pine, with a multifamily affordable community called Station 464. Plans for Station 464, which will be across the street from City Lights at 464 Boulevard, call for a 5-story building with 96 high-quality, affordable, multifamily apartment homes. Financial partners included Community Affordable Housing Equity Corp., Sugar Creek Capital, Georgia Department of Community Affairs, The City of Atlanta, Invest Atlanta and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Prudential Mortgage Capital Company provided construction financing.

BUILDING BLOCKS

ATLANTA—The new Residence Inn by Marriott Atlanta Perimeter Center Dunwoody, owned by Atlanta-based Hotel Development Partners and managed by Atlanta-based Hotel Equities, recently topped off in Dunwoody. The seven-story extended stay hotel, under construction by Atlanta-based Winter Construction, will include 124 rooms and an outdoor swimming pool. Joe Fallis serves as the general manager of the hotel with Susan Zuppardo as the director of sales.

Fogo de Chao, a Brazilian steakhouse, opened in early December on one of the two commercial outparcels at the site located on property owned by the non-profit Spruill Center for the Arts and leased to Hotel Development Partners. 6,000 square feet of retail space is planned for the additional outparcel.

Atlanta is still hitting on all cylinders as the year ends, but there's also some significant news in other key Southeast cities. The hotel market is getting a boost in Tennessee and executives are also rising through the ranks.

BY THE NUMBERS

Higher returns pique out-of-state buyer interest in Atlanta. Sales velocity for the metro's office assets has become sizable as out-of-state buyers, primarily from New York, California and Illinois, seek cap rates up to 250 basis points greater than their home markets. The metro's healthy job growth and lower prices compared with gateway cities appeal to value-seeking investors. Offices within Buckhead and Midtown are highly sought after, but limited listings and a competitive bidding environment will push several buyers to secondary submarkets. In addition, properties with MARTA access, or near the interstate system, will typically sell at a premium. Many private investors are targeting smaller value-add assets between 10,000 and 25,000 square feet in northern submarkets, where the average first-year return is in the high-7 to mid-8% range. Medical office space is also in high demand, with buyers seeking relatively newer class B facilities that change hands with cap rates in the mid-7% range. Overall, the average first-year yield for office space has remained flat year over year in the low-7% span.

NEWS & NOTABLES

FRANKLIN, TN—Capital Bank Financial Corp. named Ali Ayca as consumer market executive for Middle Tennessee, based in Franklin, Tennessee. Ayca has 16 years of banking and retail management experience. He attended Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the Walden University School of Management, and is involved in many local community activities, including Nashville Young Leaders, Junior Achievement, and Habitat for Humanity. Ken Kavanagh, Capital Bank's consumer bank executive, commented, “The Middle Tennessee region is an important growth market for Capital Bank, and we are delighted to welcome someone with Ali's experience and leadership skills to the team.”

DEAL TRACKER

FLORENCE, AL—Mission Capital Advisors' Debt & Equity Finance team arranged a $15.25-million, non-recourse loan for Florence Square, a 226,886-square-foot shopping center on the main retail corridor of Florence. The loan will cover major capital improvements, including the demolition of a building that was previously occupied and recently vacated by Kmart upon expiration of its lease; the construction of two brand new buildings that will be occupied by Academy Sports + Outdoors and PetSmart; and the development of two new additional outparcels, which will add another 8,000 square feet. The Mission Capital team of Gregg Applefield, Alex Draganiuk and Jamie Matheny secured the loan on behalf of the sponsor, a joint venture between Triangle Capital Group and Arcadian Cap Group, LLC, which acquired the property in 2014. “Kmart vacated in April of 2016, when its lease expired, and within a few months, the sponsor was able to fill the space with two desirable creditworthy tenants, Academy and Petsmart, which will be new additional anchor tenants for the center,” says Applefield. “The speed with which this re-tenanting took place was a significant factor underlying the competitive terms of the loan, and we were able to structure the deal with aggressive pricing and no recourse except for a lien-free completion guarantee of the new construction.”

ATLANTA—SunTrust Banks' subsidiary, SunTrust Bank, closed on the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of the operating subsidiaries of Pillar Financial, LLC, which includes receiving Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Federal Housing Administration Agency license transfer approvals. “This acquisition strategically expands the commercial real estate capabilities of SunTrust, making the bank one of a select number of agency lenders,” says Kathy Farrell, SunTrust Commercial Real Estate Executive. “It also provides Pillar and Cohen clients access to expanded products and capabilities including: bridge loans, equity for affordable housing developments, and a full suite of capital markets capabilities through SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.” The acquired assets include Pillar's multifamily lending business, which is comprised of multi-family affordable housing, healthcare properties, senior housing, and manufactured housing specialty teams. Additionally, the transaction includes Chicago-based Cohen Financial's commercial real estate investor services business, offering loan administration and advisory services, as well as their mortgage brokerage business.

SPRING HILL, TN—Hilton's Hampton by Hilton brand announced the opening of its newest property, Hampton Inn by Hilton Spring Hill. The 83-room hotel joins the family of Hampton by Hilton and Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton. Located at 2052 Crossings Boulevard, the new hotel is managed by Halifax Hotels. The hotel is less than two miles from a General Motors plant and about 45 minutes from the city of Nashville.

ATLANTA—Officials from the City of Atlanta, Invest Atlanta, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, US Department of Housing and Urban Development as well as community leaders and executives from Wingate Companies and Columbia Residential, celebrated the grand opening of City Lights Apartment Homes this week. City Lights has been awarded The National Association of Home Builders “Gold Achievement Award” for best 55 over Apartment Home in 2016. The development is an 80-unit affordable senior community in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward that broke ground in January 2015. Wingate also announced plans to start Phase II of its redevelopment of the Village of Bedford Pine, with a multifamily affordable community called Station 464. Plans for Station 464, which will be across the street from City Lights at 464 Boulevard, call for a 5-story building with 96 high-quality, affordable, multifamily apartment homes. Financial partners included Community Affordable Housing Equity Corp., Sugar Creek Capital, Georgia Department of Community Affairs, The City of Atlanta, Invest Atlanta and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Prudential Mortgage Capital Company provided construction financing.

BUILDING BLOCKS

ATLANTA—The new Residence Inn by Marriott Atlanta Perimeter Center Dunwoody, owned by Atlanta-based Hotel Development Partners and managed by Atlanta-based Hotel Equities, recently topped off in Dunwoody. The seven-story extended stay hotel, under construction by Atlanta-based Winter Construction, will include 124 rooms and an outdoor swimming pool. Joe Fallis serves as the general manager of the hotel with Susan Zuppardo as the director of sales.

Fogo de Chao, a Brazilian steakhouse, opened in early December on one of the two commercial outparcels at the site located on property owned by the non-profit Spruill Center for the Arts and leased to Hotel Development Partners. 6,000 square feet of retail space is planned for the additional outparcel.