NEWS & NOTABLES

BATON ROUGE—Thumbtack awarded Louisiana a grade of A-plus in its 2017 report card on small business friendliness, ranking the state No. 4 in the US for its supportive small business environment. Louisiana earned an A in eight specific categories of the state's small business climate and a grade of B in four other categories. In addition to the top-grade Louisiana received for small business friendliness, other ratings for the state include A grades for ease of hiring new employees; friendliness of health and safety regulations; friendliness of tax code; friendliness of environmental regulations; friendliness of zoning regulations; training and networking programs; and websites for government resources. Louisiana scored a B for ease of starting a small business; regulatory friendliness; friendliness of employment; labor and hiring regulations; and friendliness of licensing regulations.

DEAL TRACKER

ATLANTA—Cushman & Wakefield senior director Jason Hochman secured financing for Miami-based KAS Partners' acquisition of King's Landing and Phoenix Business Park in suburban Atlanta. Hochman secured a $7.2 million fixed-rate loan with an interest-only period from a commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) lender for KAS Partners' $10.25 million acquisition of Phoenix Business Park. Phoenix Business Park is a three-building flex/office portfolio comprising 110,607 square feet. It has direct frontage along Interstate 85 with easy access to Atlanta's major highways. The property was 96 percent occupied at the time of sale.

ATLANTA—CushWake's Jason Hochman secured a $5.53 million fixed-rate loan with flexible pre-payment options from an insurance company lender for KAS Partners' $7.9 million acquisition of King's Landing. King's Landing is a 77,381-square-foot, single-story office building located in the suburb of Roswell. It was 89% leased at the time of sale with occupancy comprising eight high quality-tenants.

FULTON, GA—Ascentris, a Denver-based real estate private equity firm, on behalf of one of its public retirement system clients, announced today the sale of a 748,000-square foot industrial portfolio consisting of four buildings located in the Fulton submarket and one building located in the Airport submarket of Atlanta, Georgia. The properties range in vintage year from 1977 to 1989 and were collectively 100% leased upon sale. Ascentris and Huntington Industrial Properties acquired the properties in 2012 and executed over 549,000 square feet of new and renewal leases and performed $3.2M in capital and tenant improvements during the hold period. Taurus Investment Holdings purchased the assets.

LEBANON, TN—Marcus & Millichap brokered the sale of Arby's, a 3,969-square-foot net-leased property located at 813 South Cumberland Street in Lebanon. Bruce Bentley and Douglas Diffie, investment specialists in Marcus & Millichap's Austin office, in conjunction with Jody McKibben, the designated Tennessee broker of record, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor. This property is a corporately guaranteed Arby's location in the heart of Lebanon, Tennessee. Arby's is situated about 25 miles east of downtown Nashville and is a component of the Nashville MSA.

BUILDING BLOCKS

OLIVE BRANCH, MS—Home2 Suites by Hilton opened its newest property, Home2 Suites by Hilton Olive Branch, bringing the brand one step closer to its 200th property milestone. Home2 Suites by Hilton Olive Branch complements the city's recent, rapid development, as it was named the fast-growing city in the US after the 2010 census, having experienced an 838 percent population growth over the past 20 years.