Stony Point Fashion Park in Richmond, Va., is one of the seven malls Taubman Centers is selling to Starwood Capital Group. (Photo courtesy of Taubman Centers Inc.)

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MICH. -- Taubman Centers Inc. (NYSE: TCO) and Starwood Capital Group have reached an agreement for Starwood, through a controlled affiliate, to purchase a portfolio of seven Taubman malls for $1.4 billion.

The malls in the transaction include MacArthur Center in Norfolk, Va.; Stony Point Fashion Park in Richmond, Va.; Northlake Mall in Charlotte, N.C.; The Mall at Wellington Green in Wellington, Fla.; The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano, Texas; The Mall at Partridge Creek in Clinton Township, Mich.; and Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn, Mich.

The purchase price of $1.4 billion before transaction costs includes $785 million of cash and $620 million of property-level debt that will be repaid or assumed at closing by the buyer. The sale is part of Taubman's ongoing strategy to recycle capital, maximize its net operating income growth rate and create net asset value for investors over time.

"Given today's investor interest in high-quality regional malls, we have taken advantage of the opportunity to further enhance our growth and valuation, while increasing our industry leading productivity and modestly reducing the size of our base," says Robert Taubman, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Taubman Centers. "As a result of these sale transactions, the company's development and redevelopment pipeline will have an even greater impact on our growth."

-- Danielle Everson

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The 300,000-square-foot Marketplace at the Outlets will open adjacent to Palm Beach Outlets in West Palm Beach, Fla., in the fall.  (Photo courtesy of New England Development)

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. -- New England Development plans to open Marketplace at the Outlets, a 300,000-square-foot retail center currently under construction, this fall. The center is located adjacent to the recently opened Palm Beach Outlets in West Palm Beach. The center will feature 20 stores, including Bed Bath & Beyond, DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, Nordstrom Rack, Old Navy, PetSmart, Pier 1 Imports, Sports Authority, T.J. Maxx, Ulta Beauty and Whole Foods. 

New England Development, also the developer of Palm Beach Outlets, partnered with Eastern Real Estate in the development of Marketplace at the Outlets.

San Marco at Broken Sound is a 336-unit luxury villa and townhome community in Boca Raton, Fla.

BOCA RATON, FLA. -- ARA has arranged the $80.3 million sale of San Marco at Broken Sound, a 336-unit luxury villa and townhome community in Boca Raton. The asset was 96 percent occupied at the time of the sale. Hampton Beebe and Avery Klann of ARA represented the seller, Chicago-based Capri Capital Partners LLC, in the transaction. Marc deBaptiste and Richard Donnellan of ARA assisted in the sale. The buyer was Miami-based BC Property Investments.

The five-story office building on Embassy Row is fully leased by the Embassy of the Republic of Georgia.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Greysteel Co. has arranged the sale of a government-leased, five-floor office building on Embassy Row in Washington, D.C. The Embassy of the Republic of Georgia has leased the asset, located at 2209 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., since 2007. Ari Firoozabadi, Gil Neuman, Kyle Tangney, John Mullen, Henry Schuldinger and Caleb Brown of Greysteel represented the seller, Delshah Capital, in the transaction. The buyer, RezRoss Investment Group LLC, purchased the building for an undisclosed price.

Rendering of the 26,000-square-foot Margaret W. Niedland Breast Center in Jupiter, Fla.

JUPITER, FLA. -- Rendina Healthcare Real Estate has begun construction on a two-story, freestanding healthcare facility for Jupiter Medical Center in Jupiter. The 26,000-square-foot Margaret W. Niedland Breast Center will be a LEED Silver-certified facility offering 3D mammography, breast ultrasound, Positron Emission Mammography (PEM), stereotactic breast biopsy, bone density, and breast and general MRI. The second floor of the facility will also house the high-risk and genetics program and be available for physician office and educational space. 

The project team includes general contractor Anderson-Moore Construction, architect Davis Stokes Collaborative, landscape architect Cotleur & Hearing and engineer Jeff H. Iravani Inc. The facility, located approximately two miles south of Jupiter Medical Center, is slated to open in the first quarter of 2015.

Cornerstone Plaza in Cocoa Beach (above left) and Beachway Plaza in Bradenton (above right) recently sold for $24.5 million.

BRADENTON AND COCOA BEACH, FLA. -- HFF has closed on the $24.5 million sale of two Publix-anchored centers in Central Florida. The properties include the 120,990-square-foot Beachway Plaza in Bradenton and the 68,577-square-foot Cornerstone Plaza in Cocoa Beach. Beachway Plaza is 84.8 percent leased to tenants such as Bealls Outlet and Staples, and Cornerstone Plaza is 86 percent leased to tenants such as Cocoa Beach Realty and Beef O'Brady's. Danny Finkle and Luis Castillo of HFF represented the seller, Retail Properties of America Inc., in the transaction. 

In addition to the sale, HFF also arranged $10.1 million in acquisition financing for the purchase of Beachway Plaza. Chip Sykes of HFF arranged the five-year loan through Guggenheim Commercial Real Estate Finance LLC on behalf of the borrower, Atlanta-based Branch Properties LLC.

Rock Creek Property Group recently sold this 43,000-square-foot office and retail building to Lakritz Adler Real Estate Investments.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Rock Creek Property Group, a Washington, D.C.-based real estate investment company, has sold a three-story, 43,000-square-foot office and retail building in Washington, D.C., for approximately $14.9 million. Lakritz Adler Real Estate Investments purchased the asset, located at 5185 MacArthur Blvd. N.W. Tenants at the property include Starbucks Coffee and UPS. 

The new Gander Mountain store in Myrtle Beach will be the second South Carolina store for the outdoor retailer.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- Gander Mountain is once again expanding the nation's largest and fastest growing network of outdoor specialty stores with a new location in Myrtle Beach, S.C., set to open in fall 2014.

"We are thrilled to continue our national expansion with the announcement of our second South Carolina store," says David Pratt, Gander Mountain's chairman and CEO.

The new 45,600-square-foot Myrtle Beach store will be located adjacent to the Tanger Outlets on Edward E. Burroughs Highway (U.S. 501 - South) at Factory Stores Blvd. It will be the second Gander Mountain location in South Carolina, joining a recently announced new store in North Charleston, which will also open in the fall. 

-- Katie Lee

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One of the largest challenges facing the business world in the upcoming decades will be recruiting the right talent to help organizations compete and innovate, while at the same time providing the necessary amenities to retain them, according to a recently released report by Cushman & Wakefield entitled Human Capital: The War for Talent and Its Effect on Real Estate.

In The Conference Board's 2014 annual survey, The CEO Challenge, human capital ranked as the most critical challenge facing today's global CEOs, even before customer relationships and innovation. According to the Human Capital report, 35 to 55 percent of an organization's costs go to recruiting, training and compensating employees, whereas real estate costs typically range from 5 to 15 percent.

Meanwhile, the growth of the working-age population in the United States is slowing significantly, experiencing a 58 percent drop between 2011 and 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. As the Baby Boomer generation retires, the economy is on the verge of a prolonged period where the supply of labor will not match the level of demand. The Millennial generation will eventually fill this gap, accounting for 51 percent of the workforce by 2020, but until it becomes the dominant working-age population, recruiting skilled workers will be an expensive and challenging process.

Source: Cushman & Wakefield

At the same time, demographic shifts across the country have produced substantial population growth within major U.S. cities. According to U.S. Census data, between July 2010 and July 2011, city centers grew faster than suburbs in 27 of the nation's 51 largest metropolitan areas.

-- Scott Reid

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