COLORADO SPRINGS, CO—The Praedium Group has purchased Bella Springs, a 364-unit, class-A multifamily community at 1050 Milano Point here, from a joint venture between Griffis/Blessing Inc. and Consolidated Investment Group for $48.5 million. The purchase was free and clear of existing debt. HFF's investment-sales team, led by director Jordan Robbins and real estate analyst Jared Buffington, marketed the property on behalf of the seller. Meanwhile, HFF's debt-placement team, led by director Josh Simon, senior managing director Eric Tupler and real estate analyst Kristian Lichtenfels, secured a $31.5-million, five-year loan on behalf of the buyer at just under 3.1% interest through a correspondent life-insurance company. The property, completed in 2001, is 95% occupied and includes a diverse mix of floor plans, including a number of townhome-style units with direct-access garages. Community amenities include a heated resort-style swimming pool and spa, fully equipped fitness center, BBQ area, clubhouse, theater room and business center.

COLORADO—Santa Monica, CA-based William Warren Group has purchased six Colorado StorQuest self-storage facilities for approximately $33.2 million. The six locations consist of 353,902 square feet across 2,692 units. The StorQuest properties include Clock Tower at 16400 E. Colfax in Aurora,Highlands Ranch at 745 Monument Dr. in Highlands Ranch; Louisville at 1200 Lock St. in Louisville; Manitou Springsat 125 Higginbotham Rd. in Manitou Springs,Pony Express at 18455 Pony Express Dr. in Parker and StorQuest Twenty Mile at 18601 Longs Way in Parker.

SAN MATEO, CA—A private family LLC has purchased Mariner's West, a 45-unit condominium-style multifamily complex at 730 Mariner's Island Blvd. and 735 Fathom Dr. here, from a private equity firm for $16.5 million, or $365,556 per unit. Adam Levin, a VP investments, and Eric Katz, an associate, both in Marcus & Millichap's Palo Alto office, represented both parties in the 1031 exchange. Built in 1979, the property features 30 one-bedroom/one-bath units and 15 two-bedroom/one-bath apartments, almost all with water views. The property has been remodeled inside and out over the past year.

SANTA CRUZ, CA—San Diego-based Trigild and Santa Barbara-based Blu Hotel Investors have completed the $16.5-million acquisition of the three-story, 100-room Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites at 1410 Ocean St. in Santa Cruz. Trigild immediately takes charge of day-to-day management. Built in 2009, the property features upgraded rooms, free hot breakfast, an outdoor pool, free WiFi, a 24-hour business center and a full-service workout facility. The hotel also offers access to UC Santa Cruz and proximity to the area's boardwalk and beaches.

DEVELOPMENT

CABAZON, CA—Simon Property Group Inc. has begun a 50-store expansion of Desert Hills Premium Outlets on Seminole Dr. here. The expansion features designer and name brands, many of which are the first in North America or unique to the region, including Alexander McQueen, Bally, Belstaff, CH Carolina Herrera, Fendi, Helmut Lang, John Varvatos, Maje, Max Mara, Rag and Bone, Sandro, Valentino and Wolford. Existing stores in the center include Armani, Coach, Elie Tahari, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Neiman Marcus Last Call, Loro Piana, Polo Ralph Lauren, Prada, Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tod's, Versace and Saint Laurent Paris. The expansion also includes enhancements throughout the property including the addition of a parking garage with 1,100 parking spaces, improved landscaping, wider walkways and a luxury-driven ambiance reminiscent of Rodeo Drive. The center now totals 650,000 square feet and is 100% leased.

PERRIS, CA—AMCAL Multi-Housing, the City of Perris and the Las Palmas Foundation have broken ground on Verano Apartments, an affordable rental community with retail and childcare at 904 South D St. here. The City has targeted its downtown area for redevelopment, which includes a new park and MetroLink station.

LEASES

VICTORVILLE, CA—Boeing has signed a $1.8-million, three-year lease at Southern California Logistics Airport, with three three-year options, for a total of $8.3 million over the next 12 years. The 100,000-square-foot lease includes 10,000 square feet of office space and 90,000 square feet of hanger space at SCLA's Hangar 678, where Boeing will centralize three of its expanding operating divisions: Boeing Capital, Boeing AOG and Boeing Flight Test.

CALABASAS, CA—Spirent Communications Inc. has leased the Liberty Canyon Technology Center, an 83,838-square-foot headquarters facility at 27349 Agoura Rd. in Calabasas, according to Mike Tingus, president, and Grant Fulkerson, principal, of Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura. Total consideration for the 10-year lease was not disclosed. Spirent is relocating from another Calabasas facility at 26750 Agoura Rd., but had previously occupied the building when it was first constructed in 2001.

FINANCING

DENVER—HFF has secured $21.3 million in financing for Hudson's Bay Centre, a class-A, 172,912-square-foot boutique office building at 1600 Stout St. in Denver's central business district. Working on behalf of the borrower, a 50/50 partnership between MDC Realty Advisors USA Inc. and Artis REIT, HFF placed the seven-year, 3.76%, fixed-rate loan with Principal Real Estate Investors. Loan proceeds were used to acquire the property. The transit-oriented, 20-story property is currently 96.4% leased.

OAKLAND, CA—Renewable Funding, a national clean-energy finance company, has secured $20 million in new equity funding led by Prelude Ventures, Angeleno Group and Apollo Investment Corp. Other major participants in the round included NGEN Partners, which was already an investor in the firm, and Claremont Creek Ventures. The significant infusion of capital will accelerate Renewable Funding's expansion of clean-energy financing programs throughout the US. The firm has provided programs and financing in more than a dozen states and is currently expanding rapidly to meet demand. It specializes in delivering large scale, low-cost capital for energy efficiency and renewable energy products serving homes and businesses.

EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENTS

IRVINE, CA—South Coast Communities LLC has added three executives to its staff to ramp up its residential construction efforts. Taylor Grant joins as EVP of real estate, managing land acquisition and real estate services in the company's homebuilding submarkets; David Hutchins is VP of development with responsibilities for new-home construction and forward planning of residential communities; and Bentley Kerr is project partner in charge of land acquisition and project-management services for entitlements. A specialist in the development of high-density infill properties throughout Southern California, Grant held similar positions at Beazer Homes, Intracorp Cos. and Western National Group. Kerr spent more than a decade as an investment partner and project manager at Bluestone Communities, specializing in entitling large residential master plans and helping to manage and entitle developments with a total land value in excess of $200 million. A member of South Coast's advisory board of directors for several years, Hutchins has significant experience working for public builders Pulte Homes and Centex Homes, where he successfully managed multiple projects with complicated entitlement and construction issues. His duties include project management, entitlement strategy, project scheduling, consultant management and agency coordination.

LOS ANGELES—Charles Dunn Co. has named Mario Gallo as multi-unit investment specialist. In his new role, Gallo will focus on investment sales in portions of the Westside Los Angeles multifamily market. Gallo brings more than 12 years of experience to Charles Dunn, most recently as a real estate consultant with SoCal Real Estate Ventures in Beverly Hills, CA. There, he provided financing and loan structures to achieve strong returns for his clients, managing a book of business in excess of 1,200 property owners and investors.

DENVER—Hotel-management company Richfield Hospitality has named Alan Baer CFO, responsible for directing the day-to-day operational finance activities of the company's hotel portfolio. Baer joins Richfield from HRI Lodging, where he served as SVP finance and CFO for MetWest Terra Hospitality. A hospitality-industry veteran, Baer spent a significant portion of his career with Kimpton Hotels overseeing accounting, finance, technology, treasury and risk management. Earlier in his career, he worked for Waterford Hotel Group and Outrigger Lodging Services, where he gained expertise in the development and implementation of financial controls, such as operating budgets, capital budgets, deal structuring and risk management.