By William Williams - The City Paper
January 12, 2007

A prominent piece of SoBro property exchanged ownership hands Thursday in a transaction that is believed to have garnered the single-largest gross sales price for raw land in downtown Nashville.

Arena Properties LLC, comprised of Nashville businessmen Mark Bloom, Larry Papel and Ronnie Scott (among others), sold the 5.6-acre parcel for approximately $15 million to Woodland, Calif.-based Tower Investments LLC. The property, currently used as surface parking that is managed by Central Parking Inc., is bordered by Fifth Avenue on the east, Sixth Avenue on the west, Demonbreun Street on the north and Franklin Street on the south.

The roughly $15 million figure represents about $60 per square foot. By comparison, most raw land (that is, land on which sits no building) in either the Central Business District or crystal trophy typically commands between $40 and $80 per foot.

"It's probably the largest piece of contiguous developable property in the CBD and/or SoBro," Bloom said.

David Marks, who represented the Marks family-owned Tower Investments in the transaction, was traveling via aircraft Thursday and could not be reached for comment.

Bloom said that he and his business partners sold the property because "we got an offer we couldn't refuse."

Arena Properties bought the parcel from the Metro Development and Housing Agency in 1996 for about $4.04 million, the equivalent of about $16.40 per square foot. At the time, the city was undertaking the development of Lower Broadway's arena. The lot is part of a greater land mass on which the Nashville Convention Center wants to build a state-of-the crystal awards facility.

Bloom said Tower, which already owns numerous downtown properties (including those home to Big River Grille & Brewing Works and The Merchants) is a respected entity committed to quality downtown Nashville development.

Bloom added that the city's historically wealthiest individuals and families have focused more on philanthropic projects as opposed to high-profile developments. As such, having Tower Investments with a local presence is noteworthy, he said.

"We're seeing heavy-hitter developers coming to town, and the Marks family will be one of those players," Bloom said.

When it comes to downtown development, the area known as SoBro-South of Broadway-is the latest hot spot.  California firm Tower Investments has staked out two of its choicest parcels.

Tower, a family-run firm with a portfolio that stretches from British Columbia to Savannah, Ga., touched down on Lower Broadway a year ago, dropping $9.4 million on a trio of buildings, including the 43,500-square-foot home of the Big River Grille & Brewing Works.  Two empty lots that sit a couple of blocks south round out the trio.

In November, Tower bought an industrial building on Fourth Avenue, just south of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.  Formerly the home of Chilton Industrial Machine and Tool, Tower has demolished the building and expects to close on a nearby 5.7 acre parking lot just south of the Gaylord Entertainment Center.

Fourteen years after the controversial Sunrise Hills development was approved by the city, homes continue to pop up at the Sonora subdivision.

The first phase of the subdivision, carved into a prominent hillside high above downtown, is nearly complete, with about 70 of 83 homes built.

Yet the future of Sunrise Hills' second phase, originally planned as about 90 more homes, remains murky at best.

Today's stricter building limits on city hills, plus millions of dollars in tax debt, will likely delay any more construction for years to come.

"It's not going to be a quick process," said John Pierce, vice president of Woodland-based Tower Investments, which owns a 32-acre stretch of land on the southeastern portion of the hill, planned as the second phase. "There's just too much debt."

It wasn't exactly love at first site, but it's fair to say that the big, wide parking lot behind the Gaylord Entertainment Center caught the eye of David Marks and his family of real estate investors not long after they arrived in Nashville.

"This property is only going to be appreciating as things develop around there," he said. "It's in the path of development, and it's a large piece of property. A large piece of real estate in the downtown is difficult to find."

With their acquisition of that 5.7-acre lot and another across the street, the 2.3-acre Chilton Industrial Machine and Tool Co., the Markses have more than doubled their investment in downtown Nashville, adding to a portfolio that already in cludes three buildings on Lower Broadway.

The investment is one of more than 100 that the Markses have made across the country and Canada through Tower Investments LLC, their family firm based in Woodland, Calif. They have amassed their portfolio without much fanfare, occasionally drawing praise from local officials without causing controversy.

Tennessee Real Estate Holding Co. has sold a 630,000-square-foot building on 60 acres in Jackson, Tenn.

The company is an LLC formed by Tomkins/Gates, a manufacturing holding company.

The property is located at North Parkway and American Drive in Jackson and has frontage along the L&N rail line.

Philadelphia-based Binswanger represented the seller in the transaction.

Tower Investments of Woodlands, Calif., purchased the building and plans to retrofit it and subdivide the space for smaller tenants.

As we mentioned the other month, the sale of new bonds was imminent in order to pay off the defaulted Ione CFD No. 1989-1 and 1989-2 Special Tax Bonds (Country Club Estates).  That sale has now closed and holders of the existing bonds that matured on or before October 1, 2005, should have received full payment on their principal and all accrued interest on the August 16 payment date, according to trustee U.S. bank. (If we read the trustee's notice correctly, bonds maturing after that point are defeased until they are called and paid off this Oct. 1.  The bottom line is that you're getting paid off; the trustee can answer your questions if we read that wrong.)

1350-acre Elk Farm Project to Offer Premiere Residential, Commercial Developments

ROCHESTER/PINE ISLAND, MN (Aug. 22, 2006) - Adding to the excitement and economic development growth of the City of Rochester and its surrounding areas, Tower Investments of Woodland, California revealed Tuesday plans for a master planned development project, which will include commercial development, technology park and residential development.

Located between Rochester and the Twin Cities off of U.S. Hwy. 52, the 1,350-acre property, known by area residents as the "Elk Farm," will host more than 700 acres of dedicated open area and residential development, 400 acres for commercial zoning and approximately 200 acres reserved for the technology park and other industrial developments.

They started with something old, but they didn't stop there. This week, Tower Investments bought a piece of the new economy in Anderson.

The Sacramento, Calif.-based company bought the old Guide Corp. Plant 9 last year. Last week, they bought 60 acres of farmland near the Flagship Enterprise Center for an undisclosed sum.

"We got to know the community and better comfort level for where it was (economically)," Matt Marks, senior vice president at Tower, said. "It seems like it had been hit hard (by job loss) but it's coming out of that."

The company plans to develop the property into commercial, office or light industrial space, Marks said. Work should begin in the next six months, depending on market forces. The company will either develop the land itself or sell off parcels to other developers.

The look of Lower Broadway will soon be changing, and not just with the possible beginning of construction of a Westin hotel that would loom above the street's honkytonks.

Starting this fall, the building housing the Big River Grille and Brewing Works restaurant will be retrofitted with two extra floors and several terraces, providing 28,000 extra square feet of commercial and office space.

Nashville-based Everton Oglesby Architects is handling design work.

Several months ago, California-based real estate investment company Tower Investments LLC purchased the Big River building, located at 111 Broadway, and two other Lower Broad downtown properties.

Design of equestrian community takes almost two years

LEIPER'S FORK COMMUNITY - More than 500 acres previously owned by Cal Turner Jr. is slated to become an equestrian community known as Beechwood Plantation.

Northern California development firm Tower Land Co. has announced plans for a 45-lot development for the Leiper's Fork-area property off Bailey Road.

"It's literally taken nearly two years to design this development because of the lay of the land, the beauty of the land and the community," said Alex Marks, Tower Land Co. senior vice president.

Marks said Tower was especially attracted to Leiper's Fork because of the unique community there.

California-based Tower Land Co. has broken ground on the second of three equestrian communities that will cover a total 1,075 acres in historic Leipers Fork just outside of Franklin.

Beechwood Plantation is a 530-acre residential development off Bailey Road. At completion, it will hold a total of 45 homes and include up to eight miles of custom-designed horse trails.

Tower Land also has underway a similar 345-acre development dubbed Traceland Estates on Parker Branch Road. A third of its units have been sold and five of the 30 planned homes have been completed.

A family-owned California investment firm is sinking big bucks into Middle Tennessee, with the purchase of three prime downtown commercial and retail sites and plans to develop a residential community in Leiper's Fork.

Tower Investments LLC recently paid $3 million to buy 411 Broadway, the former Heilig-Meyers Furniture store, from BudMark Investments; $2.1 million for 401 Broadway, which houses Merchants restaurant; and an undisclosed sum for 111 Broadway, the building occupied by Big River Grille.

And Tower, which owns various types of property around the country, has bought 1,500 acres in Leiper's Fork, with plans for four "equestrian community" developments featuring lots ranging from two to 50 acres.

Tower's David Marks says the downtown buying spree was spurred by the company's involvement in Leiper's Fork.

With the deadline looming to have the architectural design for the hospital finalized, the Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District board approved a final design last week that stays within the district's financial abilities.

"If we build the building that was last presented to the board of directors in November, it is now projected that the cost will be in excess of $21 million," said Ray Hino, CEO for the TVHD. "We currently have approximately $16.4 million to spend on the project."

He said the $16.4 million includes a $15 million bond, $500,000 from a federal grant, $250,000 from the Guild of the Tehachapi Hospital, $400,000 from sale of land and approximately $200,000 from the hospital foundation.

Another $100,000 will come from Tower Investments, which pledged to give that amount for the construction of the hospital if the facility was built on the Broome site.

Clarion Hotel staff geared up on Tuesday to officially celebrate the top-to-bottom renovation of the downtown Sioux City hotel.

The former Plaza Hotel, which became part of the national Clarion chain earlier this year, invited more than 350 local leaders to a grand reopening party from 5 to 7 p.m. today.

"It's going to be a major event for the hotel," said David Golida, the Clarion's director of sales.

Hotel staff will showcase more than $2.8 million in renovations, which include refurbishing guest rooms and the lounge and restaurant, upgrading amenities and adding new guest services.

Six months after buying the Lafayette, Arkansas and M.M. Cohn Buildings, a Woodland, Calif., real estate development group unveiled plans to renovate those and two others for condominiums, office and retail space.

Lafayette Square, developed by Tower Investments, LLC and local partners Colliers Dickson Flake Partners, will also include the Kahn and Boyle buildings on Sixth Street between Louisiana and Main streets.  The groups plan to renovate all five buildings, installing two levels of parking, improving facades and providing modern amenities.  Upscale condominiums in the buildings will sell for between $160,000-$325,000, developers said.

The Plaza name checked out Wednesday as the Clarion flag began flying over a downtown Sioux City hotel.

The 12-story hotel at 707 Fourth St. officially became part of the national Clarion chain Wednesday.  Clarion is the top-of-the-line brand for Choice hotels, which markets more than 5,000 properties in 40 countries under flags that also include Comfort Inn, Econo Lodge, Quality Inn and Rodeway Inn.

Workers hoisted temporary Clarion banners on the side of the former Plaza.  Permanent exterior signs are expected to arrive in mid-September, said David Golida, director of sales for the hotel.  On Oct. 1, the Sioux City hotel is set to gain access to Choice Hotel's reservation system.

The unveiling of the Clarion Hotel flag, under which the former Plaza Hotel and Convention Conference Center will operate, marks a new day for downtown Sioux City, officials declared Friday.

"It's been a long time in coming," Lucy Rowley, a housekeeping employee who has worked at the hotel since 1976, said. "It's appreciated."

Paul Curley, the hotel's general manager, unveiled the $2.8 million in renovation plans and predicted the renovation would be completed by October. He made the announcement in the hotel's 12th floor ballroom surrounded by employees, city officials and business people.