The income-producing real estate group Gazit Globe Seeks to change the company’s name to G City, similar to the brand under which its shopping centers operate. Next month, the general meeting of Gazit Globe shareholders will convene, at which a resolution on changing the name of the company will be put to the vote.
According to the company’s bylaws, a majority of at least 60% of the participants in the vote is required, with the controlling shareholder Norstar , Alone owns 51% of Gazit Globe shares and will support the offer. The controlling owner of Norstar is Haim KatzmanWho holds approximately 29.2% of the voting rights in it, and serves as the CEO and Vice Chairman of Gazit Globe and Norstar.
Today, Gazit Globe reported two significant deals in Florida and Finland. In Florida, the company will build a project of 334 apartments for rent with an investment of $ 175 million, so that the volume of luxury apartments for rent in Florida has increased to 1,100 apartments, with a total value of $ 740 million and an investment of $ 510 million.
In Finland, the subsidiary, Citicon, A huge shopping center worth 430 million euros. This is a 44,000 square meter commercial project, established in the capital Helsinki, above a new metro station.
The Florida project is located in an area with tax benefits
According to Gazit Globe, the residential rental project in Florida will be built in the downtown area of Tampa Bay, in partnership with the American Land Ventures Fund. The project, AER Tampa, will include 334 apartments in a 31-story building to be built on the riverfront, in the city’s artists’ quarter in front of the Hall of Culture and adjacent to the Tampa Art Museum.
The ALV Foundation has built over 10,000 housing units in Florida over the years and has owned land to build the project for several years. Gazit will hold 94% of the partnership and upon completion, the project will include, in addition to apartments, approximately 1,300 square meters of commercial space and more than 450 parking spaces.
Construction of the project is expected to begin this month and last about two years. The project is located in the Opportunity Zone, an area eligible for tax benefits, such as deferral of current capital gains and tax exemption if the property under construction is held by the company for a period of ten years or more.
Earlier this month the company announced the Brickell Gateway project that includes 504 apartments in Miami and in June 2021 the company purchased another housing project, the Mason Building which includes 262 housing units for rent.
The project in Helsinki: a metro station on the property and a “gold” rating in sustainability
Citicon, a subsidiary of Gazit Globe operating in the Nordic countries, this month launched the LIPPULAIVA project in the Helsinki region. The shopping center opened with an occupancy rate of about 90% and includes, among other things, three large supermarkets, and a unique food complex that includes about 20 local and international cafes and restaurants, as well as a municipal library covering an area of 2,900 square meters.
Gazit Globe Shopping Center in Helsinki, Finland / Photo: Gazit Globe
A metro station was built inside the property, which will start operating in 2023. The project has been awarded a “gold” rating in all areas of sustainability and it produces all the energy needed to operate it from a geothermal “green” source. Adjacent to the commercial center are eight new residential buildings that will include about 560 housing units, of which Citicon will own about 400 housing units that it intends to rent. Citicon predicts that the project will generate a NOI (net income from rental activities) of about 21 million euros a year.
Haim Katzman, founder and CEO of Gazit Globe, said that “Our investment with ALV in Tampa Bay is a significant step in the development of our residential operations in general, and in Florida in particular. Tampa Bay has enjoyed strong growth in recent years, creating jobs and rising rents at a faster rate than most other U.S. markets.
“Thanks to the collaboration with one of the top developers in the area, we enjoy a quality long-term property, in a great location, while expanding our operations to one of the fastest growing cities in the US. We believe that the new project, similar to the one we recently announced in Brickley, Miami, will make us a significant player in the Florida residential area and yield us higher returns than what is accepted in the market, also thanks to the tax benefits. “
Referring to the new project in Helsinki, Katzman said, “The LIPPULAIVA project illustrates our strategy for exploiting building rights over and over our properties. We demolished the old commercial center we owned and built a new and twice as large commercial center over a new metro station. “560 units. This is a classic example of mixing uses and creating additional building rights on and for our properties – a strategy that we lead in all the territories in the group.”