In the News—Week of December 15, 2025
Deal of the Week
Thomas Title & Escrow is pleased to announce the successful closing of a multifamily acquisition in Greensboro, North Carolina. The transaction involved a multi-parcel property and was acquired by Rise48 Equity. Supported by institutional financing, the closing required thoughtful coordination given North Carolina’s attorney-state requirements and a layered capital structure. Led by Senior Escrow Officer Bryan Selna, our team worked seamlessly across escrow, title, and underwriting to deliver a smooth and timely close. This transaction reflects continued investor confidence in the Greensboro multifamily market and underscores Thomas Title & Escrow’s ability to execute complex commercial closings with precision, discipline, and care.
National
Real estate executive uses regulations designed to help artists against them
In an odd twist, regulations designed to help artists resist being pushed out of lofts in New York City by real estate executives are being used by a real estate executive in a dispute with artists. The Real Deal reports that three artists purchased a Soho building in 1977 for $75,000, now worth around $15 million, but never completed the legal requirements to convert it to residential use. In 2020, they rented a third-floor apartment to Alexander Riguardi, son of a prominent commercial real estate executive, for $7,250 monthly. When the owners tried to evict Riguardi to sell the building, he applied for protected loft tenant status, which could allow him to stay indefinitely at a drastically reduced rent of approximately $600 per month and potentially reclaim most of the rent he has paid. The owners’ failure to properly legalize the building over four decades has given Riguardi significant legal leverage, with him seeking nearly $4 million for a buyout.
National
$10 billion One Beverly Hills begins to take shape with construction of tallest towers
The One Beverly Hills development has gone vertical as construction has started for what will become the two tallest towers in Beverly Hills, the Los Angeles Times reports. The $10 billion project includes an Aman hotel with 78 suites and around 200 luxury condominiums across two towers (28 and 31 stories) and roughly 45 retail and dining establishments. Designed by Foster + Partners, the development will feature 8.5 acres of botanical gardens with over 200 species of drought-resistant native plants, all irrigated with recycled water. The phased completion is set to begin in 2027, connecting the Beverly Hilton and Waldorf Astoria hotels into a unified landscaped complex on the historic site of the former Beverly Hills Nurseries.
National
BlackRock provides financing for major industrial deal in San Diego area suburb
Chesnut Properties secured $103 million in financing from a BlackRock debt fund for Gillespie Field iPark, a newly completed 362,880-square-foot industrial facility in El Cajon, California, Commercial Search reports. The loan replaces previous construction financing and supports the Class A property, which serves as the largest industrial development in the city’s history. The facility features modern amenities including solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations and high clearance heights, with aerospace supplier GKN Aerospace as its anchor tenant through 2034. Located near major transportation routes and the San Diego airport, the property benefits from strategic access to Southern California’s logistics network and the Mexican border.
National
Former Mayo Clinic nurse sentenced after conviction for commercial real estate fraud
Matthew Onofrio, a former Mayo Clinic nurse anesthetist who became a commercial real estate investment adviser, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay $5.39 million in restitution for orchestrating a bank fraud scheme, The Forum of Fargo Moorhead reports. Over approximately two years, Onofrio fraudulently obtained bank loans totaling $420 million across 68 commercial real estate transactions by misrepresenting investors’ financial qualifications to lenders. Onofrio attracted inexperienced investors through online networking and podcasts, then helped them fabricate financial statements and temporarily transferred funds to their accounts to deceive banks into believing they met down payment requirements. The judge characterized him as the architect of an extensive fraud operation, though his defense portrayed him as a remorseful individual who deviated from an otherwise law-abiding life during a 14-month period.
Arizona
Walmart pays $152.2 million in largest deal for Arizona industrial property this year
Walmart has purchased a 1.27 million-square-foot industrial building at Luke Field in Glendale for approximately $152.2 million, marking the largest industrial property sale in Arizona this year, AZ Big Media reports. The facility is part of a 140-acre logistics park developed by Lincoln Property Company and Goldman Sachs, featuring three Class A buildings with modern amenities and LEED Gold Certification. Luke Field offers strategic access to major highways and is surrounded by prominent corporate neighbors including Boeing, Microsoft and UPS. This acquisition follows Lincoln’s recent sale of another major building to Dollar Tree.
Arizona
Repurposed shipping containers turned into an apartment complex in Phoenix
Forty-five repurposed shipping containers have been turned into a 19-unit apartment complex near Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport, AZ Big Media reports. Developer Evan Glickman of Tudo Capital used a factory in Mexico to cut construction expenses for Stacks on Polk by approximately 30% compared to traditional methods, which can cost over $1,000 per square foot in Arizona. The shipping containers serve as durable, transportable building modules that can be combined to create one-bedroom units (two containers) or two-bedroom apartments (three containers) without requiring special transportation permits. Glickman has developed a patented connection system that maintains structural integrity when joining containers together, eliminating the need for traditional I-beam reinforcements.
