The LightBox CRE Weekly Deal Tracker highlights the most important commercial real estate stories of last week, not just in terms of transactions and data, but what they signal about where the market is heading. From AI-fueled office demand in San Francisco to creative financing in suburban retail and growing traction for office-to-resi conversions, these stories offer more than surface-level insight. The LightBox analyst team hand-picked the headlines that offer a snapshot of where capital is flowing and how demand is shifting across asset classes and regions.
Luxury Fitness Takes Center Stage at 10 Bryant Park
Lifetime Fitness signed a 52,000-square-foot, 20-year lease at 10 Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan, finalizing the leasing program for the 865,000-square-foot tower. Amazon also occupies space in the building. The new flagship facility will include studios, spa amenities, and recovery zones, and is slated to open in 2027.
Why it matters: Wellness-focused amenities are emerging as leasing differentiators in top-tier buildings. According to JLL and CBRE, features like gyms and air filtration boost tenant satisfaction and retention, especially in sectors like tech and professional services. Expect more landlords to prioritize experiential anchors in repositioning plays.
Creative Financing Powers Suburban Retail in Oklahoma
In Broken Arrow, Oklahoma (part of the Tulsa metro) developers secured $46 million in financing for the Adams Creek Town Center, a 200,000-square-foot retail power center anchored by Target, Lowe’s, and Cinemark. The capital stack includes a $24.1 million senior loan from Firstar Bank and a $21.9 million C-PACE loan from Nuveen Green Capital.
The deal reflects a growing trend in both Sunbelt and Midwest markets of pairing traditional lending with energy-focused financing mechanisms to make large-scale retail projects pencil in today’s high-rate environment. Nuveen now holds more than 75% of Oklahoma’s commercial PACE market share, having executed $85 million in deals since the state’s program launched.
Broken Arrow ranks among the top 25 U.S. cities to start a business (No. 16 in 2022), and its growth has made it fertile ground for retail development that blends tenant draw with sustainable design. The Adams Creek Town Center, with national anchors and green-financed backing, is a case study in how suburban retail is evolving.
Why it matters: Development is rising in second-ring suburbs, where land and demand align but deals often require creative capital stacks. C-PACE financing is gaining traction as a way to unlock energy-efficient projects and navigate cost pressure.
AI Firms Drive San Francisco’s Strongest Office Quarter Since 2019
San Francisco is on pace to record its most active office leasing year since 2019, largely driven by AI firms. In Q2 2025, the city posted 610,000 square feet of positive net absorption—the strongest quarterly total since 2018 and its third straight quarter in the black. AI companies have already leased more than 800,000 square feet this year.
Notable deals include Coinbase’s 150,000-square-foot lease at Mission Rock, LinkedIn’s 165,000-square-foot renewal at 222 Second Street, Morrison Foerster’s lease of 100,000+ square feet at 101 California, and footprint expansions by Notion and Databricks. Most activity centers on Class A, amenitized space in SoMa and the Financial District.
Vacancy remains high at 35.1%, with recovery concentrated among premium assets.
Why it matters: AI is providing San Francisco’s office market with its clearest sign of life in years. These firms, backed by capital and talent, are intentionally leasing space to centralize teams, power compute-intensive operations, and build company culture. This activity directly challenges the “death of the office” narrative and reinforces SF’s role as a global innovation hub. Still, with vacancy above 35%, the market remains deeply bifurcated. Newer, amenitized towers are attracting tenants. Older stock is not. Expect to see this dynamic take hold in other tech-heavy metros as AI continues to scale.
Self-Storage Portfolio Secures $34M Refi Across Five States
Affinius Capital issued a $33.5 million loan to refinance 13 self-storage facilities operated by 10 Federal Storage. The portfolio spans Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, and Tennessee and includes more than 3,600 units.
Why it matters: Self-storage is quietly outperforming in growing secondary markets. This refinance deal signals that operationally sound, cash-flowing assets are still attracting capital, even as other sectors face lending constraints.
Capital Flows Into High-Rent Zones as Edgewater Lands $211M Loan
Oak Row Equities secured a $211 million construction loan to develop a 40-story, 324-unit luxury tower in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood. The financing package includes a $142.5 million senior loan from Bank OZK and $68 million in mezzanine debt from Canyon Partners Real Estate. Construction begins immediately, with delivery expected in Q4 2027.
Why it matters: Edgewater’s momentum stands out in a cautious multifamily environment. While most markets are cooling, lenders are still backing high-demand, high-rent submarkets selectively. Rent sustainability will be the next test.
64 Fulton Adds to NYC’s Growing Office-to-Residential Pipeline
Flatiron Real Estate Advisors, Duke Properties, and Oceanica Partners are converting a 125-year-old Class C office building at 64 Fulton Street into multifamily housing.
Conversions remain difficult but are gaining traction as vacancy persists, particularly in older buildings. LightBox is tracking more than 100 viable office-to-residential candidates across NYC, concentrated in the Financial District, Midtown East, and Chelsea.
Why it matters: Conversions are becoming a critical lever in rebalancing oversupplied office markets. With new incentive programs under discussion, expect more activity, especially for well-located, structurally adaptable buildings.
Cincinnati Leads the Nation in Rent Growth
Cincinnati posted the strongest rent growth in the country this May, according to Realtor.com, with median asking rents rising 7.4% year-over-year to a record $1,460. That performance stands in sharp contrast to the national trend, where average asking rents fell roughly 1% during the same period.
Why it matters: As affordability pressures redirect demand away from high-cost coastal metros, second-tier metros like Cincinnati, Columbus, and Louisville are gaining traction, not only for their affordability, but also for their growing job bases, livability, and potential for rent stability.
Walmart Tests ‘Dark Store’ Model for Faster Fulfillment
Walmart is piloting a dark store concept, retail spaces used exclusively for fulfillment and closed to the public. These locations streamline last-mile delivery and align with Walmart’s broader logistics strategy, including automation and drone deployment.
Why it matters: Dark stores blur the line between retail and industrial. Expect more repurposing of big-box and mid-sized anchors into logistics nodes, especially in urban or land-constrained submarkets.
Want the Full Story Behind the Headlines?
For expert commentary, deal context, and the latest economic data driving the CRE market, listen to this week’s full episode of the CRE Weekly Digest podcast. Whether you’re watching capital shifts, construction activity, or zoning reform, we break down what’s moving and what it means for your deals.
