Wells Core Income REIT has acquired the Franklin Center, a 200,600-square-foot office building in the Baltimore submarket of Columbia, Md., from Principal Real Estate Investors.

In two separate transactions, SL Green finalized previously announced deals in its prime hunting ground, Midtown New York City.

On behalf of a separate-account client, real estate investment manager Clarion Partners has acquired two adjoining office buildings in Boston’s Back Bay for $87.1 million. The 13-story buildings total 184,000 square feet.

Near the close of yesterday’s markets, Jamestown Properties and Rockwood Capital announced the $390 million acquisition of 530 Fifth Ave. — also known as the Bank of New York Building — which is soon to undergo a $20 million renovation to bring the property to Class A standards.

Novaya Real Estate Ventures, not yet one month old, has begun to build its portfolio with the acquisition of two office/R&D buildings featuring an aggregate 146,700 square feet in suburban Boston.

Walker & Dunlop L.L.C. has come through for Principal Management Partners with a $163.8 million loan package for the refinancing of a four-property apartment portfolio in Connecticut.

After acquiring New York City’s Clock Tower building at 5 Madison Ave. in 2007 for $200 million, Africa Israel USA has sold the property to Marriott International for $165 million.

While there’s been speculation as to whether 3 World Trade Center will cap at seven stories, rather than its planned 80, the project’s goal is still very much alive, according to Silverstein Properties’ CEO Larry Silverstein.

Deutsche Bank’s Americas headquarters is about to get a little greener, as the investment firm has just completed the installation of a 122.4 kW solar photovoltaic array on the roof of its New York City office.

Following on the heels of reports that call for an uptick in industrial activity for 2012, Trammell Crow and USAA Real Estate have announced the groundbreaking on a 700,000-square-foot Class A spec distribution facility at Mountain Creek Distribution Center in Carlisle, Pa.