2050 Main in Irvine Sold for $108.5M

AEW Capital Management announced that is had purchased the 13-story office building at 2050 Main Street in Irvine, CA for $108.5 million, or roughly $345 per square foot, according to a CoStar report. AEW bought the property on behalf of one of its institutional clients from a joint venture of Westbrook Partners, Walton Street Capital and Greenlaw Partners. AEW was self-represented in the transaction while the seller was represented by Eastdil Secured.

"We are very pleased with the acquisition of 2050 Main St.," said Daniel Bradley, AEW director, in a statement. "It is considered a high-quality trophy property in a premier location with high tenant demand. In addition, its pending LEED Gold Certification will help solidify the property's top-tier status."

The 315,000 square foot office building was built in 2007 and was reportedly 80% leased at the time of sale. 2050 Main Street is part of the Irvine Concourse Corporate Center, a development comprised of 10 office towers, hotels, a health club and three restaurants, in the Orange County John Wayne Airport submarket.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Ventas Acquires Cogdell Spencer

Ventas, Inc. announced this week that it would acquire Cogdell Spencer Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT) with 72 medical office buildings (MOB), according to a Bloomberg report. Cogdell shareholders will get $4.25 per share; at closing, Ventas's investment, including its share of debt, is expected to approximate $760 million to $770 million, before anticipated transaction expenses. Cogdell has reached an agreement under which Cogdell's design-build and development business will be sold to an affiliate of Lubar & Co., a private equity firm affiliated with David Lubar, prior to completion of the Ventas transaction.

"We are delighted to announce this strategic and accretive acquisition that further broadens our footprint in the attractive MOB sector, continues to diversify our business and tenant relationships and keeps our balance sheet strong," Ventas Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Debra A. Cafaro said. "Cogdell's high-quality properties enhance our medical office building market presence, especially in the southeast, and provide an opportunity to scale our Lillibridge Healthcare Services subsidiary platform. We look forward to successfully integrating the Cogdell properties into the Ventas portfolio."

After the deal, "Ventas will have the leading MOB business in the U.S., with over 20 million square feet owned or managed, and a coast-to-coast presence that is second to none in the healthcare real estate industry," Todd Lillibridge, executive vice-president of medical property operations at Ventas, said in a Reuters report.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

RREEF America Sells Bay Area Industrial Assets for $520M

RREEF America REIT II Corp. and its affiliate, Northern California Industrial Portfolio, Inc., completed the sale of a 5.3 million square foot industrial and flex portfolio for $520 million this month according to a San Jose Mercury News article. PS Business Parks (PSBP) acquired the portfolio and, in connection with the transaction, assumed a $250 million secured loan that matures in December 2016. In addition to the secured loan, PSBP also entered into a three-year unsecured term loan for $250 million with Wells Fargo Bank.

"This is the largest transaction we're aware of in the Bay Area this year," said John Yandle, a senior vice president in the Santa Clara office of Cornish & Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank, a commercial realty firm. "There is nothing that would beat a half a billion dollars."

The portfolio consists of 18 multi-tenant business parks comprised of 2.9 million square feet of light industrial space and 2.4 million square feet of flex space in nine Bay Area cities and is currently 82.2% leased to 216 tenants.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

MillerCoors HQ Sold for $91M

250 S. Wacker Drive in Chicago, IL sold for $91 million before the close of the year as Credit Suisse Asset Management, a unit of Credit Suisse Group, takes ownership from Boston-based AEW Capital Management. AEW originally purchased the property in 2007 for $57 million after it underwent a $40 million renovation.

CBRE began shopping the property in November of this year noting that the property is more than 93% leased to mostly long-term tenants, including MillerCoors with a lease of 167,256 square feet of office space covering 8 full floors of the building through 2024. Michael Vesper and Thomas McClayton of CBRE represented the seller, while Benjamin and Debra Lacy of Lacy Ltd. represented the buyer according to a CoStar report.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Austin Chamber of Commerce Buys $4.5M Office Space in Hilton

The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce has purchased 20,000 square feet of office space for $4.5 million in the Austin Hilton Hotel according to an Austin Business Journal article. The space, previously occupied by Faulkner USA, will house 45 employees currently at 210 Barton Springs where the Chamber's lease expires next year. The Chamber will move to the Hilton at 500 E. Fourth St. this coming March.

"The Board was very, very excited about the prospects for this, and very excited that the Chamber of Commerce is going to have a permanent home," said Chairman Bobby Jenkins. He added that the new space will give the Chamber "room to grow — and room to meet."

The Chamber reportedly holds hundreds of meetings a year and, due to their current lease only offering 12,000 square feet of space, have had to rent out rooms at local hotels and other venues to accommodate the attendees. Paul Bury, President of Bury + Partners (which was instrumental in the search for the property), said the Chamber will save "significant dollars" by not having to rent off-site meeting space. He explained that hosting the monthly Board meetings elsewhere cost the Chamber as much as $15,000 a year. "After we evaluated everything, the purchase of the space rose to the top," Bury said. "It's just a win, win, win. We haven't really found a negative yet. We're really excited about the opportunity."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

UDR and Kuwait JV Make $154M DC Acquisition

UDR Inc. announced this week that it had acquired, in a joint venture with Kuwait Finance House (KFH), 1301 Thomas Circle in Washington, DC for $154 million. According to a National Real Estate Investor Online article, The acquisition is being funded through a five-year, 2.99%, $90 million interest-only loan from Fannie Mae, a 70% equity contribution by KFH of $44.8 million and a 30% equity contribution by UDR of $19.2 million. Since its formation in 2009, the joint venture has invested $281 million in metropolitan Washington, D.C. through the acquisition of three operating communities containing 660 homes.

1301 Thomas Circle is a ten-story building constructed in 2006 located just minutes from the Mt. Vernon Square and McPherson Metro Stations. Additionally, it is just a short walk from two of the Company's other operating communities, Andover House and View 14, as well as its development project, 2400 14th Street. Following the close of this transaction, the Company will own, or have an ownership interest in, 21 communities consisting of 5,934 apartment homes in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. market.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

The Arbors in Harbor Town Sold for $31.5M to Behringer Harvard

Behringer Harvard announced this week that is had acquired the Arbors in Memphis, TN for $31.5 million according to a Memphis Business Journal article. Behringer Harvard acquired a 94% interest in Arbors through a joint venture between Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT II, Inc. and Carter-Haston Real Estate Services, Inc. Behringer Harvard bought into the deal with $470,000 of the $500,000 earnest money and $29.1 million of the total acquisition cost, according to an SEC filing.

"Arbors boasts an exceptional infill location on the completely built-out Mud Island, downtown Memphis's strongest apartment submarket," said Mr. Samuel A. Gillespie, Chief Operating Officer of Behringer Harvard's opportunity platform. "We plan to enhance the value of this stabilized asset with an interior and exterior improvement program expected to further enhance its desirability and competitive advantage."

Built in 1991 on a 14.7-acre site at 671 Harbor Edge Drive, the 345-unit multifamily community comprises two phases containing 30 three-story residential buildings and two clubhouse buildings. The cumulative amenities of both clubhouses include three swimming pools, water volleyball areas and sundecks, lighted tennis courts, a sand volleyball court, grilling and picnic areas, laundry facilities, a car wash and vacuum area, and a 24-hour fitness center.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

10 Exchange Place Sold for $285M

Manulife Real Estate, the global real estate arm of Canada-based Manulife Financial Corporation, acquired 10 Exchange Place in Jersey City, NJ for $285 million this month. Manulife picked up the property from a client of Invesco.

"This is kind of unusual," Andrew J. Merin, of Cushman & Wakefield's Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group, which orchestrated the sale, told GlobeSt.com. Merin, David W. Bernhaut, Gary Gabriel, Brian J. Whitmer and Kyle B. Schmidt represented the seller, a client of Invesco, in the transaction. "Over $1 billion in bricks and sticks will have traded. [...] There is not a lot of quality out there. In July, the market started to slow down. [But] Manulife did all their homework."

"Manulife is always looking for opportunities to grow our real estate investment portfolio and we're extremely pleased to secure these exceptional assets in what are three very important and diverse real estate investment markets," said Kevin Adolphe, Chief Operating Officer of Manulife's Investment Division and President and CEO of Manulife Real Estate. "We are optimistic about the possibilities in these and other key markets and we continue to look for core office, industrial and multi-family residential property investments throughout Canada, the United States and Asia."

Completed in 1988, the 748,005-square-foot building was the recent recipient of BOMA's 2011 TOBY (The Outstanding Building of the Year) award for buildings over 500,000 square feet. LEED-Gold and Energy Star certified, the iconic tower offers unobstructed views of lower Manhattan from every floor. The property was 100% leased at the time of sale with major tenants including ACE Insurance, Daikin McQuay, Kuehne + Nagel, Rabobank, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Amazon.com.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

15 Properties in Japan Sold for $1.6B to JV

Global Logistic Properties Limited (GLP) and China Investment Corporation (CIC) have entered into a 50-50 joint venture to acquire 15 modern logistics facilities in Japan from LaSalle Investment Management for JPY122.6 billion (or $1.6 billion) in one of the biggest-ever property deals in Japan according to a Wall Street Journal report. This purchase marks the first collaboration between GLP and CIC with each company initially investing about $272.9 million. GLP will act as the asset manager of the acquired properties.

In a statement, LaSalle Investment Management said the deal marked the sale of all but two properties held by its US$1.6 billion Japan Logistics Fund, and reaps "strong returns" for the fund's institutional investors. "Global money has returned to Japan in a big way," said Masahiro Mochizuki, an analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG in a Businessweek article. "This transaction means that real estate prices in Japan have fallen to an attractive level."

GLP chief executive Ming Z Mei said: "Demand in Japan continues to come from companies working to become more competitive and are focused on ensuring they have more efficient warehouses. Companies are also rethinking how their supply chains are managed so they can minimise any risk of disruption. As a result, demand for quality modern warehouse space is on the rise, while there remains a lack of supply of modern warehouses. The properties we are acquiring come with a strong tenant profile - 67% of the space is utilised by large third-party logistics service providers and 13% is leased by e-commerce companies."

The portfolio of 15 properties to be acquired will have a Gross Floor Area (GFA) of 770,989 sqm with more than 90% of the GFA located within the Greater Tokyo and Osaka areas. The current occupancy of the properties is 98.3% with a weighted average lease expiry of 5.6 years. The portfolio comprises modern facilities with a weighted average building age of only 6.9 years.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Hines Picks Up Fisher Plaza for $160M

Fisher Communications announced this month that it had completed the sale of Fisher Plaza to Hines Global REIT, Inc. for $160 million in cash. Fisher disclosed that the company began marketing the property in early 2008 but, due to the then rapidly deteriorating financial market conditions, suspended the effort to unload the property until March 2011. Fisher has said that it will use a portion of the sale proceeds to redeem the remaining $61.8 million of its 8 5/8% Senior Notes. Moelis & Company and CenturyPacific, LLLP served as Fisher's real estate advisors on the transaction.

Built in 2001, Fisher Plaza is a 300,000-square-foot office and data center complex that includes two six-story buildings in downtown Seattle across from the Space Needle. The buildings and land at 100 and 140 4th Avenue North carried a value of $106 million as of Dec. 31, 2010, according to the company's annual report last year reported Bloomberg. The Seattle building serves as Fisher's headquarters and houses ABC-affiliate KOMO. Fisher will remain the 300,000-square-foot facility's largest tenant, with a 12-year lease for its corporate headquarters according to a Puget Sound Business Journal article.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Southwest Bancorp Sells Nonperforming Assets

Southwest Bancorp, Inc., parent of Stillwater National Bank & Trust Co., announced this month that it had sold over $300 million in nonperforming loans, potential problem loans and other real estate assets. According to an American Banker article, roughly $170 million of the loans are nonperforming; the sale to SW Loan Portfolio Holdings LP and its affiliates will produce a pre-tax loss of $101 million, which it will record in the fourth quarter. The holding company was organized in 1981; on Sept. 30, 2011, it had total assets of $2.6 billion, deposits of $2.0 billion and shareholders' equity of $367.0 million reported Tulsa World.

Rick Green, President and Chief Executive Officer at Southwest, said, "These sales immediately and substantially reduce our nonperforming assets and potential problem loans. We believe this action is a major step toward achieving our goals of reducing problem assets, returning to sustained profitability, resuming dividends, and producing reliable and attractive returns for our shareholders. Southwest's Board of Directors decided to enter these agreements after careful consideration of the potential costs and benefits to Southwest and its shareholders and consultation with financial and legal advisors and management. This included consideration of the estimated costs and benefits of continuing the workout process for these assets over time versus the estimated costs and benefits of their immediate resolution by sale."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

CRE Price Index Shows First Year-Over-Year Improvement in Years

CoStar has released its latest monthly National Composite Index of commercial real estate prices showing a 1.8% gain in October from September, and a 2.2% increase from the same period last year, marking the first year-over-year improvement since the economy and markets took a downturn in 2008. The year-over-year and monthly increases in October reflected long-awaited positive momentum in the composite index notes CoStar, which has now achieved a steady 1.3% average monthly growth rate over the six-month period between May and October 2011,

Other highlights from the CCRSI report include:

October's total of 743 sales pairs is on par with historical averages for transaction activity, according to the CCRSI December 2011 report. At the low point in the last downturn in January 2009, a total of 385 sale transactions were recorded.

As the average transaction size increases, overall transaction volume continues to trend upward, increasing by 29.4% annually in October, while the average deal size increased by 23%.

Stable fundamentals across most commercial property markets and product types, including improving occupancy, and softening downward pressure from distress sales, supported the solid performance of both the investment grade and general indices.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

UnitedHealth Group Sells Eden Prairie Campus for $50M

UnitedHealth Group Inc. completed the sale of its Eden Prairie OptumHealth division to an affiliate of Angelo, Gordon & Co., a New York-based private equity group that buys distressed assets, for $50 million. The sale comes shortly after UnitedHealth bought the property this past June for $39.5 million according to a Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal article. UnitedHealth has said that Optum will remain on the campus in a 12 year sale-leaseback deal.

The 90-acre campus is the former ADC Telecommunications headquarters and includes three buildings at 13625 and 13675 Technology Drive in Eden Prairie, MN. The campus has been renovated to house roughly 700 Optum employees that had previously been scattered at various sites throughout the area. UnitedHealth has announced that it is also planning a five-year, $250 million expansion near Highway 62 and Shady Oak Road in Eden Prairie. The 71-acre site will include 1.5 million square feet of office space, a parking ramp and room for light rail.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Turkey Creek Sold for $131.7M

Colonial Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust (REIT) based in Birmingham, AL, announced this week that it had sold Colonial Pinnacle Turkey Creek in Knoxville, TN to an institutional pension fund advisor for $131.7 million according to a Knoxville News Sentinel article. Colonial had a 50% JV interest in the property with a group of local investors that were organized in entities called Turkey Creek Land Partners LLC and Farragut Land Partners LLC. "The disposition [...] is another step in the execution of our strategy to simplify the business and sell our non-core assets," stated Thomas H. Lowder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. A CoStar report notes that the REIT will use proceeds of the sale to repay a portion of outstanding balance on an unsecured line of credit, with the remainder used to acquire multifamily apartment communities across the South.

Colonial Pinnacle Turkey Creek is a 659,000 square foot retail center built in 2006 on more than 40 acres in the Campbell Station / Farragut submarket of Knox County, just three miles from the I-40/75 junction. The property includes Colonial Promenade and Pavilions and counts Belk, Best Buy, Panera, World Market, the Regal Pinnacle 18 cinema and H.H. Gregg as major tenants.

"The transaction highlights the continuing trend of institutional investors acquiring core assets in secondary markets with more compelling returns than those associated with major market core properties," said Chris Decoufle, one of two CBRE brokers who represented the seller on the Turkey Creek deal. "Both the seller and purchaser were highly pleased with the results."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Arco Center in Long Beach Sold for $81M

The Swig Company of San Francisco announced this month that it had sold the Arco Center in Long Beach, California to Molina Healthcare, a Long Beach‐based medical provider and Arco Center’s largest tenant, for $81 million, or $176 per square foot. Other major tenants include California State Lands Commission and California Marine And Intermodal Transportation System Advisory Council.

Built in 1983, the Arco Center is a 460,000 square foot Class A office complex located at 200 & 300 Oceangate in downtown Long Beach. It was largest office sale in Long Beach since the real estate peak of 2007, said real estate broker Kevin Shannon of CBRE Group in a Los Angeles Times article. The average asking rent per year is approximately $24 per square foot, according to CoStar Group information.

"Arco Center is a tremendous asset to which we have added value through proactive onsite management, leasing and strategic capital improvements and we are delighted that Molina, once the property’s major tenant, is now its owner," said Jeanne Myerson, president and CEO of The Swig Company. "Successful completion of this sale allows us to focus on our goal of further building our portfolio in key markets," she added.

"Molina Healthcare has been doing business in Long Beach for over 30 years, and this purchase reflects our continued commitment to operating here and serving the Long Beach community," said J. Mario Molina, president and CEO of Molina Healthcare, Inc. "Owning this property will allow Molina Healthcare to continue to expand and to provide quality health care to even more people."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

USPS Downsizing, May Eliminate 252 Facilities

According to a CoStar report, the U.S. Postal Service is planning to move forward with its proposal to change service standards and massive cuts to its real estate footprint, which may include eliminating 252 out of its 487 mail processing facilities.

"The U.S. Postal Service must reduce its operating costs by $20 billion by 2015 in order to return to profitability," said David Williams, vice president, Network Operations. "The proposed changes to service standards will allow for significant consolidation of the postal network in terms of facilities, processing equipment, vehicles and employee workforce and will generate projected net annual savings of approximately $2.1 billion."

In a presentation delivered at a media roundtable organized by the International Post Corporation during the COP 17 climate conference in Durban, South Africa, U.S. Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe spoke about the future of the U.S. Postal Service and made the business case to go green. "Leaner, greener, faster and smarter is our sustainability call to action," said Donahoe. "It's environmentally responsible, as well as a very good business decision."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Avison Young Acquires Ramsey-Shilling

According to a Los Angeles Business Journal article, Avison Young, Canada's largest independently-owned commercial real estate services company, has acquired LA-based Ramsey-Shilling Commercial Real Estate Services Inc., a full-service real estate brokerage firm. While the terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, the company did note that Ramsey-Shilling Chief Executive Christopher V. Bonbright and Ramsey-Shilling President Mark Evanoff will join Avison Young as principals. Also joining as principals are John Tronson, a Ramsey-Shilling principal who focused on the entertainment division and Michael Dettling, principal and director of Ramsey-Shilling’s health care group.

"We are delighted to add Chris, Mark, John, Michael and the Ramsey-Shilling team to our rapidly-growing Southern California and U.S. platforms,"said Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young. "Chris Bonbright and his team have a solid market share in Hollywood, West Hollywood, the Westside and other key Los Angeles markets, and are market leaders serving healthcare providers and the entertainment industry."

Avison Young opened its first L.A. office in August 2011, with industry veteran Neil Resnick joining as a Principal to help launch the company's brokerage business in Southern California.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Expanded $4B US Green Building Program

Former President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama announced this month that the Better Buildings Challenge has made significant progress, including a $4 billion investment to be used for energy upgrades to buildings over the next two hears. Of the $4 billion, half of the money is a commitment to energy upgrades of federal buildings using long-term energy savings to pay for up-front costs at no cost to taxpayers.

"Upgrading the energy efficiency of America's buildings is one of the fastest, easiest, and cheapest ways to save money, cut down on harmful pollution, and create good jobs right now. But we can't wait for Congress to act. So today, I'm directing all federal agencies to make at least $2 billion worth of energy efficiency upgrades over the next 2 years – at no up-front cost to the taxpayer. Coupled with today's extraordinary private sector commitments of $2 billion to upgrade businesses, factories, and military housing, America is taking another big step towards the competitive, clean energy economy it will take to win the future," said President Obama.

"Investments in building retrofits and energy efficiency can make a real difference in the American economy, by creating jobs, growing our industries, improving businesses' bottom lines, reducing our energy bills and consumption, and preserving our planet for future generations," said President Clinton. "I am proud the Clinton Foundation has been able to help develop and grow President Obama's Better Buildings Challenge, and that so many members of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) have joined this Challenge. Working together, I am pleased the commitments to the BBC have grown from the initial $500 million and 300 million square feet that we announced in June at CGI America, to the $2 billion investment with over 1 billion square feet of retrofitted space that we are announcing today."

"The Better Buildings initiative has all the components to make a real difference-it will create profitable investment opportunities for worker pension funds, create badly needed good jobs, increase America's competitiveness around energy savings, and address the dangers of climate change," said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

The Arbors Office Park Sold for $12.75M

RexxHall Realty purchased a multi-building office park in South Florida from TA Associates for $12.75 million this month. Details of the sale were not disclosed, but it was noted that Stuart T. Kapp of Proskauer Rose LLP served as RexxHall’s legal counsel while CBRE’s Institutional Group and Private Capital Group represented the seller. The property sits at 1615, 1625 at 1690 S. Congress Avenue in Delray Beach and is currently 45% occupied with major tenants including Alfred Angelo, Sperry & Hutchinson, Twin-Star International and Escalate.

RexxHall’s Aaron Stauber told the Business Journal that the company thinks South Florida has matured significantly in the last two decades. The Arbors is a great opportunity because each of the buildings is different, and each has potential that has not been maximized, he said.

"RexxHall has significant opportunity for upside potential through the lease-up of the vacant space, which they are confident that they will be able to accomplish," said CBRE Vice Chairman Christian Lee in a statement. "They have a big capital budget and plan to renovate the buildings and implement an aggressive leasing program."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

CIM Group Sells Hollywood HQ to Hudson Pacific

Hudson Pacific Properties announced this month that it had purchased 6922 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California from CIM Group for $92.5 million, or $450 per square foot. Sean Sullivan of Eastdil Secured negotiated for the seller and Bob Safai with Madison Partners represented the buyer.

"We are excited to add this highly regarded property to our growing portfolio of quality office assets," said Victor J. Coleman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. "This transaction marks our fourth Hollywood property and seventh acquisition in the last twelve months, as we build on the burgeoning presence of the media and entertainment industries in this submarket."

Commonly known as the TV Guide Hollywood Center and headquarters for CIM's corporate operations, the 12-story 205,522-square-foot office building is fully leased to a mix of media and entertainment tenants including Trailer Park, a movie trailer post-production studio and advertising agency, and J2 Global Communications, the owner of the eFax and KeepItSafe brands according to a CoStar report.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.