Thursday, June 30, 2011

First AllianceTexas Building Sells for $18.7 Million

Macquarie CNL Global Income Trust, Inc. announced this week that it had acquired the first of two fully leased office buildings in Fort Worth, Texas as part of a two building purchase agreement. Macquarie paid $18.75 million for Heritage Commons III in Fort Worth's AllianceTexas development. Built in 2006 with 119,000 rentable square feet of office space, Heritage Commons III is 100% leased to DynCorp International, a government services contractor.

"This transaction supports our vision to build a portfolio of properties that will provide stable income to our shareholders," said Andy Hyltin, president of Macquarie CNL Global Income Trust. "These two office buildings have established tenants and are in a robust market that has seen one of the highest rates of population growth in the nation during the past decade."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Cole Seeks Exit for 20.6M SF Portfolio

A new article from CoStar reports that Cole Real Estate Investment, via a letter sent to financial advisors, announced its plans to exit a 20.6 million square foot triple net leased portfolio accumulated by its affiliate, Cole Credit Property Trust II. The piece includes excerpts from the letter written by Cole President Marc Nemer:

"There appears to be a growing demand in the market for the type of assets that comprise the CCPT II portfolio: high-quality properties net-leased on a long-term basis to industry-leading tenants. We are also seeing positive indications that the commercial real estate markets are continuing to recover as we actively explore options to successfully exit the portfolio within the next 12 months.

"As the commercial real estate markets continue to rebound, we believe the market cycle we are in favors portfolios like CCPT II, which consist of high-quality, brand name tenants under long-term leases," Nemer wrote. "Additionally, the retail sector in particular is beginning to benefit from the labor market recovery and the associated incremental improvement in consumer confidence.

"We believe we are moving into a healthy environment for a portfolio exit, and we are evaluating options to take CCPT II full cycle within the next 12 months. Potential exit strategies we are looking at include, but are not limited to, a sale of the portfolio or a listing of the portfolio on a public stock exchange."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Centro US Assets Close for $9B

Centro Properties Group, which specializes in the ownership, management and development ofshopping centers, confirmed the successful closing of its U.S. assets and platform of Centro Properties Group this week. BRE Retail Holdings Inc., an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners, purchase the US assets and platform of Centro Properties Group and its managed funds for approximately $9.0 billion.

"This transaction is indicative of the strength of [Centro's] US platform, including the high quality and diversification of its asset base and operating capabilities," said Michael Carroll, CEO of Centro Properties Group US. "We are fortunate to have such a sophisticated investor as Blackstone as our partner. Together, we look forward to building a premier retail real estate company."

"We are extremely excited about this transaction, which enables us to expand our retail real estate presence with a leading platform," said A.J. Agarwal, Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group. "The Company is well-positioned today with an attractive portfolio comprised of strategically located assets in dense, infill markets with productive grocer anchors. We look forward to partnering with the Company's experienced management team to help them pursue the growth opportunity embedded within this portfolio."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Steel Pier for Sale in Atantic City

Atlantic City's Steel Pier amusement park on the block according to a Wall Street Journal report. CB Richard Ellis Group has been hired by Trump Entertainment to sell Steel Peer with a minimum bid of $2.5 million.

"We believe selling the Pier through auction is the best course of action for the company to increase the equity value for our shareholders," said Brian Cahill, a spokesman for Trump Entertainment. "We are a gaming company, and Steel Pier is not part of the casino."

The Steel Pier is located opposite The Boardwalk from Trump Taj Mahal. Previous plans for the property included redeveloping the space into retail and entertainment attractions along with luxury condominiums.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Chevron Picks Up Four Allen Center for $340M

Four Allen CenterFour Allen Center, the former headquarters for Enron in Houston, was purchased by Chevron Corp. for $340 million this week as Brookfield Office Properties unloaded the property from its portfolio. According to the Wall Street Journal, Brookfield bought the property, which sat vacant for three years before Chevron leased the building. for $120 million in 2006 from Towanda Development I Ltd. The building at 1400 Smith Street stands 50 stories tall with 1.3 million square feet of space.

"We have created significant value through the sale of this stabilized asset concurrent with Chevron's sizeable lease extension at our adjacent property," said Dennis Friedrich, president and global chief investment officer of Brookfield. "Chevron represents the type of top-flight corporate tenant we seek to partner with in our global energy-sector markets."

The sale price is a "coup" for Brookfield, said Dan Fasulo, managing director at Real Capital Analytics Inc. in a Bloomberg article. "It's a win-win for both parties," Fasulo said. "For Chevron, obviously they're a cash-rich corporation. They have the money to buy their own property."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Springfield Office Building Sold for $15.9M

Gladstone Commercial Corporation, a publicly-traded REIT based in McLean, VA, purchased a 78,421 square foot office building in Springfield, Missouri for $15.9 million this week. The property, built in 2006, was built-to-suit for T-Mobile, which has leased the property through 2021 with three options to renew for five year periods. Gladstone assumed an $11.6 million mortgage as part of the transaction. Stan Johnson Co. represented the buyer, an unnamed private investor, in the transaction.

"We are excited to add this property, and a strong tenant like T-Mobile, to our existing portfolio," said Buzz Cooper, the Gladstone's Managing Director responsible for the transaction. "This acquisition continues our plan for growth in 2011 and we are pleased to add this great property to our substantial list of quality investments," said Chip Stelljes, the Gladstone's President and Chief Investment Officer.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Failed Trump Tower Site in Tampa Bought for $5M

Brownstone Tampa Partners, LLC has purchased almost two acres along Tampa's Riverwalk, including the site of the ill-fated Trump Tower Tampa and an adjacent office building known as the CapTrust Building, for $5 million according to a Gulf Coast Business Review article. The price comes at a hefty discount given that in 2004 the original developer paid $16 million for the property. Long-term plans for the vacant land include a mixed-use project of retail, restaurants, office space and hotel.

Brownstone Tampa Partners LLC is an investment partnership of O,R&L Facility Services, a large-scale property and facility management company, Owens Realty Network LLC, O,R&L’s sister real estate brokerage company, and Community Reinvestment Partners II LP, a joint venture investment fund of Forge Capital Partners LLC and DeBartolo Development LLC. "The Trump site and the history, we really are not tied to that in anyway, and we're looking at redefining the site," said new developer Bob Owens. "We see it as a mixed-use development, combining retail, office, and a hotel site, is most likely what we're going to do there," Owens explained, adding that restaurants and condos are also possibilities.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Houston Office Building Sold to Netherlands-based Fugro

HFF announced this week that it has closed the sale of 6671 Southwest Freeway in Houston, TX for an undisclosed price to Fugro Properties, Inc. a division of Fugro, the world's leading service provider for the collection and interpretation of data relating to the earth's surface and sub-surface. Bob Gulley of Moody Rambin Interests represented Fugro in the transaction while HFF represented the seller, NHP Houston, MOB LLC.

The property, partially renoved in 2006, sits on a 2.15 acre plot of land in southwest Houston with direct access to Highway 59. The eight story, 148,751 square foot building will be partially occupied by Fugro.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Monday, June 20, 2011

1515 Wynkoop Sold in Denver

1515 Wynkoop1515 Wynkoop, an eight-story LEED Gold-Certified Class AA premier office building in Denver, sold this month for an estimated $120 million, or $391 per square foot, according to a Denver Business Journal article. Hines sold the property to Glendale, CA-based American Realty Advisors.

"Capital loves best-in-class assets like Hines’ 1515 Wynkoop project, in one of LoDo’s best locations," said Kevin Shannon, vice chairman and managing director of CBRE’s institutional group-west, which represented the seller in the transaction. "This is the second, significant core office sale in the Denver CBD market this year. Both debt and equity is attracted to Denver’s strong growth prospects, fueled in part by its healthy energy and technology industries. We expect to see stronger sales activity in Denver as the market continues to benefit from improving fundamentals."

The 306,791 square foot mixed-use core property was built in 2009 and includes 279,578 square feet of office space. The building is reportedly 90% leased to a number of tenants, including credit tenant Black Hills Corp., law firm Polsinelli Shughart and insurance company Van Gilder. Designed by Hartman-Cox Architects, the exterior of 1515 Wynkoop is clad in brick and glass, in keeping with the historical tradition of its neighboring structures.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Friday, June 17, 2011

NIBS Solicits Building Industry Input

The National Institute of Building Sciences will hold a hearing July 18 in Washington, D.C., open to all parties, in which they'll share observations on commercial building related data. The hearing, explained NIBS, is in response to recent news that the Energy Information Administration (EIA) will not release the results of its 2007 Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey or complete the 2011 Survey.

The institute is seeking to gather input from building industry participants about their commercial building data needs. Participants are invited to submit written or oral testimony, or both. Three Institute representatives will preside over the hearing proceedings. Gordon Holness, a current member of the Institute Board of Directors, is past president of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE); Ron Skaggs, a past chairman of the Institute Board, is past president of the American Institute of Architects (AIA); and Henry L. Green, current president of the Institute, is past president of the International Code Council.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Palms Casino Resort Gets New Owners

Teaming with private investors, Palms Chairman George Maloof said that the Palms Casino Resort would be teaming with private investors Leonard Green & Partners LP and TPG Opportunities Partners. With the new partners, the Palms will "significantly reduce" the property's debt according to a Las Vegas Review-Journal article. TPG Opportunities Partners is a subsidiary of the Texas-based TPG Capital investment firm; Leonard Green & Partners is a private equity firm based in Los Angeles.

"We have an equity stake in the Palms," said Maloof in a phone interview with the newspaper. "We have a property that has done very well in a brutal market. I'm sure we've captured some market share from other people." The terms of the new arrangement were not disclosed, nor were figures revealed, though the property was backed by a $400 million revolving credit agreement that was due in October and was not refinanced.

Leonard Green and TPG said in a joint statement, "We are excited to partner with the Maloof family on this world-class asset and iconic brand."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

€315M Loan for Deutsche Bank Towers

In a sale-leaseback deal, Allianz SE, the property arm of German insurer Allianz AG, has agreed to provide a €315 million loan for Deutsche Bank AG's two-tower headquarters in Frankfurt according to a San Francisco Chroncle article. Allianz Real Estate provided the loan for the DWS Access Deutsche Bank Tuerme fund, the mutual funds unit of Deutsche Bank. Reportedly Deutsche Bank plans to lease the buildings for 15 years and has an option to extend the tenancy by another five years. Deutsche Bank previously announced in March that it had agreed to sell and lease back its two towers in Frankfurt to a fund run by DWS for about €600 million.

The Deutsche Bank Twin Towers property boasts two skyscrapers, each 155 meters tall, that opened in 1985 providing 808,000 square feet of space. Deutsche Bank Group headquarters have been located in the buildings in central Frankfurt for more than 25 years.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Latest Beige Book Comments on CRE Conditions

The latest Beige Book, prepared at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, summarizing comments received from businesses and other contacts outside the Federal Reserve, was released this week. As BBC notes, growth appeared to slow in several regions across the US in May, with the manufacturing sector notably sluggish, which the Fed blamed on the disruption to supply chains from Japan's earthquake. An excerpt from the real estate portion of the report:

Commercial and industrial real estate markets have generally been steady since the last report, though there have been scattered signs of a pickup. Commercial leasing markets showed modest signs of improvement in the Richmond and San Francisco Districts. Boston and Dallas noted some firming in property sales markets, but Kansas City reported declines in prices for office buildings. Non-residential construction, though widely reported to be at very low levels, rose modestly in the Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Dallas Districts, though Chicago noted that public sector projects are becoming smaller. Cleveland observed a pickup in industrial and high-end commercial development but a pullback in healthcare-related projects. Richmond reported some pockets of strength in the retail market. More broadly, contacts in a number of Districts expressed a general sense of optimism about the outlook for the second half of 2011.

To real the full report, click here. For more news and information, visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Invesco Invests in 230 Park Ave

Dallas-based Invesco Real Estate has been brought on as a new partner invested in 230 Park Ave. in New York, the tower above Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal. Monday Properties recapitalizes the landmark Manhattan office tower, buying out a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. real estate fund, according to a Bloomberg report. Monday Properties and a Goldman fund venture purchased the 34-story building in 2007 for $1.15 billion.

The deal "commences this new chapter for 230 Park Ave.," said Monday's CEO Anthony Westreich in the statement, calling the 34-story tower "a unique landmark environment." Terms of the transaction with Invesco's Dallas-based real estate unit were not disclosed. As part of that deal, Goldman is exiting the building, according to Brian Robin, a vice president at Monday Properties. Monday Properties will continue to manage 230 Park Avenue where major tenants include ING, Simon Property Group, Tokio Marine Management and Houston & Rosen P.C.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Gregorie Ferry Landing Project Gets $26M FHA Loan

Grandbridge Real Estate Capital closed on a $26,801,800 first mortgage loan funded through FHA’s 221(d)(4) loan product earlier this month. The loan was secured by the Gregorie Ferry Landing Apartments, a proposed 240-unit, Class "A" mid-rise property in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

"A great team of professionals all around made this deal possible. The HUD 221(d)(4) loan process requires a combination of hard work, the right timing and the right team to make the deal work," said Grandbridge Senior Vice President Mike Ortlip. "The borrower, Tony Berry, with the Berry Company, along with the Samet Corporation, a general contracting firm represented by Arthur Samet, David Greene and Alton Tew, and Grandbridge’s FHA Underwriting team lead by Senior Vice President Tim Duncan, all worked together, bringing their unique expertise to the process. This was the first 221(d)(4) transaction in South Carolina to be approved by HUD’s new national loan committee."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

JV Secures $23M Loan for DC Office Condo

In December of last year, Monument Realty and Angelo, Gordon & Co. bought 2055 L Street NW in Washington, DC in an all-cash deal; this month, they've secured a 23.2 million senior loan commitment from PCCP LLC for the acquisition and re-development financing of the property. With this loan in place, the joint venture will now commence a six-month rehabilitation to the owned 102,000 square foot condominium office portion of the 237,000 square foot building.

2055 L St"The owner plans to renovate the property to position it as a quality Class A asset," said John Randall, senior vice president at PCCP, LLC. "The overall competitive vacancy rate in the CBD is approximately 6.4 percent. Once the renovation is completed, its quality and key location will be desirable to high-profile law firms, lobbyists, and non-profit organizations and associations."

Verizon sold the property, represented by Cushman & Wakefield, to the JV for $12.75 million. The JV plans to move forward in the coming months with a full renovation of 2055 L that will improve the now Class B building’s common areas, facade and building systems and add ground-floor retail space.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

NYT Takes a Look at Office Sublets

The New York Times published a new article titled "Manhattan Office Sublets Show Benefit as Markets Tighten" examining the current trend in NYC. Data from Newmark Knight Frank shows that, as of April, Downtown reflected a 40% drop in sublease space with Midtown down 35%. An excerpt from the article:

Conventional wisdom holds that subleasing — in which tenants vacate their offices before the end of their lease and rent it to another tenant at a discount — has a negative impact on the market. Landlords must compete against the lower rents, while tenants bristle at the restrictive terms that often are a part of a sublease.

But the industry perspective is now shifting. Tenants are embracing subleases as a means of locking in below-market rents, while landlords, who are facing fewer vacancies, are using it to attract tenants and then converting the leases into direct deals when the subleases expire.

"Landlords don’t usually like the fact that sublease space rents for less, and tenants don’t like that the leases offer little flexibility," said Moshe Sukenik, an executive vice president and principal at Newmark Knight Frank. "But there is a silver lining that can result in a win-win for everyone involved."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Monday, June 6, 2011

REIT Acquires Building Leased to Los Angeles Times

Rexford Industrial Fund V REIT has purchased a 48,350 square foot industrial building that's fully leased to The Los Angeles Times for $5.1 million. The Pasadena, CA building at 121-125 North Vinedo Ave. was acquired in an all-cash purchase from an undisclosed source. Cushman & Wakefield represented both the buyer and the seller in the transaction.

"This acquisition aligns with our strategy of acquiring stabilized and value-add industrial properties in strong infill markets," said Howard Schwimmer, co-founder and senior managing partner of Rexford Industrial, in a statement. "The Southern California industrial market continues to demonstrate favorable market fundamentals and the unique opportunity to add value by acquiring assets at substantially below replacement cost."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Friday, June 3, 2011

North America's Tallest Building Up for Sale/Investment

The Willis Tower in Chicago, formerly known as the Sears Tower and North America's tallest building, is on the block according to the Wall Street Journal as the owners are reportedly looking to recapitalize or sell the property. The owners of the property, Chicago's American Landmark Properties Ltd, New York Developers Joseph Moinian of the Moinian Group and Joseph Chetrit of the Chetrit Group, originally purchased the building for $900 million, or about $244 a square foot, in 2004. The building carries $780 million of debt on it said sources.

Completed May 3, 1973, Willis Tower stands 1,450 feet tall and is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the Chicago skyline . The building held the record for the world’s tallest building for 25 years until the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia were built in 1998. The 3.8 million square foot tower was designed by the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill for Sears, Roebuck & Company. The building was renamed to Willis Tower in 2009 when UK insurer Willis Group Holdings leased 140,000 square feet at $14.50 per square foot. Watch an Associated Press video report on the marketing of the tower here.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Building and Development in Dubai

DubaiThe Jumeirah Emirates Towers (along with Burj Khalifa and Burj al Arab - the famous soaring Jumeirah resort hotel in the Gulf) are the symbols of Dubai and along with Emirates Palace, they are the symbols of the UAE and to some extent the emerging states of what is known as the GCC (Gulf Cooperating Council). Almost every GCC country (except Oman) is trying in one way or another to replicate the power these buildings suggest in moving towards a modern future and in overcoming the desert. Oman an ancient country that once stretched from Pakistan to Zanzibar, prizes its desert architecture and low scale, almost whitewashed or sand washed, buildings.

Across from the Jumeirah Emirates Towers on Sheikh Zayed Road, there is a building that is designed to look like a circuit board. The reason for this and much odder designs and shapes for office buildings is that throughout the region and India as well, office buildings are more often developed for speculative investors in a flipping scheme than tenants.

This investment structure means each developer is competing with others to attract buyers for his floors. That's why so often Dubai buildings end up with wholly impractical designs, such as a turning office building, to set themselves apart from others, but without thought to practical value to end users. Further, the floor by floor sales of these buildings means no unified building management or leasing.

The capital used to build most speculative buildings, both office and residential, is 100% debt in the form of deposits. The risk of this to the buyer is that the developer has little at risk and the buyer has all the risk. Further, there has been no clear law defining their rights or the developer's obligations. This mess of a system was very, very fragile and waiting for any market factor to topple it.

That's what happened in 2008-2009 as interest rates increased slightly and loans for the buyers continuing deposit obligations, or the next buyer to flip sell to became scarce. As financing dried slightly the whole market withered and collapsed.

As the real estate economy collapsed, it meant the construction industry, and investment capital flows shut down precipitating a full financial disaster for heavily over extended Dubai, which relied heavily on these sectors (along with ports and tourism trade) for its economic life.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Morgans Sells Two NYC Properties for $140M

Morgans Hotel Group sold off two of its boutique hotels in New York City, the Royalton and Morgans, for $140 million, or approximately $500,000 per room, late last month. Morgans sold the property to Felcor Lodging Trust but will continue to operate the hotels under 15-year management agreements with one 10-year extension option.

Michael Gross, Chief Executive Officer of Morgans said, "We are pleased to complete the sales of these New York hotels and we look forward to a long and beneficial partnership with FelCor as we continue to manage the hotels. With this transaction, we have now completed the sale of three assets which has allowed us to reduce our debt and provided us with financial strength to expand our brands."

Morgans reportedly used part of the proceeds to retire a credit facility. According to a Reuters report, the two hotels, along with the Delano hotel in South Beach that the company sold off in April, were collateral for the credit facility. Delano is currently unencumbered, the company said in a statement.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.