Shreveport Chase Tower Gets $12.2M Refinance Loan

Cohen Financial reportedly arranged a $12.2 million loan for the Chase Tower in Shreveport, LA under a 10-year, non-recourse commitment with a 30 year amortization schedule according to a National Real Estate Investor article. The borrower was only named as an Hawaii-based client of Cohen Financial and the lender listed as a regional bank, which is providing the loan at a fixed 5.5% interest rate for the first five years.

"Due to our strong lender relationships, and the fact that the borrower had increased occupancy and the value of the property, Cohen Financial was able to structure a non-recourse, cash-out refinance transaction, utilizing the office building and an adjoining parking garage for collateral," said Joseph Hevey Jr., managing director of Cohen Financial in the firm's Dallas office.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

American Assets Picks Up $92M Office Portfolio

Ashforth Pacific, Inc. let go of a 593,117 square foot portfolio of office buildings this month as it sold six properties in Portland, Oregon for $92 million to San Diego-based American Assets. According to a CoStar report, the portfolio covers six office buildings within four contiguous blocks, including a condominium interest that totals 213,533 square feet in the 20-story Lloyd Tower, the 16-story Lloyd 700 Building, the 710 Oregon Square Building, the 830 Oregon Square Building, the 710 Oregon Square Building, and the Oregon Square 729 Building.

American Assets paid for the portfolio with proceeds from its IPO in January 2011. John Chamberlain, American Asset’s president and CEO, said the company is looking forward to expanding to other markets on the West Coast, including Santa Barbara and Seattle.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Offce Vacancies Decline in Q2

According to CBRE Econometric Advisors (CBRE-EA) the U.S. office vacancy rates dropped to 16.2% in the second quarter of this year. This drop, down 20 basis points from the previous quarter, marks the fourth consecutive quarterly decline reports CBRE.

"The property sectors outside of retail are benefiting from the modest pace of economic recovery and muted construction activity," noted Asieh Mansour, head of Americas Research for CBRE. "The retail sector continues to feel the effects of a cautious consumer, hit by rising food and energy prices, as well as elevated rates of unemployment. Mounting competition from online shopping has also hurt demand for bricks-and-mortar retail."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Pension Fund Sells Stake in Manhattan Tower for $341M

The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CALSTRS) recently sold its 65% stake in 120 Broadway to UBS Realty Investors for $341 million according to a Wall Street Journal report. The sale price marks a big profit for the pension fund as it originally acquired the asset for $240 million in 2004. The remaining 35% ownership of the property is held by developer Larry Silverstein. The building is currently 90% leased with major tenants including the New York State Attorney General and Bank of New York Mellon Corp.

The property, also known as the Equitable Building, is a 38-story skyscraper designed by Ernest R. Graham and finished construction in 1915; upon its completion, the building was the largest (in total floor area) in the world. After buying the building in 1980, Larry Silverstein had the building renovated and restored at a cost of $30 million, with renovations completed in 1990. As reported by the WSJ, the $155 billion California fund and Silverstein launched a partnership in 2006 to invest up to $2 billion in the tri-state area.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Report Shows DC Real Estate Slowed

A new article from the Washington Business Journal examines a quarterly report released by CB Richard Ellis showing that commercial real estate in the DC Metro area has cooled a bit. The report shows that vacancy rates fell to 12.6% in the second quarter from 12/7% in the previous quarter, while the office vacancy rate little changed at 10%. According to the article, CB Richard Ellis reported that only four of the top 25 deals in the District were with the federal government, and only one government deal over 10,000 square feet was recorded in suburban Maryland in the second quarter, a two-year low.

"While we remain one of the strongest and most stable commercial real estate markets in the country, everyone seems to have hit the pause button as they take a "wait and see" approach," said John Germano, executive managing director of CBRE's Washington-Baltimore region. "We are poised to see improvement in subsequent quarters but not until there is a clearer picture of where the economy is headed and what will happen with regard to the federal government, a key driver of real estate activity here in our region."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Nomura Takes 900,000SF in Midtown

Worldwide Plaza signed a new tenant this week as Nomura Holding America Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Nomura Holdings, Inc., leased over 900,000 square feet of space in the Midtown tower for its Americas headquarters. According to a GlobeSt.com article, Nomura expects that by mid-2013 the company will relocate from its current home at 2 World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan, where it subleases from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. John Cefaly, Rob Lowe, Clark Finney and Anthony Pasqual of Cushman & Wakefield, along with Ed Donery and David Heller of C&W's Transactions Group, represented Nomura in the deal. Peter Duncan, George Comfort and Matt Coudert represented building ownership in-house.

"We are delighted to welcome one of the financial services industry’s global leaders to Worldwide Plaza," said Peter Duncan.

"This demonstrates our long-term commitment to build a top-tier investment bank in the US," said Atsushi Yoshikawa, President & CEO Nomura Holding America Inc.

Nomura has leased 20 full floors in the 1.8 million square foot Class A office tower between 49th and 50th Streets on Eighth Avenue. Nomura is taking 10 vacant floors as well as 10 floors presently occupied by Universal Music Group, which is leaving the building at the end of the year.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Jackson National Life Building Sold for $41.5M

Wells Core Office Income REIT (Wells Core REIT) announced last week that it had purchased the Jackson National Life building in Englewood, Colorado for $41.5 million according to a Citybizlist report. The building is fully leased by Jackson National Life Insurance Company through March 2017.

"We are enthusiastic about this latest acquisition as it folds very nicely into our core strategy." said Don Henry, chief real estate officer of Wells Real Estate Funds, advisor to the REIT, "In particular, we are thrilled to add another investment-grade rated tenant, Jackson National Life, to our expanding Wells Core REIT portfolio."

According to the REIT's June 27 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the current annual effective base rent under the Jackson National Life lease is approximately $4.4 million.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.