600 West Chicago was originally built in 1908 and completely redeveloped in 2001 as a 1.5 million square foot mixed-use property. The property was reportedly 94% leased at the time of purchase with major tenants including Groupon, Wrigley, Fox Sports, Level 3, Japonais Restaurant and David Barton Gym.
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Redwood City, CA has been active in recent months in moves to draw new developers into the area to expand downtown and increase foot traffic. On January 24 the city approved the "Downtown Precise Plan" which included potential future City projects; now developers are beating a path to complete design proposals due October 17th to build large-scale projects with office space, market-rate housing or even an upscale hotel on a long strip of city-owned land now used for downtown parking near the Caltrain station according to a Mercury News article.
"People are more optimistic," said David Cropper, managing director for TMG Partners, a San Francisco based real estate development firm. "There's capital that wasn't there for real estate and demand that wasn't there two or three years ago. The city said we want a new downtown and it (the plan) makes it less difficult; they don't have to guess what the city wants," he said. "Redwood City is a county seat and it's got historic buildings and some charming buildings. It's the last great downtown on the Peninsula."
Despite a 25% vacancy rate in Redwood City, Dan Zack, Redwood City's downtown development coordinator, said he expects developers to submit project proposals that will be worth "tens of millions and may perhaps go past $100 million."
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Cassidy Turley announced this week that it had finalized the acquition of the brokerage and property management businesses of Carter. While fincials of the deal were not disclosed, the St. Louis Business Journal notes that Carter has completed transactions valued at $4.6 billion in the past five years and manages 25 million square feet in 11 states on behalf of private, institutional and corporate clients and for its real estate funds.
"Our acquisition of Carter allows us to expand Cassidy Turley's service offerings, including investment sales, finance, tenant representation, project leasing and corporate services, and gives us a significant presence in two major markets, Atlanta and Florida, strengthening our geographic footprint in the Southeast," said Mark Burkhart, CEO, Cassidy Turley. "Our expansion is important, particularly in today's economy, as our clients are rethinking their financial, operational and growth strategies to improve their return on investment and are looking to firms like Cassidy Turley to deliver integrated services, economies of scale and geographic reach."
"This transaction with Cassidy Turley enables us to leverage our property leasing and management services for Class A product across the nation to better serve our clients," said Bob Peterson, Chairman and CEO of Carter. "Cassidy Turley's growth strategy is smart, selective, thoughtful and client-focused – they are one of the few firms today to recognize the level of service quality and sophistication that clients demand."
Peterson and Carter's President, Scott Taylor, will have dual roles providing leadership for both Carter and Cassidy Turley. The transaction adds about 270 new employees and 25 million managed square feet in 11 states to Cassidy's roster.
For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.
Pacific Coast Capital Partners, LLC, (PCCP) provided a $23.75 million senior loan to Bala Cynwyd, PA-based Keystone Property Group for the recapitalization of a five-building Class A office complex according to a National Real Estate Investor article. John Randall, senior vice president of PCCP said "we see this property as one with strong growth potential over the coming years and believe Keystone, as a premier suburban office owner, will manage the property effectively and increase tenant interest."
Built in 1973, the property underwent a substantial transformation when Keystone invested more than $10 million to re-skin and modernize four of the five buildings and make other high-end enhancements. The complex totals just over 228,000 square feet within Sentry Park West in Blue Bell, PA, a suburb of Philidelphia. The property consists of five office buildings: Gwynedd Hall, Dublin Hall, Abington Hall, Merion Towle, and a PNC Bank branch. "This property appeals to small and mid-size tenants looking for a prestigious location and smaller floor plates that offer corner glass with superior light and air," said John Prete, vice president with PCCP.
For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.
Real estate developer Extell Development Company has begun construction on a new 54 story hotel in Times Square at 135 West 45th St. according to a CoStar report. The Hyatt Times Square is expected to be completed in 2013 and will be managed by an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corp. The property will include 487 guestrooms, including 49 suites, rooftop terrace, Sky-lounge and meeting space with an oversized adjacent terrace. The hotel will feature an innovative exterior design by renowned architectural firm SLCE and interior spaces by SPaN of New York.
For Gary Barnett, the president of Extell, who predicted that more new construction would begin as underwriting became less conservative, the choice to move ahead with construction projects was the only rational decision for his firm noted the New York Times. "We really didn't have a choice in the matter. We had to build," Barnett said, adding that construction had been moving forward despite what he described as extremely conservative underwriting. "It's what we do. It's what we've done."
For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.
The end of August was busy for Wells Fargo with the Anglo Irish Bank deal, which followed the purchase of about $1.4 billion in U.S. loan holdings from the Bank of Ireland and roughly $500 million in loans bought from Allied Irish Banks PLC earlier this year. The Wall Street Journal has written an article looking at Wells Fargo's marked expansion in CRE titled Wells Fargo Jumps on Commercial Deals. An excerpt from the article:
Wells Fargo had emerged as the leading holder of commercial mortgages among banks, according to Trepp LLC, which tracks commercial property lending. During the second quarter, Wells Fargo's loan holdings grew by $3.3 billion, bringing its total to $100.2 billion, according to Trepp. The data exclude construction loans.
"We like the risk-return of the business," said David Hoyt, who heads wholesale banking for Wells Fargo.
The amount of commercial property loans held by the next five largest commercial real-estate lenders after Wells Fargo decreased by $1.3 billion, according to Trepp. While many of these banks are making new commercial real-estate loans, old loans have been maturing or have been sold off at a faster pace than new loans have been made.
Still, Wells Fargo has been far more aggressive than other banks, partly because it was less wounded by commercial real estate than many competitors, some of which virtually shut down lending in the sector through much of the downturn.
For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.
"Ongoing upgrades and enhancements to the property have enabled Three First National Plaza to continue to perform in the upper tier of Chicago buildings," said Hines Senior Vice President Tom Danilek. "We look forward to our new alliance with Downtown Properties as we continue our commitment to superior tenant service at the building."
"Three First National Plaza has been an excellent performer for our Hines U.S. Core Office Fund investors," said Charles Hazen, president of the fund. "We are pleased with this sale as we balance our portfolio holdings to meet future objectives."
Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Three First National Plaza at 70 West Madison Street was developed by Hines in 1981. In 2005 Hines sold the building for $245.3 million to its office fund, a partnership with Osaka, Japan-based Sumitomo Life. The 1.4 million square foot sawtooth tower is currently 92% leased with major tenants including Madison Dearborn Partners, K&L Gates, Kaye Scholer, The PrivateBank and Fitch Ratings.
For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.
