Long Island City's One Court Square Trades for $481M

SL Green Realty Corp. announced this week that One Court Square in Long Island City, NY was sold for approximately $481 million. SL Green took control of the property in a joint venture with JPMorgan when it acquired the real estate investment trust Reckson in 2006. The transaction included the assumption by the purchaser, an unnamed private investor group, of $315 million of existing debt.

The tower was marketed by brokers Douglas Harmon and Adam Spies of Eastdil Secured. The price works out to a hair more than $350 a foot for the 1.4-million-square foot building that is triple-net leased back to Citibank through 2020, but will need a new mortgage in 2015, according to a New York Post article. CoStar Group reports that the 52-story, 1.49 million-square-foot, Class A marquee office building was designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill and built in 1985 on 1.9 acres, towering above the Northwest Queens County submarket of Long Island.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Treetop Buys Uptown NYC Mixed-Use Property for $8.8M

Treetop Development announced this week that it had purchased 165 W. 127th Street in New York City for $8.8 million. According to a Crain's New York article, Treetop (which declined to name the seller) said that the previous owner had run into some financial problems during the recession, spurring the sale.

The six-story mixed use property includes 52 rental units with 12,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. Treetop indicated that it plans to invest $2.5-$3 million to renovate and upgrade the property, including roof, hallway and lobby improvements, with the vacant apartments to get new flooring, kitchens and bathrooms.

"We perceive Harlem and northern Manhattan has an up and coming area," said Adam Mermelstein, a general partner at Treetop. "Transportation is fantastic and it offers a good value for young professionals and young families."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

ACC Acquires 15 Properties for $627M

American Campus Communities (ACC), a student housing community developer, announced this week that it had completed its due diligence in the acquisition of 15 student housing properties for $627 million. Expected to close in the third quarter, ACC will buy the properties from affiliates of Campus Acquisitions LLC. The acquisition consideration consists of the assumption of approximately $231.6 million of outstanding mortgage debt, the issuance of between $15 million and $50 million in the form of units of common limited partnership interest in ACC's operating partnership, and between $345.4 million and $380.4 million in cash, with the final allocation between the unit and cash consideration to be determined by Campus Acquisitions prior to closing. ACC intends to fund the cash portion of the purchase price with available cash, borrowings under its revolving credit facility, a bridge loan facility and/or the sale of debt or equity securities, according to a GlobeSt.com article.

Bill Bayless, CEO of American Campus, commented, "We are very pleased to be adding 15 properties to the ACC portfolio that meet our investment criteria of differentiated communities close to campus in submarkets with barriers to entry. This acquisition should provide us a significant opportunity for meaningful accretion in asset value, operational upside, efficiencies with 11 of the assets located in our existing markets, plus new business prospects with the entry into four new tier one collegiate markets. We believe the highly fragmented student housing industry is ripe for consolidation and we are well positioned to execute on strategic opportunities."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

$$230M Loan Secured for 100 Church Street

Cushman & Wakefield Equity, Debt and Structured Finance announced this week that it had arranged a $230 million senior mortgage loan for 100 Church Street in New York, New York on behalf of SL Green Realty Corp. The ten year fixed rate financing, provided by Wells Fargo and bearing interest at a rate of 4.675%, will be used for general corporate purposes according to a Commercial Property Executive article.

"The leasing market remains pretty strong (in Manhattan), and I think the pace is consistent with historical averages," David Schonbraun, co-chief investment officer at SL Green, told Commercial Property Executive.

SL Green also announced that the City of New York renewed its lease covering 372,520 square feet for offices of the law division at 100 Church Street, the 21-story, 1.05 million square foot building located in downtown Manhattan. "We are delighted to have the City of New York as our anchor tenant. The City's decision to extend its commitment is testament to the quality of our recently completed redevelopment of 100 Church Street," said Steven Durels, Executive Vice President and Director of Leasing and Real Property for SL Green. Mr. Durels continued, "This early renewal is consistent with our firm's proactive management of future lease expirations which has led to consistently high portfolio occupancy."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Lingerfelt Acquires TN Office Portfolio for $41M

The Lingerfelt Companies announced this week that it had acquired a Nashville Airport North Portfolio of five Class A office buildings from Highwoods Properties. Lingerfelt purchased the portfolio, totaling 484,047 square feet, for $41 million according to a Nashville Business Journal article.

Ryan Lingerfelt, Principal at Lingerfelt, said in a statement regarding the purchase, "This portfolio is comprised of Class A office buildings that have been institutionally owned and maintained, and have an impressive tenant roster and favorable occupancy of 86 percent. The properties are within close proximity to Nashville's central business district and are convenient to the Nashville Airport and Brentwood/Cool Springs/Franklin submarkets. The building product mix, range of sizes and rental price points will provide the company the ability to increase income through existing contract rental increases, additional lease-up activity, and a manageable tenant rollover in an improving office market."

The properties in the portfolio include Lakeview Ridge II (2630 Elm Hill Pike), Lakeview Ridge III (2636 Elm Hill Pike), Century City Plaza I (51 Century Blvd.) and BNA Corporate Center 100/200 (402, 404 BNA Drive), according to Davidson County Property records. These properties are, on average, 96.1% leased according to a Highwoods press release.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

HFF Arranged $41.15M in Financing for Middlesex Logistic Center

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, LP (HFF) announced this week that it had arranged $41.15 million in construction financing for Middlesex Logistic Center in Edison, New Jersey. The project, developed by JG Petrucci Co., is a 570,000 square foot distribution center due to be delivered in 2003, according to a report from The Commercial Observer.

HFF worked exclusively on behalf of the sponsor, JG Petrucci Co., Inc., to structure joint venture equity from institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management. In addition, on behalf of the partnership, HFF secured the construction loan through M&T Bank. The HFF team representing the borrower was led by senior managing director Jon Mikula and managing director Michael Nachamkin.

Middlesex Logistic Center is being designed and built to LEED-certification standards featuring 36-foot ceiling heights, 108 loading doors, 140-foot truck courts and parking for 149 trailers.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Commercial Property Vacancies Decline in Q2

A new report from CBRE shows that the U.S. commercial real estate market showed improvement across all sectors as vacancy rates in the second quarter of 2012. With office building vacancies at its lowest level since 2009 during Q2, the 15.7% vacancy rate "is still well above its pre-recessionary low of 12.4% and the recent headwinds facing the office markets have not gone away,” said Jon Southard, Managing Director, CBRE.

The office and industrial market summaries from the report follow:

Office Market
The national office vacancy rate fell by 30 bps to 15.7% in Q2 2012 marking the first quarter since 2009 in which the vacancy rate has been below 16%.

The national suburban vacancy rate fell by 40 bps while the national downtown vacancy rate fell by 20 bps. Occupancy improved in almost two-thirds of markets nationwide. Vacancy rates fell by 100 bps or more in seven markets: Albuquerque, Boston, Charlotte, Norfolk, Richmond, San Diego and Seattle. Technology and energy driven markets continued to be among the top performers as vacancy rates in San Francisco, Houston, Seattle and San Jose fell by 50 bps or more in the second quarter and remain well below their year-ago vacancy rates.

Industrial Market
Q2 2012, with an availability rate of 13.2%, is now the eighth consecutive quarter in which industrial availability has declined. During the quarter, 34 markets reported falling availability rates, 18 reported increases, and eight reported no change. Among large markets, Indianapolis (-130 bps) Memphis (-120 bps), Detroit (-100) and Seattle (-60bps) all saw significant drops. Chicago and Riverside were both down by 50 bps while, Los Angeles, the nation’s second largest market after Chicago, reported a decrease of 20 bps. With most markets reporting improvement in availability rates, it appears that slowing but continuing economic growth, is still leading to increased demand for industrial space.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.