Inland Empire Airport Distribution Center Sold

Panattoni Development Company, the Newport Beach, CA-based CRE developer, has sold Airport Distribution Center in Ontario to Guthrie Development Company and a private equity parter for an undisclosed price, though some sources claim the company paid over $20 million for the property. Barbara Emmons, Darla Longo, and Michael Kendall of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction.

"This property provides an excellent opportunity for our firm and joint venture partner to build its Inland Empire industrial portfolio. We've historically focused on coastal markets, but feel the time is right to take advantage of the strength of the Inland Empire industrial market. Specifically this property fits our strategy of selling individual units as condominiums to the small industrial users," said Rob Guthrie, President of Guthrie Development Company, in a GlobeSt.com article.

Located at 1500, 1550, and 1590 Milliken Avenue, the 221,171 square foot industrial park spans three buildings that were 93% leased at the time of sale. "The property has been able to attract quality tenants due to its excellent location, dock high and grade level loading and attractive office space. Dock high loading functionality is very rare at competing properties with similar unit sizes," added Barbara Emmons of CBRE. The project is in the heart of the California Commerce Center and ideally situated West of the 15 Freeway and between the 10 and 60 freeways, just minutes from the Ontario International Airport and numerous retail establishments.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Red Tail Buys DFW Industrial Portfolio

Red Tail Acquisitions (RTA), a Newport Beach, CA-based real estate investor that targets properties that normally have leasing or construction issues, has purchased a six-property, 16-building industrial portfolio in the Dallas-Fort Worth area from AEW Capital Management. HFF marketed the property on behalf of the seller; the purchase price or terms of the sale were not disclosed by any parties.

"This acquisition not only represents an exciting opportunity for Red Tail Acquisitions to expand its DFW holdings, but is also a prime example of the types of investments we hope to make throughout Texas," said Sean Miller, Executive Vice President at Red Tail, in a press release. "RTA would like to thank AEW and HFF, who were great transaction partners."

The portfolio includes 1360-1420 Presidential Drive and 850-890 North Dorothy Drive in Richardson, Texas, plus 1420 Halsey Way, 1406 Halsey Way, 2122 Country Club Drive and 2855 Trinity Square Drive in Carrolton, Texas. The portfolio was 87% leased at the time of sale to 41 tenants, including NOW Specialties, Optex Systems, Laboratory Corporations of America, CircuitCo Electronics, Advanced Environmental Concepts, Milestone Construction, TraStar, Inc. and Gym Ratz Basketball Club.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Blumberg in the News

Blumberg Grain was featured this month in a Leadership Newspaper article titled Food Security Receives A Boost, As FG Launches Silo Complex, which examines cases of food insecurity due largely to storage inadequacies, in quality or quantity, leading to a substantial post-harvest wastage. During the signing of a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) between the ministry and the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) on the concession of the silos, Dr. Adesina hinted that the Nigerian ministry was going to embark on concessioning and leasing of silos in conjunction with ICRC, World Bank and private stakeholders so as to effectively involve the private sector in the utilization of the excess storage space. An excerpt of the article follows:

The MoC, according to the minister, was the continuation of the process of synergy with the private sector to manage and operate silo complexes across the country. The signing of the MoC would bring the capacity utilization of the silos, which is currently less than 10 per cent, to about 100 per cent after the concession. Between the ministry and the ICRC, the roles and responsibilities of each party to the MoC towards the actualization of the proposed concession exercise would be spelt out.

The department is also collaborating with African Exchange Holdings (AFEX) Ltd. for the commencement of the pilot electronic Warehouse Receipt system in seven locations in Nigeria. The Blumberg Food safety and Security Vaults (Warehouses) are also being introduced in nine states of the federation to address post-harvest losses of fruits/vegetables, roots and tubers.

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

Union Tower West Designs Unveiled

John Portman & Associates (JPA), the international design firm, has released a rendering of the Union Tower West project in Denver, a new $100 million mixed-use building. The project is being developed by Portman Holdings in partnership with Hensel Phelps, creating a new space across from Union Station and adjacent to The Commons. Construction is expected to begin later this fall; General Contractor Hensel Phelps plans to complete construction within 18 months of breaking ground. Portman Holdings acquired the development site in January of this year for an undisclosed amount.

The Union Tower West project features a 180-key select-service hotel, approximately 100,000 square feet of office space above the hotel, a parking garage for 216 cars, and extensive public spaces with linkage to the recently constructed pedestrian crossing at the new multimodal station, and an aim to use the landscaped plaza at the visual termination of Wewatta and 18th Streets for outdoor dining and events.

This location is unbeatable," said Ambrish Baisiwala, CEO of Portman Holdings. Denver is just the type of market we are bullish about, and we appreciate the dynamics of the Union Station neighborhood as well as the walkability and integrated transit."

Union Tower West represents the firm's first project in Denver, according to a company press release. Gordon Beckman, AIA, JPA principal and design director, explains the firm's vision for the building, "This project continues and expands the concepts promoted by The Commons master plan and Union Station redevelopment. The vitality of this district is the impetus for transforming this significant corner site in Denver. The project's hotel amenities and functions support and complement the office functions, as well as the neighboring residential projects, thus continuing the lively mixed-use community of The Commons. We are very pleased to contribute to this vital up-and-coming area of the city."

Click here to view more renderings of the project. For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

John Buck Sells DC Office Building for $65.2M

The John Buck Company has sold an office building on L Street in Washington, DC to LaSalle Investment Management for $65.2 million, or $397 per square foot, according to a GlobeSt.com report; Eastdil Secured brokered the transaction. John Buck originally acquired the property in 2008 for $61 million from a joint venture of TIAA-CREF and Equity Office. The building was 77% leased at the time of sale wit major tenants including Greenstein Delorme Luchs, Corner Alliance and the Personal Care Products Council.

"The Washington, D.C., office market continues to attract institutional capital given the stabilizing effects of the U.S. government," said HFF's Stephen Conley of the building after it traded hands in 2008. "The property’s location in the heart of the nation’s capital places the new owner in an ideal position to capture upside value over the next five to seven years."

The 12-story property at 1620 L Street was designed by Smith, Segreti, Tepper, McMahon and Harned and originally developed in 1989. The building is also the 24th tallest building in Washington, tied in rank with seven other structures in the area.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

HUD Marketing $2.3B in Loans

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has engaged SEBA Professional Services, a DC-based consulting firm, and DebtX, a full-service loan sale advisor, to market a $2.3 billion portfolio of non-performing residential loans. The loan sale, titled HUD SFLS 2014-2 Part 2, includes roughly 15,000 non-performing single-family mortgage loans with a total unpaid principal balance of $2.3 billion, according to a HousingWire report. According to DebtX, the loans will be sold in eight national pools, with the pools ranging in size from $94.5 million to $804.5 million. The loans are collateralized by properties across the U.S.

"Investor demand for HUD loans remains exceptionally strong, and we expect to see a high level of interest in this portfolio," said DebtX CEO Kingsley Greenland. "DebtX is pleased to support HUD in its efforts to systematically manage its exposure to non-performing residential loans."

"We are pleased to support HUD on its sixth, multi-billion dollar sale of single-family loans in the past 22 months," added Erhiuvie Abu, President and CEO, SEBA Professional Services, LLC.

These sales are "no longer a one-off transaction type for HUD, the agency is now selling billions and billions of dollars of these loans on a regular basis," Greenland told GlobeSt.com in an earlier interview.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

CushWake Q2 Report Reflects Strong Industrial Growth

Cushman & Wakefield released its Marketbeat Snapshot reports for Q2 of 2014, which shows the economy not only growing at an annual rate of 4% but industrial production, which correlates highly with industrial demand, advanced at an annual rate of 5.5% in the second quarter of 2014. An excerpt from the report follows:

With vacancy rates and speculative construction back to per-recession levels, the U.S. industrial sector continues to lead the country's commercial real estate recovery. Strong occupancy gains and dwindling supply of big-box drove the overall vacancy down to 7.6%, 80 basis points lower than a year ago and the lowest level since first quarter 2008. This also represents a significant drop from the recent high of 11.2% posted during first quarter 2010. Net demand remained strong during the second quarter and is on track to surpass last year's total, with 95.7 million square feet of occupancy gains at mid-year. Atlanta is leading the nation, with 8.9 million square feet of space absorbed to date followed by Inland Empire with 7.5 million square feet. Healthy demand led to increased occupancies in almost every major market with only 12 of the 78 markets tracked posting net loss in occupancy at mid-year.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.