Newcastle Sells Industrial Property for $43.5M

Newcastle Partners, a SF-based commercial property investment and development firm, announced this week that it had sold a 600,000-square-foot Class A distribution facility in Meridian Business Park, Riverside for $43.5 million. Phil Lombardo and Chuck Belden of Cushman & Wakefield represented Newcastle Partners as well as the China-based buyer, Scuderia Development LLC.

"The Inland Empire is the hotbed of opportunity for industrial users and Newcastle Partners has made a long-term commitment to providing innovative facilities that meet their needs," said Dennis Higgs, Newcastle Partners' managing partner and founder. "This sale is significant for us as it is the first building sold that we have developed within Meridian Business Park."

Scuderia Development plans to occupy the building at 14600 Innovation Drive for warehousing and distribution of aluminum products, Newcastle reported. The class-A distribution facility includes 4,160 square feet of office space, 93 dock-high doors, two grade-level ramps, 145 trailer storage stalls, 245' secured truck court, ESFR sprinkler system, 32' warehouse clearance, 400 amp service expandable to 4,000 UGPS and is LEED Silver certified.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

CRE in Florida Gets Foreign Investor Push

A new article from the National Real Estate Investor titled Lenders are Helping Foreign Investors Push Florida’s Real Estate Market to a New Peak examines the current international influx and impact bringing the market to a crest. An excerpt follows:

The established model is to pay all cash for the first property and leverage the income gained for the second deal. Now, they are joining with others to buy an apartment building, convert it to a condominium, and sell the units to individuals in foreign countries who agree to leave them in the rental pool run by the management company. Why? Foreign investors are more comfortable owning units than shares in an LLC. These transactions are all cash transactions from the seller’s standpoint.

Foreigners are also making regular use of syndicators who scout properties, which are often in the Miami area. Syndicators provide a second benefit of using their track records to help obtain financing. Due to the fact that these syndicators have or do own property in the country already, and have an operation, bank accounts, etc., a lender is able to qualify them in a traditional way. If a borrower approaches a bank and doesn’t have any assets in the states already, they know they will not be able to go outside the country to collect on any deficiency in case of a default. On top of that, they can’t know if the buyer or entity is getting their funds from drugs or other illegal affairs.

Lenders are also becoming much more accommodating than in recent years. The Florida banks that survived the Great Recession are returning the market. Their loan criteria put greater weight on the sponsor’s track record than the property as they seek to minimize risk and regulatory scrutiny.

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

IDAofW Approves Incentives Valued at $71.5M

Westchester's Industrial Development Agency (IDAofW) met this month and approved financing and incentives for four major development projects that total $71.5 million in development costs, creating more than 750 permanent and full time jobs in Westchester County, New York. Projects include a family-owned company expanded into a self-storage business, an environmental brown site transformed into new housing and resident parking, prime office space upgraded for high-paying professional jobs and the renovation of one of the county's most iconic tourism destinations, the Ritz-Carlton Westchester Hotel.

"The projects supported by the [IDAofW] today demonstrate the vitality of our local economy and the strength of our job market," said IDAofW County Executive Rob Astorino on the news. "We are proud that these diverse, job-creating projects all have one thing in common: successful partnership with Westchester County."

"The requested Westchester [IDAofW] assistance will enable a $4-million major renovation and upgrade to the Ritz Carlton Hotel and convention facility, which opened its doors in 2007," added Joseph Apicella, executive vice president of the Cappelli Organization, Ritz-Carlton property owner. "This will allow the facility to continue to serve as Westchester's premier tourism and convention hub. In a very competitive regional industry, this much-needed investment will result in job retention and growth of the 350-plus person workforce in downtown White Plains."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Colony Capital Moving Forward on $1.6B Industrial Deal

Santa Monica, California-based Colony Capital LLC is buying a 291-building industrial portfolio from Irving, Texas-based Cobalt Capital Partners according to several reports this week. Commercial Mortgage Alert reported Friday that GE Capital has agreed to provide $1.2 billion of the portfolio’s purchase price via a floating-rate loan for the 291-property industrial portfolio. The terms of the loan are now being finalized, with Colony weighing a menu of options from GE that include varying amounts of proceeds tied to the degree of leverage, according to people familiar with the process.

Colony has agreed to pay about $1.6 billion for the 29.5 million-square-foot portfolio, which contains mostly light-industrial buildings of less than 250,000 sf in 18 markets across the U.S. The 291 buildings are 85% leased by more than 650 tenants. Eastdil and CBRE are jointly brokering the sale on behalf of Cobalt, CM Alert reported. CoStar reported last week that Colony, which is about to see a merger of two affiliated entities, beat out such would-be buyers as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the Blackstone Group and TPG. Blackstone is itself preparing to sell its IndCor Properties industrial platform, Bloomberg reported last week.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Abood Wood-Fay Acquired by Avison Young

Avison Young, the international commercial real estate services firm, announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate Group, LLC (dba Colliers International South Florida). The purchase of the Miami-based real estate brokerage and property management firm expands Avison Young's Florida offerings, adding 70 employees from Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate Group's Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach offices to Avison Young's operations in South Florida. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

"We look forward to welcoming Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate Group to Avison Young," said Mark Rose, chair and CEO of Avison Young. "This strategic acquisition will give Avison Young an even broader client-service platform in the Florida market as we continue to expand our capabilities throughout the U.S. and overseas."

Michael Fay and Donna Abood merged their firms in 2002, and that company aligned with Colliers in 2005, according to a Sun Sentinel report. Fay and Abood will become principals of Avison Young, building business for the firm in Miami."I have a great deal of respect for what they've created," said Pike Rowley, managing director of Florida for Avison Young. "They've been on my radar for quite some time."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Rockrose Buys Lincoln Square in $300M Deal

Rockrose Development Corp., one of New York's most pre-eminent and prolific developers, has purchased Lincoln Square, a 414,204-square-foot office building in Washington, D.C. The deal was brokered by The Singer & Bassuk Organization which helped obtain a $227 million loan from Morgan Stanley to fund the acquisition. Rockrose brokered the acquisition in-house, and Gerald Trainor, Kenneth Marks, and James Cardellicchio of Transwestern represented the seller, Ralph Dweck, according to a Citybizlist article.

"The East End is one of the greatest cultural destinations in the Washington area, with museums, galleries and theatres within walking distance, and 555 11th Street is at its epicenter," Rockrose President Justin Elghanayan said in a statement. "The building is also home to the Landmark Theatres' E Street Cinema, a destination for cineastes in search of the finest indie and art films."

Designed by Hartman-Cox architects and completed in 2001, the Class A Trophy building at 555 11th St. is a 13-story office property with street level retail totaling 406,929 rentable square feet. Lincoln Square boasts a three-story marble lobby atrium, three levels of underground parking, a fitness center and retailers such as Jos. A. Bank, Starbucks and a 35,000-square-foot Landmark Theatre. Latham & Watkins' new lease, which solidified its commitment to Lincoln Square with a 15-year extension through 2031, contends that ownership will carry out a capital improvement program involving base building upgrades to the restrooms, fitness center and main lobby.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Carrington Acquires Realty Direct's DC Assets

Carrington Real Estate Services, the Santa Ana, CA-based brokerage, announced that it had acquired all Realty Direct, Inc.'s assets and operations in the Washington, DC metro area, adding approximately 230 agents to the Carrington brand operating under local office market leader and majority owner of Realty Direct, Wendy Powers. The Realty Direct assets include offices and staff in Largo, MD, as well as Ashburn and McLean, VA. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

"This acquisition aligns with our strategy to ensure a smooth, seamless real estate transaction, placing high value on the customer experience through our integrated services model, which is localized to individual regions," said Carrington Holding Company Chief Real Estate Officer Steve Ozonian. "Carrington offers an extensive array of single family services ranging from mortgage servicing and origination to property field services, providing our customers with a full service solution."

"In today's ever changing real estate market, Carrington's strategic relationships and vision offer a significant point of differentiation in taking an agent's business to the next level," said Wendy Powers. "Carrington's holistic and innovative approach to single family real estate transactions, with direct access to unique programs like, 'The Carrington Loan,' Carrington Mortgage Services' no upfront financing fee loan for consumers with lower FICO scores. We are thrilled to join the Carrington team and have the support of a national brokerage. We look forward to growing with Carrington and supporting real estate consumers in the DC metro area."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.