$325M Expansion Plan for NYC Museum

Studio Gang Architects, founded by architect and MacArthur Fellow Jeanne Gang, has released designs for the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History, a $325 million, 218,000-square-foot expansion approved by the museum's trustees this week. The Board of Trustees of the American Museum of Natural History authorized proceeding to schematic design for the Columbus Avenue side of the Museum complex at 79th Street. The conceptual design for the Gilder Center is consistent with longstanding but previously unrealized aspects of the Museum's 1872 master plan, while reflecting a contemporary architectural approach that is responsive to the Museum's mission and to the current uses and character of the surrounding Theodore Roosevelt Park and neighborhood. The project still needs to pass through the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, Landmarks Preservation Commission, and Community Board 7 to review, and an environmental impact statement (EIS) will be prepared for public review and comment. If approved, construction is expected to begin in 2017, with a goal to open the Gilder Center in 2020, at the conclusion of the Museum's 150th anniversary in 2019.

"The Gilder Center embraces the Museum's integrated mission and growing role in scientific research and education and its enhanced capacity to make its extensive resources even more fully accessible to the public," said Museum President Ellen Futter in a press release. "It will connect scientific facilities and collections to innovative exhibition and learning spaces featuring the latest digital and technological tools. Jeanne Gang's thrilling design facilitates a new kind of fluid, cross-disciplinary journey through the natural world while respecting the Museum's park setting."

"We uncovered a way to vastly improve visitor circulation and Museum functionality, while tapping into the desire for exploration and discovery that are emblematic of science and also part of being human," added Jeanne Gang from Studio Gang Architects. "Upon entering the space, natural daylight from above and sightlines to various activities inside invite movement through the Central Exhibition Hall on a journey towards deeper understanding. The architectural design grew out of the Museum's mission."

Approximately 80% of the project will be located within the area currently occupied by the Museum. Three existing Museum buildings will be removed to minimize the Gilder Center footprint in Theodore Roosevelt Park to about 11,600 square feet. Ralph Appelbaum of Ralph Appelbaum Associates is designing the exhibition experiences, and the landscape architecture firm is Reed Hilderbrand.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

John Hancock Buys OC Office Property for $105M

John Hancock Real Estate, also known as Manulife Real Estate and a division of Manulife Financial, announced this week that it had purchased 5000 Birch in Newport Beach, California for $104.5 million. John Hancock purchased the two building, Class A office project from an undisclosed seller, though records reveal that the property previously traded hands in November 2002 to Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers by a joint venture between Aetna and Koll Development. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"We are excited to grow our global portfolio through continued investment in Orange County -- one of the fastest growing office markets in the U.S.," said Kevin Adolphe, President & Chief Executive Officer of Manulife Real Estate and President & Chief Executive Officer of Manulife Asset Management Private Markets. "Our acquisition of 5000 Birch further strengthens our long-standing investment in California where we now actively manage over 9 million SF."

The 306,000 square foot property, also known as Koll Center Newport, was originally constructed in 1982. 5000 Birch features a highly coveted Newport Beach address and is located at the gateway between Newport Beach and The Irvine Business Complex. The center is nearby The Sutton Place Hotel and The Pacific Club provide retail shops and banking as well as having excellent access to the John Wayne Airport and major freeways.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Weyerhaeuser Buying Plum Creek, Creating $23B REIT

Weyerhaeuser Company announced that it has agreed to buy Plum Creek Timber Co. for about $8.4 billion, merging to create a timber, land and forest products company with an equity value of $23 billion, based on current share prices. The new company will own more than 13 million acres of timberland across the U.S., operating under the Weyerhaeuser name and ranking sixth among publicly traded companies based in Washington state. Plum Creek shareholders will receive 1.6 shares of Weyerhaeuser stock for each Plum Creek share held, with Weyerhaeuser holders owning about 65% of the combined company's common stock. Doyle Simons, the president and CEO of Weyerhaeuser, will continue to serve as president and CEO of the new company.

"With an extraordinary set of combined assets and the proven value creation records of both Weyerhaeuser and Plum Creek, the combined company will offer a compelling opportunity for shareholders," said Rick Holley, chief executive officer for Plum Creek, who will be a non-executive chairman at Weyerhaeuser. "These two companies are already best-in-class timberland managers with a relentless focus on sustainable resource management."

Analysts said it's an epic consolidation move in an otherwise fragmented industry. "In the private timberland industry, they become a Goliath," said Steven Chercover, a senior research analyst at brokerage D.A. Davidson & Co. "This couldn't get any bigger." Chercover said he'd expect the companies to cut a big chunk of duplicated overhead costs.

"We're excited to combine the two leaders in our industry to create the world's premier timber, land and forest products company," said Doyle Simons, president and chief executive officer of Weyerhaeuser. "This new company will create tremendous benefit for shareholders as we drive value through shared best practices, economies of scale, cost synergies, operational excellence and disciplined capital allocation. Our customers and employees will also benefit as we form a winning team with common values and unparalleled expertise in timber, land and manufacturing."

Weyerhaeuser, based in Federal Way, Washington, also said that it may spin off its cellulose fibers business, which includes five pulp mills. For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Northstar Acquires Office-Industrial Portfolio for $224M

Denver-based Northstar Commercial Partners, a privately held commercial real estate investment company, announced this week that it had purchased a 24-property national U.S. portfolio for $224 million. Northstar purchased the portfolio from Mr. Moshe Silagi, President of Silagi Development & Management (SDM), with a $178.5 million loan secured by Cohen Financial with Prime Finance Partners, a national privately-held commercial real estate finance company.

"This deal is the most significant acquisition in Northstar's company history, bringing along with it our largest opportunity to date to create a positive impact for businesses and local communities nationwide," Brian Watson, Northstar Commercial Partners' Founder & CEO, said in a press release. "It is very rare in this economic environment to acquire an off-market deal of this magnitude, diversity, and low occupancy rate, in order to drive very attractive opportunistic level returns."

The portfolio includes 13 industrial warehouse & manufacturing facilities, eight office buildings and three retail assets, all totaling 5,918,835 square feet on 486 acres. Twenty-one of the facilities included in the 24-property acquisition are located in towns or areas with high unemployment, often times well above national and state averages; the properties had an overall vacancy of 40% at the time of sale. Watson explained: "The fact that the vast majority of these properties are found in places where people need work, and are looking for greater opportunity, makes us at Northstar all the more eager to be involved."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Blumberg in the News

Blumberg Grain was featured in an article from The Hindu BusinessLine today, Warehousing, food storage services companies keen on India, in which Anshuman Magazine, CMD of CBRE South Asia, shares insights into the market. An excerpt follows:

"Few companies have already expressed interest. Recently, companies like Blumberg Grain, a US-based warehousing solutions provider, have shown interest to establish their manufacturing base and warehousing facilities," he added.

The entry of such brands may help the existing technological know-how in the field, and improve them to global standards, thus creating more employment opportunities.

Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru are likely to remain major hubs for retail distribution centres; Pune and Chennai are likely to see healthy demand for industrial warehousing.

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

GLP's New $4.5B 100 Property Industrial Portfolio

Global Logistics Properties (GLP), a leading provider of modern logistics facilities in China, Japan and Brazil, announced this week that it had completed the acquisition of a $4.55 billion portfolio from Industrial Income Trust (IIT), creating one of the largest real estate deals this year. The deal will be closed over the course of 100 separate transactions and result in GLP owning 100% of IIT's portfolio, and ITT officially merging with Western Logistics II LLC, an affiliate of GLP.

"This transaction complements our existing portfolio well, expanding GLP's size and scale in the U.S.," GLP's Chief Operating Officer Stephen Schutte said in a press release. "We feel particularly good about the quality and location of the facilities, which have an average building age of 15 years and a strong concentration in major distribution markets. We are excited about the synergies the combined portfolio is expected to generate and see upside potential from increasing occupancy and rents."

The portfolio comprises 58 million square feet of state-of-the-art, in-fill logistics assets spread across 20 major markets. The largest markets include Los Angeles, Metro D.C. and Pennsylvania. The portfolio was 93% leased as of 30 June 2015, with a weighted average lease expiry of nearly 5.5 years. GLP says the transaction enlarges GLP’s US footprint by 50% by 173 million sq ft, making GLP the second-largest property owner and operator in the US within a year of market entry. The deal comes just months after GLP made its first entrance into the US market with the acquisition of IndCor Properties this past May.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

LogistiCenter at 33 Breaks Ground

Reno, NV-based commercial real estate developer Dermody Properties and PCCP, the financial partner and a San Francisco real estate finance and investment management firm, broke ground on LogistiCenter at 33, an industrial facility at 4200 E. Braden Blvd. in Forks Township, PA. Jones Lang LaSalle, which has an office in the Lehigh Valley, is the leasing team for the property. HFF served as the broker that represented J.G. Petrucci and Co. in the sale of the property to Dermody and PCCP, according to Gene Preston, partner for the east region of Dermody Properties.

Preston said the new Charles Chrin Interchange along Route 33 in neighboring Palmer Township prompted the deal. "That is the overriding reason ... the new interchange that opened up the Route 33 corridor," Preston said Monday. The interchange, which opened in July, provides easier access to Route 33 and adjoining interstates from business centers such as the one in Forks Township.

"PCCP sees this as a compelling opportunity to develop a Class A industrial facility with Dermody Properties, a best-in-class developer," added John Randall, Managing Director with PCCP. "Additionally, the local industrial market incorporates all of the key fundamentals that promise to attract large user interest. Our goal is to pre-lease the property prior to completion of construction."

Expected to be completed by summer 2016, the facility will feature 36 feet of clear height, 226 car parking spaces, and 85 trailer parking spaces. LogistiCenter at 33 is ideally suited for manufacturing, warehouse, and distribution companies that need to reach the northeastern U.S. population quickly and efficiently. R. S. Mowery & Sons, Inc. is the general contractor for the project, and the firm of Randall Paulson is serving as the project architect.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.