First AllianceTexas Building Sells for $18.7 Million

Macquarie CNL Global Income Trust, Inc. announced this week that it had acquired the first of two fully leased office buildings in Fort Worth, Texas as part of a two building purchase agreement. Macquarie paid $18.75 million for Heritage Commons III in Fort Worth's AllianceTexas development. Built in 2006 with 119,000 rentable square feet of office space, Heritage Commons III is 100% leased to DynCorp International, a government services contractor.

"This transaction supports our vision to build a portfolio of properties that will provide stable income to our shareholders," said Andy Hyltin, president of Macquarie CNL Global Income Trust. "These two office buildings have established tenants and are in a robust market that has seen one of the highest rates of population growth in the nation during the past decade."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Cole Seeks Exit for 20.6M SF Portfolio

A new article from CoStar reports that Cole Real Estate Investment, via a letter sent to financial advisors, announced its plans to exit a 20.6 million square foot triple net leased portfolio accumulated by its affiliate, Cole Credit Property Trust II. The piece includes excerpts from the letter written by Cole President Marc Nemer:

"There appears to be a growing demand in the market for the type of assets that comprise the CCPT II portfolio: high-quality properties net-leased on a long-term basis to industry-leading tenants. We are also seeing positive indications that the commercial real estate markets are continuing to recover as we actively explore options to successfully exit the portfolio within the next 12 months.

"As the commercial real estate markets continue to rebound, we believe the market cycle we are in favors portfolios like CCPT II, which consist of high-quality, brand name tenants under long-term leases," Nemer wrote. "Additionally, the retail sector in particular is beginning to benefit from the labor market recovery and the associated incremental improvement in consumer confidence.

"We believe we are moving into a healthy environment for a portfolio exit, and we are evaluating options to take CCPT II full cycle within the next 12 months. Potential exit strategies we are looking at include, but are not limited to, a sale of the portfolio or a listing of the portfolio on a public stock exchange."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Centro US Assets Close for $9B

Centro Properties Group, which specializes in the ownership, management and development ofshopping centers, confirmed the successful closing of its U.S. assets and platform of Centro Properties Group this week. BRE Retail Holdings Inc., an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners, purchase the US assets and platform of Centro Properties Group and its managed funds for approximately $9.0 billion.

"This transaction is indicative of the strength of [Centro's] US platform, including the high quality and diversification of its asset base and operating capabilities," said Michael Carroll, CEO of Centro Properties Group US. "We are fortunate to have such a sophisticated investor as Blackstone as our partner. Together, we look forward to building a premier retail real estate company."

"We are extremely excited about this transaction, which enables us to expand our retail real estate presence with a leading platform," said A.J. Agarwal, Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group. "The Company is well-positioned today with an attractive portfolio comprised of strategically located assets in dense, infill markets with productive grocer anchors. We look forward to partnering with the Company's experienced management team to help them pursue the growth opportunity embedded within this portfolio."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Steel Pier for Sale in Atantic City

Atlantic City's Steel Pier amusement park on the block according to a Wall Street Journal report. CB Richard Ellis Group has been hired by Trump Entertainment to sell Steel Peer with a minimum bid of $2.5 million.

"We believe selling the Pier through auction is the best course of action for the company to increase the equity value for our shareholders," said Brian Cahill, a spokesman for Trump Entertainment. "We are a gaming company, and Steel Pier is not part of the casino."

The Steel Pier is located opposite The Boardwalk from Trump Taj Mahal. Previous plans for the property included redeveloping the space into retail and entertainment attractions along with luxury condominiums.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Chevron Picks Up Four Allen Center for $340M

Four Allen Center, the former headquarters for Enron in Houston, was purchased by Chevron Corp. for $340 million this week as Brookfield Office Properties unloaded the property from its portfolio. According to the Wall Street Journal, Brookfield bought the property, which sat vacant for three years before Chevron leased the building. for $120 million in 2006 from Towanda Development I Ltd. The building at 1400 Smith Street stands 50 stories tall with 1.3 million square feet of space.

"We have created significant value through the sale of this stabilized asset concurrent with Chevron's sizeable lease extension at our adjacent property," said Dennis Friedrich, president and global chief investment officer of Brookfield. "Chevron represents the type of top-flight corporate tenant we seek to partner with in our global energy-sector markets."

The sale price is a "coup" for Brookfield, said Dan Fasulo, managing director at Real Capital Analytics Inc. in a Bloomberg article. "It's a win-win for both parties," Fasulo said. "For Chevron, obviously they're a cash-rich corporation. They have the money to buy their own property."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Springfield Office Building Sold for $15.9M

Gladstone Commercial Corporation, a publicly-traded REIT based in McLean, VA, purchased a 78,421 square foot office building in Springfield, Missouri for $15.9 million this week. The property, built in 2006, was built-to-suit for T-Mobile, which has leased the property through 2021 with three options to renew for five year periods. Gladstone assumed an $11.6 million mortgage as part of the transaction. Stan Johnson Co. represented the buyer, an unnamed private investor, in the transaction.

"We are excited to add this property, and a strong tenant like T-Mobile, to our existing portfolio," said Buzz Cooper, the Gladstone's Managing Director responsible for the transaction. "This acquisition continues our plan for growth in 2011 and we are pleased to add this great property to our substantial list of quality investments," said Chip Stelljes, the Gladstone's President and Chief Investment Officer.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Failed Trump Tower Site in Tampa Bought for $5M

Brownstone Tampa Partners, LLC has purchased almost two acres along Tampa's Riverwalk, including the site of the ill-fated Trump Tower Tampa and an adjacent office building known as the CapTrust Building, for $5 million according to a Gulf Coast Business Review article. The price comes at a hefty discount given that in 2004 the original developer paid $16 million for the property. Long-term plans for the vacant land include a mixed-use project of retail, restaurants, office space and hotel.

Brownstone Tampa Partners LLC is an investment partnership of O,R&L Facility Services, a large-scale property and facility management company, Owens Realty Network LLC, O,R&L’s sister real estate brokerage company, and Community Reinvestment Partners II LP, a joint venture investment fund of Forge Capital Partners LLC and DeBartolo Development LLC. "The Trump site and the history, we really are not tied to that in anyway, and we're looking at redefining the site," said new developer Bob Owens. "We see it as a mixed-use development, combining retail, office, and a hotel site, is most likely what we're going to do there," Owens explained, adding that restaurants and condos are also possibilities.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.