Thomas D. Wood & Co. Brokers $2M Loan on Three Properties in Missouri and Florida

MIAMI, FL—Marshall Smith, (top right photo) Executive Vice President for Thomas D. Wood and Company, secured financing in the amount of $2,000,000 for Woodson Terrace, Charlotte Harbor and Delray Firestone.

All three properties were financed through StanCorp Mortgage Investors, one of Thomas D. Wood and Company’s correspondent lenders.

Smith arranged financing in the amount of $300,000 for Woodson Terrace at a permanent fixed rate of 6.10%. The loan term is 25 years with a 25-year amortization and interest rate resets every five years, and a loan-to-value of 53%. The 3,456 square-foot retail building was built in 1981 and is home to major tenant Denny’s. Woodson Terrace is located at 9900 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, Missouri.

Smith financed Charlotte Harbor in the amount of $1,000,000 at a permanent fixed rate of 6.10%. The loan term is 25 years with a 25-year amortization and interest rate resets every five years, and a loan-to-value of 47%.

The 46,767 square-foot retail building was built in 1973 and renovated in 2007. Charlotte Harbor is home to major tenant Rooms to Go, and is located at 4430 Tamiami Trail, Port Charlotte, Florida.

Smith arranged financing in the amount of $700,000 for Delray Firestone at a permanent fixed rate of 6.10%. The loan term is 25 years with a 25-year amortization and interest rate resets every five years, and a loan-to-value of 66%.

The 7,047 square-foot retail building was built in 1985. Delray Firestone is located at 5180 W. Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach, Florida.

For further information, please contact:
Marshall Smith, (305) 447-7820, msmith@tdwood.com
Jessica Gurtowski, (407) 937-0470, jgurtowski@tdwood.com

Orlando Sanford International Airport Leases 14,400 Square Feet of Space on Hangar Rd.

SANFORD, FL. – Capital Cargo International Airlines, Inc., recently leased 14,400 square feet of space on Hangar Rd. at Orlando Sanford International Airport (top right photo) west of the main terminal.

Diane Crews, vice president of administration at Orlando Sanford International Airport, said the cargo air carrier plans to start operations at the airport in May.

For more information, please contact
Diane Crews or Larry Dale, Sanford Airport Authority, 407-322-7771Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

HFF Secures $13M in Financing for Marriott-branded Hotels in New Mexico and Maine

HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) has secured $13 million in financing for the Courtyard by Marriott (above photo) in Albuquerque, New Mexico and the Bangor Fairfield Inn (middle right photo) in Bangor, Maine.

HFF senior managing director Dana Brome (top right photo) and associate director Susan Larkin (middle left photo) worked on behalf of Ocean Properties, Ltd. to secure two separate seven-year, fixed-rate loans through ING Investment Management.

ING provided a $7.0 million permanent loan for the Albuquerque hotel and a $6.0 million permanent loan for the Bangor property on an uncrossed basis.

The Albuquerque Courtyard Marriott is located at 5151 Journal Center Boulevard close to Interstate 25 and Albuquerque International Sunport.

The property, featuring Santa Fe architectural design, has 150 guest rooms and 4,200 square feet of meeting and banquet space.

Located at 300 Odlin Road, the Fairfield Inn Bangor (photo at right) is a three-story, limited-service hotel located immediately adjacent to the Bangor International Airport and minutes from downtown Bangor. The property has 153 guest rooms and an indoor pool.

Ocean Properties Ltd, is one the largest privately-held hotel companies in North America, and was founded in 1969 by Mr. Tom Walsh.

With over 40 years of successful hotel management experience, Ocean Properties and its affiliate Atlific Hotels & Resorts have carefully built a network of properties that now stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in both the United States and Canada.

With a North American portfolio of over 100 properties both Ocean and Atlific are respected leaders in the hospitality industry and have gained the trust of the biggest hotel brands in the world including Marriott, Westin, Starwood, Holiday Inn, Hilton, Choice Hotels and Ramada.

CONTACTS:

Laurie Fish McDowell, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, 617 338 0990, lmcdowell@hfflp.com

Dana E. Brome, HFF Senior Managing Director, 860 275 6199, dbrome@hfflp.com

Brooklyn Apartment Market's Recent Rapid Ascent Flattens Out, Although Vacancy Still Tight

BROOKLYN, N.Y.— With job growth easing and the possibility of job losses rising, the wheels of change are turning more slowly in Brooklyn thus far in 2008, according to a first-quarter Apartment Research Report by Marcus & Millichap, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm.

(Top right photo shows 19th century-styled rowhouses on tree-lined Kent Street in the Greenpoint Historic District. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.)

Vacancy in the borough remains extremely tight, averaging in the low-3 percent range in the market’s few large, market-rate properties and even lower in rent-controlled units.

“Investor interest in rental properties remains high due to persistent demand for affordable housing,” says J.D. Parker, regional manager of the Brooklyn office of Marcus & Millichap.

Following are some of the most significant aspects of the Brooklyn Apartment Research Report:

· Employers are projected to add 1,000 jobs in Brooklyn this year, a 0.2 percent increase.

· Vacancy is forecast to end the year at 3.6 percent.

· Counting all multi-family projects, approximately 3,000 units are scheduled for delivery this year, with more than 1,300 units slated to come online in Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO, Boerum Hill, Downtown and Williamsburg.

· Asking rents are forecast to rise 4.5 percent to $1,436 per month.

· Effective rents are on track to gain 4.4 percent to $1,407 per month.

For a copy of the complete Brooklyn Apartment Research Report, as well as reports on other markets nationwide, visit our website at http://www.marcusmillichap.com/.

Press Contact:

Stacey Corso, Communications Department, (925) 953-1716

Long-Term Outlook Remains Positive for Baltimore's Apartment Sector

BALTIMORE, MD — While an uptick in supply and cooling economic growth are expected to moderate near-term improvement in Baltimore’s apartment fundamentals, the long-term outlook remains positive, according to a first-quarter Apartment Research Report by Marcus & Millichap, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm.

Construction activity is forecast to rise nearly 31 percent in 2008, with builders adding 1.3 percent to inventory.

“Despite some short-term fundamental weakness, Baltimore’s apartment market is poised to remain strong in the long term,” says Gary R. Lucas, (top right photo) regional manager of the Baltimore office of Marcus & Millichap.

Following are some of the most significant aspects of the Baltimore Apartment Research Report:

· Employers are predicted to expand payrolls by 0.6 percent, or 6,600 positions, this year.

· Approximately 1,700 units are forecast to come online in 2008, up from the delivery of 1,300 units last year.

· Vacancy is forecast to end the year at 5.5 percent.

· Asking rents are expected to advance 3.7 percent to $1,002 per month, while effective rents will climb 3.9 percent to $968 per month.

· Properties near Fells Point will record some increased investment activity as a result of ongoing mixed-use redevelopment efforts.

For a copy of the complete Baltimore Apartment Research Report, as well as reports on other markets nationwide, visit our website at http://www.marcusmillichap.com/.

Press Contact:

Stacey Corso, Communications Department, (925) 953-1716

MBA's Quinn Calls for Quick Conference on Flood Insurance Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Kieran P. Quinn, (top right photo) CMB, Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has welcomed Senate passage of S. 2284, The Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2008, and called on House and Senate leadership to quickly begin negotiations to reconcile the two chambers' bills so that a bill can advance to the President's desk this summer.

Quinn issued the following statement:

"MBA strongly supports a long-term reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program, forgiveness of FEMA's debt to the Treasury and an increase in the coverage limits for multifamily properties. An affordable flood insurance program is crucial to communities across our nation.

We do have concerns with some specific provisions of the bill the Senate passed today and we hope members of the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee quickly begin negotiations to reach a compromise.

In particular, we hope negotiators will look carefully at the increased penalties for non-compliance, the mandatory purchase provision for state chartered institutions, the creation of a reserve fund, the prerequisite for mandatory escrow, new requirements around pre-FIRM and residual risk properties and new disclosure obligations.

We fear these provisions may have the unintended consequence of limiting the availability and increasing the cost of insurance for many who need it. Therefore, we look forward to working with members of the House and Senate to come up with a bill that can pass both chambers and the President can sign into law."

CONTACT:

John Mechem, (202) 557-2924, jmechem@mortgagebankers.org

HFF Self Storage Team Hosts Inaugural Storage Investor Caucus

HOUSTON, TX – The self storage professionals of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) hosted the Storage Investor Caucus (SIC) on May 1st at the Downtown Club (middle left photo) in Houston. Sixty storage owners, investors and affiliated industry professionals attended the full-day event.

Moderated by HFF senior managing director Aaron Swerdlin (top right photo) who leads the Houston-based HFF Self Storage team, the SIC program included a keynote capital markets overview presentation by HFF executive managing director Mark Gibson, capital markets and real estate panels featuring senior executives from eight lending organizations and property development firms/REITs, and roundtable discussions addressing many current self storage investment and real estate issues.

“The SIC convened top self storage operators, investors, portfolio owners, lenders and suppliers for a content-driven seminar covering the latest real estate and capital markets developments affecting our industry,” said Swerdlin.

“The event’s attendance level exceeded our expectations and we believe is indicative of the strong interest by owners and investors for diverse, expert knowledge and direction about current market conditions.”

The SIC Capital Markets Panel consisted of:

· Cheri Grossman, Regional Director of Investments, Wrightwood Capital
· Rich Highfield, Principal, Real Estate Structured Finance Group, Bank of America
· Clay Wright, Vice President and Relationship Manager, Capital One
· Jeff Zickefoose, Director, Prudential Mortgage Capital Company

The SIC Real Estate panelists included:

· Bret Durfee, Vice President, Extra Space Storage (logo at right)
· Wayne Johnson, Senior Vice President – Acquisitions, Strategic Storage Trust
· Phyllis McArthur, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Morningstar Properties
· Tony Rider, Chief Financial Officer, Locke Acquisition Group, LLC (The Locke Group)

The SIC was sponsored by 1st Service Solutions, The Mahoney Group, Property Tax Advisors and The Rabco Corporation.

“The positive feedback we received from attendees, panelists and sponsors convinced us that owners and investors highly value this type of seminar because they can capitalize on the insight provided during the sessions to help maximize their storage investments," Swerdlin added.

"Given this response, the HFF Self Storage team will host another Storage Investor Caucus later this year in Southern California that will focus on West Coast-related real estate and capital markets conditions."

CONTACTS:

Laurie Fish McDowell, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, 617 338 0990, lmcdowell@hfflp.com

Aaron Swerdlin, HFF Senior Managing Director, 713 852 3500, aswerdlin@hfflp.com