Sunday, December 21, 2008

Industry Veteran Sherrie Wade Returns to Grubb & Ellis Company’s San Antonio Office

SAN ANTONIO, TX-– Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, announces 28-year industry veteran Sherrie Wade, (top right photo) CCIM, has rejoined the company’s San Antonio office as vice president, Office Group.

In this position, she will be responsible for representing landlords, tenants, buyers and sellers in office related transactions.

“Sherrie is a knowledgeable and very experienced professional with strong, established client relationships,” said Ernest Brown, (middle left photo) CCIM, Grubb & Ellis’ managing director for Central Texas. “We are pleased to welcome her back to Grubb & Ellis Company.”

Wade has represented numerous notable clients during her career, including Alliance Capital Corporation, AT&T, Northwest Bank, Ernst & Young, and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.

She returns to Grubb & Ellis from CB Richard Ellis after serving as a senior associate for approximately five years. She began her career in 1981 as a leasing agent at a local real estate services firm. Her initial Grubb & Ellis tenure began in 1993 and ended in 1998.

Wade is the incoming president of the San Antonio/South Texas chapter of the CCIM Institute and a member of the San Antonio Board of Realtors, an affiliate of the National Association of Realtors.

Contact: Julia McCartney, Phone: 714.975.223, Email: julia.mccartney@grubb-ellis.com

United Space Alliance Selects CresaPartners to Address Post-Shuttle Era Real Estate Needs in Houston and Cape Canaveral

BOSTON, MA—CresaPartners, North America’s largest corporate real estate advisory firm that exclusively represents tenants, has been selected to develop and execute a strategic plan for United Space Alliance’s (USA) facilities in the post-shuttle era.

Currently, USA has 10,000 employees in 1.3 million SF of space, primarily in Houston and Cape Canaveral. USA also has facilities in Huntsville, Ala and Alexandria, Va.

“We are pleased to have CresaPartners’ team on board to help during this challenging time for USA, as we evaluate our long-term needs as the Shuttle Program completes its mission,” said Bill Capel, (top left photo) chief financial officer, USA. “We look forward to a long and productive relationship with CresaPartners.”

The CresaPartners team from Houston and Denver will lead the development of the strategic plan in collaboration with the internal USA Facility team. CresaPartners’ professionals in Orlando, Birmingham and Washington DC will assist during the execution phase, which will likely involve multiple moves and occupancies as some facilities are shut down and others are expanded.
(CresaPartners principals in Orlando, FL are Sarah Castor (middle left photo) and John Gay (middle right photo)

“CresaPartners is thrilled to have been selected for this challenging project,” said Bill Goade,(top right photo) chief executive officer, CresaPartners. “It allows us to demonstrate the end-to-end depth of our service offerings and the value of our cross functional approach involving experts from multiple offices.”

About CresaPartners

CresaPartners is an international corporate real estate advisory firm that exclusively represents tenants and specializes in the delivery of fully integrated real estate services, including:

Transaction Management, Project Management, Relocation Planning and Management, Strategic Planning, Workforce and Location Planning, Subleases and Dispositions, Lease Administration, Capital Markets, and Facilities Consulting.

With more than 50 North American offices, CresaPartners is the largest pure tenant representation firm in the U.S. and Canada. Through a partnership with Atisreal international real estate group, CresaPartners is a member of one of the leading real estate organizations in the world, covering 35 countries.

For more information, visit http://www.cresapartners.com/.

About United Space Alliance

United Space Alliance is the world leader in space operations with extensive experience in all aspects of the field. Headquartered in Houston, USA has 10,000 employees working in Texas, Florida and Alabama.

Currently, USA is applying its broad range of capabilities to NASA’s Space Shuttle, International Space Station and Constellation programs as well as to space operations’ customers in the commercial and international space industry sectors.

Contact:
Jodi Goldman
National Director of Communications
CresaPartners
617.758.6009
jgoldman@cresapartners.com

200 State Street, 13th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts, 02109617.758.6000 main 617.758.6009 direct 617.742.0643 fax
http://www.cresapartners.com/_

Nordstrom Inc. Outlook Still Negative; 'A-' Corporate Credit Rating Affirmed

NEW YORK, NY--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today it affirmed its 'A-' long-term and 'A-2' short-term corporate credit ratings on Seattle-based department store operator Nordstrom Inc. (Chicago store in top right photo) The outlook remains negative.

"The negative outlook recognizes that Nordstrom's profitability will decline significantly in the second half of 2008," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Diane Shand.

The weak U.S. economy will impede management's ability to substantially improve the business for at least the next 12 months. "We expect credit metrics in 2009 to be similar to our 2008 forecast," added Ms. Shand.

Media Contact:
David Wargin, New York (1) 212.438.1579, david_wargin@standardandpoors.com

Analyst Contacts:
Diane Shand, New York (1) 212.438.7860