Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Terranova Signs DHL Global Mail to $3.2M Lease at Weston Corporate Centre


WESTON, FL – Feb. 4, 2009 – Terranova Corporation is proud to announce that DHL Global Mail, the second largest mail service provider in the U.S., has signed an office lease at Weston Corporate Centre (top right photo) in Weston, Fla., where the international company will establish its North American headquarters.

Terranova senior commercial associate Gordon Messinger represented the landlord in the 20,749 square foot transaction, valued at over $3.2 million. Weston Corporate Centre is located at 2700 South Commerce Parkway in Weston’s business district.

“DHL’s commitment underlines the prestige of this office property, considering that right now it is a tenants’ market for office space,” Messinger said. “DHL could have had its pick, and it chose Weston Corporate Centre because of its many strengths.”

DHL Global Mail is the second largest mail service provider on the U.S. market after the United States Postal Service.
A subsidiary of Deutsche Post World Net, the world’s leading logistics group, DHL Global Mail is the conglomerate’s one-stop shop for all international mail services.
DHL Global Mail offers its customers direct connections to more than 200 countries. The company has over 4,000 employees and operates sales offices and production sites in Europe, Asia and Australia as well as North and South America.
CONTACT:
Karen LaFleur, Marketing/PR Manager, Terranova Corp., 305 779 8908, klafleur@terranovacorp.com

Marcus & Millichap Lists $28.5M Regional Shopping Center in Columbia, SC

COLUMBIA, SC, Feb.4, 2009 – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has retained the exclusive listing for Midtown at Forest Acres, (top right photo) a 690,594-square foot shopping center in Columbia.

The listing price of $28.5 million represents $41 per square foot.

Bill Kohlhepp, (middle left photo) a senior associate in Marcus & Millichap’s Fort Lauderdale office, is representing the seller, a Florida-based investment group.

“Midtown at Forest Acres is a perfect opportunity for an investor who is looking for a value-add asset to remodel, reposition or redevelop to conform to the demands of today’s shoppers,” says Kohlhepp. “Also, for the right investor, the seller will consider taking back a first mortgage.”

Located at 3400 Forest Drive, just outside downtown Columbia, the property is approximately three miles from the flagship campus of the University of South Carolina and from Fort Jackson, the United States Army’s largest training center.

Midtown at Forest Acres was developed in 1988 as an approximately 900,000-square foot enclosed shopping mall. The mall’s current 690,594 square feet of owned space is operating at approximately 61 percent occupancy with strong credit tenants, including Belk, Barnes & Noble, Foot Locker and Regal Cinemas.

Midtown at Forest Acres’ value is solidly supported by its 2,790-space parking garage, a significant amenity in a high-density area with significant barriers to entry.

Current rents at the shopping mall are well below market rate.

Press Contact: Stacey Corso, Communications Department, (925) 953-1716

Napasorn East Restaurant to Open at Downtown Avalon Park, East Orlando, in April

ORLANDO, FL - Napasorn East, modeled after the highly successful Napasorn restaurant (top right photo) in downtown Orlando, is coming to downtown Avalon Park.

Brendon Dedekind, (bottom left photo) director of leasing and business development for Avalon Park Group, developers of Avalon Park community in east Orlando, said the new Napasorn East restaurant is the third restaurant opened by Napasorn Wutitanarudt and will be a great addition to the numerous dining selections already available in Avalon Park.

Remodeling work in the 2,500 square foot restaurant space, formerly occupied by Toscana’s restaurant on Founder’s Square in downtown Avalon Park, will proceed immediately.

Napasorn East Restaurant plans to open in early April 2009, Dedekind said.

“Napasorn is an exciting addition to our downtown and continues to show the high level of interest in our live, learn, work and play concept,” Dedekind said.

For more information about this release, contact:

Brendon Dedekind, Director of Leasing/Business Development, Avalon Park Group Management Inc., 407-658-6565;

Stephanie Hodson, Marketing Coordinator, Avalon Park Group, 407-658-6565;

Beat Kahli, Owner/Founder, Avalon Park Group; 407-658-6565
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142
ORLANDO, FL—Feb. 4, 2009— Thomas D. Wood and Company, a Strategic Alliance Mortgage LLC member, secured financing in the amount of $2,125,000 for Kirkman Family Dollar and Westgate Mobile Home Manor.(top right photo).

John Worrell
, Company Assistant Vice President, financed Kirkman Family Dollar through Thomas D. Wood and Company’s relationship with a regional bank in the amount of $1,300,000.

The construction/permanent loan has a five-year term, based on a 25-year amortization, with 16 months interest-only during the construction period.

The interest rate is 7% during construction and 7.5% for the permanent loan. Loan-to-value is 65% and loan-to-cost is 55%. The 9,180 square-foot single-tenant retail building will be built on 1.6 acres on the west side of South Kirkman Road, just north of Old Winter Garden Road in Orlando, Florida.

Jeff Schnupp, Company Vice President, financed Westgate Mobile Home Manor through Thomas D. Wood and Company’s relationship with a community bank in the amount of $825,000.

The loan has a three-year term, based on a 25-year amortization and an interest rate of 7%. The loan-to-value is 75%. The mobile home park was built in 1984, and sits on 3.46 acres at 7499 1/2 46th Street, St. Petersburg, Florida.

For further information, please contact:
John Worrell, (407) 937-0470, jworrell@tdwood.com
Jeff Schnupp, (407) 937-0470. jschnupp@tdwood.com
Jessica Gurtowski, (407) 937-0470, jgurtowski@tdwood.com

IDI Leases 81,000 SF to DIRTT Environmental Solutions

Calgary, Alberta-based maker of sustainable wall and floor systems to establish its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Savannah at Crossroads Business Park.

SAVANNAH, GA., Feb. 04, 2009 – IDI, a full-service industrial real estate company, has closed a 10-year, 81,000-square-foot lease in Savannah, Ga., with DIRTT Environmental Solutions, a manufacturer of walls and access floors.

The Calgary, Alberta-based company plans to open its first U.S. manufacturing plant at 155 Knowlton Way (top right photo) in spring 2009. 155 Knowlton Way is a 241,380-square-foot, state-of-the art industrial facility located in Crossroads Business Center, adjacent to Interstate 95 and the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport.
DIRTT joins Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., which occupies 141 Knowlton Way, as IDI’s second tenant at Crossroads Business Center.

“IDI is proud to provide this innovative and environmentally conscious company the space it requires for its expansion into the U.S.,” said Sean Fitzsimmons, vice president of National Business Development for IDI.

Tom Beebe and Robert Hutson of CB Richard Ellis represented DIRTT in the lease negotiations, and Cliff Dales of Colliers Neely Dales was the listing broker for the property.

The facility will provide DIRTT an East Coast assembly plant to complement its existing manufacturing facility in Calgary.
“By setting up in Savannah, we are much closer to the eastern cities where several key clients are based, and we can take advantage of existing rail lines for delivery,” said Mogens Smed, (top left photo) CEO of DIRTT.

DIRTT joins several high-profile tenants at Crossroads Business Center, including The Home Depot, Pier 1 Imports, Lowes, Gulfstream Aerospace, Georgia Tech Engineering and Technology Campus, and Dollar Tree Stores.

The 241,380-square-foot 155 Knowlton Way rear-load facility features 30-foot clear heights, 54-foot by 50-foot column spacing, early suppression fast response (ESFR) sprinklers, and ample car and trailer parking.
With the lease signing, 160,380 square feet is available for lease in the facility. At its neighboring 187,890-square-foot 141 Knowlton Way building, IDI has 75,000 square feet available for lease.

CONTACTS:

Kim Hardcastle, Jackson Spalding for IDI, 404-214-0693, khardcastle@jacksonspalding.com

Charlotte Marie DuPre, Jackson Spalding for IDI, 404-214-0693, cdupre@jacksonspalding.com

Grubb & Ellis Company Promotes Jason Stewart and Rick O’Brien to Senior Vice President

PITTSBURGH, PA (Feb. 4, 2009) – Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE:GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, today announced it has promoted Jason Stewart (middle left photo) to senior vice president, Office Group, and Rick O’Brien, (top right photo) CPA, SIOR, to senior vice president, Industrial Group. The promotions recognize their levels of production and contributions to the company.

“Jason and Rick have completed some of the most important recent transactions in this market,” said Duke Kingsley, executive vice president, managing director of the company’s Pittsburgh office. “Combined with attentive and responsible client service, their performance makes them huge contributors to our success.”

Stewart joined Grubb & Ellis in 1995 and specializes in the Pittsburgh central business district and suburban office markets. In 2008, Stewart was awarded the President’s Council designation by Grubb & Ellis for outstanding production and leadership.

O’Brien has been with Grubb & Ellis since 2000 and specializes in industrial leasing and sales. He is a member of the Grubb & Ellis Industrial Council and the Logistics Group Specialty Council.

Contact: Erin Mays, Phone: 312.698.6735. Email: erin.mays@grubb-ellis.com


Industry Veteran Steve Rahe Joins Grubb & Ellis Company from CB Richard Ellis

DENVER, CO (Feb. 04, 2009) – Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading provider of integrated real estate services, today announced that 23-year commercial real estate veteran Steve Rahe has joined its Denver office as senior vice president, Investment Services. He will specialize in multifamily property sales.

“Steve exemplifies the kind of individual Grubb & Ellis prizes,” said Mark Ballenger, executive vice president, managing director of the company’s Denver office. “He is an experienced real estate professional with a lengthy and successful career who enjoys a reputation for integrity and exceptional client service.”

Rahe joins Grubb & Ellis from CB Richard Ellis, where he had spent the entirety of his professional real estate career and served as a first vice president focusing on the sale of apartment communities throughout the state of Colorado.

Contact: Damon Elder, Phone: 714.975.2659 Email: damon.elder@grubb-ellis.com

Orlando Multifamily Sales Down but Buyers Still Show Strong Interest, CBRE Reports

ORLANDO, FL-Fundamentals in the metro Orlando multifamily rental market were largely unchanged in 2008, and although they were several points off the highs seen during 2005, the market remains poised for an expected recovery in late 2009 and early 2010, reports Shelton D. Granade Jr., (top right photo) first vice president, investment properties and multi-housing, CB Richard Ellis.

Market highlights:

PROJECTIONS FOR CENTRAL FLORIDA

• Buyers will continue to show strong interest in Orlando multi-family assets due to price declines and projected fundamental improvement
• The following submarkets are projected to outperform the MSA: Altamonte Springs/Longwood, SW Orange County, Winter Park/Maitland, Winter Springs/Casselberry
• New construction is projected to be limited over the next few years, due to the scarcity of multi-family zoned sites, the increase of impact fees and a cautious lending environment


• Condo to apartment “reversions” are largely absorbed from a rental standpoint, which should help boost fundamentals in the second half of 2009
• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will continue to be the only choice in financing moving forward until early 2010
• Demand will be very high for attractive assumable debt
• Demand for rental units will exceed the supply of new units under construction
• Rent and occupancy will stay relatively flat until mid-2009, but will increase consistently thereafter through 2013
• Bank owned sales of failed condo conversions will increase in 2009
• Cap rates are likely to increase by mid 2009
• Orlando is poised for strong rent growth in the latter part of 2009 and early 2010.

NEW CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY

• Orlando’s total rental pool is about 141,000 units
• Only a modest 2,722 market-rate rental units will be delivered in 2009
• Orlando will see less than 1,700 units delivered in 2010
• Orlando averaged over 10,000 new units annually from 1999 to 2002
• Almost all the deliveries will be in the first 3 months of 2009
• Loans for new MF construction are very difficult to obtain in today’s capital markets
• Orlando’s rental stock decreased by an average of 2.7% annually during the past five years due to condo conversions
• Although about 8,000 rental units intended for condo conversion came back into the local rental pool, Orlando’s overall apartment supply is down 10,000 units since 2004
• Demand for new rentals remains strong, but new construction continues to slow due to the challenging lending environment, high impact fees, and a lack of infill sites with school capacity
• 3,351 new rental units were completed during 2008
• Multifamily permits in the 3rd quarter time frame registered at just 663 units, down
63% from the 3rd quarter of 2007
• Impact fees are approximately $7,500 - $11,500 per unit in Central FL counties


(Post Lake at Baldwin Park apartments, middle left photo)


ORLANDO SALES STATISTICS FOR 2008
• About 7,398 apartment units in Orlando sold in 2008 for a value of approximately $599 million, down about 43% from one year ago
• Nationally, multi-housing sales were down nearly 60% from 2007
• Orlando was the most active apartment sales market in Florida
• The sales decrease is primarily due to a continued disconnect in the bid/ask spread
• Cap rates did increase approximately 100 bps over the last half of the year due to
continued turmoil in the capital markets and the lagging national economy
• Underwriting has become much more conservative with regards to capital structure,
cash flow, and exit assumptions.
• The 3rd Qtr of 2008 was the most active in terms of local apartment sales, seeing
$267 million in multi-family transactions from July - Sept
• The most active buyers continued to be private equity groups
• Most buyers are receiving financing from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
• Approximately seven REO and failed condo conversions were sold during 2008

CONTACTS:
Shelton Granade, First Vice President, Investment Properties-Multihousing. PH 407 839 3103. FX 407 404 5001. shelton.granade@cbre.com

Luke Wickham, (bottom left photo), Director of Operations, PH 407 839 3103. FX 407 404 5001. luke.wickham@cbre.com.