Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Thomas D. Wood & Co. Closes $5.55M Loan for Canadian Ferrari Dealership

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—July 7, 2009— Thomas D. Wood and Company, a Strategic Alliance Mortgage LLC member, secured construction financing on June 30, 2009, in the amount of $5,550,000 for Ross Motor Sports, (top right photo) a Ferrari dealership in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Patrick Madore, Company Vice President, financed the Ross Motor Sports through Thomas D. Wood and Company’s relationship with a Canadian bank.

The loan is floating at 350 over LIBOR, with a five-year term, based on a 20-year amortization. The loan-to-value is 55%, and loan-to-cost is 50%. The 26,506 square-foot Ferrari dealership will be built on 0.256 acres at 1898 Burrard Street, Vancouver, British Columbia.




For further information, please contact:
Patrick Madore, (954) 233-6024, pmadore@tdwood.com
Jessica Gurtowski, (407) 937-0470, jgurtowski@tdwood.com

Tenants Signing Shorter Leases for Office and Industrial Space

SANTA ANA, CA--Bob Bache, (top right photo) senior vice president and chief economist, Grubb Ellis Co., says the average terms of office and industrial leases signed in the second quarter were the shortest of the decade at 52.3 months for office leases and 43.4 months for industrial leases.

The recession and weak corporate profits are prompting many tenants to choose short-term extensions as their leases expire instead of new, five-year leases.

These tenants prefer the flexibility of a shorter commitment to the generous terms on offer by many landlords who would prefer to lock in tenants for longer periods.

Not all landlords favor five-year terms, however. Some think three years is the optimum length because they believe that rental rates will begin to rebound before the five-year terms are up, and they want to be in a position to raise rents as soon as market conditions permit.


Contact: Bob Bache, corporatecommunications@grubb-ellis.com, or to Janice McDill at 312.698.6707.

Four Points by Sheraton Kuching Celebrates Official Opening

KUCHING, Malaysia-- Four Points by Sheraton Kuching (top right photo) was officially declared open recently during a Grand Opening ceremony presided over by Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak (top left photo).

In conjunction with the Grand Opening, Four Points also set the record for the Tallest Cupcake Display in Malaysia, an attempt endorsed by The Malaysia Book of Records.

The record attempt was witnessed by the Prime Minister as well as Datuk Danny Ooi, Managing Director of The Malaysia Book of Records.

Four Points by Sheraton Kuching is located 2 kilometres from the Kuching International Airport and just 15 minutes from the heart of the city. The hotel, the city’s first International opening in almost 2 decades, will cater to both business and leisure travelers while also offering a complete range of meeting and banquet facilities.
"We’re extremely proud to be Starwood’s first Four Points in South East Asia,” said Giuseppe Ressa, General Manager of Four Points by Sheraton Kuching.

Developed and owned by Global Upline Sdn. Bhd., the 421-room Four Points by Sheraton Kuching combines modern architectural design with practical use of space.

“The simple functionality of our design allows us to introduce the Four Points’ honest, uncomplicated hospitality to a market that’s hungry for a new international hospitality brand,” said Bobby Ting, Owner’s Representative and Assistant Managing Director of Global Upline.

Four Points by Sheraton is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.


Contact: Hwee-Peng Yeo, Tel : +65 6335 4837; Cell : +65 9768 6087; +65 9248 0424. Fax : +65 6335 4820
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/;

Marcus & Millichap Sells 3-Star RV Resort in Anaheim, CA for $10M

ANAHEIM, CA – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has arranged the sale of Anaheim RV Village, (top left photo) a 293-site, three-star RV Resort in Anaheim.

The sales price of $10 million included the 1.66-acre commercial corner at the intersection of Ball Road and Harbor Boulevard.

The park sold at a land value of $20.94 per square foot and a cost per site of $31,083 net of the commercial land value.
Douglas Danny, vice president investments and a senior director of the firm’s National Manufactured Home Communities Group in San Diego, represented the seller, WB Parc Anaheim LLC. The buyer was represented by Don Nourse of CB Richard Ellis.

“Anaheim RV Village has tremendous cash flow potential with operational repositioning,” says Danny. “The existing RV resort rental business was systematically curtailed to facilitate redevelopment of the site into multi-residential use. The current RV park occupancy has been at 25 percent since May of 2007.

The new owner, The Mother Colony Group LLC, intends to focus on annual rentals,” adds Danny.

Anaheim RV Village is comprised of 9.27 acres containing 274 RV lots with drains, 19 campsites with a full amenity package and a signal-controlled commercial corner with two retail rental units.

The listing attracted multiple offers from both developers and operators. The property was widely marketed for 180 days and was in escrow for a total of 60 days. This was an all-cash transaction.

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

Chick-Fil-A Leases Former Road House Grill for 25 Years

Orlando, Florida – July 7, 2009 – The Orlando office of CB Richard Ellis is pleased to announce, Jorge Rodriguez, CCIM, Senior Associate in Retail Properties, has secured a lease for the landlord Pineloch Management Company, at the former Road House Grill, located at Michigan and Orange Avenues. The 25-year lease is for a Chick-Fil-A store.

Currently, the Road House Grill building has been demolished and Chick-Fil-A is projecting an opening of mid-October 2009.

Contact: Angelique Greven,407.839.3158, angelique.greven@cbre.com

Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty to Host Auction of 27 Luxury Condominiums in Metro Orlando

ORLANDO, FL--- Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty, partnering with Worldwide Auction Realty Services, will conduct an auction Saturday Aug. 1 to sell 27 remaining condominium, residences at Artisan Park, a luxury community of over 300 new condominium homes located at Celebration in Osceola County.

Roger Soderstrom, founder and owner of Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty, said the auction is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at the Celebration Hotel.
(top right photo)

Condominiums to be auctioned were formerly listed for sale at prices ranging from $480,000 to $600,000. Suggested opening bids have been set at $95,000, Soderstrom said.

Many of the condominiums to be auctioned feature waterfront settings, Soderstrom said. Artisan Park features a community clubhouse with a swimming pool, cabana, restaurants and other amenities. A brochure can be downloaded and property photos viewed online by visiting http://www.auctionatcelebration.com/

Prospective bidders are being invited to register and participate in the auction in person at Artisan Park, by telephone at 800.327.1048, or World Wide Auction Realty Services will accept bids online at (http://www.auctionatcelebration.com/).


For more information, please contact:
Jon or Lori Chipps, World Wide Auction Realty Services 800.327.1048; http://www.stirlingsir.com/;

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407.644.4142

Lodgian Provides Further Update on Remaining Maturing Mortgage Debt

ATLANTA, Ga., July 7, 2009 – Lodgian, Inc. (NYSE Alternext US:LGN), one of the nation’s largest independent hotel owners and operators, today announced that the company has obtained an extension of the maturity date for the Merrill Lynch Fixed Rate Pool #3 (“Pool #3”).

As of July 1, 2009, the principal amount of Pool #3 was $45.7 million. The company and the special servicer for Pool #3 have entered into an extension agreement to extend the maturity date of this indebtedness until August 1, 2009. Given the extension of the maturity date, the company is not in default of the original loan. The company paid no extension fee in connection with this short-term extension.

The 30-day extension is intended to provide the parties an opportunity to reach an agreement on a longer-term maturity extension.

The company and the special servicer are currently negotiating a longer-term maturity extension for Pool #3; however, the company can provide no assurances that the parties will reach such an agreement.

In the event that the company is unable to achieve a long-term extension of Pool #3, the company expects that anticipated cash flow from the hotels securing Pool #3 may not be sufficient to meet the related debt service obligations and it may be necessary to transfer the properties securing this indebtedness to the lender in satisfaction of the company’s obligations.
Contact: Debi Ethridge, Vice President, Finance & Investor Relations, mailto:Relationsdethridge@lodgian.com(404) 365-2719