Monday, April 19, 2010

NAI Realvest negotiates renewal lease agreement for 144,000 SF of Industrial space in Sanford, FL


ORLANDO – NAI Realvest recently negotiated a renewal agreement on the lease of 144,000 square feet at 2000 E. Lake Mary Blvd. in Sanford.

Michael Heidrich, (top right photo)  a principal at NAI Realvest, brokered the transaction representing the landlord, Columbus, Ohio-based Lake Mary Industrial Partners LLC.

The tenant, Florida Extruders International Inc., a building products distributor and manufacturer of aluminum products such as screen doors and windows, renewed the lease for its Florida headquarters.

NAI Realvest is the exclusive leasing and management representative of the 242,000 square foot industrial center.

For more information, contact:
Michael Heidrich, Principal, NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989 mheidrich@realvest.com;
 Patrick Mahoney, President, NAI Realvest 407-875-9989 pmahoney@realvest.com;
Beth Payan or Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142 Lvershelco@aol.com;

Crossman & Co. Welcomes Seven New Tenants at Orlando Fashion Square


ORLANDO, Fla. – Crossman & Company, one of the largest third-party retail leasing and management firms in the Southeast, which represents Orlando Fashion Square,(top left photo)  announced seven new tenants at the mall totaling more than 10,000 square feet of retail space.

The new tenants are American Wedding Star, Altar Photography and Video, Samy’s Kidswear, Ink Spot, Pete’s Karate and in Fashion Square’s Food Court, new tenants are Tropical Rotisserie Grill, featuring Latin inspired food, and Big Idea which will offer generous portions of food items.

Orlando Fashion Square is centrally located in the heart of Orlando on Colonial Drive (SR 50) and Maguire Rd.

Contacts:
John Crossman, CCIM, President, Crossman & Company, 407-581-6218, jcrossman@crossmanco.com;
Molly Delahunty, Crossman & Company, 407-581-6220 mdelahunty@crossmanco.com;
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142, lvershelco@aol.com

Melrose-Sovereign Co. Awarded Contract to Manage Abbey Glenn Community in Dade City, FL


ORLANDO, FL - Melrose Sovereign Companies, LLC was recently awarded a contract to manage the home owners association at Abbey Glenn, a community of 113 single-family homes located in Dade City.

Jack Hanson,  co-founder and principal at Melrose-Sovereign Companies, said Maronda Homes is currently building in Abbey Glenn.

Maronda Homes is a leading Central Florida homebuilder and has built over 20,000 homes throughout Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky and Georgia.

Melrose-Sovereign Companies is one of Florida’s largest and most active community association management companies, specializing in single-family and multi-family communities. Based in Orlando, Melrose-Sovereign Companies now has eight offices throughout the state.

For more information,  contact:
Jack B. Hanson, LCAM, Partner/Co-founder, Melrose-Sovereign Companies, 407-228-4181, jhanson@melrose-sovereign.com;
Ellen G. Lumpkin, LCAM, Partner/Co-founder, Melrose-Sovereign Companies, 407-228-4181, elumpkin@melrose-sovereign.com;
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142, Lvershelco@aol.com

Grubb & Ellis Represents Saddle Creek Corp. in 432,308-SF Warehouse/Distribution Lease in Ontario, CA


ONTARIO, CA – Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, announced that members of its Global Logistics practice group represented Saddle Creek Corporation in a 432,308-square-foot warehouse/distribution lease at 5431 E. Philadelphia St.

The Lakeland, Fla., third party logistics company signed a five-year lease, and immediately took occupancy.

Ron Washle, SIOR, senior vice president, and Mark Kegans, SIOR, senior vice president, in conjunction with Ladson Montgomery, senior vice president of G&E Phoenix Realty Group, the company’s Jacksonville, Fla., affiliate, represented Saddle Creek in the transaction. The property’s landlord, ProLogis, represented itself.

Contact: Julia McCartney, Phone: 714.975.2230, Email: julia.mccartney@grubb-ellis.com

Leading wireless technology developer moves headquarters from Rolling Meadows to Elgin, IL

ROSEMONT, IL – Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, represented Memorylink in the lease of 9,314 square feet of office space located at 590 Tollgate Road in Elgin.

Craig Cassell, senior vice president, and Max Chopovsky, senior associate, both of the company’s Tenant Advisory Group, facilitated the six-year lease for the location, which serves as the company’s headquarters and lab/office space.

“Memorylink wanted to move out of its existing space immediately, upgrade its image and consolidate separate operations under one roof,” said Chopovsky. “This new location fit the client’s timing, space and economic needs.”

Tom Freeburg, COO of Memorylink, added, “Max and Craig were able to find a space that is nearly ideal for our needs, while at the same time negotiating a generous tenant improvement allowance from the landlord, all for an amount that made it profitable to walk away from our previous facility well before the end of our lease there. We’re grateful for their tremendous efforts.”

Memorylink is a leading developer of wireless broadband products such as wireless voice, video, and data technologies. The company took occupancy of the space on December 1, 2009.

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

700 New Condos Sell In Downtown Miami in 1st Quarter


Miami Developer Loses New 324-Unit Condo Complex To Lender

MIAMI, FL--A Miami developer who was unable to sell a single unit in the new 324-unit Terrazas Riverpark Village condominium (top right photo)  complex west of Greater Downtown Miami has lost the two-tower project to the lender, iStar Financial, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.

The Terrazas Riverpark's original developer, Windmoor Project LLC with Miguel Angel Barbagallo  (middle left photo) as principal, signed a "special warranty deed in lieu of foreclosure" that was recorded on April 13 in Miami-Dade County. The eight-page deed-in-lieu document was originally signed on Sept. 18, 2009 by Barbagallo, but not recorded until this week, according to government records.

Before recording the deed-in-lieu document, the lender established an entity - 1861 NW South River Drive - Miami LLC - to take title to the Terrazas Riverpark project that stands on nearly 2.2 acres north of the site of the new Florida Marlins ballpark.

The value of the deed-in-lieu transaction was recorded at $45 million, or nearly $139,000 per residential unit. The original construction loan for $84.5 million, or nearly $261,000 per unit, was made in March 2006, according to the report based on government records.

"Chances are the write down that the lender has taken on the Terrazas Riverpark will not be deep enough to lure a bulk buyer and/or individual buyers for this product at this time," said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC.

 "After all, a local developer of the new San Lorenzo condo tower nearby just held an auction on April 10 where the average bid on 65 units worked out to $121 per square foot for a property that the lender is owed $216 per square foot.

"We do not envision a much different scenario for the Terrazas Riverpark at this time given the financing difficulties of today's market."

Condo Vultures® is scheduled to release its first quarter of 2010 new condo closing report for Miami on Monday, April 19, in its free weekly Market Intelligence Report™.

The report's latest findings will be discussed in detail at the upcoming Condo Vultures® panel discussion entitled the "Future of Condo Development in South Florida" scheduled for Tuesday, April 20, at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel on North Bayshore Drive.

A couple of weeks before the recording of the deed-in-lieu, the Terrazas Riverpark's developer filed on March 29 the necessary paperwork - a 295-page declaration of condominium - to formally establish the project as a Florida condominium.

The Terrazas Riverpark is comprised of a 20-story and 27-story tower with more than 200,000 square feet of saleable residential space plus four commercial condominiums. The project consists of 157 one-bedroom units, 145 two-bedroom units, and 22 three bedrooms located on Northwest South River Drive, just north of Florida State Road 836, or the Dolphin Expressway, according to a CondoVultures.com analysis of the condominium documents.

Construction on the project began in April 2006, stalling several times during the last four years. A fourth notice of commencement to finally finish up the project was filed on Jan. 28, 2010, according to government records.

The Terrazas Riverpark site was originally purchased in November 2002 for $4 million. At the time of the purchase, a four-story health care facility with 67,229 square feet of space stood on the site before being demolished in July 2005.

Windmoor Project's original construction loan for $84.5 million was provided on March 10, 2006 by Fremont Investment & Loan, which was one of the top four condo construction lenders in South Florida during the boom years. In summer 2007, Fremont sold its commercial real estate loan portfolio - which included the Terrazas Riverpark - to iStar Financial.

More than 40 bulk deals for more than 3,600 new condo units with more than four million square feet of saleable space have closed at an average price of $241 per square foot in the tricounty South Florida area since July 2008, according to the Condo Vultures® Bulk Deals Database™.

About one-third of the bulk deals have transacted in Greater Downtown Miami where developer constructed nearly 23,000 new units between 2003 and 2010, according to the Condo Vultures® Official Condo Buyers Guide To Miami™.


First-Quarter Condo Sales Pace  in Downtown Miami Tops 2009 Activity

MIAMI, FL--Buyers purchased more than 700 new condo units in Greater Downtown Miami in the first quarter of this year, pushing the overall closed sales ratio for the epicenter of Florida's condo crash to more than 70 percent, according to a new Condo Vultures® White Paper™.

A year ago, buyers purchased units at half that pace, acquiring only 370 new condos between January and March of 2009.

At that time, only 59 percent of the more than 22,200 new condo units constructed in Greater Downtown Miami since 2003 had been sold, according to the report based on the Condo Vultures® Official Condo Buyers Guide To Miami™.

The strong buying activity in a market with virtually no financing means that 35 projects out of a total of 82 are now completely sold out. An additional 24 projects have successfully sold at least half of their respective units for sale. Only six projects have not sold a single unit, according to CondoVultures.com.

"The condo sales in Greater Downtown Miami are a function of price," said Peter Zalewski (b ottom right photo) , a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC.

"A year ago, developers and lenders were still asking $300 per square foot for a new condo. The asking prices dipped shortly after that to the $200 per square foot range, triggering a buying frenzy that reduced the overall inventory by 11 percent.

"As the inventory of new condo product dips below 6,600 units, some developers are attempting to boost prices back up to the $300 per square foot range. Time will tell if the new pricing sticks."

Contact: Peter Zalewski of Condo Vultures®  at 800-750-0517 or by email at peter@condovultures.com.