Thursday, November 17, 2011

$159 million sale of Regents Park in Chicago closed by HFF



CHICAGO, IL – HFF announced today that it has closed the sale of Regents Park (top left photo), a two-tower, 1,031-unit multi-housing property with 7,591 square feet of ground floor retail space in Chicago, Illinois.  

HFF marketed the property on behalf of the sellers, who are members of the Crescent Heights® group of companies. 

 RP Holdings, LLC purchased Regents Park for $159 million and assumed the existing financing on the property. 

Regents Park is located at 5020-5050 South Lake Shore Drive along the western shore of Lake Michigan in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. 

Hyde Park is six miles south of the “Loop” and is home to the University of Chicago and the University of Chicago Medical System.

 The 90 percent occupied property has studio, one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units averaging 979 square feet each. 

 Community amenities at Regents Park include a heated indoor pool with retractable roof, health club, business center, indoor children’s play area, Jacuzzi, sauna, dry cleaner, gourmet food market and restaurant with room service.  The property also features a 688-space heated parking garage.

The HFF investment sales team representing Crescent Heights® was led by executive managing director Matthew Lawton (middle right photo) and managing directors Sean Fogarty (middle left photo) and Marty O’Connell (lower right photo).

Crescent Heights® is a trade name for a group of affiliated single purpose entities that develops and markets high-rise multi-housing properties and hotels throughout the United States.

 Contacts:           
Matthew D. Lawton, HFF Executive Managing Director, (312) 528-3650, mlawton@hfflp.com                                  
 Kristen M. Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, (713) 852-3500,

CalPERS Names Sean Tracy to Lead Enterprise Strategy and Performance Division



 SACRAMENTO, CA – The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has named Sean Tracy (top right photo) to lead the pension fund’s newly established Enterprise Strategy and Performance Division.

Tracy will be responsible for the overall planning, development and monitoring of CalPERS strategic and annual business plans working with the System’s executive leadership team.

 He will also oversee the development of performance measures for the organization and will help coordinate CalPERS position on urgent enterprise emerging issues. 

Tracy, who will report to Steve Kessler (middle left photo), Deputy Executive Officer for Operations and Technology, begins his position on December 7, 2011.

“Sean has a strong background in the development of strategic plans for large and complex organizations and is well-suited to help establish CalPERS enterprise priorities, “said Kessler.  “His experience will be valuable in framing CalPERS strategic vision and goals for the future.”

Tracy joins CalPERS from the California Department of Mental Health where he served as Assistant Deputy Director of the Community Services Division overseeing the administration of the department’s $3 billion budget and over 300 contracts. 

Tracy replaces Nancy Quinlan who has been serving as Chief of CalPERS former division overseeing Strategic Management Services. 

 For more information about CalPERS, visit http://www.calpers.ca.gov/.

Contact:
External Affairs Branch
(916) 795-3991
Robert Udall Glazier, Deputy Executive Officer
Brad Pacheco, Chief, Office of Public Affairs

Dalfen America Corp. Acquires REO Industrial Property in Tennessee



MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada --  /PRNewswire/ --Dalfen America Corp. announced the acquisition of Trinity Ridge Business Center (top left photo).

Built between 1998 and 2007, this eight-building industrial park totals 234,000 square feet and is located in Cordova, Tennessee, an affluent suburb of Memphis.

In 2007, Trinity Ridge Business Center was acquired by DBSI Inc. for $22.9 million. The property was foreclosed on last year and the loan servicer, LNR Partners, LLC, sold the property to Dalfen America Corp for $7.2 million.

This property is the latest acquisition made by DAC's most recent value-added industrial fund, the firm's 17th real estate fund.

Since its closing in February of this year, DAC's fund has acquired close to 1 million square feet of institutional quality multi-tenanted industrial properties and mortgage notes in select metropolitan markets across the United States.

"We continue to see areas of opportunity in the current real estate market and we believe this transaction offers a unique opportunity for Dalfen America Corp. to add value and generate superior returns for our investors," said Sean Dalfen (lower left photo), Dalfen America Corp.'s Executive Managing Director.

Dalfen is confident that the firm is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the steady flow of overleveraged assets being sold by lenders both on and off market because of its cash position, ability to make decisions quickly, and reputation for fair dealings.

Dalfen America Corp., the U.S. arm of the Canadian company Dalfen's Ltd., is a private equity real estate firm headquartered in Montreal, Canada, with regional offices in Orlando, Dallas and Tampa.

The firm, through its investment funds and separate accounts, acquires and manages millions of feet of commercial real estate and is one of the largest purchasers of non-performing notes on industrial properties in North America.

Contact: 
 Robert Kurlender, Director of Acquisitions, +1-514-938-8454, rkurlender@dalfen.ca


Voit Completes 8,748-SF Industrial Sale for Medical R&D Facility in San Diego, CA



SAN DIEGO, CA – Voit Real Estate Services’ San Diego office has successfully completed the $1.335 million sale of an 8,748 square-foot industrial property located at 9930 Mesa Rim Road (top left photo) in San Diego.

 The facility, which has undergone more than $500,000 of high quality improvements, will serve as a medical R&D facility, according to Randy LaChance (middle right photo), Senior Vice President in Voit’s San Diego office.

 LaChance, along with Jon Danton (middle left photo) of Voit’s San Diego office, represented the seller, Ole and Bente Sorensen, in the transaction.  Voit’s Todd Holley (lower right photo) and Ellen Thomas (lower left photo) represented the buyer, Salma Jason Monica Limited Partnership, LP.

“Salma Jason Monica Limited Partnership required a high end R&D facility, so the company had very specific needs and structural expectations that few industrial properties can provide,” said Holley, a Vice President in Voit’s San Diego office. “The Voit team was successful in pairing the buyer with this seller, who had maintained an exceptional property that was the right fit for the buyer’s needs.”

 The buyer acquired the building as an owner-user, according to Voit.

About Voit Real Estate Services

Voit Real Estate Services is now a 10 office commercial real estate firm that, through its brokerage and asset services professionals working together, provides strategic property solutions tailored to clients’ needs.

Combining nearly 40 years of expertise in property management, investment advisory, financial analysis, market research, asset management, tenant advisory and brokerage services, Voit provides clients with forward looking strategies that create value for their assets and portfolios.

Voit is a privately held, debt-free firm that has successfully navigated numerous market cycles since 1971 and currently employs more than 250 people.

Voit has owned, developed and managed over 45 million square feet of commercial real estate, participated in $1.35 billion of construction projects and completed over $33 billion in brokerage transaction volume.

Further information is available at http://www.voitco.com/.

Contact: 

Judith Brower
Brower, Miller & Cole
(949) 955-7940


Grubb & Ellis Represents DCT Industrial Trust in $35 Million Purchase of Industrial Warehouse in Burlingame, CA




 SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, announced members of its Bay Area offices represented DCT Industrial Trust in its purchase of a 255,000-square-foot industrial warehouse facility in Burlingame for $35 million. 

 The property was purchased through an umbrella partnership real estate investment trust from The Pauls Corporation, representing itself in the transaction.

 DCT Industrial was represented by: Mike Davis (top right photo), vice president, JP Custodio (middle left photo), vice president, and Michael Draeger (bottom right photo), associate, of the San Mateo Industrial Group.

The team worked in conjunction with Seth McKinnon, vice president, Investment Services, and member of the company’s Private Capital Markets group, as well as Michael Taquino, vice president, Investment Services of the downtown San Francisco office. 

 “This was a highly sought after industrial trophy asset that is arguably the crown jewel of the San Francisco Peninsula,” said Davis.  “As the largest Class A facility in Burlingame, the property encompasses all the attributes that tenants and investors desire.  Ideally located just minutes from the San Francisco International Airport and Highway 101, the property features excellent clearance, parking, truck access, power and flexibility of use.” said Davis.

 Located at 1625 – 1635 Rollins Road, the warehouse facility is 100 percent leased to the United States Postal Service, Mills-Peninsula Health Services and Classic Party Rentals.  DCT Industrial purchased the property, as an investment for a long-term hold. 

 McKinnon added, “This unique transaction represented DCT’s creative ability to provide a smooth exit for the Pauls Corporation through the use of an UPREIT.” 

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

Manufactured Home Community Trades for $55 Million in Massachusetts

  

 MIDDLEBOROUGH, MA. – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has closed on the sale of Oak Point (top left photo) a senior manufactured housing community for in Middleborough.

The 55-plus senior community includes 870 occupied homes and entitled, permitted land for 280 additional homes. The sales price was $55 million.

 The seller, a partnership between a Connecticut-based real estate investment fund and a real estate developer from the Boston area, was represented by Dan Mulkey (middle left photo), a vice president investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office; Jonathan Harrison, a vice president investments; and Briana Barbier, a manufactured homes communities investment specialist, both in the firm’s San Diego office. Robert Horvath and Todd Tremblay in the firm’s Boston office provided local representation.

 “Oak Point is a high-quality, age-restricted manufactured housing community located between Boston and Cape Cod,” says Mulkey. “Construction of the eight-phase development project began in 1998 and is currently in its seventh phase.

The community has experienced rapid lease-up activity in the years since its inception, which is a testament to the desirability of the community, the demand for this product type in the area and the skill of the onsite operating team,” Mulkey continues. 

The buyer, represented by Mulkey and Harrison, is a privately held Chicago-based firm that owns and operates 56 manufactured housing communities located in multiple states, including four other communities in Massachusetts.

 The property is located at 200 Oak Point Drive in the Route 24 corridor, with easy access to Route 24 and Interstate 495. A commuter rail line provides daily direct access into Boston.

Middleborough, Mass., is 40 miles south of Boston, a 45-minute drive from Cape Cod and 30 miles east of Providence, R.I.

Contact: Stacey Corso, Public Relations Manager, (925) 953-1716

IRSA Inversiones y Representaciones (NYSE: IRS) Affiliate Agrees to Purchase Investment in Supertel Hospitality



NORFOLK, NB – Supertel Hospitality, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPPR), a real estate investment trust (REIT) which owns 101 hotels in 23 states, announced that it has entered into a purchase agreement for the issuance and sale of convertible preferred stock to Real Estate Strategies L.P. (“the Investor”), an investment vehicle indirectly controlled by IRSA Inversiones y Representaciones Sociedad Anónima (“IRSA”), an Argentina-based company.

 Subject to the approval of the shareholders of Supertel and IRSA’s satisfaction with certain debt refinancing of Supertel, Supertel will issue and sell two million shares of a newly-created series of preferred stock for $20 million to the Investor.  The Investor will also have the option, to be exercised prior to closing, to purchase up to an additional one million of preferred shares for $10 per share. 

Supertel President and CEO Kelly Walters (top right photo) welcomed the investment of IRSA into Supertel, “for IRSA has shown an important growth in the last 2 decades and is worldwide recognized for its vision to find companies with high growth potential”.

Eduardo S. Elsztain (lower left photo), Chairman of IRSA, commented: “our investment is a vote of confidence in the direction that Supertel has been pursuing in terms of repositioning its portfolio, improving property level management, and strengthening the company’s balance sheet.

“We expect that with this investment, Supertel will have made significant progress in its ongoing effort to optimize its capital structure to ultimately resume growth and regain the financial flexibility needed to reach its full potential”. 

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

 Ms. Krista Arkfeld
 Norfolk, NE  68701
 Director of Corporate Communications
 402.371.2520
 karkfeld@supertelinc.com
 
 Patrick Daly
Account Supervisor
Daly Gray, Inc.
Office:  (703) 435-6293
Cell:  (703) 300-8289

Sale of retail power center in southwest Houston closed by HFF



  

 HOUSTON, TX – HFF announced today that it has closed the sale of The Crossing at Fort Bend (top left photo), a 116,064-square-foot retail power center in Sugar Land, Texas.

HFF marketed the property on behalf of the seller.  MCOM SHOPPING CENTERS LLC purchased the asset for an undisclosed amount and Prosperity Bank provided third party financing for the buyer.

The Crossing at Fort Bend is situated on 23.05 acres at 14440 Hillcroft Street, at the northwest corner of Sam Houston Parkway and the Fort Bend Tollway about 13 miles southwest of Houston’s central business district.

 The property was completed in two phases in 2007 and 2010, and is 90.4 percent leased to tenants including Ross Dress for Less, Staples, Dollar Tree, JPMorgan Chase, Subway, Whataburger and Chili’s.  The sale also includes six available development parcels/pad sites.

The HFF investment sales team representing the seller was led by senior managing director Rusty Tamlyn (middle right photo) and associate director Trent Agnew (lower left photo).

Contacts:   
Rusty Tamlyn, HFF Senior Managing Director, (713) 852-3500 rtamlyn@hfflp.com                                                                                     
Trent Agnew, HFF Associate Director, (713) 852-3500, tagnew@hfflp.com                        
Kristen Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, (713) 852-3500,
krmurphy@hfflp.com