Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Colliers Launches National Student Housing Group

  

SEATTLE, WA and CLEARWATER, FL., Jan. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Colliers International today announced the launch of its National Student Housing Group, and the hiring of two of the nation's top student housing real estate brokerage professionals, Dorothy Joffe Jackman (top right photo) and Travis Prince (middle left photo).

Jackman and Prince have a long track record as one of the top-performing teams in the country in student housing brokerage sales.

Jackman, who transitioned to brokerage nine years ago after a six-year career in student housing management, has closed over $540 million of sales and won a number of industry awards, including designation as a "Woman of Influence" by Real Estate Forum. Prince has handled over $500 million worth of student housing and multifamily assignments.

"Colliers' wide range of services and capabilities will be a great fit for our work," Prince said. "We look forward to finding high-quality opportunities for buyers, while helping sellers by leveraging our deep database of knowledge and contacts with Colliers' global access to investment capital."

Based in Clearwater, Fla., Jackman and Prince have been named managing directors of Colliers' Student Housing Group, and will serve Colliers clients nationwide.

"The changes in student housing real estate in recent years--demand for new amenities, changes to campus footprints and residence strategies, scarcity of public funding--all call for more specialized expertise," said Dwight Hotchkiss (lower right photo) Executive Managing Director of Client Services for Colliers International. "Prince and Jackman are proven leaders in this sector, whose innovation, creativity and leadership immediately place this national group on the cutting edge."

Student housing has been one of the bright spots in the commercial real estate market--total annual sales in this niche have been estimated to be much as $2.5 billion, as demand continues for newer facilities that better fit the needs of today's students.

"Purpose-built student housing has become much more sophisticated having to meet the needs of universities and students alike," Jackman said.

  "Amenities packages continue to be a focus for students, and developers are delivering state-of-the-art fitness centers, swimming pools, Jacuzzis, tanning beds, media rooms and, in some cases, concierge services.  The Class 'A' student property of today delivers those amenities one used to associate only with Five Star hotels."

This niche requires market knowledge and student housing experience for success, because each local market is different. Experienced real estate brokers like Jackman and Prince consider many factors as they study a market, such as school enrollment trends and the local competitive landscape.

Colliers will be actively recruiting real estate professionals to join the student housing practice, building on the collective experience of Jackman and Prince to quickly become a major player in this industry.

"Student housing has grown in scale and sophistication to become an asset class in its own right," said Warren Dahlstrom, President of Colliers' Investment Services Group in the U.S. "Investors have responded to the sector's unique benefits and resilience, year-in and year-out. It's a definite global trend, as evidenced by the billion-dollar portfolio transactions breaking out in Europe recently." 

Contact:  Christine Schultz, Marketing Director | USA, Colliers International, +1-206-695-4245, christine.schultz@colliers.com,


PCCP Provides $14 Million Senior Loan to Finance Purchase of Stone Point, a Class A Office Building in Roseville, CA




SAN FRANCISCO, CA,  Jan. 10, 2012 - PCCP, LLC announced today it has provided a $14 million senior loan for the acquisition of Stone Point (top left photo), a three-story Class A office property totaling 96,000 square feet on behalf of the buyer, Basin Street Properties.

Basin Street Properties is a real estate investment, development, management and leasing organization with offices in Reno, Petaluma and Sacramento.

Built in 2005, the property is located at 1420 Rocky Ridge in Roseville, Calif. and was sold for $16.9 million as an REO by the lender, Belgium-based Dexia Bank. 

The $177 per square foot purchase price is just 59 percent of the prior owner’s basis of $295 per square foot, and 66 percent of its estimated replacement cost of $265 per square foot. 

The property is 95 percent occupied by tenants including Unify, Lennar Homes, Matrix Absence Management, Ameriprise and Exchange Bank, among others, and is located within Roseville’s central business district.

“Stone Point is an institutional quality asset and is one of the top three buildings in the 7.5 million square foot Roseville submarket,” said Jim Galovan, vice president with PCCP, LLC. “This is PCCP’s second participating loan transaction with Basin Street who is a hands-on operator with ownership experience in the local market.” 

Stone Point is well-located on a bluff and is situated less than a mile from Westfield’s Galleria Mall, the Fountains (a lifestyle center), and Creekside Town Center (a power center). The property is convenient to executive housing and also offers easy access to Highways 80 and 85.

 Learn more about PCCP at http://www.pccpllc.com/.

Contact: Darcie Giacchetto, Spaulding Thompson & Associates, 949.278.6224

Sabre Springs Business Park in San Diego, CA Commands Nearly $12 Million Sale Price



SAN DIEGO, CA – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, is pleased to announce the sale of the Sabre Springs Business Park (top left photo), an 83,755-square foot multi-tenant light industrial/office park located at 13220-13240 Evening Creek Drive in San Diego.

 The park sold for $11,900,000, which equates to $142 per square foot.

  Sam Hanna, a senior associate in Marcus & Millichap’s San Diego office, represented the seller, GML Sabre Springs. The buyer, HG Fenton Co., represented itself.

“Our team’s targeted marketing efforts generated multiple offers for our client within 30 days of listing the property for sale,” says Hanna.

“The competitive bidding environment created by our strategic marketing and our firm’s unparalleled access to third-tier capital resulted in a timely and profitable sale for our client within 60 days of taking the property to market.”

The Sabre Springs Business Park consists of three freestanding multi-tenant light industrial/office buildings totaling approximately 83,755 square feet and situated on a 6.09-acre lot.

Each building is demised into small suites ranging in size from 835 to 6,024 square feet, giving the owner the flexibility to attract a myriad of different tenants. The buildings feature high-image concrete tilt-up construction; an extensive glass line and an above average office build-out percentage. 

The asset is strategically located in Central San Diego and easily accessed by both Interstate 15 and Highway 56.

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

Marcus & Millichap Hires Joseph French, One of Nation’s Top Retail Specialists; Thomas C. Dalzell, Schuyler Boylan and Amie Segel also join as associates.

  

  NEW YORK, NY – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has hired Joseph C. French Jr., (top right photo) CCIM and his team of investment specialists, according to J.D. Parker (middle left  photo), vice president and regional manager of the firm’s Manhattan and New Haven offices.

French will serve as a senior director of its National Retail Group (NRG).

 Prior to joining Marcus & Millichap, French was one of the top-producing agents at commercial real estate brokerage firm Sperry Van Ness, where he specialized in retail property sales.

“Joe has an outstanding track record of success and his expertise will be a tremendous asset to Marcus & Millichap,” Parker says. “Joe is one of the most respected brokers in the New York region. Therefore, it was a natural fit for him to join the top investment brokerage firm in the country – Marcus & Millichap.”

In his new post, French will continue to focus on multi- and single-tenant retail investment sales on behalf of institutional and private investors.

 French brings more than 25 years of experience in the real estate industry to his new position. Before joining Sperry Van Ness, he was a senior vice president of investment sales for the Hutensky Group. He was also an integral part of prominent real estate firms Landau & Heyman, Brandenberg Realty and C.S. Brown Associates.

“In order to provide superior service to my investor clients who transact business well beyond the Tri-State Area, I decided to join Marcus & Millichap,” says French.

“The firm has unparalleled access to a nationwide pool of private, institutional and 1031 exchange capital. Also, the company’s commitment to expanding its market share in the retail brokerage sector in a still unstable economy was very appealing. To be part of this exciting growth, particularly east of the Mississippi River where the bulk of my team’s transactions close, was a welcome opportunity.”

 French received his bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University and a real estate professional diploma from New York University.

French sits on the board of directors of the Afro American Real Estate Professionals, the Real Estate Associates Program (REAP) and Habitat for Humanity of Westchester.  He is also a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).

Also joining French as associates of Marcus & Millichap are Thomas C. Dalzell, Schuyler Boylan and Amie Segel. Combined, the new agents have more than 60 years of real estate investment sales experience. 

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

Sperry Van Ness International Retired CEO Mark Van Ness Brokers Million Books for Kids to End book Poverty in Portland, OR



 PORTLAND, OR – Sperry Van Ness International, a national commercial real estate brokerage franchisor, today announced the launch of the “Million Books for Kids” project (top left photo).

 One million books are being donated by Better World Books in 2012 to promote literacy among low-income children by providing books to the 100,000 kids with no books to read in their home.

As a partner with Social Venture Partners, Mark Van Ness (middle right photo), also founder and former CEO of Sperry Van Ness, recently learned the alarming statistic that there is only one book for every 300 children living in poverty locally and decided to do something about it. 

He “brokered” the deal involving donations between Better World Books for one million books, CENTERCAL for the former Borders Book Store space at Bridgeport Village (lower left photo) and PacTrust for a 9,000-square-foot warehouse nearby.

“I think everyone is inspired by the fact that this is one problem children have that we can actually solve in 2012,” says Van Ness.  “It’s hard to imagine growing up without a single book to read in your home.”

The Million Books for Kids Bookstore was opened at Bridgeport Village as a social enterprise with Friends of the Children to help raise funds to pay for shipping and make the project sustainable.

Books are free to shoppers with a suggested donation of $1 for paperbacks and $5 for hardbacks.  Local Sperry Van Ness affiliates volunteered alongside community members to stock the shelves and prepare the store for opening.  In its first two weeks of operation the store already covered the cost of shipping the first 20 tons of children’s books.

“The ‘Million Books for Kids’ projects is a collaborative effort involving dozens of non-profits led by Social Venture Partners, and made possible by the generous donations of goods, services and prime real estate from business leaders,” said Kevin Maggiacomo (lower right photo), CEO and president of Sperry Van Ness International.

“Not to mention the dedication of volunteers, which includes members of our local affiliate office,” said “We are thrilled to be part of this community-driven effort to support children’s literacy and end book poverty for local kids in 2012.”

Van Ness, who identified the former Borders space at Bridgeport Village, said when approached with the idea of the “Million Books for Kids” project, the landlord generously agreed to donate the space for free until it is leased.  The landlord is also covering the bookstore’s utilities.

“It has been inspiring to find that everyone we’ve turned to with a need has said yes,” said Van Ness.  “All we need now is a shipping company to donate the delivery of the books.”

Better World Books has committed to donating 20 tons of books per month going forward so the collaborative can continue to get books to all the kids who need them in 2012. 

“Our long-term goal is to establish a sustainable collection and distribution ecosystem in this region so we don’t have to ship books across the country.  We plan to set up collection stations around town to gather books locally.  Once we are sustainable, we will repeat the process in other regions, promoting child literacy in more communities,” said Van Ness.

Contact:  Megan Morales,  (714) 273-2472, megan.morales@svn.com

Brian Mulvaney, SIOR, CCIM; Bruce Sanders; and Matthew Bean Achieve High Sale Price for Office Building at 11610 Iberia Place in San Diego, CA



 SAN DIEGO, CA – Voit Real Estate Services’ San Diego office has completed the $2.375 million sale of a 12,292 square-foot office property located at 11610 Iberia Place (top left photo) in San Diego, Calif.

 This Class B, two-story office building was built in 1980 and has undergone  extensive renovation, according to Brian Mulvaney (middle right photo), SIOR, CCIM in Voit’s San Diego Office.

Mulvaney worked with Bruce Sanders (lower left photo) and Matthew Bean (lower right photo), also of Voit’s San Diego office, to represent the seller, Parkside Plaza, LLC.

“The Voit team, with the assistance of cooperating brokers, was strategic in locating an owner-user buyer that would benefit from this partially occupied, yet well parked quality building,” said Mulvaney.

“The buyer plans to operate its business in a portion of the facility, while retaining the tenants who are currently leasing the remaining space.

“Our team successfully demonstrated the property’s benefits from both an operational and investment perspective, and ultimately secured an excellent sale price for our client in the current market.”  

The buyer, Boatracs Inc., a company that specializes in wireless maritime information solutions, acquired the property as an owner-user and also achieved a good value for a high quality property, according to Voit. 

Boatracs Inc., was represented by Doug Ceresia and Matt Midura of NAI San Diego.

The property is located off the I-15 across from Webb Park in the heart of Rancho Bernardo.

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

American Healthcare Investors Expands Senior Management Team with Key Hires



 NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (Jan. 10, 2012) – American Healthcare Investors, a commercial real estate investment firm that specializes in the acquisition and management of healthcare-related properties, and that serves as the co-sponsor of Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II, announced today the hiring of several division heads and other key executives:

 Stefan Oh, senior vice president of acquisitions; Chris Rooney, senior vice president of asset management; Shannon Johnson, senior vice president of finance and accounting; Trevor Drummond, vice president of finance and accounting; and Cora Lo, senior vice president, securities counsel.

 In December, the company announced that Damon Elder had joined as senior vice president of marketing and communications. 

“We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome this extraordinarily talented and experienced group to our senior management team,” said Danny Prosky (top right photo), principal of American Healthcare Investors and president and chief operating officer of Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II.

 “Each of these professionals has worked together, and with me and the other two principals of American Healthcare Investors, Jeff Hanson (middle left photo) and Mathieu Streiff (middle right photo), for more than half-a-decade.  During this time they helped us build two leading non-traded healthcare REITs and acquire nearly $3 billion of healthcare properties on behalf of thousands of investors.” 

Prosky added: “They each have extensive expertise in the specialized field of healthcare-related real estate investment and we are honored that they have elected to join our organization to continue building one of the best performing non-traded REITs in the nation.”

 Stefan Oh’s 18-year career in commercial real estate began as an auditor within Ernst & Young LLP’s EYKL Real Estate Group in Los Angeles, California in 1993 during his career. Oh received a bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine University and is a certified public accountant.

 As senior vice president of asset management, Chris Rooney directs the strategic asset and portfolio management function of the rapidly growing Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II portfolio. 

 Shannon Johnson serves as senior vice president of finance and accounting for American Healthcare Investors, as well as chief financial officer of Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II, a role she has filled since the REIT’s inception in 2009.

Trevor Drummond serves as vice president of finance and accounting, as well as controller of Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II, a role he has served in since the REIT’s inception in 2009.

 Cora Lo serves as senior vice president, securities counsel of American Healthcare Investors. She began serving as an officer and secretary of Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II in November 2010, having previously served as assistant secretary since March 2009.

 
 For more information regarding American Healthcare Investors, please visit http://www.americanhealthcareinvestors.com/.

 For more information regarding Griffin Capital, please visit http://www.griffincapital.com/.

Contact:  Damon Elder,  (714) 356-1460, damon@ahinvestors.com



Shale Natural Gas Fueling Pennsylvania Hotel Industry



Philadelphia, PA, Jan. 10, 2012  – While the vast majority of U.S. lodging markets were suffering from declines in revenue during the recent recession, hotels in northeastern Pennsylvania bucked national trends and achieved significant growth in RevPAR each and every year from 2007 through 2011. 

During this period, RevPAR for hotels located in the Pennsylvania counties of Bradford, Lycoming, Susquehanna and Tioga has grown at an estimated average annual rate of 14.8 percent.  This compares to the 1.7 percent average annual decline in RevPAR experienced by the overall U.S. lodging industry during the same time frame.

“When we present these data, most people think it is a misprint,” said Tony Biddle (top right photo), senior consultant in the Philadelphia office of PKF Consulting USA.  “The remarkable RevPAR growth observed in northeastern Pennsylvania is largely attributable to the exploitation of an old resource through the birth of a new industry: natural gas extraction from the Marcellus Shale.”
  
To learn more about the impact of shale drilling on the lodging industry, please contact Tony Biddle at tony.biddle@pkfc.com or (215) 563-5300, ext 29.

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

Tony Biddle                                                 Chris Daly
PKF Consulting USA                                  Daly Gray Public Relations
Tel: 215 563 5300, ext 29                           Tel: 703 435 6293
Email: tony.biddle@pkfc.com                      Email: chris@dalygray.com
http://www.pkfc.com/                                      http://www.dalygray.com/




Atlanta’s Commercial Real Estate Show Explores Powerful Research and Analytical Tools



 ATLANTA, GA– In commercial real estate, it pays to do your homework, and the right tools make all the difference when it comes to location and investment decisions.

 The most recent episode of the “Commercial Real Estate Show” provided a comprehensive overview of the beneficial informational sources available to lenders, brokers, developers and business owners.

 Guests Carol Campbell (top right photo) of Site to Do Business and Mike Overley (top left photo) of Xceligent Inc. detailed powerful analytical and research tools that can help businesses and commercial real estate advisors serve their clients and prospect for business.

The Site to Do Business website is a product of CCIM Tech, a subsidiary of the CCIM Institute. Built on a geographical information system (GIS) platform, the site “allows us to understand and visualize data in many ways,” Campbell said.

 The site’s Business List feature allows users to identify business types located within a certain area. Users can also pinpoint businesses in a certain area by name.

“If you want to find all of the Home Depots in the state of Florida … you can do that,” Campbell said. Additionally, the feature can provide a list of all the businesses at a certain location.

 The site’s Retail Marketplace Profile Report feature can provide a detailed gap analysis that will inform retail professionals on the demand for their store types in a certain area. Other services available on the site include property comparison reports, a tool that rates the “walkability” and transit options available within a certain area, and the Tapestry Segmentation service, which presents a detailed breakdown of the lifestyles of the residents of a certain area.

 “I think the number one thing that people are surprised by [on the site] is the depth of the data,” Campbell said. The site is available to those who are not CCIMs (Certified Commercial Investment Members).

Overley emphasized the importance of studying local market data, as the performance of different markets can vary widely. He also urged listeners to use research and data to be “proactive, whether you’re digging up contacts, leads, prospects, buyers, sellers – whomever you may be targeting.”

 Subscription-based services such as those provided by Xceligent and REIS are sources of in-depth information about lease trends and lease comps, Overley said. Economic development corporations also are a potential source of free lease information, he added.

America’s “Commercial Real Estate Show” is a national talk radio show about commercial real estate. New shows are available every Thursday at the show website, http://www.creshow.com/. Shows are also broadcast on AM stations, including Atlanta station Biz 1190 on Saturday at 10 a.m. Show podcasts are available on-demand on iTunes and the show website.

 The show host is 30-year commercial real estate veteran Michael Bull (lower right photo) CCIM. Michael is the founder of Bull Realty, Inc, a regional commercial brokerage firm with three offices headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Contact:  Stephen Ursery, sursery@wnspr.com