Tuesday, August 20, 2013

HFF closes sale of two-property industrial portfolio in Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area


Northlake Industrial Center, off Interstate 35, three miles north Alliance Texas development, Dallas, TX
DALLAS, TX – HFF announced today that it has closed the sale of a two-property, 754,554-square-foot, Class A industrial portfolio in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.

HFF marketed the property on behalf the seller, Panattoni Development.  Cabot Properties purchased the offering for an undisclosed amount free and clear of debt.

The portfolio includes Northlake Industrial Center, located just off Interstate 35 approximately three miles north of the Alliance Texas development, and Towne Lake Business Park Two, located immediately south of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. 


Randy Baird
Built in 2008, both Class A buildings feature 32-foot clear heights and are 100 percent leased to Exel, CEVA Logistics and Falken Tire Corporation. 

The HFF investment sales team representing the seller was led by senior managing director Randy Baird, managing director Jud Clements and director Robby Rieke.

Jud Clements
Panattoni Development Company (www.panattoni.com) is a privately held, full service development company founded in 1986. The firm has completed in excess of 175 million square feet of commercial projects globally. 

Panattoni has developed industrial, office and flex facilities in 278 cities located in 29 states and 9 countries.   The firm is headquartered in California and maintains offices throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.

Robby Rieke
Cabot Properties is a private equity real estate investment firm.  The firm is a leading investor, developer and operator of industrial properties throughout North America and the United Kingdom.  

Formed in 1986, Cabot has invested $5.2 billion in industrial real estate, managing and operating approximately 1,800 tenants in more than 125 million square feet. 

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

Kristen M. Murphy
Associate Director
HFF | One Post Office Square, Suite 3500 | Boston, MA 02109
Main: 617-338-0990 | Direct: 617-848-1572 | Cell: 617-543-4873 | www.hfflp.com

Lincoln Southeast Appointed Receiver of Buckhead West Office Complex in Atlanta, GA

  
Buckhead West, near Interstate 75 and Howell Mill Road intersection, Atlanta, GA

Tony Bartlett
ATLANTA, GA – Lincoln Southeast LLC, a subsidiary company of Lincoln Property Company Southeast (Lincoln), has been named the court-appointed receiver for Buckhead West, an Atlanta office complex near the intersection of Interstate 75 and Howell Mill Road that features two office buildings totaling 110,000 square feet. Lincoln will also manage the center.

 Buckhead West is within a five-minute drive from downtown Atlanta and is well suited to tech tenants and creative firms, and has recently become a haven for movie and television production companies.

The complex is within walking distance of the Howell Mill Village retail center and adjacent to Post’s Collier Hills apartments. The property has tremendous potential for redevelopment and has received interest from various groups who envision the site having loft office, medical office, and multifamily potential.

Howell Mill Village retail center, Atlanta, GA
 “We are excited about the opportunity to work on and bring stability to this property,” said Tony Bartlett, senior vice president at Lincoln. 

“We are proud of our track record for delivering value as a receiver and are confident that our efforts at Buckhead West will enhance this complex by improving the experience of the existing tenants and attracting the right new tenants.”


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

Stephen Ursery
The Wilbert Group
Please note new office number: (404) 549-7150
Cell: (404) 405-2354


Annaly Capital Management, Inc. Announces the Appointment of New Chief Financial Officer


Kathryn F. Fagan
 NEW YORK, NY --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY) (“Annaly” or the “Company”) today announced that it has appointed Glenn A. Votek, 55, as Chief Financial Officer of the Company.

 Mr. Votek will also serve as a member of Annaly’s Operating Committee. Mr. Votek was previously the Company’s Chief Administrative Officer.

Following an impressive career, including serving as Chief Financial Officer of the Company since its founding, Kathryn F. Fagan has decided to retire. The Board thanks Ms. Fagan for her many years of service and valuable contributions to the Company.

“I want to personally thank Kathryn for all she has done for the Company over the past 16 years and I wish her all the best in her retirement” said Wellington Denahan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Annaly.

Wellington Denahan
Mr. Votek has over 20 years of financial and operational experience with particular expertise in risk management, capital raising, liability management and regulatory oversight.

Mr. Votek joined the Company in May 2013 from CIT Group where he was an Executive Vice President and Treasurer since 1999 and President of Consumer Finance since 2012.

At CIT, Mr. Votek was responsible for all functional areas of CIT’s treasury group, including capital markets, securitization, asset/liability management, hedging, international treasury, cash management, and banking and rating agency relations.

Glenn A. Votek
He was also actively involved in the investor marketing activities at CIT. Included among his committee memberships were: Asset Liability Management Committee, Financial Disclosure Committee, Pension Investments Committee and the Employee Benefit Plans Committee. 

He also previously served as Chairman of the Board of CIT Bank.

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

 Annaly Capital Management, Inc.
Investor Relations,
 888-8Annaly

253-Room Hotel in Philadelphia West Sold for $31 Million


DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Philadelphia West, 650 Fountain Road, Plymouth Meeting, PA

Rich Lillis
MIAMI, FL, Aug. 20, 2013 - Colliers International is pleased to announce the sale of the lender-owned 253-room DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Philadelphia West to Arden Group for $31.1 million or approximately $123,000 per room. The transaction reflected a capitalization (CAP rate) rate of 8% prior to transaction and renovation costs.  

The 7.9 acre property at 640 Fountain Road, Plymouth Meeting, PA, 19462, is just west of I-476 and within the Plymouth Meeting Executive Campus. Four of the country's top 14 employers are located minutes from the hotel, which includes 8,000 square feet of banquet and meeting space.

Kent Schwarz
 Representing the seller, an affiliate of LNR Partners, were brokers Rich Lillis, Executive Vice President, Colliers International Hotels, Kent Schwarz, Executive Vice President, Colliers International Hotels, both based in the South Florida offices; and Carl Neilson, Senior Vice President, Colliers International Philadelphia. The team coordinated the online auction transaction through Auction.com.

Carl Neilson
"The hotel property and our sales process brought considerable interest from wide variety of prospective buyers including publicly traded REITs, institutional hotel investors, Philadelphia-area investors, and regional and national hotel companies. The bidding was quite spirited," said Rich Lillis of Colliers.

Craig A. Spencer
 Philadelphia-based Arden Real Estate Partners I, LP, acquired the hotel. Commenting on the investment, Craig A. Spencer, CEO of Arden Group, noted that "this is our fourth hotel purchase in the past nine months, and is consistent with our strategy of investing in opportunities for value creation."

 Arden plans to invest an additional $6 million in renovations and other changes required by the Hilton franchise.

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

Crystal Proenza
Vice President of Marketing
Colliers International South Florida
Commercial Real Estate Services
Tel: 305 476 7138


NAI Realvest Negotiates Four Leases totaling 7,151 SF at South Park Business Center in Orlando, FL


South Park Business Center, 8600 Commodity Circle, Orlando, FL
ORLANDO, FL– NAI Realvest recently negotiated three new leases and one renewal lease totaling 7,151 square feet South Park Business Center, a flex, office and warehouse center at 8600 Commodity Circle in Orlando. 

Tom R. Kelley II
Tom R. Kelley II, CCIM, principal at NAI Realvest, brokered all four transactions on behalf of Miami-based South Park, LLC, the landlord of the 58,000 square foot business center built in 2008.

 The new tenants include Commercial Fitness Products of Sunrise, Fla. which leased Unit 108 with 1,830 square feet;  Xprex, LLC, a national shipping company which leased Unit 125 with 1,830 square feet and Florida Mobility Rentals LLC with a new lease of 1,661 square feet in Unit 101.

 At the same time Sunshine Limousine and Sedan Service renewed its lease of Unit 123 with 1,830 square feet at South Park Business Center.

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

Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142 lvershelco@aol.com

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To Lease or to Buy? That is the Question

  
Michael Bull

 ATLANTA, GA – When companies are looking for space, the decision to lease or buy can be a tricky one. There are many factors — including the expected growth of the company, location and the firm’s line of business — that must be taken into consideration.

That was the consensus of a panel of experts on the most recent episode of the “Commercial Real Estate Show” radio program, hosted by Michael Bull of Bull Realty.

Bull and his guests discussed the pros and cons of leasing and buying property, the proposed changes in the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) lease accounting requirements and the kinds of loans available to purchase real estate.

Daniel Latshaw
For many businesses looking for space, owning their own real estate does offer certain perks. For one, there is no concern about escalating rents.

According to the Urban Land Institute and Ernst & Young, office rents are projected to increase four percent per year in 2014 and 2015, said Daniel Latshaw, principal at Bull Realty. However, leasing offers the flexibility to grow or shrink your space as needed, he noted.

Additionally, there are three tax incentives to purchasing real estate — the transaction can be configured as a non-cash charge, there are cash-out refinances that are non-taxable, and you have the option to do a 1031 exchange. However, owning real estate comes with considerable responsibilities, including managing the property, Latshaw pointed out.

Eric Entringer
For tenants who have already purchased real estate, a sale-leaseback transaction might be a good way to go. “If you bought real estate and your company is strong and stable, that’s the best time to look at a sale-leaseback option,” said Eric Entringer, senior manager at Ernst & Young.

In some cases in the current market, a tenant can purchase a vacant building and lease the entire property to itself on a 10- to 15-year lease term, and the building immediately becomes a “very sellable” asset, Bull added.

Tenants should keep in mind the proposed change to FASB’s lease accounting requirements. “FASB is proposing that real estate leasing should be on company’s balance sheets, so if you are the lessee, you’ll be bringing leases onto your balance sheet and recording right of use and liability from a lease payment standpoint,” Entringer said.

For companies that are considering purchasing real estate, lenders are very interested in owner-occupied financing at the moment since it offers a lower risk than many other types of properties.

 “We are seeing all kinds of different banks lending for owner-occupied loans, and the competition is steep, especially if the operating company that’s going to be in the building is performing well,” said Deborah Possick Herron, CPA and senior vice president of Georgia Small Business Capital.

The entire lease versus purchase episode is available for download at www.CREshow.com. The next “Commercial Real Estate Show” will be available on Aug. 22 and will feature an update on the real estate syndication strategies.

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

Stephen Ursery
The Wilbert Group
404.405.2354