Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Plaza Advisors Announces Sale of French Golden Gate Shopping Center in Bartow, FL


French Golden Gate Shopping Center, Bartow, FL
BARTOW, FL -- Plaza Advisors is pleased to announce the sale of the French Golden Gate Shopping Center in Bartow, Florida.

The shopping center is situated at the intersection of SR 60 and US Highway 98 and totals 141,350 square feet of gross leasable area.

The major tenants include Publix, Beall’s Outlet, Pet Supermarket and freestanding Walgreens and Burger King locations.

 The Publix store was the third store to open in the chain’s history and was originally constructed in 1960.

Jim Michalak
New Publix, Beall’s Outlet, Walgreens and Burger King stores were constructed and began operating in 2011. The property was 83% leased at the time of sale.

 Jim Michalak and Mike Cvetetic of Plaza Advisors represented the seller in the transaction. No other brokers were involved in the sale. The seller and buyer were French Golden Gate LLC and The Phillips Edison Group LLC, respectively. 

 “The capital market demand, including debt providers, for Publix anchored assets is overwhelming which commonly results in a tremendous amount of investor interest and elevated pricing” Jim Michalak stated.

Additionally Michalak emphasized that “the compelling reasons for the aggressive bidding for this asset were: the new Publix, Walgreens, Burger King and Beall’s Outlet long-term leases, investment grade credit and the 24,000 sf of vacant space, which presents considerable NOI growth potential”.

Mike Cvetetic
 Plaza Advisors specializes in the disposition of anchored shopping centers located throughout Florida. The company has successfully closed nine centers since December 2013. Those closings included: six Winn Dixie and two Publix anchored assets.

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

Jim Michalak
Managing Partner
Plaza Advisors
3412 Bay To Bay Boulevard
Tampa, FL 33629
813.837.1300 Ext. 101
Fax 831.2627


RECI Reports Interest Rates Continue to Drop as Investors Seek Safety


Jeanne Peck
CHICAGO, IL – Real Estate Capital Institute Reports Interest rates continue to decline as
bond investors seek safety from geopolitical turmoil, rather than worrying
about inflation fears.  

By the end of August, even as the US economy shows
favorable gains (e.g.,  a seven-year low in jobless claims), treasury yields
reached a 15-month low due to the problems facing Europe and the Middle
East.

Real estate capital markets are the beneficiaries of continued global
unrest.  

Therefore, expect another banner year for commercial and multifamily lending.   Borrowers want low rates; Debt investors want safer
yields with some reasonable premium.  

Commercial mortgage markets fill the void in comparison to other investment vehicles, BBB-rated bonds, for
instance.   A clear sign of this investment trend includes life insurance
companies increasing their allocation to mortgages, looking to raise
allocations to as much a 15% of their portfolios.

Ultimately, anticipation of the Fed's raising rates in the near future
should pose a challenge to realty investors seeking various types of
longer-term debt.  But for now with more pressure to fund longer-term
commercial mortgage loans, underwriting standards are loosening based on
intense competition from banks, Wall Street and life companies.  The net
result includes higher leverage, more interest-only underwriting and less
restrictive property-type and location profiles.   Rating agencies and loan
underwriters still maintain discipline, mainly by focusing on higher-quality
transactions within various sectors backed by proven sponsorship.

Overall mortgage rates are regularly dipping below 4% for 10-year money,
even for fully leverage loans. Meanwhile, short term rates remain unchanged
as borrowers enjoy floating-rate debt priced at generationally low levels.
Property owners enjoy selling at record high prices, or financing at record
low interest rates. Both scenarios are "win-win," as pricing on realty debt
and equity return to levels not seen since 2006-07.


Jeanne Peck, the director of the real estate capital Institute, advises "The
notion of real estate as an illiquid asset is changing-especially going into
an economic upturn (though slow).  Investors love brick-and-mortar, whether
debt or equity.   More and more people understand it as an institutional
investment vehicle offering competitive yields with solid collateral."

The Real Estate Capital Institute(r) is a volunteer-based research
organization that tracks realty rates data for debt and equity yields.  The
Institute posts daily and historical benchmark rates including treasuries,
bank prime and LIBOR.  Furthermore, call the Real Estate Capital RateLine at
7RE-CAPITAL (773-227-4825) for daily rate updates.

The   Real Estate Capital Institute(r)
3517 West Arthington Street
Chicago, Illinois USA 60624
Contact: Jeanne Peck, Executive Director
director@reci.com 
www.reci.com