Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. Arranges $3.4M Loan for Van Nuys, CA Medical Plaza

VAN NUYS, CA, Dec. 31, 2008 – Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation (MMCC) has arranged a $3.4 million fixed-rate loan for the acquisition of Haynes Medical Plaza, an office and medical center located at 14550 Haynes Street in Van Nuys.

Sharone Sabar, an associate director in the firm’s Encino office, arranged the financing package for Haynes Medical Plaza.

“The borrower attempted to secure financing with two other lenders and was not successful,” says Sabar. “MMCC was able to secure an extremely high-leverage, owner-occupied Small Business Administration loan.”

“In addition, the property’s income did not support the loan amount requested,” adds Sabar. “MMCC was able to convince the lender that the borrower’s overall cash flow, including his business and other investments, supported the loan amount the borrower needed to close the transaction.”

Financing for this transaction was provided by the Small Business Administration at a 6.39 percent fixed rate. Terms of the loan are for 10 years with a 10-year amortization schedule. Loan-to-value was 88 percent.

“MMCC added value to the transaction by securing high-leverage financing with a low, long-term fixed-interest rate, and by closing the transaction before the deadline,” notes Sabar.

Press Contact: Kathy Molitor, Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation, (925) 953-1704

Cushman & Wakefield negotiates sale of Palm Lake Apts. in Tampa, FL for $6.7M

TAMPA, FL, Dec,31, 2008 – Cushman & Wakefield’s Florida Apartment Brokerage Services with apartment specialists in Tampa, Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, announces the sale of Palm Lake (top right photo) for $6,700,000.

The purchaser was Blackhawk Realty Advisors.

Executive Director Byron Moger (top left photo) and Director Luis Elorza (middle right photo) negotiated the sale on behalf of the owners, AIMCO.

Palm Lake, located at 13401 North 50th St. in Tampa, Florida was built in 1972. It is a 153,700 square foot, 150-unit apartment community that offers a mix of 1, 2 and 4 bedrooms. Palm Lake features a swimming pool with sundeck, two-story clubhouse and a business center.

“Palm Lake’s location on Fletcher Avenue, just across the street from the north-east corner of the main USF campus, gives residents excellent access to USF, the University Mall and several major medical centers. The property has outstanding value-add potential,” said Luis Elorza of Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.

To view our current multifamily listings, please visit http://www.apartments.cushwake.com/ or contact:
CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD CONTACT: Byron Moger, Executive Director, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., 813.204.5316 byron.moger@cushwake.com

Cogdell Spencer Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend and Outlines 2009 Business Strategy

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cogdell Spencer Inc.'s (NYSE:CSA) Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.225 per common share payable on January 30, 2009 to stockholders of record on January 14, 2009.

The dividend covers the fourth quarter of 2008.Cogdell Spencer also announced that its Board has approved a business plan for 2009 that focuses on cost reductions and the preservation of capital for productive deployment while allowing the Company to pursue its integrated delivery strategy despite client-related project delays resulting from the current financial crisis.

As part of this plan, Cogdell Spencer will implement a cost saving plan which, when combined with a reduction in force, will generate approximately $17 million in annual savings.

The plan includes elimination of all executive incentive compensation for the 2009 fiscal year, unless budgeted benchmarks are substantially exceeded.

The Erdman subsidiary will implement a reduction in force in order to right-size the organization for contracted 2009 revenues. The staff reduction will be made effective January 6-9, 2009.

Approximately 115 jobs will be eliminated.

Reduce its dividend from an annual equivalent of $1.40 per share and unit ($0.35 per share and unit per quarter) to an annual equivalent of $0.90 per share and unit ($0.225 per share and unit per quarter).Commenting on these steps, CEO Frank Spencer (top right photo) said,

"We believe these actions will meaningfully enhance our operating and financial flexibility, better position us to serve our clients and provide us with added capital to meet our on-going financial obligations. It is never easy to eliminate jobs, but we have enough visibility on our design/build pipeline to adjust in advance."

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

Media: Dana Crothers, Marketing Director, +1-704-940-2904, dcrothers@cogdellspencer.com

or

General Inquiries: Frank C. Spencer,President and Chief Executive Officer , +1-704-940-2926, fspencer@cogdellspencer.com

or

Financial Inquiries: Charles M. Handy,Chief Financial Officer, +1-704-940-2914, chandy@cogdellspencer.com

Web site: http://www.cogdellspencer.com/

Dawn McReynolds Wins CoreNet Global Honor

TAMPA, FL, Dec. 31, 2008– Dawn McReynolds, Global Practice Leader for Cushman & Wakefield in Tampa, Florida, has been recognized for completing the professional development series for the CoreNet Global Master of Corporate Real Estate® (MCR) Designation.

The CoreNet Global MCR program is a professional development program, which provides essential skills that focus on urgent and critical business issues and communicates competence and successful experience as a corporate real estate expert.

“Graduates of the rigorous MCR program have earned respect and admiration as experts in the disciplines of corporate real estate,” said Dr. Prentice Knight, (top right photo) CEO of CoreNet Global. “The MCR designation communicates professional competence and a high level of industry knowledge to management and colleagues.”

CoreNet Global members manage US $1.2 trillion in worldwide corporate assets consisting of owned and leased office, industrial and other space. With 7,000 members representing large corporations around the world, CoreNet Global (www.corenetglobal.org) operates in five global regions: Asia, Australia, EMEA, Latin America and North America.

CONTACT: Ryan Mitchell, Imre Communications, 1 410 821 8220; mobile 1 240 298 8472; ryanm@imrecommunications.com

Grubb & Ellis' Bob Bach Predicts Market Turnaround by End of 2009

SANTA ANA, CA--Some year-end thoughts and comments from Bob Bach, (top right photo) Senior Vice President, Chief Economist, Grubb & Ellis Co.

With the recession about to enter its 13th month, commercial real estate looks set to suffer through a cycle of rising vacancy rates, softening rental rates and increasing loan defaults, which has prompted industry trade groups to ask the federal government for help in refinancing debt.

The news is not all bad, however; an economic turnaround could begin by the end of 2009.

Barely detectable interest rates, low energy prices and various rescue packages that have already exceeded $1 trillion will help to reliquify the credit markets and jump-start the economy.
Capital temporarily parked in U.S. Treasuries and other short-term investments will be redeployed into stocks, bonds and real estate when confidence returns.

Due to the integration of global capital markets, that process, once it begins, could proceed fairly quickly, helping to reverse the rapid deterioration that occurred in September.

Despite the pain that is yet to come, the seeds of a recovery are being planted. Grubb & Ellis wishes you a prosperous and successful 2009.

For further information or to speak with Bob Bach, please contact Janice McDill at 312.698.6707.

Home Price Declines Worsen As We Enter the Fourth Quarter of 2008

NEW YORK,NY, Dec. 30, 2008 – Data through October 2008, released today by Standard & Poor’s for its S&P/Case-Shiller1 Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, shows continued broad based declines in the prices of existing single family homes across the United States, with 14 of the 20 metro areas showing record rates of annual decline and 14 now reporting declines in excess of 10% versus October 2007.

The chart below depicts the annual returns of the 10-City Composite and the 20-City Composite Home Price Indices. Following the lead of the 14 metro areas described above, the 10-City and 20-City Composites set new records, with annual declines of 19.1% and 18.0%, respectively.

1 Case-Shiller® and Case-Shiller Indexes® are registered trademarks of Fiserv, Inc.

“The bear market continues with home prices back to their March 2004 levels,” says David M. Blitzer, (middle right photo) Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s.

“Both composite Indices and 14 of the 20 metro areas are reporting new record rates of decline. As of October 2008, the 10-City Composite is down 25.0% from its mid-2006 peak, and the 20-City Composite is down 23.4%.

In October, we also saw three new markets enter the ‘double-digit’ club. Atlanta, Seattle and Portland are reporting annual rates of decline of 10.5%, 10.2% and 10.1%, respectively.

While not yet experiencing as severe a contraction as in the Sunbelt, it seems the Pacific Northwest and Mid-Atlantic South is not immune to the overall demise in the housing market.”

Three of the metro areas have given back, on average, more than 30% of the value of homes since October of last year.

Phoenix remains the weakest market, reporting an annual decline of 32.7%, followed by Las Vegas, down 31.7%, and San Francisco down 31.0%. Miami, Los Angeles, and San Diego were close behind with annual declines of 29.0%, 27.9% and 26.7%, respectively.

Monthly data also do not show much improvement in the national housing market. All 20 metro areas, and the two composites, posted their second consecutive monthly decline. In addition, six of the MSAs had their largest monthly decline on record – Atlanta, Charlotte, Detroit, Minneapolis, Tampa and Washington.

Most of the positive monthly data recorded in the spring and summer months, merely reflects seasonal patterns in home prices, as opposed to a turnaround in the downward spiral in national home prices.

Dallas and Charlotte faired the best in October in terms Dallas and Charlotte faired the best in October in terms of relative year-over-year returns. Still in negative territory, their declines remained in low single digits of -3.0% and -4.4%, respectively.

It should be noted, however, that both of these values are worse than those reported in the September data. In addition, Charlotte also reported its second consecutive largest monthly decline on record, down 1.8%. Cleveland and Denver were the only markets that showed any improvement in its year-over-year returns compared to last month’s report.

The table below summarizes the results for October 2008.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are revised for the 24 prior months, based on the receipt of additional source data. More than 21 years of history for these data series is available, and can be accessed in full by going to http://www.homeprice.standardandpoors.com/

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are published on the last Tuesday of each month at 9:00 am ET. They are constructed to accurately track the price path of typical single-family homes located in each metropolitan area provided.

Each index combines matched price pairs for thousands of individual houses from the available universe of arms-length sales data. The S&P/Case-Shiller National U.S. Home Price Index tracks the value of single-family housing within the United States.

The index is a composite of single-family home price indices for the nine U.S. Census divisions and is calculated quarterly. The S&P/Case-Shiller Composite of 10 Home Price Index is a value-weighted average of the 10 original metro area indices.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Composite of 20 Home Price Index is a value-weighted average of the 20 metro area indices.

The indices have a base value of 100 in January 2000; thus, for example, a current index value of 150 translates to a 50% appreciation rate since January 2000 for a typical home located within the subject market

CONTACTS:

David Blitzer Chairman of the Index Committee Standard & Poor’s 212 438 3907
david_blitzer@standardandpoors.com

David Guarino Communications Standard & Poor’s 1 212 438 1471
dave_guarino@standardandpoors.com

Great Wolf Provides Update on Mason Mortgage Loan

MADISON, WI, Dec. 29, 2008—Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ: WOLF), North America’s leading family of indoor waterpark resorts, today announced the company is still in discussions with its lenders regarding an extension of the December 30, 2008 maturity date on the company’s $76.8 million non-recourse mortgage loan on its Mason, Ohio resort property.

Until those discussions conclude in a definitive decision of whether the loan’s maturity date will be extended, the company expects to continue to operate the property normally. The company also advised that it will provide a further update on the status of the discussions regarding an extension of the maturity date as circumstances warrant.

Contacts:

Alex Lombardo, Investors, (703) 573-9317

Steve Shattuck, Media, (608) 661-4731

Cambridge Processes 22 Loan Origination Requests in November totaling $347.3M

CHICAGO, IL--The general slowdown in the number of loan origination requests processed by Cambridge Realty Capital Companies continued into November, but dollar volume for requests reviewed by the company were up appreciably, Chairman Jeffrey A. Davis (top right photo) reports.

Davis said the company processed 22 loan origination requests totaling $347.3 million in November. This compares with 24 requests totaling $294.9 million for the same month last year.

Over the past 12 months, Cambridge has processed 341 loans totaling $4.9 billion. In contrast, the company received 366 loan requests totaling $4.5 billion for the same 12-month period in 2007.

Davis points out that lenders close a relatively small percentage of the loan origination requests received, but believes its useful to track this information as an indication of market directions.

“There doesn’t appear to be a lot of evidence that borrowers are losing heart despite the severity of the current credit crunch,” he said.

Contact: Evan Washington, Phone: (312) 521-7603. Fax: (312) 357-1611 E-Mail: ew@cambridgecap.com

Avalon Park Group and Swiss Investor Acquire 70-Acre Tract in Austin, TX for Residential Community Development

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Avalon Park Group, which is developing Avalon Park in east Orlando, has joined forces with Zurich investor Dr. Richard Kunz to acquire a 70 acre site located near I-35 in north Austin, Texas near Dell Computers’ corporate headquarters facility in Round Rock.

Beat Kähli, (top right photo) who heads Avalon Park Group, said the joint venture plans to develop a residential community on the site that will feature 200 three and four bedroom homes.

For more information about this release, contact:

Beat Kahli, Founder/Owner, Avalon Park Group, 407-658-6565

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

Witten and Nolletti of Marcus & Millichap Sell $10.6M Apartment Complex in Waterbury, CT

WATERBURY, CT, Dec. 29, 2008 – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has arranged the sale of the 156-unit River’s Edge Apartment Homes (top right photo) in Waterbury.

The sales price of $10.6 million represents approximately $68,000 per unit.

Steve Witten (top left photo) and Victor Nolletti (middle right photo), both vice president investments and senior directors in the New Haven office of Marcus & Millichap’s National Multi Housing Group, represented the buyer, River Owner LLC, and the seller, ERP Operating Limited Partnership.

Financing was provided by Fannie Mae through PNC ARCS, a Fannie Mae DUS lender.

“River’s Edge is a superior-quality property located in one of New England’s strongest multi-family growth markets,” says Witten. “River’s Edge is a Class A asset located along the Interstate 84/State Route 8 corridor, where there are limited, newer luxury rental opportunities.

“Multi-family remains the preferred investment property type for institutional and private investors in the current economic climate,” adds Witten. “Apartment properties provide investors with stable, solid returns, particularly in New England’s supply-constrained markets.”

Developed in 1974, River’s Edge Apartment Homes at 35 Sharon Road is an exceptionally well maintained, Tudor-style apartment community in the northeastern portion of Waterbury near the Wolcott town line.

The 134,904 square-foot gated apartment community includes six studios measuring 400 square feet, 67 one-bedroom flats encompassing between 560 square feet and 680 square feet and 83 two-bedroom flats of between 1,000 square feet and 1,220 square feet. In all, the complex contains seven detached buildings on 10.51 acres.

Each unit includes a private deck or patio, wall-to-wall carpeting, ceramic and vinyl tiles, updated kitchens with ranges and refrigerators.

River’s Edge provides residents with a comfortable lifestyle, easy access to local community services, supermarkets and malls, including the Danbury Fair Mall, West Farms Mall and Brass Mill Mall.

Press Contact: Stacey Corso, Communications Department, (925) 953-1716

Blumberg Capital Partners Forecast Shows Any Commercial Real Estate Bailout Needs “Painful Deleveraging” to Succeed

Key fund manager predicts debt time bombs to worsen with leasing rates poised to fall an additional 20% next year to lowest levels since 2002

CORAL GABLES, FL-- Blumberg Capital Partners, one of the nation’s leading investment fund managers, says an analysis of commercial real estate values, leasing and vacancy trends by its staff shows that any federal bailout of the industry will require a painful, significant deleveraging to succeed.

The company said any bailout plan is working against a legacy of debt time bombs created by imprudent, unrealistic buyers who over-borrowed during the peak of the market in anticipation prices would continue rising unabated.

The Blumberg analysis shows that maturing debt obligations will come under even more stress in 2009 with leasing rates poised to drop an additional 20% to levels not seen since 2002, and with office vacancies potentially rising to 25% by the end of the year. Indeed, the nation’s office market could take until 2011 to stabilize, the company’s analysis shows.

“Creating a refinancing stimulus is helpful to thaw the credit freeze, but these ticking debt time bombs will make it difficult for our public officials to get their arms around this problem,” said Philip Blumberg, Chairman and CEO, as well as firm’s chief investment strategist. (top right, left and bottom right photos).

“Now, because the global economic recession has worsened over the past few weeks, coupled with layoffs at the front end of the cycle, demand for office space nationally is falling.

"Until companies can weather this storm and start expanding again, prices will remain low for landlords, and vacancies will rise.”

Such markets as New York City and Los Angeles will likely be among the hardest hit, with Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia will likely fare better, according to the Blumberg analysis.

“Some cities are holding up in terms of occupancy levels, including places like Houston, which has been relatively resilient due to the energy markets,” said Blumberg. “However, most of the major hubs of commerce nationally are reporting alarming increases in available office space, which should lead to severely falling leasing rates in cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Phoenix.”

Blumberg Capital Partners’ new office market assessment, which takes into account the fresh economic data from the past two months, comes on the heels of its widely cited prediction in October that commercial real estate prices in 2009 could drop some 20% further--on top of an anticipated 15% drop this year.

Factors which are driving office pricing down are lack of available acquisition financing, dramatically lower performance projections taking into account dropping rental revenues and climbing vacancies.

These downward trends will be magnified in 2009, according to Blumberg, due to maturing debt obligations, falling property values, and a massive decline in credit availability, which has largely eliminated refinancing options for building owners driving additional properties onto sale market.

(Downtown Houston office buildings, middle left photo)

“Given the over-leverage in the commercial real estate market, and the ongoing decline in credit, a number of owners will be forced to sell at prices below their debt levels,” said Blumberg, Chairman and CEO.

In anticipation of the price declines, Blumberg liquidated the majority of the firm’s real-estate holdings over the past two years generating a 30% return this year.

As of December 1, the firm carried no debt, positioning itself for next year’s strategic opportunities to acquire distressed debt and discounted equity investment, according to Blumberg, who added that the firm is now planning a new series of investments and capital raising.

Blumberg Capital Partners is recommending to its investment partners to be patient in early 2009, exploring unprecedented investment opportunities in commercial real estate, distressed debt and REITs, among other areas – a strategy that it intends to follow as well.

Blumberg founded his firm in 1979, generating investor returns exceeding an average of 17% annually from 1992-2008, for both individual and institutional investors.

In spite of the firm’s strong returns, Blumberg’s investment philosophy emphasizes stability and security, to avoid over-reaching for yield at the expense of safety and invested capital.

In addition to his contribution, his investment Funds have relied on internally generated cash and investor contributions, utilizing moderate leverage only to fund commercial real estate purchases.

“The commercial real estate market is not a straight line. It’s a cyclical. You need to gauge where prices are in the evolution of the cycle. That’s what investment is all about. When you lose sight of risk and cyclicality, you make big mistakes,” said Blumberg.

(Downtown Los Angeles office buildings, bottom right photo)

Blumberg Capital Partners’ real estate business is vertically integrated, executing acquisitions and dispositions, market research, due diligence, and the management and leasing of commercial properties.

For more information, visit http://www.blumbergcapitalpartners.com/ or contact Ludovic Roche at (305) 569-9500.

CONTACT:

Ludovic Roche
Vice President of Marketing & Business Development
Blumberg Capital Partners
255 Alhambra Circle, Suite 1100
Coral Gables, Florida 33134
Tel: +1 (305) 569-9500
Fax: +1 (305) 569-0800
lroche@blumbergcapitalpartners.com

Marcus & Millichap Lists $12.95M Apartment Complex in Riverside, CA

RIVERSIDE, CA– Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has retained the exclusive listing for Emerald Pointe Apartments, (top right photo) a 144-unit multi-family community in Riverside.

The listing price of $12.95 million represents $89,993 per unit.

Alexander Garcia, (bottom left photo) a senior vice president investments and senior director of Marcus & Millichap’s National Multi Housing Group in Ontario, is representing the seller, Hampshire Capital.

“Emerald Pointe’s convenient location near the University of California, Riverside and downtown Riverside make it a tremendous opportunity for excellent long-term returns on investment,” says Garcia.
Located at 1863 12th St., the 140,816-square foot apartment community consists of 12 two-story buildings situated on 4.54 acres, directly adjacent from UC Riverside’s agricultural reserve.

Emerald Pointe boasts a strong unit mix of 16 one-bedroom units and 128 two-bedroom units.

There are 90 garages that are being rented out to tenants at $30 a month. Amenities include an onsite management office, swimming pool, spa, gated parking lots and a 12 separate laundry facilities.

Press Contact: Stacey CorsoCommunications Department(925) 953-1716

Keene Building Publix at La Piazza in Ave Maria, FL

ORLANDO, FL – Keene Construction Company, Maitland, one of America’s largest retail contractors, is building La Piazza, (top right photo) a new Publix-anchored shopping center in Ave Maria, FL, near Naples.

The center consists of a 30,907-square-foot Publix Supermarket and 8,485 square feet of additional retail space.

Designed by Looney Ricks Kiss, Architects, Memphis, TN, the project is slated for completion in June 2009. Notably, Keene has constructed over 140 Publix stores for the Lakeland, FL-based grocery giant.

Contact: Kenneth H. Cristol 407-774-2515

Roger B. Kennedy Nears Completion on New Westgate Resorts Building in Orlando

ORLANDO, FL – Altamonte Springs-based general contractor and construction manager Roger B. Kennedy, Inc. is nearing completion on Westgate Lakes Resort’s new $27 million Buildings 80 & 90 project in Orlando, FL, for Westgate Resorts, Ltd.

Each building consists of six stories and 61 units. During the past decade, Kennedy has constructed more than a dozen major projects for Westgate Resorts totaling $225 million according to Roger B. Kennedy, Jr., (top right photo) President. Designed by Morris Architects, Orlando, the two-building project is slated for completion in January 2009.


Contact: Kenneth H. Cristol 407-774-2515

Grubb & Ellis|BRE Commercial, LLC Announces 50,000 SF Lease at Yourland in Phoenix

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Leases Space for Expansion

SANTA ANA, CA (Dec. 24, 2008) – Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, and its San Diego affiliate, Grubb & EllisBRE Commercial announced today that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the government agency that oversees lawful immigration to the United States, leased 50,000 square feet of office space at Yourland, 1501 E. Buckeye Road. (top left photo).



The historic 20-acre redevelopment project located between Downtown Phoenix and Sky Harbor International Airport is owned by Phoenix-based Martha + Mary, principal Sloane McFarland. (top right photo)

The agency will be the anchor tenant in the phase one redevelopment of Yourland, which includes 80,000 square feet of industrial flex, office and retail space. Redevelopment of phase one is currently underway and expected to be completed fourth quarter 2009. Phase 2 of the project includes ± 150,000 square feet of office and retail space.

Nationally, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has mandated that 36 of their offices throughout the country either be replaced or renovated.


At Yourland, the agency required the space to be LEED Certified, a requirement completely in alignment with the development values and planning of Martha + Mary.

USCUS is committed to a high level of design and, as they have done in their other new facilities, art is prominently showcased as a major component to the space. Martha + Mary is the developer of urban renewal projects such as 4404, which houses local favorites Lux Coffeebar and Pane Bianco, as well as the 1940’s era Welcome Diner in Downtown Phoenix, which Martha + Mary operates.

Mark Stratz, Tyler Wilson, Mike Haenel and Andy Markham of Grubb & EllisBRE Commercial represented the landlord Martha + Mary during the lease transaction. Julie Stoner of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the tenant.

Contact: Janice McDill, Phone: 312.698.6707. Email: janice.mcdill@grubb-ellis.com

Marcus & Millichap Lists 40,000-SF Shopping Center in New Hartford for $10M

NEW HARTFORD, N.Y., – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has retained the exclusive listing for a 40,000 square foot portion of The Orchard, a 300,000- square foot retail and entertainment shopping center in New Hartford.

The listing price is $10 million.

Steven Siegel, a vice president investments and senior director of Marcus & Millichap’s National Retail Group in Manhattan, is representing the seller in this transaction.

“This property is an excellent opportunity for an investor to acquire a newly built shopping center in a major busy retail corridor, with moreover thaen an 8 percent% in- place cap rate and possible upside” says SiegelSiegel.

Located 5 miles west of Utica and 50 miles east of Syracuse, at 8635 Clinton St., the 40,014-square foot property is part of a larger 300,000-square foot shopping center, The Orchard, which is anchored by a 14-screen Marquee cinemacCinema, Kohl’s and Gander Mountain.

The Orchard, which shares a traffic signal with a brand- new Lowe’s, is situated located between the highly successful Consumer Square, which includes big-box retailers Wal-Mart and Best Buy, and Sangertown Square Mall with anchors Macy’s, JC Penney, Sears, and Target. and Circuit City.

Built in 2007, this offering includes nationally recognized tenants such as Chico’s, Coldwater Creek, Ann Taylor Loft, Aveda, Famous Footwear, CJ Banks and Christopher & Banks.

For more information, please contact Steven Siegel – ssiegel@marcusmillichap.com

Press Contact: Stacey CorsoCommunications Department(925) 953-1716

The Lighthouse Leases 2,000 SF of Office Space in Downtown Avalon Park

ORLANDO, Fla. --- The Lighthouse, a non-profit organization that assists sight-impaired individuals, has leased 2,333 square feet of store front space at 3873 Avalon Park East Blvd. in Downtown Avalon Park off Alafaya Trail in east Orlando.

(Beat Kahli, top right photo, with wife Jill, is founder and owner of Avalon Park Group.)

Brendon Dedekind, (bottom left photo) director of leasing and business development for APG Management, said Downtown Avalon Park now accommodates some 300,000 square feet of commercial space and approximately 300 town homes and rental apartments

A new 45,000 square foot, three-story Class A medical office building will open during the first quarter of 2009 in Downtown Avalon Park with anchor tenants Florida Hospital and the Mentor Group, a medical rehabilitation practice. Dedekind said 20,000 square feet in the medical building is now being pre-leased.

For more information about this release, contact:

Brendon Dedekind, Director of Leasing/Business Development, Avalon Park Group Management Inc., 407-658-6565;

Beat Kahli, Founder/Owner Avalon Park Group, 407-658-6565;

Stephanie Hodson, Marketing Coordinator, Avalon Park, 407-658-6565;

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. Outlook Revised To Negative

NEW YORK, NY--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Lebanon, Tenn.–based Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (CBRL) to negative from stable.

We have also affirmed the company's ratings, including its 'BB-' corporate credit rating.

"The outlook revision is due to CBRL's weakening operating performance," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Jackie E. Oberoi.



Credit metrics are weak for the rating and the company's EBITDA cushion over financial covenants narrowed to about 5% for the first quarter.

"While we expect the company to reduce debt from seasonal peak levels over the next quarter such that the EBITDA cushion widens to about 9%," added Ms. Oberoi, "we remain concerned that without additional debt pay-down, CBRL may have difficulty meeting financial covenants when they step down in the fourth quarter next July."



Media Contact: David Wargin, New York (1) 212.438.1579, david_wargin@standardandpoors.com

Analyst Contact: Jackie E Oberoi, New York (1) 212.438.2895