CB Richard Ellis Sweeps Central Florida NAIOP Brokerage Awards

ORLANDO, FL - CB Richard Ellis, worldwide leader in commercial real estate services, swept the brokerage awards for the third year in a row at the Central Florida NAIOP Award Ceremony held at SeaWorld on February 28, 2008.

David Murphy, (right top photo) Senior Vice President with the Orlando office was named Industrial Broker of the Year 2007, for the fifth year in a row. Murphy was recently named one of the top 200 brokers in North America for CB Richard Ellis and has been recognized as one of the top industrial producers in the company.

Ron Rogg, (photo top left) Executive Vice President with the Orlando office, received the Investment Properties Broker of the Year 2007 award as well as Largest Sale of the Year award for the $90 million, One Orlando Center project. This is Ron's third year receiving a NAIOP award. In 2005, he was named Office Broker of the Year and 2006 Investment Properties Broker of the Year. This marks the third year that Rogg was named as one of CBRE's top 200 brokers in North America. Also this year, Rogg was named to the prestigious Coldwell Circle of CBRE. This group represents the top 3 percent of all CB brokers nationwide.

John Gilbert, (photo at left) Senior Vice President, was named Office Broker of the Year 2007. This is Gilbert's first year to receive an award. Gilbert has completed over 500 sale and lease transactions totaling over $500 million in value.

"All of us at CB Richard Ellis Orlando are proud of the industry recognition that David, John and Ron have received," says Bill Moss, (photo at right) Senior Managing Director for Florida. "They are richly deserving of these awards that honor the "best of the best" of the Central Florida commercial brokerage industry."

Contacts:
Jessica Wilhoite
407.839.3158
jessica.wilhoite@cbre.com

Bill Moss
407.404.5000

bill.moss@cbre.com

Palta Promoted to Senior Associate

ORLANDO, FL - CB Richard Ellis, worldwide leader in commercial real estate services, is pleased to congratulate Bobby Palta (photo top right) on moving forward to the Senior Associate level.

February marks Palta's 3-year anniversary with CB Richard Ellis and his 10th year in commercial real estate. Palta specializes in client acquisition & disposition of land, implementation of retail expansion strategies & tenant representation, as well as project sales & leasing.

Palta's current Listings with availabilities include the Colonial Town Center on West Colonial Drive in Orlando, the Village Marketplace at Maguire Road and West Colonial Drive in Ocoee, the Legacy Place development at Lake Underhill Road & Rouse Road in East Orlando, (photo at left) the Panda Express Plaza on US 441 & Rolling Acres Road in Lady Lake, the Panda Express Plaza along US 441 & Eudora Road in Mount Dora, and the University Plaza at University Blvd & Technological Ave in East Orlando.

Some of Palta's active Tenant clients include Washington Mutual, Pei Wei, Massage Envy, CitiFinancial, Monkey Joe's, Marble Slab Creamery and The Athlete's Foot. Since being with CB Richard Ellis, Palta has completed over 59 lease and sale transactions totaling over $47.4M in value.

"Although 2008 will present challenges to owners and users alike, those who are well-positioned to take advantage of the many opportunistic deals out there will be glad they did," says Palta.

"Orlando has outperformed most of the country during the boom period. The resilient segments of our local economy such as software, simulation, defense, tourism, medical and emerging bio-tech should keep job growth strong. That combined with a limited amount of new supply should help Central Florida retail to remain solid through the year with a steady upturn heading into 2009."

Contacts:

Jessica Wilhoite
407.839.3158
jessica.wilhoite@cbre.com

Bobby Palta
407.839.3124
bobby.palta@cbre.com

Apartment Realty Advisors Retained to Handle Sale of Baldwin Park's Last Multifamily Development Site

WINTER PARK, FL – The Florida headquarters of Apartment Realty Advisors announces that it has been retained by Bumby Development Group, Inc. (“Bumby”) to handle the sale of an irreplaceable four-acre multifamily parcel located within the nationally acclaimed Baldwin Park development (photo above0 in Orlando.

Marc deBaptiste, principal, Kevin Judd, (photo below at left) senior vice president, and Dan Gasti, vice president, are representing Bumby in the disposition of the land, which is one of the most significant development opportunities in the state of Florida.

The property is located across the street from the 188-acre Lake Baldwin and adjacent to the thriving Village Center’s collection of upscale restaurants, shops and office space. The 4.04-acre site is approved for 178 units at a residential density of 44.06 units per acre and represents the last multifamily development site in Baldwin Park.

“This site represents an unprecedented opportunity to develop multifamily apartment homes in an irreplaceable, upscale, high barrier-to-entry location,” said Judd.

With approvals already in place, utilities available to the site, and primary and arterial roads in place, this site represents one of the most desirable parcels of land in the Orlando market. The site is also currently zoned for top-rated, sought after Orange County schools.

Baldwin Park, a traditional neighborhood development (TND) that rose on the site of the former Orlando Naval Training Center, will contain a total of 700,000 square feet of office space, 200,000 square feet of retail space, 2,900 townhomes, and up to 1,100 single family homes upon completion.

The mixed-use development, located only two miles from downtown Orlando, one mile from Winter Park and eight miles from Orlando International Airport, also contains 215 acres of parks, two large lakes, and numerous recreational facilities for its residents.

Recognized by Urban Land Institute as one of America’s top communities, Baldwin Park has also received Florida’s top sustainable community award and the National Audubon Society’s “Building with Trees” award.

Bumby Development Group is an affiliate of Penco, a national multi-family renovation contractor specializing in construction and project management, interior and exterior renovation, catastrophe restoration and new construction.

About Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA)
Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA) is the largest privately held, full-service investment advisory brokerage firm in the nation that focuses exclusively on the multihousing industry. ARA is comprised of the country’s top investment professionals who leverage a unique and fully integrated cooperative business platform of shared information, relationships and technology driven solutions.

ARA’s unified enterprise approach ensures that clients are delivered the broadest asset exposure, effective matching of buyers and sellers, and the shortest transaction timeframes in the industry. The combination of resources, unparalleled market expertise and nationwide presence in the multihousing marketplace resulted in $7.7 billion in real estate transactions in 2007.

For detailed information on ARA’s extensive multihousing investment services, visit http://www.arausa.com/ The company’s Florida headquarters, which is located at 777 Yamato Road, Suite 140, Boca Raton, Florida 33431, concluded sales of over $2.5 billion in 2006 and 2007. For more information, call (561) 988-8800 or visit their Web site at http://www.arausa.com/.

ARA Contacts:

Kevin Judd, Senior Vice President

407) 975-6540, ext. 101
judd@ARAusa.com

Marc deBaptiste, Principal
( (561) 988-9800, ext. 104
debaptiste@ARAusa.com

Lisa M. Rossetti
Director of Research
777 Yamato Road, Suite 140
Boca Raton, FL 33431
561.988.8800 Ext. 120
561.988.8810 FAX
lrossetti@ARAusa.com

www. ARAusa.com

Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. Arranges $7.5M

COCONUT CREEK, FL – Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation (MMCC) has arranged a $7.5 million fixed-rate loan to refinance Westcreek Plaza, (aerial photo at left) a 38,000-square foot retail center located at 4800 W. Hillsboro Blvd. in Coconut Creek.

Michael McCleary, (photo below at right) associate director of the firm’s Fort Lauderdale office, arranged the financing for Westcreek Plaza. “Many investors are assessing the current state of the market and choosing to optimize their equity by refinancing as a hedge against short- to medium-term volatility in cap rates,” states McCleary. “A number of our clients are view such transactions as an opportunity to access capital for attractive future buying opportunities.”

“Many of our clients are unaware of just how drastically the commercial lending pendulum has swung,” says McCleary. “In today’s market, it is essential to work with a financial intermediary that has a proven track record and comprehends the intricacies of a given deal.”

Financing for the property was provided by a commercial lender at 117 basis points over the five year swap rate with a five-year term and 30-year amortization. Loan-to-value for this transaction was 75 percent.

Contacts:

Kathy Molitor
Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation
(925) 953-1704

Stacey Corso
Public Relations Manager
Marcus & Millichap
2999 Oak Road
Suite 210
Walnut Creek, CA 94597
Office: 925.953.1716
Mobile: 415.672.6460
Fax: 925.953.1710
http://www.marcusmillichap.com/