CB Richard Ellis Awarded Exclusive Listing and Property Management Agreement for Posner Commons

ORLANDO, FL - CB Richard Ellis, leader in commercial real estate services worldwide, is pleased to announce the exclusive listing and property management agreement for Posner Commons, (rendering above) which is being developed by Trammell Crow Company's Atlanta office, headed by Larry Pantlin, in joint venture with Land Development and MetLife.

Jorge Rodriguez, CCIM and Associate with CB Richard Ellis, is the listing agent and Barbara Halgren, Real Estate Manager, is the property manager.

Posner Commons is a 630,000 square foot development at the Southeast corner of Interstate 4 and US Highway 27 in Polk County, is owned by Trammell Crow Company, MetLife, and the Posner Family. Rodriguez is very positive about this new development and the opportunities it brings to Polk County.

"Posner is one of the largest projects in central Florida to be delivered mid-2008. It has a captive audience in the Four Corners/Polk County trade area with limited competition within a 15-mile regional trade area," says Rodriguez. "Polk County is projected to be one of the fastest growing counties in Florida over the next 20 years."

This 368-acre development is the perfect place for America's largest retailers as well as junior anchors, small shops, and outpads. The park is currently 80% leased with available spaces starting at 1,400 square feet. Target opened on March 4th, (photo at left above) with a series of large retailers soon to follow. Belk opened its doors on March 12th (photo at right) and Books-A-Million on March 14th. Best Buy and Staples are tentatively set to open in early to mid-April. Some of the other great tenants include JCPenney, PetSmart, Dick's Sporting Goods, Michael's, and Ross.

Larry LoCascio, Director of Asset Services at CB Richard Ellis, says, "It's a huge win for Asset Service Retail leasing and management. This win solidifies the CBRE name brand and strength as the premier Retail real estate services provider in Orlando as well as in the State of Florida. We are very excited about the opportunity."

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

Jorge Rodriguez
407.404.5014
jorge.rodriguez@cbre.com

CBRE Announces 147,197-SF Industrial Lease at Madison Business Center in Tampa

New Tenants and Construction Challenge Recession Claims

TAMPA, FL-- CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) is pleased to have represented IDI in their lease of 147,197 square feet to American Tire Distributors, at Madison Business Center, Building E. (photo top right)

Rick Narkiewicz, (photo below at left) First Vice President and industrial real estate broker with CBRE, negotiated the lease on behalf of the landlord. Texas-based, tenant representation firm Jackson & Cooksey Inc. represented the tenant. American Tire Distributors is scheduled to occupy this summer and will be tripling its capacity in Tampa at the state-of the-art facilities of Madison Business Center.

Madison Business Center, IDI's first business park in the Tampa market, has been built to higher standards than past generations of industrial product. The building has a minimum of 28' clear height for increased warehouse clearance, deeper truck courts and wider column spacing. These features, paired with the ESFR fire suppression system, should reduce American Tire's operating costs, give greater cubic capacity and are likely to lower insurance premiums.

"This new generation of distribution facilities is enabling companies to increase their cubic capacity while reducing their amount of rental square feet. I am seeing more companies wanting the 28' and 30' clear warehouse so they can reduce operating costs," remarks Narkiewicz.

The American Tire expansion, among others, has lead Narkiewicz to question recent claims of a recession, "Over the past two quarters, Tampa has experienced a significant amount of leasing activity from prominent national-credit tenants at record high lease rates. From my perspective this demonstrates that many larger companies understand the importance of servicing the Tampa Bay area and are taking the necessary steps to grow their market share. "

Narkiewicz also talks about the strong foundation of Tampa's industrial market where the vacancy rate is near a historic low of below 5 percent. "Demand for quality facilities is steady, rental rates have reached records highs and rental concessions are minimal," says Narkiewicz. "At Madison Business Center, prospective tenants are already talking to us about our next buildings, with several large build-to-suit tenants seriously considering the location."

Commenting on recent speculative developments in the industrial market, Narkiewicz says, "[It] has filled a serious void and will help bring the market towards equilibrium. Additionally, having multiple relocation options available will attract companies and new jobs to the Tampa Bay area."

About IDI
(http://cbremarketing.com/ve/ZZN702863C6128P88nb2/stype=click/OID=108317172942335/VT=0) is a national, full-service industrial real estate developer based in Atlanta, providing strategically located properties throughout the U.S. to meet its tenants' distribution, warehouse and light-manufacturing needs. To date, IDI has developed 115 million square feet of industrial space valued at $5.6 billion. IDI has development offices in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Memphis and Philadelphia.

Also, IDI Services Group (http://cbremarketing.com/ve/ZZN702863C6128P88nb2/stype=click/OID=608317172942619/VT=0/VT=0) provides comprehensive property management, leasing and construction management services, currently managing more than 60 million square feet of property for IDI tenants, including third-party owners such as pension funds and insurance companies.

CONTACTS:

Rick Narkiewicz
813.273.8444
rick.narkiewicz@cbre.com
Lauren Crawford
813.273.8482
lauren.crawford@cbre.com

GVA Advantis Negotiates New 9,116-SF Lease in Laurel Place for Mancuso & Dias, P.A. Headquarters

TAMPA, FL – GVA Advantis is pleased to announce it has negotiated a new 9,116-square foot long-term lease in Laurel Place (photo at right) for Mancuso & Dias, P.A. in Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida.

GVA Advantis’ Lauren Geller, (photo below at right) associate of office services, and Paula Buffa, (photo below at left) CCIM, senior director of office services, negotiated the transaction on behalf of the property owner, Menkure Pyramid, LLC, an affiliate company of Arcis Investments, Inc. Arcis manages the property and is a provider of complete services and real estate investment opportunities in the southeast United States to select investors (www.ArcisInc.com).

Mancuso & Dias, P.A. is a law firm that focuses on defense cases relating to nursing home and auto claims. Headquartered in Tampa with additional offices in West Palm Beach, FL and Philadelphia, PA, Mancuso and Dias, P.A., was represented by the Staubach Company in the transaction.

““We are very excited to welcome Mancuso & Dias to Laurel Place,” says Geller. “This law firm is a wonderful addition to our tenant roster!” Other well-known tenants who occupy Laurel Place include the United States Postal Service, Hewlett-Packard and McGraw-Hill.

Laurel Place is a 41,228-square foot class A office property located at 5102 West Laurel Street in the Westshore Business District of Tampa. The single-story building is situated at the corner of Laurel and O’Brien Streets, just west of Westshore Boulevard. Located in a Verizon SmartPark, the brick structure features new FIOS wiring, secure card access to the building, a 5:1,000 per square foot parking ratio and mature trees on the property.

GVA Advantis is a full-service real estate firm that leases, manages and sells office, industrial, retail and other commercial real estate properties and sites. The company also provides tenant representation, corporate real estate, construction and project management services.

GVA Advantis employs approximately 400 people, leases and manages more than 30 million square feet of commercial facilities, and had an annual transaction volume of approximately $1.5 billion in 2007. Including its headquarters in Atlanta, the company has 15 regional offices throughout the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. For more information, visit www.gvaadvantis.com.


CONTACT:
Lisa Hyde
Director of Marketing
Advantis Real Estate Services Company
3000 Bayport Drive, Suite 100
Tampa, Florida 33607
Tel 813.342.4752
Fax 813.342.4004
E-mail Lhyde@gvaadvantis.com
http://www.gvaadvantis.com/

Cushman & Wakefield Sees More Apartment Development in 2008

ORLANDO, FL – Apartment development should increase this year and approach historic levels, says an Orlando multi-family expert.

Jay Ballard, (top left photo) senior director at Cushman and Wakefield’s Apartment Brokerage Services division, said new apartment development has averaged 2,750 to 3,000 units per year over the past 24 months.

Historically, Central Florida has averaged annual new apartment deliveries in the 5,000 to 6,000 unit range, Ballard said.

“Robust new home development and historically strong job growth generated an annual absorption of 5,500 to 6,000 units over the last several years,” Ballard said.

Recent research indicates that while multi-family developers have lost some apartment sites to homebuilders, new construction deliveries of multi-family apartments could top 5,000 units in 2008 within sight of Central Florida’s historic averages.

Ballard, added absorption will likely remain steady while land prices have recently begun to plateau.

“Developers are also seeing new ways to finance new apartment projects. The market will prevail despite the challenges of costs, debt and equity financing for new construction”, Ballard explained

For more information, contact:
Jay Ballard, Apartment Brokerage Services, 407-541-4406
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, LV Communications, 407-644-4142