Monday, March 31, 2008

Morgans Hotel Group Announces Complete Renovation of Morgans, the Original Boutique Hotel

Morgans to be Temporarily Closed During Renovation Period


NEW YORK -- Morgans Hotel Group Co. (NASDAQ: MHGC) ("MHG") today announced that it will temporarily close Morgans, the original boutique hotel, on May 18, 2008 to undergo a complete renovation. The renovation will be led by internationally renowned designer Andree Putman, (photo top right) marking her return to update the iconic property.



Ms. Putman intends to pay homage to her original design of a "home away from home" while boldly propelling Morgans into the future to appeal to the contemporary guest. The renovations will include refurbishments of the lobby, guestrooms and penthouse. The "Living Room" will also be re-done and upgraded with a high-tech business center.


There are no changes planned for the property's signature restaurant, Asia de Cuba, which will remain open for the duration of the renovation. MHG expects to re-open the hotel in September 2008. (Morgans lobby, photo at right).


"Morgans, located in Manhattan's fashion district, is MHG's original property and is widely recognized as the first boutique hotel, offering guests both comfortable and artful accommodations with unparalleled service," said Fred Kleisner, (photo top left) President and Chief Executive Officer of MHG.


"Since its opening in 1984, Morgans has continued to attract a loyal following and remains a true New York City icon. We are pleased to work with the property's original designer to preserve the authenticity of the "urban home" concept of the hotel. We look forward to unveiling the renovations in the fall."

Hotel guests scheduled to stay at Morgans during this period will have an option of staying at either Royalton (located in midtown Manhattan) or Hudson (located blocks from Central Park).


MHG anticipates spending approximately $9.0 million on the renovation.

About Morgans Hotel Group

Morgans Hotel Group Co. (NASDAQ: MHGC) operates and owns, or has an ownership interest in, Morgans, Royalton and Hudson in New York, Delano and The Shore Club in Miami, Mondrian in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Clift in San Francisco, and Sanderson and St Martins Lane in London. MHG and an equity partner also own the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and related assets.

MHG has other property transactions in various stages of completion, including projects in Miami Beach, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; SoHo, New York; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Palm Springs, California. For more information please visit http://www.morganshotelgroup.com/.

CONTACT

Jennifer Foley
Public Relations Director
Phone: 212.277.4166
475 10th Ave. - New York, NY 10018
Phone: 212 277 4100
Fax: 212 277 4290
Posted by Alex at 2:23 PM 0 comments
Labels:

Impressive Rent Gains Attract National Investors to Puget Sound Office Market



SEATTLE, WA— Conditions in the Seattle office market will remain tight this year, though new construction will outpace demand growth modestly, leading to an uptick in vacancy, according to the 2008 National Office Report by Marcus & Millichap, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm. (Seattle skyline photo above)


Buoyed by the technology sector, office-using employment gains will measure well above the national rate again in 2008.


Also included in the report is the firm’s annual National Office Index (NOI), a snapshot analysis that ranks 43 office markets based on a series of 12-month forward-looking supply and demand indicators. Seattle moves up three places this year to No. 1.


“Bolstered by an active pool of investors and a positive economic and demographic outlook, buying activity will remain robust in 2008,” says Gregory S. Wendelken, regional manager of Marcus & Millichap’s Seattle office.


Following are some of the most significant aspects of the Seattle Office Research Report:


· Employers are expected to add 31,000 positions in the metro this year, a 1.7 percent increase.
· Delivery of new space will increase to 3.2 million square feet, boosting overall inventory 4.4 percent.
· Vacancy is forecast to end the year at 9.2 percent.
· Asking rents will advance to $31.71 per square foot, while effective rents climb to $28.29 per square foot, gains of 7.1 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively.
· Investor interest will likely increase for suburban office assets in areas such as the Northend/Snohomish submarket, where spillover leasing activity is expected to pick up this year due to tight conditions and high rents in the adjacent Central submarket.

In the 2008 NOI, Seattle moved up three places to secure the No. 1 spot, surpassing last year’s leader New York City, which slipped to No. 2. Boston moved up two spots to No. 3, while San Francisco jumped 12 places to the No. 4 position. Los Angeles slipped two spots, coming in at No. 5.


For a copy of Marcus & Millichap’s National Office Report and the complete NOI rankings, visit http://www.marcusmillichap.com/.
Pugent Sound skyline photo above)

CONTACT:
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/
Posted by Alex at 10:45 AM 0 comments
Labels:

Four Points by Sheraton’s Chief Beer Officer Celebrates One Year in Office


Search is on for the First Ever Best Brews Summer Intern


In this handout photo provided by Four Points by Sheraton Hotels, the brand's first Chief Beer Officer Scott Kerkmans, center, shares a toast with Four Points Vice President Sandy Swider, right, and Starwood executive Hoyt Harper, left, after ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, March 26, 2007, in New York. As Four Points' CBO Kerkmans will champion their new Best Brews program. (AP Photo/Four Points by Sheraton, Diane Bondareff)

WHITE PLAINS, NY--Corporate America was changed forever a year ago when Four Points by Sheraton appointed the world’s first-ever Chief Beer Officer (CBO), Scott Kerkmans. (photo above)


After a year in office the resident CBO has realized that a dream job can come with a nightmare work load. Scott is seeking a little sudsy help by kicking off a world wide search for a Best Brews Summer intern. The lucky lad or lass will assist the CBO with his Best Brews duties including beer tasting, trend research and brewery relations.

Kerkmans earned his coveted executive title by impressing the Four Points team and receiving over half of the 12,000 votes cast from around the world. Since taking his unique Chief Beer Officer post a year ago, Scott has expanded the Four Points Best Brews training program, started a blog, forged relationships with countless craft breweries, traveled to some of the largest beer festivals and educated guests on the world of beer through his blog at fourpoints.com/cbo.

“Scott really understands the value of simple pleasures including our Best Brews” said Sandy Swider, Vice President of Four Points by Sheraton. “We are excited to see how he will continue to expand the program”. Kerkmans has great plans for the Best Brews program including introducing new beer and food pairings and ways to continue making Four Points by Sheraton the best destination for beer aficionados everywhere.

The deadline for applicants is April 26th. Four finalists will be chosen and again the beer loving community will be called upon to help select the first ever Four Points by Sheraton Best Brews intern!

For additional information on Best Brews and Four Points by Sheraton, including room rates and availability, and the search for the Best Brews intern please visit www.fourpoints.com/cbo.

CONTACT:
Hwee-Peng Yeo
Director, Corporate Communications
Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts Ltd
9 Temasek Boulevard, Suntec City Tower 2
#24-02, Singapore 038989
Tel : +65 6335 4837; Cell : +65 9768 6087; +65 9248 0424
Fax : +65 6335 4820
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/;
Posted by Alex at 9:21 AM 0 comments
Labels:

Arbor Promotes Valerie Sganga to Vice President, Operations

UNIONDALE, NY (March 31, 2008) - Arbor Commercial Mortgage, LLC (“Arbor”) announced the promotion of Valerie Sganga (photo at right) to Vice President, Operations.


Ms. Sganga will manage the legal due diligence and closing of Fannie Mae and structured transactions as well as the coordination of warehouse fundings. In addition, she will be involved in various aspects of compliance with both Arbor Realty Trust and structured securitizations. She previously held the title of Assistant Vice President, Operations. She reports to Guy Milone, (photo at left below) General Counsel and Senior Vice President.


“Valerie has made a significant contribution to Arbor's successful and continuing effort to implement cutting-edge financing vehicles and structures to meet client needs and market demands,” said Mr. Milone.


Ms. Sganga joined Arbor in December 1999 as a Closing Coordinator and has held positions in both Capital Markets and the Legal department. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the State University of New York at Cortland. She is located in Arbor’s headquarter office in Uniondale, NY and resides in Old Bethpage, NY.


CONTACT:
Ingrid Principe
Marketing Specialist
Arbor Commercial Mortgage, LLC 333 Earle Ovington Boulevard, Suite 900
Uniondale, NY 11553 '516-506-4298
4516-542-2555
iprincipe@arbor.com
http://www.arbor.com/
Posted by Alex at 9:05 AM 0 comments
Labels:

Kelly Chamberlain Joins Southern Commercial Real Estate Advisors

ORLANDO, FL.(March 31, 2008) Southern Commercial Real Estate Advisors has hired Kelly Chamberlain (photo at right) as an associate. The firms’ principals William “Bo” Bradford CCIM, SIOR and Tom Mcfadden, SIOR, Orlando’s leading industrial team, began Southern Commercial in September of last year.

Chamberlain joins the team with an extensive background in marketing, public relations and commercial real estate research. Chamberlain was formally the marketing and research director for another commercial real estate company and is a graduate of Stetson University.

Southern Commercial Real Estate Advisors, LLC (d/b/a Southern Commercial) is a commercial real estate firm focusing on office and industrial properties in Florida, and in Central Florida in particular. William “Bo” Bradford, Jr., CCIM, SIOR and Tom McFadden, SIOR are founding principles of the company and have combined industry experience in excess of 38 years. Since founding their brokerage team in February of 2002, they have completed over 300 commercial real estate transactions valued at more than $230 million dollars. The company presently handles 5.2 million square feet of office and warehouse space.

Media Contact:
Celeste MacKenzie
Southern Commercial Real Estate Advisors
321-281-8503
20 N. Orange Avenue, Suite 605
cmackenzie@southercommercialre.com
Orlando, FL 32801
Posted by Alex at 8:40 AM 0 comments
Labels:

Arbor Closes $13,000,000 Fannie Mae DUS® Loan for The Meadows in Montgomery, AL

UNIONDALE, NY--Arbor Commercial Funding, LLC (“Arbor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arbor Commercial Mortgage, LLC, announced the recent funding of a $13,000,000 loan under the Fannie Mae DUS® product line to refinance the 200-unit complex known as The Meadows (photo at left) in Montgomery, AL.

The 10 year loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule and carries a note rate of 5.78 percent. The loan was originated by Ronen Abergel, (photo at right) Director, in Arbor’s full-service New York City, NY lending office. *DUS and 3MaxExpress are registered marks of Fannie Mae

“We committed to a rate in two weeks by executing an early rate lock agreement with the borrower. In addition, we closed in 29 days with an additional 5% increase in proceeds over initial screening,” said Abergel. “In light of the current volatility in the market, Arbor’s execution of this transaction exceeded the borrower’s expectations.”

CONTACT:
Arbor Commercial Mortgage, LLC
Arbor Realty Trust, Inc.
333 Earle Ovington Blvd, Suite 900
Uniondale, NY 11553
Ingrid Principe
Tel: (516) 506-4298
Posted by Alex at 8:20 AM 0 comments
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)