Cotter-Ryan Commercial Executive Will Turner Earns LEED-AP Accreditation

LONGWOOD, FL --- Will Turner, (top right photo) Director of Operations at Cotter-Ryan Commercial, LLC in Longwood, has earned the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED-AP accreditation as a construction professional who demonstrates in-depth knowledge of the latest energy efficiency and environmental quality techniques.

Scott Ryan, (bottom left photo) president at Cotter-Ryan Commercial LLC, said the USGBC’s LEED-AP accreditation is one of the most sought-after professional designations for good reason.

Turner, who graduated from Michigan State University, joined Cotter-Ryan Commercial nine years ago.

“Architecture, design, planning, development and construction in the U.S. is undergoing a pivotal evolution to meet rising demand for more energy efficient facilities with higher environmental standards,” Ryan said.

For more information, please contact:

Scott Ryan, President, Cotter Ryan Commercial. 407-786-7686
Will Turner, Director of Operations, Cotter Ryan Commercial 407-786-7686
Jessica Bush, Cotter Ryan Commercial 407-786-7686
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142

Grant Thornton Signs 36,169-SF Renewal in Downtown New York

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Signs Global Accounting Firm for Another Five Years

ATLANTA, GA /PRNewswire/ -- Global accounting firm Grant Thornton signed a 36,169 square-foot renewal with Piedmont Office Realty Trust at 60 Broad Street (top right photo) in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York. The international firm will continue to occupy the entire 24th and 25th floors for another five years.

The 39-story, 1 million square-foot office tower, renovated in 2003, is located in the heart of the Financial District submarket.

The property features a superior communications infrastructure, Statue of Liberty and Harbor views, strong institutional ownership, and enjoys a 100% occupancy rate.

Mitchell Barnett, David Malawer, and Andrew Peretz of Cushman & Wakefield represented Grant Thornton. Piedmont Office Realty Trust was represented by Anthony Stapleton, Eric Sarner and Sheila Nayson of Cogswell Realty Group, LLC and George Wells of Piedmont.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust is a public, non-traded REIT specializing in Class-A office properties.

As of June 30, Piedmont owned 84 buildings, totaling more than 21 million square feet, in 23 states and Washington, D.C.

Properties include the corporate headquarters of such organizations as U.S. Bancorp, NASA and Nestle USA. Across the portfolio, Piedmont properties are approximately 93 percent leased.

For more information, see http://www.piedmontreit.com/

CONTACT: Robert E. Bowers, Chief Financial Officer, +1-770-418-8602Web site: http://www.piedmontreit.com/

Damien Madsen Joins Morrison Commercial Real Estate

ORLANDO, FL-- Morrison Commercial Real Estate is proud to announce that Damien Madsen (top right photo) has joined its team.

Madsen, a 21-year veteran, has been a leader in the Orlando commercial real estate market, successfully completing nearly three million square feet of transactions valued at approximately $750 million.

From 1997 to 2005, Madsen was an integral part of the explosive growth at Orlando’s SouthPark Center, which is recognized as one of Florida’s most successful business parks.

While working with Flagler Development, Madsen developed and leased its nine office buildings, totaling 1.3 million square feet. In his role at Morrison Commercial Real Estate, Madsen will focus his efforts on tenant representation and general brokerage.

This is not the first time that Madsen and Greg Morrison (middle left photo) have worked together. The two met in college and worked together in the mid-80s selling books door-to-door.

Addressing the qualities that Madsen brings to Morrison Commercial Real Estate, Morrison said, “I am pleased to have Damien join the firm. His experience and strong local connections, as well as his business and work ethics, make him an excellent fit for our team.”

Founded by Morrison, a 22-year veteran of the Central Florida commercial real estate market, Morrison Commercial Real Estate is a full-service brokerage firm specializing in the office sector.

Headquartered in Downtown Orlando, our professional experience and extensive knowledge of the Central Florida market enables us to achieve maximum transaction value and optimal return on investment for our clients. Morrison Commercial Real Estate provides landlord, owner, and tenant representation services in leasing, buying, selling, and site selection of commercial property in Central Florida.

The firm currently represents over 1.5 million square feet of quality office buildings in the Orlando market and provides tenant representation services to some of the area’s top corporations.

CONTACT:

Kathy Moreno, Production Assistant, Morrison Commercial Real Estate, 255 S. Orange Avenue, Suite 1545, Orlando, Florida 32801. ph 407.219.3500 407.219.3501. fax
kmoreno@morrisoncre.com

http://www.morrisoncre.com/

Starmer Ranaldi rolls out new look for Palm Lake Elementary School

OVIEDO, FL, Oct. 22, 2008 — Starmer Ranaldi Planning and Architecture Inc. has rolled out the new look for Palm Lake Elementary School (top right photo) in Orlando, Fla., for Orange County Public Schools.

After master planning the existing campus, Starmer Ranaldi designed two, new two-story, 34,000-square-foot classroom buildings to replace the existing classroom portables, and a new 2,500-square-foot administration addition.

The renovation and remodeling scope of services includes new systems for air conditioning and main power distribution, interior finishes and technology upgrades for the 21,000-square feet of existing core space used for administration, cafeteria, music/art and media center.

The Morganti Group Inc., the project’s construction manager, broke ground on the first classroom building earlier this month with completion scheduled for August 2009. The second classroom building is planned for completion in August 2010.

Under contract with Starmer Ranaldi, the Florida-based design team is composed of Klima Weeks Civil Engineering, Altamonte Springs; Matern Professional Engineering, Maitland; and two minority-owned firms, Bowen Structural Engineers, Orlando and Bobes Associate Consulting Engineers, Orlando.

Starmer Ranaldi Planning and Architecture Inc. is a consulting design practice dedicated to the design of public-use facilities for municipal and county governments, K through 12 schools, community colleges, universities and institutional buildings.

Established in Central Florida in 1997, the firm is headquartered in Oviedo, Fla., and employs a professional and support staff of eighteen.

Please visit http://www.sriarch.com/ for additional information.

Contact: Elaine Ingra, PR WORKS!, PH: 407 384-1344,
elainei@pr-works.com, www.pr-works.com

SPECIAL REPORT: Foreclosure Activity Decreases 12 Percent in September, RealtyTrac(r) Reports

Third Quarter Activity Up 3 Percent From Q2 2008 and Up 71 Percent From Q3 2007

New State Laws In California, Other States Impact Numbers

IRVINE, CA – Oct. 23, 2008 – RealtyTrac®, the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™ for September 2008 and Q3 2008.

Foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 265,968 properties in September, a 12 percent decrease from the previous month but still a 21 percent increase from September 2007.

One in every 475 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing in September.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 765,558 U.S. properties during the third quarter, up more than 3 percent from the second quarter and up 71 percent from the third quarter of 2007.

“Much of the 12 percent decrease in September can be attributed to changes in state laws that have at least temporarily slowed down the pace at which lenders are moving forward with foreclosures,” said James J. Saccacio, (top right photo) chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.

“Most significantly, SB 1137 in California took effect in early September and requires lenders to make contact with borrowers at least 30 days before filing a Notice of Default (NOD).

"In September we saw California NODs drop 51 percent from the previous month, and that drop had a significant impact on the national numbers given that California accounts for close to one-third of the nation’s foreclosure activity each month.

"Another example is North Carolina, where legislation was signed into law in August that requires lenders to provide homeowners and the state’s commissioner of banks a 45-day notice prior to filing a Notice of Default. We saw NODs drop 66 percent in North Carolina in September.

“On the other hand, initial foreclosure filings in Massachusetts jumped 465 percent from August to September after being much lower than normal in June, July and August.

"That temporary lull happened after a new law took effect in May requiring lenders to give homeowners a 90-day right to cure notice before initiating foreclosure. But in September, about 90 days after the law took effect, initial foreclosure notices jumped back up close to the level we were seeing earlier in the year.”

Nevada, Florida, California post top state foreclosure rates in September

Nevada continued to document the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate in September thanks to an 11 percent increase in foreclosure activity from the previous month. Foreclosure filings were reported on 13,022 Nevada properties during the month, an increase of 137 percent from September 2007 and one in every 82 housing units — more than 5 times the national average.

A 9 percent month-over-month increase in foreclosure activity helped Florida’s foreclosure rate leapfrog past foreclosure rates in Arizona and California to take the No. 2 spot, with one in every 178 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in September.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 47,956 Florida properties during the month, an increase of 44 percent from September of 2007.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 69,548 California properties in September, a 32 percent decrease from the previous month but still up 36 percent from September 2007. With one in every 189 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during September, the state’s foreclosure rate slipped to third highest among the states.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in September were Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana and Colorado.

Top six states account for 60 percent of third quarter foreclosure activity

Six states accounted for more than 60 percent of U.S. foreclosure activity in the third quarter. California alone accounted for more than 27 percent of the nation’s foreclosure activity, with 210,845 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter — up 4 percent from the previous quarter and up more than 122 percent from the third quarter of 2008.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 127,306 Florida properties during the third quarter, the second highest state total. The state’s foreclosure activity increased 16 percent from the previous quarter and nearly 109 percent from the third quarter of 2007.

Arizona documented the third highest state total in the third quarter, with 40,419 properties receiving a foreclosure filing — a 9 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 189 percent increase from the third quarter of 2007.

Ohio, Michigan and Nevada all reported foreclosure filings on more than 30,000 properties during the third quarter, although foreclosure activity in Ohio was down 11 percent from the previous quarter and foreclosure activity in Michigan was down 8 percent from the previous quarter.

Nevada’s foreclosure activity increased more than 22 percent from the previous quarter and was up more than 132 percent from the third quarter of 2007.

Sun Belt cities dominate top metro foreclosure rates in third quarter

The cities with the 10 highest foreclosure rates among the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas in the third quarter were all located in California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada.

California alone accounted for six of the top 10, and Stockton, Calif., took the top spot, with 3.69 percent of its housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter.

Stockton’s foreclosure activity was down 9 percent from the previous quarter but still up 87 percent from the third quarter of 2007.

Other California cities in the top 10 for foreclosure rate were Riverside-San Bernardino at No. 3, Bakersfield at No. 4, Sacramento at No. 7, Fresno at No. 9 and Oakland at No. 10.

With 3.48 percent of its housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the third quarter, Las Vegas documented the second highest metro foreclosure rate.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 26,304 Las Vegas properties in the third quarter, up 21 percent from the previous quarter and up 129 percent from the third quarter of 2007.

Two Florida metro areas were in the top 10: Fort Lauderdale at No. 5, with 2.30 percent of its housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter; and Orlando at No. 8, with 1.87 percent of its housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter.

Phoenix documented the sixth highest metro foreclosure rate, with 2.11 percent of its housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the third quarter.

RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of foreclosure and bank-owned properties, with over 1.5 million properties from over 2,200 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal.

For a complete state-by-state breakdown, please contact Tammy Chan, Atomic PR, 415-402-0230, tammy@atomicpr.com