CBRE Hotels Sells Econo Lodge Kissimmee for $1.7M

KISSIMMEE, FL – Jan. 14, 2009 – CBRE Hotels, the hotel/resort specialty practice within CB Richard Ellis, the world's leading commercial real estate services provider, is pleased to announce the sale of Econo Lodge Kissimmee, (top right photo) located at 2934 Polynesian Isles Blvd. in Kissimmee, Fla., for $1,700,000.

Robert Taylor, (top left photo) senior vice president, and Lisa Zaranek, (middle right photo) associate, teamed with Richard Langhorne, first vice president, and Oren Cytrynbaum, associate, of CBRE's Restructuring Services practice group to represent the seller, a hedge fund based in Greenwich, Conn.

DSS Investments, LLC, based in Tampa, Fla., was the buyer in the transaction.

Built in 1991, Econo Lodge Kissimmee is comprised of two three-story buildings encompassing 94 units on 2.85 acres. Located close to Highway 192, the property offers easy access to Walt Disney World as well as Interstate 4.

CBRE Hotels has sold 61 hotel assets throughout Florida over the past 10 years.

For more information about Robert Taylor, please visit www.cbre.com/robert.taylor

For more information about Lisa Zaranek, please visit www.cbre.com/lisa.zaranek
CONTACT: Rebecca Thomas, 305.381.6485, rebecca.thomas@cbre.com

The Bainbridge Companies Launch Bainbridge Distressed Property Services

WELLINGTON, FL, Jan.14, 2009 – The Bainbridge Companies, a fully-integrated family of real estate companies, has launched Bainbridge Distressed Property Services, LLC.

The new entity will offer a broad range of services to owners and lenders facing significant challenges in the current real estate market.

The firm is seeking multifamily, mixed-use and commercial acquisitions as well as management assignments along the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic region.

“It’s about more than minimizing losses; it’s about maximizing value,” said Rick Giles, (top right photo) Managing Director of Acquisitions for The Bainbridge Companies.

“We can offer objective advice and positive resolutions to lenders and owners facing challenging, even critical, situations.

"Unlike other firms with just one or two services, we have a broad range of skills including property management, construction, sales, marketing, rehabilitation, asset management - everything owners need right now.”

Bainbridge Distressed Property Services has a two-pronged approach: it is positioned to acquire financially-strained or foreclosed properties from owners and lenders; it’s also available to handle assignments for services such as managing and marketing developments, completing construction of troubled projects, offering advisory services, and even selling condos.

Founded in 1993, The Bainbridge Companies are a fully-integrated family of real estate companies engaged in the development, construction, management, acquisition and disposition of residential and commercial real estate.

With more than 100 years of combined experience, the Bainbridge principles have developed, redeveloped, and/or repositioned more than 35,000 multifamily units. The firm’s full service real estate platform includes asset and property management, leasing, sales, marketing, renovation, construction, and development.

Based in Wellington, Florida, it also has offices in North Carolina and the Washington, D.C. metro area. For more information on Bainbridge Distressed Property Services, contact Rick Giles at (561) 333-3669 or visit http://www.bainbridgecompanies.com/.

Contact: Terri Thornton, Thornton Communications (404) 932-4347 Terri@TerriThornton.com

Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA) Florida Brokers Sale of 298-Unit Preserve at Long Leaf

Class AA Community Trades for $26.6M

MELBOURNE, FL —ARA Florida’s Orlando office represented Boca Raton, FL-based Altman Development in the sale of the 298-unit Preserve at Longleaf (top right photo) multifamily community located in Melbourne, FL.

Kevin Judd (top left photo) of ARA’s Orlando office brokered the sale.

Constructed in 2006, The Preserve at Longleaf is an exceptional Class AA apartment community that is comprised of 23 two-story apartment buildings and a lavish 6,000-square foot clubhouse with fully-equipped fitness center, resort-style pool and spa, furnished sun deck, wet bar, indoor half-court basketball, kids’ Fun-n-Study center, media center with plasma TV, wireless internet access, billiards room, fully equipped business center and executive conference room.

The community was 86% occupied at the time of the sale.

“The property is one of the newest and highest-quality apartment communities in Melbourne and the entire Space Coast of Florida,” said Kevin Judd, ARA’s Orlando-based broker for the transaction.

“Preserve at Longleaf’s low-density site plan, irreplaceable in-fill location and one-of-a-kind resort-style amenities make it an ideal multifamily investment asset.”

The Preserve at Longleaf is sited on an expansive 85.8 acre site, of which 59.2 acres comprise abundant lakes and wetlands, and the other 26.6 acres comprise the usable area.

The low density of only 11 units per usable acre creates a private, serene environment with attractive views. The property is strategically located only one-quarter mile north of the Brevard Community College Melbourne Campus.

“The Melbourne area has realized an incredible amount of job growth and economic stimulus in the past several years due primarily to billions of dollars worth of government contracts and investment in the area,” said Dick Donnellan, one of ARA Florida’s founding partners, who also represented the seller in the transaction. Donnellan is based in ARA Florida’s Boca Raton office.

“The Preserve at Longleaf benefits from this investment due to its convenient access to numerous high-tech employers including Harris, Northrop Grumman , Patrick Air Force Base and the Kennedy Space Center,” Donnellan continued.

Remi Properties purchased the community from Altman Development for $26.6 million or $87,248 a unit. Low-level financing was arranged through Merrill Lynch. The trailing cap rate was 5.4%.

The sale of Preserve at Longleaf tipped ARA Florida’s annual sales production to just over $100 million for the year ended 2008.

Contact: Marti Zenor at mzenor@ARAusa.com or 561-988-8800, ext. 112.

Grubb & Ellis's Bob Bach Sees More Office Vacancies Ahead

SANTA ANA, CA--Bob Bach (top right photo), senior vice president and chief economist at Grubb & Ellis Co. notes in his regular market updates, the U.S. office vacancy rate ended 2008 at 14.8 percent, an increase of 50 basis points in the fourth quarter and 180 basis points since year-end 2007.

As softening cycles go, this one has been moderate so far; during the opening four quarters of the prior softening cycle, the vacancy rate shot up by 450 basis points (2000-Q3 to 2001-Q3).

(Fourth quarter 2008 Vacancy Chart below)

The more muted response this time is all the more surprising because the labor market shed a relatively shallow 1.5 million payroll jobs during and after the 2001 recession, while it has already lost 2.6 million jobs since the current recession began in December 2007, with 1.9 million of those coming in the last four months of 2008.

Because the office market lags changes in employment, the market is expected to register steeper vacancy increases in 2009 in response to the sharp deterioration in the labor market late last year.

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