Apartment Realty Advisors Distressed Assets Solutions Group Arranges Sale of 405-Unit Villas at Lauderhill, FL

LAUDERHILL, FL Jan. 19, 2009— ARA’s Florida division arranged the sale of the 405-unit Villas at Lauderhill multifamily community located in Lauderhill, FL. The transaction was arranged by ARA Florida’s Boca Raton-based Hampton Beebe.(top right photo)

The 405-unit property was purchased in 2005 with the intent to convert it to condominiums, but the development never materialized. New York-based Intervest National Bank subsequently filed for foreclosure and took back title of the community in September of 2008.

West Palm Beach, FL-based Priderock Capital Partners sponsored the purchase from Intervest National Bank for an undisclosed price in December of 2008.

“This 1988 constructed property will be brought back to life by Priderock Capital,” said Hampton Beebe, of ARA’s Boca Raton office, who brokered the deal. “Priderock has approved plans in place for an extensive rehab, including building a new clubhouse and re-construction to the existing apartment buildings.”

Beebe is a member of ARA’s Distressed Assets Solutions Group which provides responsive, professional and knowledgeable brokerage solutions to servicers and lenders of distressed conventional multifamily, land, student and seniors housing assets.

Marc deBaptiste, (top left photo) one of ARA Florida’s founding partners said, “This transaction represents a trend toward developers and apartment operating companies finding unique opportunistic deals in the market. We expect to see several more ‘value add’ transactions in 2009.”

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

DASG Retained to Market Sale of Distressed/Fractured Condominium Project

COCONUT CREEK, FL, Jan. 19, 2009--sed Assets Solutions Group (DASG) has been retained as exclusive agent, to market for sale 272 multifamily units in a high-quality, 372-unit garden and townhome condominium community located within The Township master-planned development in the rapidly growing city of Coconut Creek.

"The property represents an excellent opportunity to purchase a significant number of unsold units in a fractured condominium at well below replacement costs," said ARA Florida’s Hampton Beebe of ARA’s DASG team. "Replacement costs on a similar type of product can range from $140,000 to $180,000 per unit."

The 100 sold units averaged a sales price of $227,415 per unit. The remaining 272 units are currently 95% occupied and offering rents at $1.12 per square foot, reflecting strong demand for rental housing in the area.

"The converter implemented an extensive improvement program to both the exterior and interiors of the property totaling over $4.5 million since 2005," said Avery Klann, also of ARA Florida’s DASG division.

Contacts:
Marti Zenor, Amy Holland or Lisa Robinson, Apartment Realty Advisors,
(561) 988-8800 ext. 112; (404) 495-7300
mzenor@arausa.com, aholland@ARAusa.com,
http://www.arausa.com/, lrobinson@ARAusa.com

Paramount Hotel Group Appoints Douglas W. Vicari as Principal of Firm

FAIRFIELD, NJ—Paramount Hotel Group, an independent hotel management and ownership group, announce that Douglas W. Vicari has joined the company as a principal.

Vicari will be responsible for the firm’s capital-raising efforts, as well as advising on its strategic direction and assisting in its acquisition programs.

Vicari previously was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Highland Hospitality Corporation, a NYSE-listed lodging real estate investment trust (REIT) that was sold to JER Partners in July 2007.

Prior to that, he served as senior vice president and chief financial officer and on the board of directors of Prime Hospitality Corp., an NYSE-listed lodging company.

“Doug is a well-respected executive within the lodging community and has strong relationships with the investment and finance community,” said Ethan Kramer, (top right photo) Paramount’s president. “As a company, we are both an owner and third-party hotel operator, which puts us in a unique position in these economically challenging times because we can offer the full range of services.

“We believe there will be a substantial number of acquisition opportunities as the year progresses,” he said. “Doug will play a pivotal role in securing capital for acquisitions, both wholly owned and joint venture. Cash will be king in the next 12 to 18 months, and Paramount plans to be a major player.

“In a difficult economy, owners seek experienced operators to maximize their hotels’ profitability,” he added.

“We provide a full range of management services and expect this portion of our business model to also be quite active in 2009. We will continue to concentrate our acquisition and third-party management efforts in our core strengths of premium-branded, focused-service and full-service hotels.”

Currently, Vicari serves on the board of directors and as the chairman of the Audit Committee for Thunderbird Resorts Inc., a publicly traded gaming and lodging company (NYSE Euronext: TBIRD).

Paramount Hotel Group is a third-party independent management and ownership group that focuses on hotel operations, acquisition and development opportunities, construction management and technical services support for its customers.
Contacts:

Chris Daly or Jerry Daly, (703) 435-6293, chris@dalygray.com

Paramount Hotel Group, 710 Route 46 East, Suite 206, Fairfield, NJ 07004. Phone (973) 882-0505. Fax (973) 882-0043
http://www.paramounthotelgroup.com/

MMM Environmental Attorney Appointed to Board of Georgia Chamber of Commerce

ATLANTA, G – Gerald Pouncey (top right photo) , one of the Southeast’s most highly-respected environmental attorneys, has joined the board of The Georgia Chamber of Commerce.

As chair of the Environmental Group at Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP, Mr. Pouncey has received a number of honors, including high rankings from Chambers USA, The Legal 500, Atlanta Super Lawyers, Georgia Trend’s Legal Elite and The Best Lawyers in America.

His work focuses on brownfields, or environmentally-impacted properties, including state and federal superfund sites. He has served as counsel for a number of high-profile projects – including the nation's largest brownfield redevelopment – Atlantic Station, a premier mixed-use community in Midtown Atlanta.

Other clients include the owners and redevelopers of textile mills, wood processing sites, foundries, manufacturing plants, wood treatment sites, mines, quarries and numerous other industrial properties. He has also been lead negotiator for international and domestic clients considering locating in the Southeast, as well as for the development of port related facilities.

Media Contacts: Terri Thornton, Thornton Communications, (404) 932-4347 terri@territhornton.com

Waterford Commons Retail Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL Gets $4M Loan

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—Jan. 19, 2009— Thomas D. Wood and Company, a Strategic Alliance Mortgage LLC member, secured financing in the amount of $4,050,000 for Waterford Commons Retail Center.

Patrick Madore, (top right photo) Company Vice President, financed the loan through Thomas D. Wood and Company’s relationship with a local bank at a permanent fixed-rate of 6.60%.

The loan has a 10-year term, with a five-year rate review, based on a 30-year amortization and a loan-to-value of 70%. The 33,000 square-foot unanchored retail center was built in 2007 and is located at 450 Samarian Boulevard, Orlando, Florida.

For further information, please contact:
Patrick Madore (954) 233-6024 pmadore@tdwood.com

Jessica Gurtowski (407) 937-0470 jgurtowski@tdwood.com