HFF named as listing broker for sale of New Mexico shopping centers

DALLAS, TX – The Dallas office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) has been named to market for sale De Vargas Center (top right photo) in Santa Fe and The Plaza at Cottonwood (top left photo) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, two shopping centers totaling 333,993 square feet.

HFF senior managing directors Doug Hazelbaker (middle right photo) and Jim Batjer (middle left photo) and managing director Ryan Shore will lead the investment sales team exclusively on behalf of the seller, Weingarten Realty Investors.

The properties are offered for sale individually or as a portfolio without a formal sales price. Both properties are free and clear of debt.

De Vargas Center has 249,671 square feet of retail space that is 95% leased to tenants including Sunflower Farmers Market, Office Depot, Ross Dress for Less, Hastings and CVS Pharmacy.

Located along Highway 84/St. Francis Street, the property is less than one mile northwest of downtown Santa Fe as well as the Santa Fe Plaza.

De Vargas Center serves a regional trade population of more than 221,000 people and is the dominant retail center in the affluent northern side of Santa Fe,” said Hazelbaker.

“The center boasts some of the top national chains, such as Santa Fe’s first Sunflower Farmers Market, as well as very successful local shops.”

The Plaza at Cottonwood is located across from the Cottonwood Mall along Coors Boulevard Bypass and Seven Bar Loop Road in the “West Mesa” area of Albuquerque.

Completed in 1999, the property has 84,322 square feet that is fully occupied by tenants including Staples, PetSmart, Party City, Avenue and Men’s Warehouse.

“The Plaza at Cottonwood is exposed to more than 60,000 commuters daily and is located in the most rapidly expanding section of Albuquerque that features high-end neighborhoods with average household incomes of $91,244,” added Batjer.

As one of the largest real estate investment trusts listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Weingarten Realty (NYSE:WRI) is celebrating its 60th anniversary as a commercial real estate owner, manager and developer, formed in 1948.

Focused on delivering solid returns to shareholders, Weingarten is actively developing, acquiring, and intensively managing properties in 23 states that span the United States from coast-to-coast.

The company’s portfolio of 409 properties includes 329 neighborhood and community shopping centers and 80 industrial properties. Including tenant-owned square footage, the company’s portfolio currently totals approximately 74 million square feet under management.

Weingarten has one of the most diversified tenant bases of any major REIT in its sector, with the largest of its 5,400 tenants comprising less than 3% of its rental revenues. To learn more about the company’s operations and growth strategies, please visit http://www.weingarten.com/.

HFF (NYSE: HF) operates out of 18 offices nationwide and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry. HFF offers clients a fully integrated national capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, structured finance, private equity, loan sales and commercial loan servicing. http://www.hfflp.com/.

Contacts:

Doug Hazelbaker, HFF Senior Managing Director, (214) 265-0880, dhazelbaker@hfflp.com

Jim Batjer, Senior Managing Director, (214) 265-0880, jbatjer@hfflp.com

Kristen M. Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing (713) 852-3500, krmurphy@hfflp.com

Industry Veteran Andy Besing Joins Grubb & Ellis Company’s San Antonio, TX Office

SAN ANTONIO, TX– Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, announced that Andy Besing (top right photo) has joined the company’s San Antonio office as a senior associate specializing in retail leasing and investment transactions.

Besing comes to Grubb & Ellis from Cambridge Realty, where he served as a senior associate. He brings with him more than 10 years of commercial real estate experience in the acquisition and disposition of retail and investment properties throughout Texas and nationally.

Besing has also participated in pre-development and leasing efforts for more than 2,000,000 square feet of shopping center space.

“Andy’s experiences on both the developmental and transactional side of commercial real estate provide him with a great perspective on the business,” said Ernest Brown, (bottom left photo) CCIM, managing director of Grubb & Ellis’ Central Texas operations. “We are excited to have him on the team as we continue to position ourselves for future successes.”

Besing holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Texas. He is a Texas Real Estate Commission licensed salesperson and is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Contact: Damon Elder, 714.975.2659, damon.elder@grubb-ellis.com

Grubb & Ellis Releases First Logistic Market Trends Report

Report Shows Increase in Vacancy Rates, Steady Rental Rates

SANTA ANA, CA – Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, announced that recent trends show that while vacancy rates for logistic properties have risen, asking rental rates have decreased very little, according to the company’s inaugural logistics research report, Logistic Market Trends, Qtr 4 2008.

The report states that at year-end 2008, the national average asking rental rates for logistic properties was $4.16 per square-foot per year triple net, 3 percent less than the cyclical peak of $4.29 in fourth quarter 2007.

Gaining 260 basis points, the vacancy rate ended 2008 at 11.7 percent.

“Although market conditions are expected to soften over the next few quarters, when the economy slows, the demand for logistic space still tends to hold up well,” said Bob Bach, (top right photo) senior vice president and chief economist, Grubb & Ellis.

“Manufacturers need to store excess inventories while their sales slow, in turn boosting demand for warehouse space.”

On a long-term basis, businesses look at logistics space as a productivity enhancer, an integral part of their supply chain strategies, the report states.

Construction pipeline for logistics space is emptying rapidly, compared to the 98 million square feet of logistics space delivered to the market in 2008.

One of the country’s largest consumer markets, Southern California is a critical link in the supply chain. The area’s ports handle more than 40 percent of all U.S. container imports, and 14 million consumers can be reached within a two-hour truck trip from the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The report also identifies the nation’s top 10 logistics markets:

Chicago; Inland Empire, Calif.; Atlanta; Dallas/Fort Worth; Los Angeles; north and central New Jersey; east and central Pennsylvania; Houston; Columbus, Ohio; and Indianapolis.

For a complete copy of the report, please contact:

Damon Elder, 714.975.2659, damon.elder@grubb-ellis.com