Carter Reduces Energy Use Across 25M SF Portfolio

Commercial Real Estate Firm Achieves ENERGY STAR

ATLANTA, GA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Property and Facility Management Group of Carter, one of the country’s leading full-service commercial real estate firms since 1958, has committed to decreasing energy consumption across its 25-million-square-foot portfolio by 30 percent.

A primary goal is to achieve ENERGY STAR certification for all eligible properties by year end 2009.

Property managers are completing audits and benchmarks for all buildings in Carter’s property and facility management portfolio.

The data collected will be evaluated against ENERGY STAR standards and all buildings meeting the criteria will be submitted for ENERGY STAR certification. The data collected also will be utilized to operate each building more efficiently.

“As commercial property owners and managers, it is our responsibility to ensure our clients’ properties are managed in the most cost-effective and resourceful manner,” explained Holly Hughes, (top right photo)executive vice president of Carter’s Property and Facility Management Group.

“Energy efficiency has always been an important component of building operations at Carter, due to both financial and environmental concerns. ENERGY STAR provides a solid, widely recognized standard by which we can evaluate a building’s performance.”

Six properties under the firm’s management have earned the ENERGY STAR award since January 2009. They are:

--River Park in Norwalk, Conn., a five-story, Class A suburban office building comprising 412,231 square feet.

--Four Penn Center (top left photo) in Philadelphia, Penn., a Class A 522,600-square-foot office building.

--Fifth Street Towers (middle right photo) in Minneapolis, a twin tower, Class A office complex totaling 1,065,000 square feet.

--Corporate Center I and II in Tampa, Fla., Class A office buildings totaling almost 700,000 square feet.

--Hidden River I and III in Tampa, Fla., Class A office buildings comprising 285,961 square feet.

--Satellite Place 300, 400 and 600 in suburban Atlanta, Class A office buildings totaling 435,458 square feet.

All of these properties are owned by Strategic Real Estate Advisors (StratREAL), an independent real estate investment advisor and asset manager, and an advisor to private customized real estate funds. StratREAL currently oversees the management of more than $6.5 billion of real estate assets globally.

“As a company, we’re always looking for ways to improve energy management and to make our properties more environmentally sustainable,” said Steve Hall (bottom left photo), Head of U.S. Asset Management and Performance Reporting for StratREAL.

“We could not be more pleased for these properties to join the other ENERGY STAR buildings across the country and greatly appreciate the initiative Carter is taking in evaluating the properties it manages against these guidelines to identify cost savings and environmental benefits.”

One of the country’s leading full-service commercial real estate firms since 1958, Carter offers a diverse range of services to deliver value for our clients. An Atlanta-based privately-held company with 400 associates, Carter has successfully and responsibly navigated five decades of commercial real estate cycles.

For additional information on Carter, please visit http://www.carterusa.com/.

Contact:
Wilbert News Strategies, Tony Wilbert, 404-888-3091 (office) or 404-405-3656 (cell)twilbert@wilbertnewsstrategies.com

Polsinelli Shughart Law Firm Signs New Office Lease for total 29,000 SF in Chicago

CHICAGO, IL (July 13) The Chicago office of national law firm Polsinelli Shughart PC has signed a 15-year lease for space in the 161 N. Clark Building (top left photo) , also known as the Chicago Title and Trust Building.

The firm will relocate in the fall to accommodate its growing Chicago office, which has expanded to 30 attorneys. The 161 N. Clark Building is hailed for its fabulous views of Lake Michigan, modern architecture, efficiency and proximity to the Cook County Courthouse, city, county and state office buildings.

“This is a premiere building in a great location with extraordinary amenities and spectacular views,”said the Managing Director/Chicago Anthony J. Nasharr (top right photo).

“The new location will accommodate our current and anticipated growth. We are very excited about this move and what it means for our attorneys, staff and clients.”

Polsinelli Shughart will occupy the entire 42nd floor and part of the 41st floor. The new location doubles the amount of space for Polsinelli Shughart to 29,000 square feet from 15,000 at its current location at Two Prudential Plaza, (bottom right photo) 180 N. Stetson Avenue and will allow for 58 offices.

The firm has added seven shareholders since February 1, 2009 and includes a growing national healthcare practice, along with financial services, intellectual property/patents, and commercial litigation practices.

“Polsinelli Shughart is a fast-growing tenant in this market,” said Senior Director Joseph A. Gordon, Tishman Speyer, a global real estate owner, developer and investment company. “We are very pleased that they selected 161 North Clark as their Chicago corporate address.”

The Chicago office of Polsinelli Shughart had been exploring its options to relocate and expand because of the ongoing growth the firm is experiencing in Chicago and elsewhere.

“It is important to Polsinelli Shughart in these unique economic times to have a financially sound landlord, and we found that in Tishman Speyer,”said Executive Vice President Tom Tunnicliff, Grubb & Ellis Company, a leading commercial real estate and investment firm.

“This is a great Class A building, and we found it at an opportune time. We were able to take advantage of the aggressive economics being offered in the market.”

Polsinelli Shughart has hired Chicago architectural firm Whitney Architects to transform the raw space into a premiere office location for attorneys, staff and clients.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with the Polsinelli Shughart law firm and their move to 161 N. Clark Building,”said President John W. Burjek, A.I.A.,Whitney Architects.

“This is a marvelous space for a law firm with close proximity to the Dirksen Building and Daley Plaza. We look forward to turning the 41st and 42nd floors into a premiere space for the Polsinelli Shughart law firm.”

With more than 480 attorneys, Polsinelli Shughart PC (www.polsinelli.com) is a national law firm that is a recognized leader in the areas of business

litigation, financial services, real estate, business law, construction, life sciences and health care.

Serving corporate, institutional and individual clients regionally, nationally and worldwide, Polsinelli Shughart is known for successfully applying forward-thinking strategies for both
straightforward and complex legal matters.

The firm has 13 offices in Phoenix, Arizona; Denver, Colorado; Wilmington, Delaware; Chicago and Edwardsville, Illinois; Overland Park and Topeka, Kansas; Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield and St. Joseph, Missouri; New York City; and Washington, D.C.

Contact: Heather McMichael, 816-395-0618, hmcmichael@polsinelli.com

Fitch: Large Hotel & Retail Defaults Drive U.S. CMBS Delinquencies 48bps Higher

NEW YORK, NY, July 13, 2009--Defaults on five loans of $100 million or more contributed to a record $2.2 billion net increase in U.S. CMBS delinquencies in June, pushing late-pays up 48 basis points (bps) to 2.55%, according to the latest U.S. CMBS delinquency index results from Fitch Ratings.

The largest defaults included three loans collateralized by hotel properties that defaulted during their term and two non-performing matured loans backed by regional malls.

"Hotel performance has continued its expected sizable decline, with revenue per available room levels down 20% to date, and cash flows expected to decline by at least 35% from peak levels,' said Susan Merrick, Managing Director and U.S. CMBS Group Head.

"With no immediate revival of demand in sight and recent-vintage hotel loans unlikely to meet projected performance levels, loan sponsors are increasingly depleting reserve accounts or are being forced to come out of pocket to service debt shortfalls, each of which are a precursor to potential future default."

Last month, 13 hotel loans totaling $596 million defaulted. These included the $190 million Pointe South Mountain Resort (top right photo) in Phoenix, AZ, the $117 million Loews Lake Las Vegas (top left photo) in Las Vegas, NV, and the $100 million Dream Hotel (bottom right photo) located in New York, NY.

Fitch expects hotel delinquencies to continue to grow, with an additional $608 million of Fitch-rated hotel loans 30 days past due as of June 30. Included in this group were three notes totaling $293.8 million which correspond to portfolios of Red Roof Inn properties, which Fitch expects will move into the Index next month.

Hotels will continue to be the most volatile property type, due to their heavy reliance on business and personal discretionary income as well as the daily resetting of rates.

The two largest retail defaults in June, the $207.2 million Woodbridge Center (bottom left) loan and $164.5 million Jordan Creek loan, are sponsored by General Growth Properties (GGP).

Though performance at each of the properties was strong throughout the term, each borrower’s failure to repay the balloon amount upon maturity resulted in their respective defaults, which will not be resolved until further details emerge from the bankruptcy ruling.

According to the cash collateral agreement approved in bankruptcy court, GGP is required to remit interest payments on all of the loans included in the filing.

As a result, most GGP-sponsored loans will not move into the Loan Delinquency Index until a balloon default occurs at maturity.

Four additional Fitch-rated loans included in the bankruptcy, totaling approximately $227 million, mature in 2009. As of the last reading, GGP-sponsored loans accounted for 12 bps in the Index.

As of June 30, 2009, the total balance of delinquent loans secured by retail properties has surpassed that of multifamily-backed loans, at $3.95 billion and $3.32 billion, respectively.

Delinquency volumes for office, hotel, and industrial loans stood at $1.94 billion, $1.58 billion, and $456.5 million, respectively.

When ranked by delinquencies within their individual property types, multifamily led at 4.79%, followed by hotel at 3.04%, retail at 2.84%, industrial at 1.83%, and office with only 1.28%.

Fitch's delinquency index includes 1,730 loans totaling $12.0 billion which are at least 60 days delinquent or in foreclosure, out of the Fitch rated universe of approximately 42,000 loans comprising $471 billion. The Index excludes Fitch-rated loans that are 30 to 59 days delinquent, which currently total $5.7 billion.

Contacts:

Susan Merrick +1-212-908-0725,

Mary MacNeill +1-212-908-0785, New York or

Britt Johnson +1-312-606-2341, Chicago.

Media Relations: Sandro Scenga, New York, Tel: +1 212-908-0278, Email: sandro.scenga@fitchratings.com.

Arbor Closes $38,455,900 Fannie Mae DUS® MBS Loan for The Grove at Turtle Run in Coral Springs, FL

Uniondale, NY (July 13, 2009) – Arbor Commercial Funding, LLC (“Arbor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arbor Commercial Mortgage, LLC, announced the recent funding of a $38,455,900 loan under the Fannie Mae DUS® MBS product line for the 510-unit complex known as The Grove at Turtle Run (top left photo) in Coral Springs, FL.

The 10-year loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule and carries a note rate of 5.51 percent.

The loan was originated at Arbor’s Uniondale, NY headquarters.

Contact: Ingrid Principe, P: 516.506.4298, F: 516.542.2555, http://www.arbor.com/

Southern Commercial Closes 15,368-SF Lease at Orlando Central Park

ORLANDO, FL – William “Bo” Bradford, Jr., CCIM, SIOR, and Tom McFadden, SIOR, principals of Southern Commercial Real Estate Advisors, LLC, Central Florida’s leading industrial and office brokerage, announced that Teamwork Labor Services, Inc. signed a new 15,368-square-foot lease at the 115,728-square-foot Exchange II located in Orlando Central Park (top left photo) at 7500 Exchange Drive, Suite 100, Orlando.

Adding that Exchange II is now fully leased, Bradford and McFadden represented the landlord, RREEF, on the five-year lease. The tenant was represented by Wilson McDowell of Colliers Arnold.

Contact: Kenneth H. Cristol, 407-774-2515

IDI Signs Leases Totaling 2.8M SF in 2009

New Leases Total Nearly 2.1M SF

ATLANTA, GA, July 13, 2009 – IDI, a full-service industrial real estate company, announced today that it closed leases totaling 2.8 million square feet in Q1 and Q2, including new leases, lease renewals and third-party leases. New leases totaled almost 2.1 million square feet.

“Thanks to our strategically located facilities in top-tier markets and extraordinary team leasing efforts, IDI experienced strong leasing activity despite the general slowdown in the economy,” said Tim Gunter, (top right photo) president and CEO of IDI.

“IDI was able to meet the space needs of several prominent companies in the first and second quarters, and we continue to be well-positioned with state-of-the-art facilities and land holdings in key markets to respond quickly to tenant demand throughout the remainder of 2009.”

Through the first half of 2009, IDI’s busiest markets were: Memphis with four leases totaling 905,568 square feet; Cincinnati with two leases totaling 688,238 square feet; Chicago with four leases totaling 485,265 square feet; and Dallas with six leases totaling 343,423 square feet.

In the first two quarters of 2009, IDI closed ten renewals totaling 752,293 square feet, including: 241,384 square feet with a medical company at DFW Trade Center north of Dallas; 167,600 square feet with Priority Fulfillment Services and 109,575 square feet with Smiths Medical, both at Airways Distribution Center near Memphis; 53,660 square feet with Arjo, Inc. at Turnberry VIB in Chicago and 67,200 square feet with Datapath Inc. at Shawnee Ridge 7 in Atlanta.

“With our track record of leasing success and the increasing diversification of our business, IDI is continuing to build on an already solid foundation,” Gunter added.

“Earlier this year, IDI created an Investment Management division to provide fee-based management to North American and European investors, and we also plan to be active in our acquisition of industrial properties in top-tier markets across North America throughout the remainder of the year.”

IDI’s two largest deals for new space were a 678,363-square-foot lease with a leading cosmetics company at Park South at Richwood (top left photo) near Cincinnati and a 504,104-square-foot lease with a third-party logistics company at Crossroads Distribution Center south (bottom right photo) of Memphis.

Contacts:

Kim Hardcastle, Jackson Spalding for IDI 404-214-0693, khardcastle@jacksonspalding.com

Charlotte Marie DuPre, Jackson Spalding for IDI, 404-214-3555, cdupre@jacksonspalding.com