HFF closes sale of Doubletree Hotel Coconut Grove in Miami

MIAMI, FL – The Miami office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) announced today that it has closed the sale of the Doubletree Hotel Coconut Grove, (top right photo) a 196-room waterfront hotel in Miami, Florida.


The HFF investment sales team was led by senior managing directors Dan Peek (bottom right photo) and Dan Carlo (middle left photo) who marketed the property on behalf of the seller, GE Asset Management.




Finvarb Group, a Miami-based real estate development firm, purchased the hotel and will convert the property to a Courtyard by Marriott following a planned extensive renovation.

The property is located at 2649 South Bayshore Drive in the Coconut Grove area of Miami. It is situated within walking distance of the Coconut Grove Convention Center and the CocoWalk entertainment center that features numerous outdoor shopping and dining venues.



Renovated in 2004, the Doubletree Hotel Coconut Grove has 9,000 square feet of meeting space, a restaurant and lobby bar, outdoor heated pool, fitness center, business center and two lighted tennis courts.

“The Doubletree Hotel Coconut Grove offered investors the opportunity to acquire an exceptional hotel with in-place cash flow, an attractive conversion opportunity and a location that is virtually irreplaceable," said Peek.


" There are no comparable sites for hotel development in the area and given the significant costs of constructing hotels in the Miami market, the below replacement cost pricing of this hotel was appealing to investors interested in renovating, repositioning and reflagging the hotel."

“During the Doubletree sale process, we saw the beginning of what is continuing in other transactions we have in the market today – a significant demand for value-add hotel investment opportunities and an expanding pool of lenders prepared to finance transactions,” added Peek.




Contacts:

Daniel C. Peek, HFF Senior Managing Director, (305) 448 1333, dpeek@hfflp.com
Kristen M. Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, (713) 852-3500, krmurphy@hfflp.com

Industry Veterans Form The Richard Solomon Group in Phoenix, AZ

PHOENIX, AZ (Sept. 8, 2009) – Responding to demand for recovery-based commercial real estate solutions, industry veterans Jamie Godwin (top right photo) and Craig Zupancic (top left photo) have formed The Richard Solomon Group (RSG), a commercial real estate consulting firm with a wholly owned subsidiary providing design-build, general contracting and tenant improvement services.

Godwin and Zupancic bring more than three decades of commercial development and construction experience to owners, developers, tenants and property managers.

Their expertise already has earned RSG five significant Phoenix-area projects, including a tenant improvement at Pima Center that houses First American Title Company and ranks as one of the largest office tenant improvements in the Phoenix market this year.

RSG services include process development, operational management, design and engineering management, and project and program management.

“Developers must plan carefully to ensure long-term viability under our new market fundamentals,” said Zupancic.

“Most physical site activity will be 12 or more months out, but that means that many developers—especially those who do not have in-house construction capabilities—will be seeking consultation in 2009 and 2010 for high-level, pre-development and pre-construction strategy. We’re poised to fill that need.”

RSG is currently working with banks and court appointed receivers to complete several distressed asset properties.

“Our region has an excess of construction that was initiated but isn’t complete. This work needs to get done to stabilize these assets,” said Godwin. “RSG is stepping in to struggling and receiver-controlled properties to complete the construction and finalize inspections. As tenants begin to physically occupy space, owners will start to recapture critical revenue streams and spark a new market balance.”

The First American Title Company project is one of RSG’s leading jobs to date and among the Valley’s largest tenant improvements this year, totaling 93,000 square feet of Class A space with a $4 million design-build construction contract.

At the Pima Center building, located at Via de Ventura and the Loop 101 Freeway near Scottsdale, Ariz., RSG has completed lobby space, common areas, three stories of office space, exterior modifications and exterior parking accommodations.

After the original design-build contractor was unable to complete the project, RSG negotiated a new contract with the owner, took assignment of the original contractor’s subcontract agreements, and worked directly with the project’s lender to resolve outstanding payment issues.

The project transitioned from the original contractor to RSG with no loss to the project’s schedule, and applied RSG’s background in tenant improvements and its experience from developing almost one million square feet of office space on Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC) land.

Demand for this type of general contracting expertise has spurred RSG to create RSG Builders, LLC, a licensed design-build and general contracting division offering horizontal site development, shell construction and tenant improvement services for office, retail, industrial, multi-family and institutional properties, including the completion of the First American Title Company tenant improvement project.

Under the RSG umbrella, RSG Builders has participated in all current company projects:

• Tempe Gateway, (middle right photo) a 270,000-square-foot, $49.3 million mixed-use development in downtown Tempe, Ariz. RSG worked with US Bank to secure the contract, and has been engaged by the court appointed receiver, CBRE, to complete ground-level retail, seven stories of office space, an above/below-grade parking structure and improvements connecting the Tempe Gateway to an adjacent Valley Metro Light Rail stop. Project scope includes physical work, inspections and financial closeout, with substantial completion expected by the start of fourth quarter.

• Mill Crossing, (middle left photo) a 170,000-square-foot, $12.5 million retail center in Chandler, Ariz. Retained by developer Southwest Gateway Inc., RSG is finalizing construction on 43,000 square feet of in-line shop space; tenant improvements for a 10,180-square-foot Shoe Carnival and 4,990-square-foot Sears Appliance Store; and site work on 17.11 acres that is necessary for an October grand opening by anchor J.C. Penney.

• La Siena and McDowell Village independent living communities in north central Phoenix and south Scottsdale. RSG is converting select units to meet Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) specifications. With the modifications, both communities will offer assisted living capabilities that boost their competitive advantage in the Phoenix marketplace.

• Chandler Airport Center, Phase I parking expansion. (bottom right photo) RSG has entered into a design-build construction contract with the project’s owner for an expansion of the existing parking lot to accommodate approximately 100 additional vehicles.

The scope of services under the contract includes the required design, permitting and construction of the surface parking lot expansion at the recently constructed office development located on Northrop Boulevard, adjacent to the Loop 202/Santan Freeway in Chandler, Ariz.

Phoenix-based RSG is located at 5055 E. Washington St. in Phoenix, in a new building developed by Milwaukee-based Irgens Development Partners.

Media Contact: Stacey Hershauer, (480) 600-019 or stacey@focusaz.com

HFF arranges refinancing on behalf of Westland Industries for Los Angeles area multi-housing communities

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Los Angeles office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) announced today that it has arranged $4.37 million in refinancing for Burlington Avenue Apartments and Roxanne Apartments, two Los Angeles-area multi-housing communities.

HFF managing director Mark Wintner (top right photo) worked on behalf of the borrower, Westland Industries to secure the 10-year, 5.95% fixed-rate loans through Wachovia Multifamily Capital, Inc. – FNMA (Fannie Mae).

A $2.122 million loan was secured for Burlington Avenue Apartments and a $2.25 million loan was arranged for Roxanne Apartments, both of which are cash-out refinancings with 75% loan-to-value ratios.

This is HFF’s second transaction involving Westland Industries and Fannie Mae in 2009. In May, Wintner arranged a $6.4 million financing for Esther Ridge Apartments in Long Beach, California. Westland Industries is a diverse real estate development and management organization headquartered in Long Beach, California.

Originally completed in 1924, Burlington Avenue Apartments is a 36-unit property that was completed renovated in 2007. The fully-leased property is located at 1320 South Burlington Avenue west of downtown Los Angeles.

Roxanne Apartments is located at 3939 Roxanne Avenue in the West Adams area of Los Angeles. The property has 33 units and is currently 100% leased.

Contacts:

Mark Wintner, HFF Managing Director, (310) 407-2100, mwintner@hfflp.com

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

Arbor, EBI Consulting and CBRE-New England to Examine Local and National Market Trends

Uniondale, NY (Sept. 8, 2009) – Arbor Commercial Mortgage, along with EBI Consulting and CBRE-New England presents 'Where to Find Liquidity in the New England Market and Beyond'.

Local commercial real estate experts will discuss alternate funding sources, the state of the market, its future and how the industry will position itself best once the market recovers.

This exclusive, complimentary 90-minute roundtable discussion will also touch on the following topics:

· State of Boston and New England markets
· Untapping Government Programs to Maximize Proceeds
· Benefits of FHA and Fannie Mae products
· FHA Green products
· LEED program

WHAT: Where to Find Liquidity in the New England Market and Beyond
WHEN: Wednesday, September 23, 2009

8:30 – 9 a.m. Registration
9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Panel Discussion

WHERE: Boston Marriott Copley Place, (top right photo) 110 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA

Contact: Ingrid Principe, P: 516.506.4298, F: 516.542.2555, http://www.arbor.com/
Follow us on Twitter @ arbor1

Franklin Street Real Estate Services Brokers Sale of Amaretto Apts. in Tampa, FL

TAMPA, FL--: Franklin Street Real Estate Services is pleased to announce the sale of Amaretto Apartments (top left site map) in Tampa, Fla., for $2.2 million. The sales price represents $22,916 per unit and $26.94 per square foot.

Franklin Street Partners Darron Kattan and Bob Goldfinger represented the seller and Bobby Soroory of BOA Asset Management represented the buyer in the transaction.


The seller was the Lender. The buyer was a private, local buyer.

“Amaretto represents one of the first transactions of a significant apartment community in Tampa that was bank owned due to failing operations and not because of a condominium conversion gone south," says Kattan.


"The property was a classic bank owned situation, full of upside for the buyer once he spends time and money to improve the property and the operations. We believe the market has settled and we expect values to stabilize by the end of the year and, based on an overall economic recovery, we will start see appreciation re-enter the marketplace.”


Built in 1971, Amaretto Apartments is located at 14401 22nd Street N. Tampa, FL. The property was constructed of concrete block and offers 81,660 rentable square feet. The apartment community consists of 48 one-bedroom units and 48 two-bedroom units ranging in size from 680 square feet to 1,016 square feet.


Common amenities include a swimming pool, clubhouse, sports court and a laundry facility. Units are equipped with walk-in closets, balconies or patios and newer windows. Amaretto is conveniently located near major highways, the University of South Florida and has excellent visibility off 22nd Street.

Contact: Mandy Force, Phone: 813.839.7300, Fax: 813.839.7330, http://www.franklinstreetfinancial.com/