Foster Conant selected to design landscape for senior housing project in Hillsborough County, FL

ORLANDO, FL— Foster Conant & Associates has been selected to provide site-specific landscape architectural services for a new senior housing project in Hillsborough County, Fla. Dubbed the Fountains at Falkenburg, the 10-acre site is designed for 152-units in four buildings supported by associated infrastructure and senior amenities.

Under contract with the project’s owner, Winter Park, Fla.-based Fountains at Falkenburg LLLP, Foster Conant is designing landscape planting, irrigation, pool layout, water feature, signage, lighting fixtures, aesthetic berming, and hardscape for pedestrian walks, patios, terraces and vehicular paving.

Additionally, Foster Conant is designing senior focused amenities into the project such as a putting green, passive seating areas with freestanding shade structures, a raised community garden that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, outdoor fireplace, and outdoor tabletop board games.

Slocum Platts Architects of Winter Park, Fla., is the architect. The civil engineer is Charlotte Engineering & Surveying Inc. of Tampa, Fla. Clear Engineering LLC of Orlando, Fla., is the lighting designer. CPG of Winter Park, Fla., is the general contractor.

PR Contact: Elaine Ingra, 407-384-1344, elainei@pr-works.com

Anthony W. 'Tony' Thompson and Harold A. Dawson, Jr. Announce New Joint Venture

IRVINE, CA and ATLANTA, GA-- /PRNewswire/ -- Thompson National Properties and The Dawson Company  have formed Thompson Dawson Real Estate Services (TDRE). The company is committed to helping governmental and institutional clients navigate the current challenging real estate market.

TDRE will offer an array of real estate management and consulting services to domestic and foreign clients by leveraging the combined expertise and capacity of the parent companies. The complementary lines of business, national scale and global reach signified by this partnership uniquely combine to create and support a truly world class real estate advisory services firm.

Developed under the vision of founding partners Anthony W. "Tony" Thompson (bottom left)  and Harold A. Dawson, Jr. (top right photo), the new venture will offer asset management and receivership services, real estate investment management, consulting and development services.

The firm will have a strong government and public-private partnership (P3) focus, with a suite of services tailored specifically for public sector clients. The services will include build-to-suit capabilities, asset management, business planning/consulting, P3s, and development management with an emphasis on environmental sustainability and "green" construction.

The Dawson Company is a second generation African-American real estate firm with expertise and proficiency in environmentally sustainable mixed-use development. It also boasts a long history of working with governments at the municipal, state and federal level in a myriad of activities from P3s to asset management and advisory/consulting assignments.

 The Dawson Company honed its asset management skills working with the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) as the only 100% African-American owned SAMDA contractor with a portfolio of approximately $400 million of real estate assets and performing/non-performing loans.

Thompson Dawson Real Estate Services is headquartered in Irvine, CA and Atlanta, GA with regional offices nationwide. The firm will initially focus on expanding the portfolio of assets already managed, marketing its government and public-private partnership expertise and showcasing its experience in asset management, build-to-suit and development.

Thompson Dawson Real Estate Services' affiliates currently manage 97 properties located in 30 states consisting of approximately 15.7 million square feet and with projected 2009 gross rental revenue of $200 million.

Contact:  Tony Wilbert, twilbert@wilbertnewsstrategies.com, http://www.wilbertnewsstrategies.co/, 404-888-3091 office, 404-405-3656 cell

North Fulton CID Approves $2.5 Million to Construct North Fulton Gateways, Improve Roads

ATLANTA, GA – The North Fulton Community Improvement District (CID) will spend nearly $2.5 million on three new infrastructure projects in the North Fulton market.

The North Fulton CID will fund roadway enhancements along Georgia 400 at Windward Parkway, and will fund “gateway” landscaping projects at Windward Parkway and Haynes Bridge Road.

The North Fulton CID is made up of commercial properties stretching along Georgia 400 from Mansell Road north to Windward Parkway.

“These three projects are part of the CID’s Blueprint North Fulton master plan,” said Kerry Armstrong, (top left photo) chairman of the North Fulton CID Board of Directors and senior vice president of Duke Realty. “The Blueprint plan is designed to create an even more vibrant and sustainable community by improving the commercial district and accelerating infrastructure improvements. Equally important right now, we are putting people to work.”

North Fulton CID to Spend Nearly $2 Million at Windward Parkway

The largest project will install more than $1 million in landscaping and stone walls on the north, south, east and west sides of the Windward Parkway interchange at Georgia 400. The CID also is spending $500,000 to expedite the construction of a right turn-lane from the Georgia Highway 400 north-bound exit ramp, along Windward Parkway to North Point Parkway.

The North Fulton CID will partner with the Windward Business Association on the landscaping.

“The Windward Business Association has agreed to partner with the CID on the long-term maintenance of the landscaping at the Windward Parkway interchange,” said CID Board Member Moses Brown, vice president of Reed Elsevier/LexisNexis. “This is very helpful to the CID in terms of knowing our initial investment will continue to literally grow.”

“We’re going to make a significant impact on the North Fulton market, in terms of mobility and enhancing the District’s brand and identity,” said Ann Hanlon, chief operating officer of the North Fulton CID. “By installing memorable entryways at all our interchanges, we are creating gateways to our market. It’s really a greeting card for the nearly half-a-million drivers who travel these interchanges daily.”

Haynes Bridge Interchange to Receive $600,000 Makeover

The CID also will create an entryway to the District at Haynes Bridge Road, spending nearly $600,000 on landscape and hardscape design, installation and maintenance.

“The North Fulton CID is investing its money to make North Fulton an even better and more competitive market,” said Brandon Beach, (middle right photo)  executive director of the North Fulton CID.

Beach concluded, “We intend to emerge from this recession as a strong and vibrant community, ready to do business in this new era. The CID is a differentiator for North Fulton.”

Media Contacts:

Hadley Hickman, Jackson Spalding, (404) 419-9346
Patrick Hill, Jackson Spalding, (404) 724-2506

HFF secures $13.9M refinancing for Corpus Christi, TX Class A multi-housing community

 
HOUSTON, TX – The Houston office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) has secured a $13.9 million refinancing for Alta Bayside, (top left photo) a 270-unit, Class A multi-housing community in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Working exclusively on behalf of Wood Partners, LLC, HFF director Matt Kafka (bottom right photo)  placed the seven-year, adjustable-rate loan with Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation).

The financing is retiring the property’s construction loan and will be serviced by HFF.

Situated on nearly 15 acres, Alta Bayside is located at 1701 Ennis Joslin Road east of South Padre Island Drive in Corpus Christi. The 96% leased property was completed in 2007 and consists of 10, three-story buildings with units averaging 1,088 square feet each.

Community amenities include a clubhouse, fitness center, pool, sand volleyball court, game room with billiards, reserved boat parking and storage units.

Wood Partners, LLC is a national multifamily development, acquisition and property management company that has 12 offices across the country. The company was founded in 1998 and since then has developed and/or built more than 38,000 multifamily apartment homes and condominiums with a total value exceeding $5.3 billion.

Contacts:

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

Hodges Ward Elliott Represents Ashford Hospitality Trust in Placement of $145 M in Non-recourse Financing On Five Hotels

ATLANTA, GA—Officials of Hodges Ward Elliott, Inc. (HWE), the nation’s premier hotel brokerage and investment banking firm, announced that it represented Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc., in the placement of $145 million in non-recourse financing on five of the REIT’s hotels.

The six-year financing includes a first mortgage from Prudential and a mezzanine loan from Wheelock Street LLC.

The five hotels, aggregating 1,460 rooms, include four Embassy Suites and one Hilton Hotel, are strategically located in four states: Embassy Suites Santa Clara, Silicon Valley, Calif (middle right photo),  Embassy Suites Crystal City (bottom left photo), National Airport, Va.; Embassy Suites Orlando Airport, Fla., (top left photo)  Embassy Suites, Portland Downtown, Ore. (bottom right photo) , and Hilton Orange County, Costa Mesa, Calif.

Two additional properties that were included in the maturing loans, the Hilton Rye Town, Rye Brook, N.Y. and Hilton Suites, Auburn Hills, Mich., are now unencumbered.

“Even though the credit markets remain quite constrained due to liquidity and price impairments, there is capital available to finance large, sophisticated transactions such as this,” said Mark Elliott (top right photo),  principal of Hodges Ward Elliott.

 “Our brokerage expertise allowed us to credibly establish the highest values in the underwriting process, thus maximizing proceeds for our client.

"We utilized our strong financial relationships and market knowledge to create a capital structure that provided the lenders with an appropriate risk/reward. We presented the borrower with a number of investment solution alternatives and then structured the recapitalization. By bringing these financial needs to the market, we were able to negotiate and finalize terms as dictated by the marketplace.

“We believe this transaction will be a bellwether that sets in motion a greater interest in lending and recapitalization of major transactions by institutional investors, which we believe is an early indicator of a stabilizing market,” Elliott noted.

 “With forecasts from hotel industry consultants predicting a recovery in the second half of 2010, confidence is beginning to return to the marketplace.”

Ashford used the proceeds to pay off a $75.0 million loan that matures next year and a $65.2 million loan maturing in 2011 that were secured by the five properties. In addition, the new loan provides $4.0 million for capital improvements at the hotels to be implemented over the next two years.

“We are seeing greater interest and activity in both financing and hotel real estate transactions than at any time in the past 18 months,” Elliott said. “We expect to see the number and size of hotel transactions and financings increase substantially in 2010.”

Contact: Jerry Daly or Chris Daly , (703) 435-6293

Scott J. Waddington Appointed Vice President in Arbor’s Tampa, FL Office

 

Uniondale, NY  - Arbor Commercial Funding, LLC (“Arbor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arbor Commercial Mortgage, LLC and leader in the commercial real estate finance industry, has announced the appointment of Scott J. Waddington to Vice President in Arbor’s Tampa, FL office. Mr. Waddington is responsible for sourcing and structuring multifamily and commercial transactions nationwide. He reports to Ken Fazio, (top right photo)  Vice President, National Sales Manager.

Mr. Waddington has over 12 years of experience in commercial real estate finance, with a specialized expertise in originating multifamily residential debt and equity transactions for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA/HUD and proprietary investment.

Prior to joining Arbor, Mr. Waddington served as the founder and managing member of his own specialty real estate finance consulting and advisory firm, Realty Capital Solutions, LLC. Before founding Realty Capital Solutions, he was the Vice President of MuniMae, LLC, where he was responsible for the placement of proprietary capital and third-party managed funds in nationwide commercial real estate investments, including multifamily, office, retail, industrial, hospitality, land acquisition and development.

Mr. Waddington has also held positions at MuniMae, LLC subsidiaries, MMA Realty Capital, LLC, MMA Financial, LLC and The Midland Companies since 1998. He graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Economics. He resides in Tampa.

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