HFF secures refinancing for New Windsor, NY multi-housing community

FLORHAM PARK, NJ – The New Jersey office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) announced today that it has secured a $1.7 million refinancing for Windsor Terrace Apartments, a 28-unit multi-housing community in New Windsor, Orange County, New York.

HFF associate director Michael Klein (top right photo)  and senior managing director Thomas Didio  (middle left photo) worked on behalf of Tower Management Company to arrange the five-year, fixed-rate loan with Oritani Bank.

Tower Management Service, L.P. is a real estate operating company, which owns approximately 2,200 multi-family apartment units in 20 garden-style apartment communities in New Jersey and New York State.

Windsor Terrace Apartments is located at 3 Provost Drive close to the New York State Thruway, Interstate 84 and 9 West in New Windsor. The property has two buildings with one-, two- and three-bedroom units averaging 914 square feet each. Community amenities include common laundry and on-site parking.

“The borrower acquired Windsor Terrace Apartments in the summer of 2008 and has since repositioned the property and improved occupancy to 100 percent,” said Klein.

 “This property was a natural acquisition for Tower Management as they currently own and operate 351 additional units in three Orange Country communities including Forge Hill Apartments, which is adjacent to Windsor Terrace.”

Contacts:

Michael Klein, HFF Associate Director, (973) 549-2000, mklein@hfflp.com
Kristen Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, (713) 852-3500, krmurphy@hfflp.com

HFF arranges $24.15M  in permanent financing for Ohio and Pennsylvania grocery-anchored retail centers

PITTSBURGH, PA – The Pittsburgh office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) announced today that it has arranged $24.15 million in permanent financing for two grocery-anchored retail centers in Wadsworth, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

HFF managing director Claudia Steeb worked on behalf of Echo Real Estate Services Company for the borrowing entities to secure the cross-collateralized, fixed-rate loans through CUNA Mutual Group.

 The $10.5 million and $13.65 million loans have 20-year terms with 20-year amortization schedules. The loans will also be serviced by HFF. Echo Real Estate Services Company offers development and construction management services, leasing and brokerage services, property management, partnership management and syndication and financial services for retail projects in the Ohio and Pennsylvania areas.

The Wadsworth, Ohio property is located at the Akron Road interchange of Interstate 76, approximately 10 miles west of Akron. Completed in September 2009, the property consists of a 92,600-square-foot supermarket and a pad site that is leased to Key Bank.

Completed in October 2009, the Pittsburgh property is a 130,000-square-foot grocery store situated within the Settlers Ridge Retail Development (bottom right photo). The property is visible and easily accessible from Parkway West (Interstate 376) in Robinson Township.

Contacts:
Claudia A. Steeb,HFF Managing Director, 412) 281-8714, csteeb@hfflp.com
Kristen M. Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, ( (713) 852-3500, krmurphy@hfflp.com

DCT Industrial Trust Inc. Selects Grubb & Ellis as Leasing Agent for 1.1-Million-SF Industrial Portfolio

SEATTLE, WA (May 10, 2010) – Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, today announced that DCT Industrial has selected the company as the leasing agent for seven Class A industrial properties offering a total of 1.1 million square feet space throughout the Seattle market.

“This is an enormous win for Grubb & Ellis’ newly expanded Seattle industrial team and we are pleased that DCT Industrial selected us to represent such a high class portfolio,” said Bill Condon, (top right photo)  executive vice president, managing director, Seattle.

Condon will be joined on the leasing team by Matt McGregor, (middle left photo)  senior vice president, Industrial Group, and Andrew Hitchcock, (middle right photo)  vice president, Industrial Group.

This is the second major industrial leasing assignment for the office, which was recently selected by AMB Property to market a four-building, 1.3-million-square-foot Class A portfolio located in Kent, Tukwila, South Seattle and Renton.

The DCT Industrial portfolio in the Seattle market is 95 percent leased. Approximately 59,433 square feet of space is available for rent at O’Brien Business Park, a 182,000-square-foot building located at 6804 212th St. in central Kent, The park offers excellent access to Highway 167 and Interstate 5. The property is anchored by BarclayDean Environments, a workspace furniture manufacturer.

The portfolio also includes three other properties in Kent:

§ The Van Doren’s Landing Shaw Industries building, located at 22408-22620 64th Ave. S, is anchored by Shaw Industries and offers approximately 192,000 square feet of space.

§ The 183,000-square-foot Van Doren’s Landing Sea-Pac Building, located at 6215-6307 S. 228th St., is fully occupied by multiple tenants, including Sea-Pac Sales Company and Cronin and Company.

§ Seattle Bike Supply building, located at 7620 S. 192nd St., offers 66,500 square feet of space is fully occupied by Seattle Bike Supply.

The portfolio also includes two assets in Algona, Algona Business Park Buildings A and B. Located at 1150 Industry Drive N, Building A offers nearly 100,000 square feet of space. Building B is located at 840 Industry Drive N and consists of nearly 200,000 square feet of space.

The portfolio also includes 800 S.W. 27th St., Renton, a 182,000-square-foot building fully occupied by Trojan Lithograph.

Contact: Julia McCartney, Phone: 714.975.2230, Email: julia.mccartney@grubb-ellis.com

IDI’s Meridian 75 Logistics Center Accepted Into GRAD Sites Program

ATLANTA, GA, May 10, 2010 – IDI’s Meridian 75 Logistics Center (bottom left phto) , a planned 2.9 million square foot business park, 15 miles north of Macon, Ga. in Monroe County, was recently accepted into the Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development Sites Program (GRAD Sites Program).

The GRAD Sites Program designates a group of properties as ready for industrial development. The Program was developed by Georgia Allies, a public-private partnership founded in 2006 to promote Georgia’s economic development.

The GRAD designation for an industrial site indicates that it has been pre-reviewed, pre-qualified and approved for development by Business Facility Planning Consultants, a third party consultant that works with the state. Currently, only seven sites in the state of Georgia have been approved to receive this designation, including IDI’s Tradeport East Business Center in Savannah.

“For companies with large industrial facility requirements, it can take months or even years for the site to receive zoning approval, entitlements and for infrastructure and grading to be completed,” said Lisa Ward, (top right photo)  Vice President of Leasing for IDI’s Atlanta market office.

 “Meridian 75 Logistics Center actually exceeds the requirements of GRAD, in that we have fully graded two pad-sites with at-grade visibility to I-75, which can accommodate in excess of 2 million square feet of facilities.

"This puts IDI’s development cycle at least nine months ahead of other sites that have not made this investment up-front,” continued Ward.

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

Wilson Commercial Real Estate Completes Leases with Dollar Tree at Six Locations in Southern California

LOS ANGELES, CA., May 10, 2010 – Wilson Commercial Real Estate, one of Southern California’s leading retail brokerage firms, has completed leases with Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. at six locations in Southern California. In the past six months, the company has signed leases at 13 Southern California locations during its rapid growth initiative.

“We are proud to be working for one of the most active retailer in the marketplace,” said Scott Burns, (top right photo) senior vice president of Wilson Commercial Real Estate. “Southern California continues to be a high priority for Dollar Tree.”

· A 15,000-square-foot, five year lease at Pico Rivera Towne Center located at 8790 Washington Blvd. in Pico Rivera, Calif. Scott Burns of Wilson Commercial Real Estate in partnership with Lea Clay Park of Studley Retail Services represented the tenant in the transaction. Bryan Norcott of Studley Retail Services represented the building landlord.

· An 13,295-square-foot, five year lease at Costco Plaza located at 17876 Newhope Drive in Fountain Valley, Calif. Scott Burns of Wilson Commercial Real Estate and John Beaney of Studley Retail Services represented the tenant in the transaction. Mark Baziak of Grubb & Ellis represented the building landlord.

An 11,250-square-foot, five year lease at Plaza Las Glorias located at 1155 Mt. Vernon in Colton, Calif. Scott Burns of Wilson Commercial Real Estate in partnership with Lea Clay Park of Studley Retail Services represented the tenant in the transaction. The landlord represented itself.

An 9,435-square-foot, five year lease at Rosemead Place located at 3566 Rosemead Blvd. in Rosemead, Calif. Scott Burns of Wilson Commercial Real Estate in partnership with Studley Retail Services represented the tenant in the transaction. Mike Edmundson of Retail Net Lease Properties represented the building landlord.

· An 8,088-square-foot, five year lease at Norco Towne Center located at 2790 Hamner Avenue in Norco, Calif. Scott Burns of Wilson Commercial Real Estate in partnership with Lea Clay Park of Studley Retail Services represented the tenant in the transaction. The landlord represented itself.

· An 8,000-square-foot, five year lease at Menifee Town Center located at 30123 Antelope Road in Menifee, Calif. Scott Burns of Wilson Commercial Real Estate in partnership with Lea Clay Park of Studley Retail Services represented the tenant in the transaction. Weingarten Realty represented the building landlord.
 
Contact: David Ebeling, Ebeling Communications, (949) 278-7851, david@ebelingcomm.com

Marcus & Millichap Brokers Sale of Historic Apartment Building in St. Petersburg, FL

ST. PETERSBURG, FL, May 10, 2010 – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has announced the sale of Colton on 4th Avenue Apartments (top left photo) , a historic, 1922 built, 18-unit apartment property located at 249 4th Avenue North in downtown St. Petersburg, FL.

 According to Bryn D. Merrey, Regional Manager of the firm’s Tampa office, the asset commanded a sales price of $1,050,500 or $58,361 per unit.

Casey Babb, (middle left photo)  CCIM and Bill Renje (top right photo), CCIM, senior associates in the firm’s Tampa office, obtained the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of a community bank based in Tampa, FL.

Francesco Carriera, (bottom right photo)  a multifamily investment specialist also in the firm’s Tampa office represented the buyer, a Canadian investor.

According to Babb, the Colton on 4th Avenue sale was a testament to the Marcus & Millichap sales platform and was indicative of the current investment climate for multifamily properties in Florida.

“Through internal collaboration, we were able to cast a wide net and ended up with ten qualified offers from local, regional, national and international investors.

The closing occurred within 30 days of contract acceptance with a Calgary, Canada-based investor. The seller achieved its goals on price and the buyer was able to negotiate very favorable financing terms and should do very well with this investment.”

Press Contact: Bryn D. Merrey, Regional Manager, Tampa, (813) 387-4700

Apartment Realty Advisors Reps the Orlando Sale of Ultra-Luxury Class AA Garden and Townhome Community in Orlando

Highest Price Orlando MF Trade in 18 Months

Orlando, FL (May 10, 2010) — Atlanta-headquartered Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA), the largest privately held, full-service investment advisory brokerage firm in the nation focusing exclusively on the multihousing industry, announces the sale of The Estates at Park Avenue (middle left photo) , a 432-unit Class “AA”, ultra-luxury garden and townhome apartment community located in the prestigious MetroWest area of Orlando, Orange County, Florida.š

ARA Orlando based principal, Kevin Judd, (top right photo) Tampa based vice president, Patrick Dufour (top left photo) and Boca Raton based principal, Richard Donnellan, (middle right photo)  represented an institutional fund advised by Prudential Real Estate Investors in the sale of the property which was 93% occupied at the time of the sale.

Selling for $43,250,000, “This sale represents one of the few institutional quality, non-distressed properties to trade over the past 18 months,” noted Kevin Judd.šš The quality of the asset and its location in one of Orlando’s most desirable, core submarkets enabled ARA to secure over 30 written offers.šš

“ARA prides itself on identifying the most aggressive buyers in the market. In today’s capital constrained environment, accessing a wide base of potential investors is critical in getting deals done. ARA’s national database has over 26,000 registered apartment investors from all over the globe, which is a unique advantage we offer our clients,” said Dick Donnellan, immediate past-president of ARA.

The Estates at Park Avenue is located at 2801 Biltmore Park Drive within the master-planned MetroWest community, an 1,800-acre, $960 million mixed-use development which, 20 years after breaking ground, is approximately 95% built out.š MetroWest is home to thousands of single-family and multifamily dwellings, 750,000 square feet of retail space, 1.5 million square feet of office space and 590 acres set aside for golf courses, lakes and roads.

“The Estates at Park Avenue was the last rental project built within MetroWest, and no land is available for future multifamily development,” noted Judd.š “This results in a significant barrier-to-entry for future competition in the immediate area.”

Built in 2004, the property’s many high-end unit features, variety of floor plans and extensive community amenities are superior to most rental properties in Greater Orlando, placing it among the most luxurious rental communities in the Greater Orlando market.

 In addition to granite-accented kitchen counters, full size washer/dryers, 17- or 9-foot ceilings with crown molding, French doors, ceiling fans in most rooms and garden tubs, most units are front-to-back “through units.”š Additionally, 80 of the 170 townhome units offer one- or two-car direct-access garages, while optional detached garages and storage units are also available for rent.

“The combined innovative design, quality of construction and extensive amenities of Estates at Park Avenue provide exceptional value for the buyer,” noted Kevin Judd.š

šTo schedule an interview with an ARA executive regarding this transaction or for more information about Apartment Realty Advisors, please contact Marti Zenor at mzenor@arausa.com or 561.988.8800, or Amy Holland at aholland@arausa.com or 678.553.9366.šš

Contact: Marti Zenor mzenor@ARAusa.com, Director of Marketing, Apartment Realty Advisors  Florida, 777 Yamato Road, Suite 140 Boca Raton, FL 33431, 561.988.8800 x112 Direct  954.205.5207 Cell  561.988.8810 Fax