HFF arranges $13.2M first mortgage refinancing for metropolitan Washington, D.C. Class A office building

NEW YORK, NY – The New York and Washington, D.C. offices of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) announced today that they have arranged a $13.2 million first mortgage refinancing for Dulles Creek, (bottom right photo) an 87,562-square-foot, Class A office building in Herndon, Virginia.

Senior managing director Jay Marshall (top right photo) of HFF New York and director Cary Abod (top left photo)  of HFF Washington, D.C. exclusively represented Brickman in arranging the three-year, 7.12% fixed-rate loan through FundCore Finance.

Brickman makes debt and equity investments primarily in office properties. The firm has acquired more than four million square feet of office, multi-housing and hotel properties since their inception in 1992, and owns the Dulles property through Brickman Real Estate Fund II.

Completed in 2001, Dulles Creek is a four-story office building that is 87% leased to tenants including Regus Business Centers. The property is located at 13800 Coppermine Road adjacent to the Washington Dulles International Airport and south of the Dulles Toll Road in Herndon.

“Dulles Creek has an outstanding location at the confluence of a major international airport, important local highways and the future site of a Metrorail station near Tyson’s Corner in the D.C. metropolitan area,” said Abod.

Contacts:

Jay B. Marshall, HFF Senior Managing Director, (212) 245-2425, jmarshall@hfflp.com
 Cary P. Abod, HFF Director, (202) 533-2500, cabod@hfflp.com
Kristen M. Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, (713) 852-3500, krmurphy@hfflp.com

Cash Buyers Acquire 83% Of New Condos In Downtown Miami

MIAMI, FL--Despite the efforts of the U.S.-backed mortgage company Fannie Mae, financing was used in only 17 percent of the more than 700 new condo sales in Greater Downtown Miami in the first quarter of 2010, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.

Buyers acquired nearly 600 units in 29 projects in Greater Downtown Miami in all-cash transactions between January and March.

By comparison, financing was used to acquire less than 120 units in 19 projects in the 60-block stretch, according to the report based on the Condo Vultures® Official Condo Buyers Guide To Miami ™.

"Even though the U.S. government is encouraging lenders to once again finance condo purchases, the results have not been impressive in South Florida," said Peter Zalewski, (bottom left photo)  a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC.

"Many lenders claim to be willing to consider writing loans for buyers of condominiums but the end results simply do not support that.

"The current new condo absorption is being driven by all-cash buyers who are purchasing more than four out of every five units in Greater Downtown Miami."

Condo financing is one of the topics that will be discussed at the upcoming Condo Vultures® seminar entitled "An Insider's Assessment Of Florida Banking" on June 1 featuring the Florida Bankers Association's President and Chief Executive Officer Alex Sanchez.

Contact:  Peter Zalewski of Condo Vultures®, 800-750-0517 or by email at peter@condovultures.com.

Grubb & Ellis Opens Brokerage Office at 2575 East Camelback Road in Phoenix

PHOENIX, AZ (May 17, 2010) – As part of its commitment to provide clients with a full service real estate platform in Phoenix, Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, today announced that it has opened a temporary office at the Esplanade IV, located at 2575 East Camelback Road, effective immediately.

“The interest among local brokerage professionals to be a part of Grubb & Ellis’ 40-year history in Phoenix has been outstanding,” said Pete Bolton, (top right photo)  executive vice president and managing director of the company’s Phoenix operations.

“This temporary location will allow us to begin staffing our operations while we finalize plans for a permanent location that will house the 30 to 40 brokerage professionals we expect to have onboard by year-end.”

Grubb & Ellis’ management services professionals will continue to operate from its current location at 8700 E. Via de Ventura, Suite 150, Scottsdale, until the company moves into a permanent office in the next 90 to 120 days. The company anticipates announcing its permanent location within the next 120 days.

Contacts:
 Erin Mays, Phone: 312.698.6735, Email: erin.mays@grubb-ellis.com
Julia McCartney, 714.975.2230, julia.mccartney@grubb-ellis.com

Crossman & Co. Negotiates Three New Leases Totaling More than 4,700 SF of Office and Retail Space

ORLANDO - Crossman & Company, one of the largest third-party retail leasing and management firms in the Southeast, recently negotiated three new leases for professional office and retail space totaling in Orlando 4,721 feet.

Katherine Rush, (top right photo)  leasing associate at Crossman & Company negotiated all three transactions representing the landlords.

Rush negotiated a five-year lease with Jacksonville-based Five Star Vision, Inc. d/b/a Sprint for 1,900 square feet of space at 2323 S. Orange Avenue, representing the landlord, Page Street Orange Avenue, LLC.

At 6001 Vineland Rd., Rush negotiated a three-year lease of 1,646 square feet of office space with the new tenant Lions Management Services, representing the landlord, 1560 N. Orange, Ltd.

Miami-based Ecco Lab Group, is the new tenant Rush negotiated with for a one-year lease of the 1,185 square feet of professional office space at Suite F, 1130 S. Semoran Blvd., representing the landlord, Highside Investments, Inc.

Crossman & Co.  negotiates Renewal lease for more than 13,500 SF  on S. Conway Rd. in Orlando

ORLANDO – Crossman & Company, one of the largest property management and leasing firms in the Southeast, recently negotiated a three-year renewal agreement for 13,537 square feet of retail space at 5140 S. Conway Rd. in Orlando.

Katherine Rush, associate at Crossman & Company, negotiated the transaction representing the landlord Belle Isle Commons, LLC.

Fellowship of Orlando, Inc. is the tenant.

For more information, contact:

Katherine Rush, Associate, Crossman & Company 407-581-6232; Krush@crossmanco.com;
 Molly Delahunty, Crossman & Company 407-481-6220 mdelahunty@crossmanco.com;
John Crossman, CCIM, President, Crossman & Company, 407-581-6218, jcrossman@crossmanco.com;
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142, lvershelco@aol.com

Wyndham Hotel Group Joins First Industry-Wide Travel Promotion

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (May 17, 2010) – Wyndham Hotel Group today announced its participation in a unique one-month promotion through DailyGetaways.com, where nearly 50 of America’s top destinations and travel brands have come together to provide once-in-a-lifetime experiences and values.

Created by the U.S. Travel Association and sponsored by American Express®, the Discover America® Daily Getaways promotion runs through June 4th and is aimed at stimulating summer travel by offering consumers an exclusive, specially priced inventory of travel products from 25 leading travel companies that include hotels, airlines, rental cars, attractions, theme parks, dining and shopping, among others.

As part of the promotion, Wyndham Hotel Group will be offering 370 hotel packages in the form of Wyndham Rewards® points that consumers may then use to create unique experiences at the company’s hotels and resorts, which include such well-known brands as Wyndham Hotels and Resorts®, Ramada®, Days Inn® and Super 8®. The offers will be available on May 18th, 2010 at www.dailygetaways.com.

“With more hotels in the U.S. than any other company in the world, it’s our pleasure to participate in this promotion and share with consumers the great quality and value that exists within Wyndham’s diverse portfolio,” said Robin Korman, Wyndham Hotel Group senior vice president of loyalty marketing and strategic partnerships. “It’s also a great opportunity to acquaint travelers with Wyndham Rewards, our robust loyalty program offering a large network of earning and redemption options in over 20 countries.”

CONTACT: Rob Myers, Public Relations Manager, Wyndham Hotel Group, 22 Sylvan Way, Parsippany, NJ 07054, +1 (973) 753-6590, rob.myers@wyndhamworldwide.com