Monday, June 28, 2010

Fitch Rates Entertainment Properties Trust's Unsecured Revolver and Sr.Unsecured Notes 'BBB-'

NEW YORK, NY--Fitch Ratings-NY-28 June 2010: Fitch Ratings has assigned the following debt obligation ratings to Entertainment Properties Trust (NYSE: EPR):

--Senior unsecured revolving credit facility 'BBB-';
--Senior unsecured notes 'BBB-'.

EPR's $320 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility matures in December 2013. EPR's $250 million 7.75% senior unsecured notes are due in July 2020 and were priced at 98.29% of their face amount to yield 8% to maturity.

EPR will use net proceeds from the note offering and the new unsecured revolving credit facility to repay in full certain of EPR's existing secured debt credit facilities and to pay fees and expenses associated with the early repayment of such facilities.

For additional information regarding Fitch's ratings for EPR, please refer to Fitch's June 24, 2010 press release, 'Fitch Assigns Initial 'BBB-' IDR to Entertainment Properties Trust; Outlook Stable,' available at
'www.fitchratings.com'.

Entertainment Properties Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT) based in Kansas City, Missouri with $2.9 billion in undepreciated book assets and a market capitalization of $3.5 billion as of March 31, 2010.

EPR's portfolio includes megaplex movie theatres and entertainment retail centers, as well as other recreational and specialty investments.

Relevant criteria available on the Fitch website at 'www.fitchratings.com' include:

--'Criteria for Rating U.S. Equity REITs and REOCs' (April 16, 2010);
--'Equity Credit for Hybrids & Other Capital Securities - Amended' (Dec. 29, 2009);
--'Rating Hybrid Securities' (Dec. 29, 2009);
--'Recovery Rating and Notching Criteria for REITs' (Dec. 23, 2009);
--'Corporate Rating Methodology' (Nov. 24, 2009);
--'Evaluating Corporate Governance' (Dec. 12, 2007).

Contact:
Steven Marks +1-212-908-9161 or Sean Pattap +1-212-908-0642, New York.
Media Relations: Sandro Scenga, New York, Tel: +1 212-908-0278, Email:, sandro.scenga@fitchratings.com.

Grubb & Ellis Adds Multi Housing Capabilities to Phoenix Office


PHOENIX, AZ (June 28, 2010) – Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, today announced that David Cravath  (top right photo) has joined the company as vice president, Multi Housing Group.

“David’s experience spans all facets of the multi housing sector,” said Pete Bolton, (top left photo)  executive vice president and managing director of Grubb & Ellis’ Phoenix office. “He is a smart and intuitive professional who provides clients valuable insight and I am thrilled to bring his expertise to Grubb & Ellis.”

Cravath joins Grubb & Ellis after spending roughly three years as a founding member of The Phoenix Group. Previously, he owned and managed Cravath Commercial Apartment Advisor, a private company he began in 2000 that focused on land and multi housing sales.

 He joined Iliff Thorn in 1989, which later merged with Colliers International, and spent 10 years as a vice president specializing in multi housing sales. While at Colliers he ranked as the leading multi housing professional for nine years.

Cravath began his career in 1983 with Marcus & Millichap. Since that time, he has closed more than 350 commercial real estate transactions valued in excess of $400 million.

Cravath holds a bachelor’s degree from Rocky Mountain College.

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

South Florida Resale Inventory Up 1,600 Residences In 30 Days


MIAMI, FL--The total number of single-family houses, townhouses, and condominium units for resale in the tricounty South Florida region jumped by nearly 500 residences in the last seven days, and nearly 1,600 properties in the last month, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.

On June 28, the number of residences for resale reached nearly 66,850 in Miami-Dade (Miami skyline top left photo) , Broward (Fort Lauderdale yacht  pier middle right photo) , and Palm Beach (Palm Beach skyline middle left photo)  counties, representing a 0.7 percent increase on a week-over-week basis, according to the report based on Florida Association of Realtors data.

Nearly a month ago on May 31, South Florida had 65,220 residences for resale, representing 2.5 percent fewer available properties than on June 28, according to the report.

"This is the fourth consecutive week that the number of residences on the resale market has increased in South Florida," said Peter Zalewski,  (bottom left photo) a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC.

"If this momentum of increased inventory continues, it could raise concerns that a South Florida region that had been showing signs of stabilization could be facing a possible double dip. It is still too early to know for sure but it is definitely worth monitoring."

Condo Vultures® Realty LLC, a licensed Florida brokerage, has been tracking available resales and pending sales on a weekly basis in the tricounty South Florida region since Nov. 28, 2008.

At that time, there were nearly 108,000 residences available for resale. On May 3, 2010, the region hit its lowest number of available resales at 65,085 since Condo Vultures® Realty has tracked the data.

The increased inventory is impacting all three South Florida counties but Palm Beach County, where Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and West Palm Beach are located, is leading the region in the net number of additional residences on the market.

The number of residential resales available in Palm Beach County jumped by one percent this week to 21,700 on June 28 compared to 21,500 on June 21.

 On May 31, there were 21,200 resales on the market in Palm Beach, according to the report.

Miami-Dade County, where Coral Gables, Key Biscayne (Key Biscayne skyline photo lower right photo), and Miami Beach are located, experienced the second greatest number of new resales on the market in the last week, increasing by 125 properties on June 28.

There are now 24,860 properties available for resale, up from 24,725 on June 21 and 24,260 on May 31, according to the report.

Broward County, where Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and Pompano Beach are located, experienced an increase of 125 new resales on the market in the last seven days. On June 28, there were nearly 20,260 properties for resale compared to more than 20,130 on June 21.

 A month earlier on May 31, there were 19,750 properties available for resale in Broward County, according to CondoVultures.com.

Contact: Peter Zalewski, Condo Vultures®,  800-750-0517,  peter@condovultures.com