$80 million refinancing arranged by HFF for Cityview Plaza in San Jose, CA

IRVINE, CA – HFF announced today that it has arranged an $80 million refinancing for Cityview Plaza (top left photo), a nine-building, Class A office and retail complex totaling 602,972 square feet in downtown San Jose, California.

HFF worked on behalf of the borrower, an affiliate of BPG Properties, Ltd., to secure the five-year, fixed-rate loan through J.P. Morgan Chase Bank N.A.  Loan proceeds are replacing maturing debt on the property.

Cityview Plaza is a recently-renovated, mixed-use campus consisting of nine high-rise and mid-rise office buildings and retail and restaurant space totaling 600,972 square feet, united by a newly designed plaza area with outdoor seating, artwork and water features. 

Major tenants include Bank of America, URS Corporation, Overland Storage, Heritage Bank of Commerce and Morton’s Steakhouse.  Presently, the property is 84 percent leased. The 11-acre property is within walking distance of the Convention Center, Caltrain, light rail, DASH shuttle service and a future BART station. 

The HFF team representing the owner was led by managing director Steve Gunther.

BPG Properties, Ltd. is one of the nation’s leading private equity real estate fund managers.

BPG’s portfolio consists of more than 24 million square feet of office, retail, student housing, and industrial properties and more than 18,000 apartment units in over 70 communities located throughout the United States. The firm is headquartered in the Philadelphia area with regional offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Boston, Atlanta and Raleigh-Durham.

Contacts:

Stephen C. Gunther, HFF Managing Director, (949) 253-8800 sgunther@hfflp.com

Kristen M. Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, (713) 852-3500

krmurphy@hfflp.com

                    

HFF closes sale of the Hilton Dallas/Park Cities in Dallas,TX

DALLAS, TX –HFF announced today that it has closed the sale of the Hilton Dallas/Park Cities (top left photo), a 224-room, full-service hotel in Dallas, Texas.

HFF exclusively represented the seller in marketing the top-performing property.  Apple Nine Hospitality Ownership, Inc. purchased the hotel for an undisclosed amount. 

 The Hilton Dallas/Park Cities is located at 5954 Luther Lane in the heart of Preston Center. 

Originally built in 2001, the property was renovated in 2010, and features 5,000 square feet of meeting space, a full-service restaurant and bar, 24-hour fitness center, outdoor swimming pool, club lounge, dry cleaning service, and shuttle service within the surrounding area. 

 As a result of the recent acquisition, the property will receive additional renovation and updates from the new owner.

The HFF team representing the seller was led by director John Bourret (middle right photo), senior managing director Whitaker Johnson (bottom left photo) and senior managing director Dan Peek.

According to HFF, the Hilton Dallas/Park Cities is a unique property in the Dallas landscape due to the high barriers-to-entry in Preston Center.  Apple immediately recognized value and opportunity in owning such a great asset, and executed perfectly in their acquisition. 

The sale of the Hilton provides additional evidence to the rapid recovery of the hotel sector, which has spread beyond a handful of cities to the major markets of the heartland and beyond.

Sam Reynolds, senior vice president and director of acquisitions for Apple said, “We are excited about continuing our investment in the Dallas market with the Hilton. 

"This was a unique opportunity to acquire a premiere property in the Preston Center and we anticipate that it will be a strong performing property for Apple for many years to come.”

     

Contacts:

Daniel Peek, HFF Senior Managing Director, (813) 870-1001, dpeek@hfflp.com

John Bourret, HFF Director, (214) 265-0880, jbourret@hfflp.com

 Kristen M. Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, (713) 852-3500

krmurphy@hfflp.com

                    

HFF secures $134.76 million financing for 13-property national portfolio

                                                            

PITTSBURGH, PA – HFF announced today that it has secured $134.76 million in financing for a 13-property mixed-use portfolio totaling 2.8 million square feet throughout the United States. 

HFF worked on behalf of McMorgan & Company, LLC to secure the fixed-rate financing through a life insurance company.  The loan is cross collateralized by all 13 properties and is tranched into three, five-, seven-, and ten-year terms. 

According to HFF, the lender exceeded our expectations by engineering a highly creative loan structure for a truly unique loan request.

 The portfolio includes industrial, office, multi-housing and retail properties located in eight states.  Overall, the portfolio is 90 percent occupied.

The HFF team representing McMorgan & Company, LLC included executive managing director John Pelusi (top right photo), senior managing directors Mike Tepedino (middle left photo)  and Trey Morsbach (bottom right photo) and real estate analyst Todd Newman. 

McMorgan & Company, LLC is a real estate investment adviser and a wholly owned subsidiary of New York Life Investment Management Holdings, LLC.

 Contacts:

John H. Pelusi Jr., HFF Executive Managing Director, (412) 281-8714,                                                  

jpelusi@hfflp.com

Michael J. Tepedino, HFF Senior Managing Director, (212) 245-2425 mtepedino@hfflp.com

Kristen M. Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, (713) 852-3500

krmurphy@hfflp.com

                    

Grubb & Ellis Facilitates Sale of Two Industrial Properties in the Puget Sound

  

SEATTLE, WA – Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, today announced that Matt McGregor (top right photo), senior vice president, Industrial Group, and Bill Condon (middle left photo), executive vice president, managing director and leader of the company’s Industrial Agency group, represented both parties in the sale of two warehouse/distribution properties totaling 473,838 square feet of space in Sumner and Everett.

 Columbia Pacific Advisors sold the properties to a private buyer for an undisclosed price.   

“These are Class A properties occupied by credit tenants with long-term leases in place,” said McGregor.  “They are also well-located near the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma, within highly sought after submarkets for industrial space in the Puget Sound.”

 The sale included 4501 W. Valley Highway East, Sumner, and 6617 Associated Blvd., Everett, which were each constructed in 2007 with 30-foot clear heights and include ESFR sprinkler systems.

 The first property, 4501 W. Valley Highway East, is a 256,148-square-foot building that was 70 percent leased at the time of sale to Service Paper Company. 

The building is situated on 11.8 acres of land with direct access to State Route 167.  Additionally, 6617 Associated Blvd. is a 217,700-square-foot building situated on 11.5 acres of land near State Route 526.  The property was 100 percent leased at the time of sale to Precor Inc., the anchor tenant, and PODS. 

Contact: Julia McCartney, Phone: 714.975.2230                                     

Email: julia.mccartney@grubb-ellis.com

          

Boca Raton: Highest Percent Of Unsold New Condos In South Florida

MIAMI, FL--A supply of more than 18 years of new condo units created during the South Florida real estate boom remains unsold in the coastal Boca Raton / Deerfield Beach market as of March 31, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.

Buyers acquired five developer units in the coastal Boca Raton / Deerfield Beach market between January and March of 2011, leaving more than 375 units still unsold from the real estate boom that began in 2003, according to the report based on the Condo Vultures® Official Condo Buyers Guide To Boca Raton / Deerfield Beach™.

  

The total number of new condo sales in the first quarter of 2011 represents a 72 percent drop in transactions on a year-over-year basis compared to the first 90 days of 2010 when buyers acquired 18 units, according to an analysis of Palm Beach County records.

At the current pace of five developer unit sales per quarter, the coastal Boca Raton / Deerfield Beach market has more than 75 quarters of remaining new condo inventory available, according to the report.

“The coastal Boca Raton / Deerfield Beach condo market has the highest percentage of unsold developer units created during the boom in the seven largest coastal markets,”said Peter Zalewski (bottom left photo), a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC.

 “More than one-out-of-every-three condos created in the Boca Raton / Deerfield Beach market during the boom have not yet sold. The biggest factor driving this trend is the unwillingness of developers to slash prices.

”Going forward, it will be interesting to see if developers adopt a change in strategy given the new product overhang - and the associated carrying cost with these units - in the coastal Boca Raton / Deerfield Beach market.”

 

Peter Zalewski of Condo Vultures® can be reached at 800-750-0517 or by email at peter@condovultures.com

NAI Realvest Negotiates New Five-Year Lease for Office/Industrial Facility in Winter Park, FL

ORLANDO, Fla. – NAI Realvest recently negotiated a new lease agreement for 3,000 square feet of office and industrial space at 667-669 Cherry St. in Winter Park.   

 Tom Kelley, II CCIM (top right photo), principal at NAI Realvest, brokered the transaction on behalf of the local landlord, John J. Sharp Trust and the new tenant, Lajur Inc. of Winter Park

For more information, contact:

Tom Kelley, CCIM, Principal, NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989, tkelley@realvest.com

Patrick Mahoney, President, NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989 pmahoney@realvest.com

Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142 lvershelco@aol.com

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Marketplace Advisors, Inc. Negotiates $900,000 land sale to McDonald’s USA, LLC at the Shoppes at Aloma Walk in Seminole County, FL

 ORLANDO, Fla. --- Marketplace Advisors, Inc. recently negotiated the $900,000 sale of a 1.2-acre commercial outparcel at the Shoppes at Aloma Walk (top left photo), a Publix-anchored retail center located on Aloma Ave. at S.R. 417 in Seminole County.

David Marks, president of Marketplace Advisors, Inc., negotiated the transaction representing the seller, Aloma Walk Commercial Venture, LLC.

McDonald’s U.S.A., LLC acquired the property.  James Mitchell with CB Richard Ellis represented the buyer.

 For more information,  please contact:  

David Marks, Marketplace Advisors, Inc., 407-694-7040, dmarks@cfl.rr.com

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, LV Communications, 407-644-4142   

Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT II Acquires Five Medical Office Buildings in New Jersey and Arkansas

 SANTA ANA, CA (June 1, 2011) – Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT II, Inc. today announced that it has acquired four properties comprised of five medical office buildings; four of the buildings are located in Arkansas, the fifth in New Jersey. 

The $44 million purchase closed on May 26, 2011.     

Totaling approximately 179,000 square feet, each of the medical office buildings are located on the campus of, or fully leased to, a leading regional medical center. 

“This five building transaction is the first of a two phase acquisition of a portfolio of eight medical office buildings,” said Danny Prosky (top right photo), president and chief operating officer.

 “Once we have concluded the second phase, Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT II’s portfolio of clinical medical buildings will have expanded to include regional portfolios in Greater New York and central Arkansas, and we will have acquired our first property in the state of Washington."

The individual properties included in the transaction are:

Jersey City Medical Office Building - Jersey City, N.J.(middle left photo)

Built in 2010, Jersey City Medical Office Building is a five-story, 100 percent leased, 68,000-square-foot Class A facility on the campus of Jersey City Medical Center, a 332-bed community hospital with full inpatient and outpatient services.  The medical center lies just across the Hudson River from Manhattan and leases 50 percent of the medical office building, which has no significant lease rollover until 2020.

Medical Park Place I & II - Benton, Ark.

Medical Park Place I & II is a four-story, two-tower medical office complex totaling approximately 79,000 square feet on the campus of Saline Memorial Hospital in Benton, an affluent suburb of Little Rock.  Built in 1992 and 1999, the medical office buildings are connected to each other and the hospital via sky bridges.  Saline Memorial Hospital is a full-service, 167-bed acute care facility that has served the region for more than 50 years.

Home Health Medical Complex – Benton, Ark.

Home Health Medical Complex, a two-story medical office building totaling approximately 10,000 square feet, also located on the campus of Saline Memorial Hospital, which also leases the entire building under a triple net lease agreement that expires in 2024. 

Bryant Medical Office Building – Bryant, Ark.

Built in 1993 and fully renovated in 2006, Bryant Medical Office Building is a high-quality, single-story medical office building comprised of approximately 22,000 square feet of rentable space at 23157 Interstate 30 in Bryant..  The building is located roughly 10 miles southwest of downtown Little Rock and nine miles northeast of Saline Memorial Hospital, which leases 86 percent of the facility via two leases that expire in 2024 and 2025. 

The five medical office buildings were acquired from an unaffiliated third party represented by Jeffrey H. Cooper and Philip B. Mahler of Savills, LLC.

 Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT II financed the acquisition using cash proceeds from its offering, $31.1 million in borrowings under its line of credit with Bank of America, N.A., and $5 million in borrowings from Keybank, N.A. 

Contact: Damon Elder, Phone, 714.975.2659

Email:: damon.elder@grubb-ellis.com

Latino Hotel Association Launches New Program for Hotel Members

 HOUSTON, TX, June 2, 2011—Officials of the Latino Hotel Association (LHA), the global organization dedicated to expanding Latino ownership, leadership and commerce in the hotel industry, today announced the group had signed a partnership agreement with a member company of Pan-American Life Insurance Group, a leading provider of life and health insurance in Latin America and the U.S. Hispanic market.

 As part of the agreement, LHA members and their hotel associates will have access to Pan-American’s limited benefit and discount medical plans that may significantly reduce many members’ out-of-pocket health care costs.

“We continue to seek out relationships with top-level industry partners who understand the needs of the Latino community so that we can leverage our members’ buying power,” said Angela Gonzalez-Rowe (top right photo), president and founder of LHA.

 “Pan-American Life Insurance Group has been providing quality health insurance products for 100 years.  The company has earned an excellent reputation throughout the U.S. and Latin America.”

“We are committed to providing the highest quality health care products at costs our clients in Latin America and the U.S. Hispanic market can afford,” said José S. Suquet, (middle left photo) chairman of the board, president and CEO, Pan-American Life Insurance Group.

 “The Latino Hotel Association is making tremendous strides in expanding its membership ranks.  This partnership will allow us to further address the medical insurance and discount medical needs of the growing number of Latinos investing and working in the hospitality industry.”

Additional information is available at the association’s website, www.latinohotelassociation.com

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For more information, visit the Pan-American Life Web site at www.panamericanlife.com

Contact: Jerry Daly, Chris Daly, Daly Gray Public Relations, (703) 435-6293

jerry@dalygray.com

Shaner Hotels Wins Eight Awards for Excellence from Marriott International, Inc.

-From Left:

*Arne Sorenson, President and Chief Operating Officer

Marriott International, Inc.

*Lance T. Shaner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Shaner Hotels

*Plato Ghinos, Senior Vice President, Franchise Relations and Development Shaner Hotels

*J. B. Griffin, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Shaner Hotels

*Liam Brown, COO

Select Service and Extended Stay Hotels, The Americas

Marriott International, Inc.

  

STATE COLLEGE, PA., June 2, 2011— Officials of Shaner Hotels, a developer/owner/operator that currently owns and manages more than 30 hotels, today announced that the company earned eight awards for excellence from Marriott International, Inc.: 

The Spirit to Serve, Market Share Improvement and Guest Satisfaction at six individual properties. 

The honors were presented at Marriott’s Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites and TownePlace Suites Brands (CFRST) Conference, held recently in Indianapolis, Ind.

“These honors are especially gratifying in light of the difficult operating environment of past year,” said Lance Shaner, chairman and CEO of Shaner Hotels.

  “The struggling economy allowed us to refocus on our core values of providing the utmost quality service to every guest that walks through our doors, which also positively affected the bottom line.  This strategy is one we pride ourselves on and one that we will continue to perfect in the years to come.”

 “Marriott offers many great opportunities and the flexibility to develop strong relationships with our guests and surrounding communities, thus reinforcing the reputation for quality service for which Marriott is well known,” Shaner added. 

“We appreciate the recognition and look forward to continuing a leadership role in our respective markets in the future.”

  

For more information about Shaner and the awards, please visit the company’s web site, www.shanercorp.com

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Contact:  Elizabeth Valkevich (Media), (814) 278-7585

evalkevich@thejlsagency.com

The Lodging Opportunities Group Is Formed to Acquire, Operate Hotels

  

NEW YORK, NY June 2, 2011—Two experienced hotel and real estate professionals, Marty Schiffman (middle left photo) and Morris Lasky (top right photo), today announced they have partnered with two high-net-worth, New York-based families to create The Lodging Opportunities Group (LOG) to acquire and operate hotels. 

The investors have chosen LOG as their exclusive entry platform into an industry that is believed to be highly opportunistic at this time.  The new company’s executive team collectively brings more than 150 years of hotel and real estate investment experience, having owned, controlled or consulted on assets valued at more than $8 billion in the aggregate.

LOG, a New York-based company, will focus on opportunistically acquiring troubled, institutional-grade hotels located in urban and suburban U.S. markets, in segments ranging from luxury to economy.

 All LOG hotels will be managed by a sister company of Lodging Unlimited, Inc. (LUI), a 40-year-old, third-party hotel management company based in Chicago.  LOG and LUI will be joined by their western affiliate, Lodging Unlimited West, located in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Marty Schiffman will lead the company as president.  He has been a real estate industry leader for more than 30 years, having participated as managing principal and in senior management roles in over $1 billion in transactions in all asset classes for such investment management companies as Sonnenblick-Goldman, Lehman Brothers and Carl Marks & Co. 

Morris Lasky will be chairman of the board of The Lodging Opportunities Group.  He brings more than 40 years’ experience to the position.  He is president of Lodging Unlimited Inc., which has operated or consulted on more than 300 hotels valued in excess of $7 billion.

 The company is an active participant in the troubled hotel management industry, and provides litigation support, development consulting, and crisis consulting. 

“The hotel industry is just now coming out of an economic tornado that severely impacted all segments and markets in the country,” Lasky said.  “We seek hotels that are in situations that may be difficult to untangle or require substantial work to turn the property around.”

LOG is seeking situations as much as it is seeking assets.  Typical investments sought by the company include, but are not limited to hotels:

“As we come out of this recession, there are hundreds of properties with seemingly insurmountable problems,” Lasky said.  “These types of properties are our sweet spot.  We have the people and systems in place to perform due diligence quickly, complete the acquisition quickly and take over a single property or portfolio in less than 24 hours.”

Additional information about The Lodging Opportunities Group may be found at www.lodgingunlimited.com, or by calling Morris Lasky at (312) 595-1390, or Marty Schiffman at (212) 909-8420.

Media Contact:

Jerry Daly, Patrick Daly, Daly Gray, Inc., 703 435 6293

jerry@dalygray.com

Chris Daly, media, (703) 435-6293, chris@dalygray.com

                                                                                                                                                                                            

HEI Hotels & Resorts’ Fund III Acquires Westin Pasadena in Pasadena, CA

NORWALK, CT,  June 2, 2011—HEI Hotels & Resorts (HEI), the nation’s fastest growing private owner/operator of hotel real estate, today announced that the company has purchased the 350-room Westin Pasadena (top left photo) in Pasadena, California for an undisclosed amount from MPG Office Trust.

 This four-diamond rated Westin is the eighth acquisition by HEI’s Fund III and is the 40th hotel in the company’s portfolio.

 “HEI’s ability to acquire three assets in the last 30 days speaks to our ability to find exceptional hotels and process complex transactions expeditiously,” said Steve Mendell (middle right photo), president, acquisitions and development.

 “We are on track and plan to continue on this path of accelerated growth as long as the market continues to provide attractive risk-adjusted opportunities.”

 “Against what was a complex transaction that needed to close quickly, our success here really is an acknowledgement of the full depth and talent of our investment, operations and renovations teams, as well as our industry relationships,” said Anthony Rutledge (middle left photo), Chief Financial Officer. 

“New financing was provided at closing by one of our long-standing preferred lenders, Wells Fargo, which again demonstrated its commitment to our platform and its confidence in our ability to close quickly on a complex transaction."

 Located at 191 North Los Robles Avenue, adjacent to Pasadena City Hall and the Civic Center area in the heart of downtown Pasadena the hotel is convenient to local demand generators, as well as downtown Los Angeles.

 “This is arguably the best asset in one of the strongest submarkets in California,” said Russ Urban (lower right photo), HEI’s SVP, acquisitions and development. 

 “Pasadena benefits from a strong mix of corporate transient and leisure demand throughout the San Gabriel Valley.  HEI is Starwood’s largest franchisee, and this award-winning, upscale Westin is right in HEI’s sweet spot.”

For more information about HEI, visit the company's website, www.heihotels.com.

Media Contact: Chris Daly, media, (703) 435-6293, chris@dalygray.com