Crossman & Company Negotiates Three New Long Term Leases at Retail Centers Pinellas and Collier Counties

LARGO and MARCO ISLAND, FL. --- Crossman & Company, the Orlando-based firm that ranks as one of the largest retail property management, leasing and development companies in the Southeast, recently negotiated three lease agreements for retail space at shopping centers in Largo and Marco Island.

Leasing Associate Tracy Harrison (top right photo) represented the landlord in all three transactions totaling 4,955 square feet.  

 Sage’s West Bay Bistro leased 2,023 square feet for five years at Pinellas Shopping Center, 857 W. Bay Drive in Largo. 

At the West Bay Village Town Centre, 301 W. Bay Drive in Largo, La Chic Inc., a salon and spa, leased 1,632 square feet for three years.

 At the same time, Harrison negotiated a new lease at the Shops of Marco, 137 S. Barfield Drive in Marco Island.  Sapphire Dry Cleaners leased 1,300 square feet for five years at the retail center. 

 For more information, please contact

Tracy Harrison, Leasing Associate, Crossman & Company, 407-423-5400 

John Crossman, CCIM, President, Crossman & Company, 407-581-6218, jcrossman@crossmanco.com

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

NAI Realvest Negotiates Lease Renewal for Engineering Consultants at the American Building in Maitland, FL

MAITLAND, FL– NAI Realvest recently negotiated a lease renewal for 3,795  square feet of office space at 1051 Winderley Place in Maitland. 

 Jack W. Lynch (top right photo), senior associate at NAI Realvest negotiated the transaction representing the tenant, CHP & Associates Consulting Engineers, Inc. who renewed its lease in Suite 101 of the American Building for another 44 months.

 The landlord, MPM Holdings, Inc. of Maitland was represented by Paul Reynolds of Coldwell Banker.

For more information,  please contact

Jack Lynch, Senior Associate, NAI Realvest 407-875-9989,  jlynch@realvest.com

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

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

CalPERS Seeks External Investment Partners for Multi-Asset Class Portfolio

 SACRAMENTO, CA – The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) is seeking external strategic partners to manage a multi-asset class portfolio and provide insights and analytics on asset allocation and portfolio construction decisions.

CalPERS expects to retain two or three firms to manage a total of up to $2 billion in assets. The solicitation begins September 23, 2011, and ends on October 21, 2011.

“The external partners will have discretion to invest in and move assets across a range of investments in the CalPERS portfolio, within a risk framework,” said Farouki Majeed (top right photo), CalPERS Senior Investment Officer, Asset Allocation and Risk Management. “The objectives of the strategic partnership are to generate excess returns and help us develop more dynamic asset allocation and risk-budgeting capabilities.”

 CalPERS will seek managers based on a set of minimum qualifications and questions. Finalists will be selected using a scoring and ranking system.

Investment managers can submit proposals through CalPERS Investment Proposal Tracking System. For information on minimum qualifications, the solicitation process and how to submit a proposal, go to the Investment Proposals page. Click on the “MAC Partners” link in the “Special Instructions for Open Solicitation” in the right navigation bar.

CalPERS is the nation’s largest public pension fund with approximately $224 billion in market assets. It administers retirement benefits for 1.6 million active and retired State, public school, and local public agency employees and their families and health benefits for more than 1.3 million members.

 The average CalPERS pension is $2,220 per month.

Contact:

External Affairs Branch

(916) 795-3991

Robert Udall Glazier, Deputy Executive Officer

Brad Pacheco, Chief, Office of Public Affairs

Contact: Wayne Davis, Information Officer

pressroom@calpers.ca.gov

CalPERS Invests $100 Million to Seed Hedge Fund

 SACRAMENTO, CA – The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has invested $100 million in seed money with Breton Hill Capital, a Toronto-based global macro hedge fund with investments in equities, commodity and financial futures, and currencies.

The investment, part of the CalPERS Absolute Return Strategies program, is CalPERS first seed investment with a hedge fund manager. The pension fund also has approximately $500 million invested with customized funds of hedge funds focusing on emerging managers.

“The Breton Hill investment continues our efforts to source best-in-class investment talent,” said Joseph Dear (top left photo), CalPERS Chief Investment Officer. “Our agreement creates a strong alignment of interests between CalPERS and Breton Hill, and our seed investment will add value to our portfolio as Breton Hill successfully executes its strategy.”

Breton Hill’s investment approach is based on using momentum to earn risk-adjusted returns not just in equities but in a variety of asset classes. The firm employs tactical capital allocation, security selection and an active approach to portfolio risk management to improve risk-adjusted returns.

CalPERS launched its Absolute Return Strategies program in April 2002 and had $5.3 billion invested in it as of June 30, 2011.

CalPERS is the nation’s largest public pension fund with approximately $224 billion in market assets. It administers retirement benefits for 1.6 million active and retired State, public school, and local public agency employees and their families and health benefits for more than 1.3 million members.

 The average CalPERS pension is $2,220 per month.

Contact:

External Affairs Branch

(916) 795-3991

Robert Udall Glazier, Deputy Executive Officer

Brad Pacheco, Chief, Office of Public Affairs

Contact: Wayne Davis, Information Officer

pressroom@calpers.ca.gov

Foreigners Spend $318 Million Monthly On South Florida Real Estate

MIAMI, FL--Foreign buyers are spending an average of $318 million – primarily in cash – every month purchasing residential real estate in South Florida, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.

International buyers from Latin America, Canada, Western Europe, and many other regions purchased more than $3.8 billion in residential real estate in the Miami - Fort Lauderdale - Miami Beach market in 2010, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors in conjunction with a survey of Florida Realtors association members. 

More than 86 percent of the Florida transactions involving international buyers are being completed in cash as financing – while desirable - is proving difficult to obtain for many foreigners who have been attracted by the state's climate, available product, discounted pricing, and infrastructure, according to the report.

“Many foreign buyers are accustomed to purchasing real estate in cash in their home countries,” said Jenny Huertas (top right photo), a licensed international real estate broker with Bal Harbour, Fla.-based CVR Realty™.

“The challenge related to obtaining U.S. financing in today’s market is not necessarily a deal killer for most foreign buyers. Still, South Florida would probably benefit if financing were more readily available.”

Despite the financing difficulties of today’s market, foreign buyers are acquiring Florida properties at a strong pace given the fact that a majority of the owners have no intention of occupying their real estate for any extended period of time, according to the report.  

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

Grubb & Ellis Recruits Engineering Director for Eastern Region Property Management Clients

 TAMPA, FL – Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, announced that Josh Shoemaker has joined the company’s Property Management group as director of engineering for the Eastern Region.

 Shoemaker is responsible for overseeing engineering operations and working with clients to increase the efficiency and value of their assets by developing and implementing best practices for property management clients throughout the region.

 “Josh brings more than a decade of applied, relevant commercial real estate experience serving as a technical resource to property management and brokerage personnel,” said Randy Buddemeyer (top right photo) president of Grubb & Ellis Management Services.  “During that time, he has supported client relationship management and transitioned more than 140 million square feet of client-owned facilities and investment assets.”

 Prior to joining Grubb & Ellis, Shoemaker spent 12 years with CB Richard Ellis, most recently as director of account integration.  

 Shoemaker has acquired multiple licenses and accreditations within his field, including those of a certified OSHA 501 and DDC 4 instructor.

 Contact: Ted McDougal,  Phone: 312.698.6735  (o)                               

630.308.8144 (m).  Email:  ted.mcdougal@grubb-ellis.com 

HFF closes $13.42 million sale of Riverchase Village in Hoover, AL

  

                                                               

ATLANTA, GA – HFF announced  that it has closed the sale of Riverchase Village (top left photo), a 178,510-square-foot retail center in Hoover, Alabama, a southern suburb of Birmingham.

HFF marketed the property on behalf of the seller, Phillips Edison & Company.  Midsouth Capital Fund I, LLC purchased Riverchase Village for $13.42 million free and clear of debt.

Riverchase Village is located south of Interstate 459 adjacent to Riverchase Galleria, Alabama’s largest super-regional mall, about nine miles south of Birmingham in Hoover. 

The property is 97 percent leased to tenants including Best Buy, PetSmart and Bruno’s Supercenter.

The HFF team representing Phillips Edison & Company was led by Jim Hamilton (middle right photo), Richard Reid (lower left photo) and Brad Peterson.

Phillips Edison & Company is a fully-integrated retail real estate company with a portfolio of more than 26 million square feet of neighborhood shopping centers across the country.

The Midsouth Capital Fund was formed by Boyle Investment Company (Boyle) in late 2010 to target approximately $100 million in acquisition opportunities throughout the mid-South region, including Tennessee, Kentucky, north and central Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas, with a special focus on Memphis and Nashville. 

Current initial capital committed stands at $45 million, with Boyle and related entities contributing more than $10 million of the total.

The Midsouth Capital Fund focuses on strategically located retail and office assets in submarkets within the above range of geographic target areas.  Boyle is a 78-year old real estate development firm with offices in both Memphis and Nashville, and is active in retail, office and mixed-use developments throughout middle Tennessee.

Contacts:

Jim R. Hamilton, HFF Director, (404) 942-2212,

 jhamilton@hfflp.com                                                                                                  

Richard M. Reid, HFF Director, mailto:rreid@hfflp.com,

(404) 942-2209,                                                                                                          

Bradley Peterson, HFF Managing Director, (407) 286-5224, bpeterson@hfflp.com    

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

krmurphy@hfflp.com                                              

Investment sales team of Plummer and Harper joins HFF Los Angeles

 LOS ANGELES, CA – HFF announced that the team of Richard Plummer (top right photo) and Andrew Harper has joined the firm’s Los Angeles office.  The two producers will be a part of HFF’s investment sales group and will focus on office and land transactions throughout greater Los Angeles and the West Coast. 

Mr. Plummer, who joins HFF as a senior managing director, has more than 30 years of commercial real estate experience and has closed more than $5 billion in institutional property sales.  He most recently served as an executive vice president in Grubb & Ellis’ Institutional Capital Markets Group.  Prior to that, he spent 21 years in Cushman & Wakefield’s Capital Markets Group.  

Mr. Harper, who joins HFF as a director, has been involved in the disposition of more than $4 billion of commercial property since 2000.  Prior to joining HFF, he was a vice president in the Institutional Capital Markets Group at Grubb & Ellis.  Before that, he worked at Cushman & Wakefield, first as an appraiser and later as a director in their Capital Markets Group.  

“Richard and Andrew are highly successful brokers with deep client relationships in the Los Angeles and greater Southern California region and we are excited to have them join the growing HFF West Coast investment sales platform,” said Paul Brindley (lower left photo), senior managing director and co-office head for HFF Los Angeles.

Contacts: 

Paul Brindley, HFF Senior Managing Director, (310) 407-2100, pbrindley@hfflp.com                                           

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

krmurphy@hfflp.com                            

HFF arranges $56 million refinancing for Honolulu, Hawaii area multi-housing community

IRVINE, CA –HFF announced that it has arranged a $56 million refinancing for Oasis at Waipahu (top left photo), a 406-unit, townhome-style multi-housing community outside of Honolulu, Hawaii.

HFF worked exclusively on behalf of the borrower, a joint venture led by The Bascom Group, to secure the 36-month, floating-rate loan with Prime Finance.  Prime Finance closed on the loan within three weeks from a signed application.  Proceeds were used to refinance the existing debt on the property.

Oasis at Waipahu is located about 16 miles northwest of downtown Honolulu halfway between Kapolei and Honolulu.  Originally built in 1965, the 406 units are comprised of 374 townhomes and 32 flats. 

Community amenities include a clubhouse, pool, kiddie pool, laundry room, fitness center, business center and dog park.  Though certain interior renovations are on-going, Oasis at Waipahu had undergone a significant interior and exterior renovation during 2008 and 2009.  The property, managed by Entrada Partners out of Los Angeles, is currently 97 percent leased.

The HFF team representing the borrowers was led by senior managing director Kevin MacKenzie (middle right photo) and associate director Charles Halladay (bottom left photo).

Bascom (http://www.bascomgroup.com) is a private firm headquartered in Irvine, California, specializing in value-added and distressed multifamily real estate investments. 

Bascom sources value-added apartment properties and repositions them by adding extensive capital improvements and reducing expenses by realizing operational efficiencies through the implementation of institutional-quality property management.  Since 1996, Bascom has completed transactions totaling over $6.3 billion comprising 55,000 units and over 200 properties in California, Colorado, Washington, Hawaii, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Georgia, and Texas.

Prime Finance is a national balance sheet lender that provides first mortgage bridge loans and sub-debt with offices in San Francisco, Chicago and New York.

Contacts: 

Kevin C. Mackenzie, HFF Senior Managing Director, (949) 253-8800 kmackenzie@hfflp.com                                                                   

Charles W. Halladay, HFF Associate Director, (949) 253-8800 challaday@hfflp.com                                                                                 

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

krmurphy@hfflp.com                          

Stan Johnson Company Opens New York CITY Office as the 4th new office in National Expansion Plan

 

NEW YORK, NY (SEPT. 23, 2011)—Stan Johnson Company, one of the nation’s leading real estate brokerage and advisory firms specializing in net lease investment sales, announced the opening of a new office in New York located at 41 Madison Avenue (top left photo), 31st Floor, New York, New York 10010.

This is the fourth new office opened since the company announced its national expansion plan in 2009. The other offices include Houston, Chicago and Los Angeles in addition to the corporate headquarters located in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In connection with the new office opening Stan Johnson Company announced that two established and top performing New York real estate professionals, Jason Maier (middle right photo) and Tom Georges, have joined the company as Associate Directors.

 “We are excited to have these successful and seasoned real estate professionals leading the expansion in New York,” said Harold Briggs, Executive Managing Director at Stan Johnson Company.
 

 “The New York team has a proven track record in commercial real estate and is well-versed in the New York metro market. We are confident this expertise combined with the Stan Johnson Company platform will help clients in the Northeast thrive.”

Native to New York City, Maier formerly served as President and Founder at Zenith Realty Advisors focusing on the sale and acquisition of commercial and investment grade real estate in the New York Tri-State region with a primary emphasis on the net lease segment.  During 2010, Maier closed 11 transactions sales totaling $78 Million of net lease properties.

Prior to joining Stan Johnson Company, Georges was a Senior Account Executive and top regional performer for CoStar Group in the Northern New Jersey/New York City market.

Before CoStar, Georges was Vice President of Sales for Spectrus Real Estate/DSBI Securities where he was a major contributor to the company’s East Coast growth and expansion. Georges closed nearly $20 million in transactions within his first six months with Spectrus and consistently ranked among the top of all sales executives nationally. 

Stan Johnson Company has experienced significant success with the addition of the Houston and Chicago offices. 

Since opening, each office has closed over 100 transactions and has exceeded $500 million in volume. In an effort to leverage these achievements and continue its expansion into key markets, the company opened a new Los Angeles office in the fall of 2010.

The opening of the office in New York City is the next evolution in the company’s expansion plans.  

 “Our expansion has surpassed our goals and we are pleased with the talented net lease professionals representing the company in the new locations. The expansion has enabled us to better serve our national clientele and has opened up new opportunities for future growth” said Stan Johnson (bottom left photo), CEO of Stan Johnson Company.

Stan Johnson Company is aggressively seeking to further develop the New York and Chicago offices. 

For more information regarding job opportunities with Stan Johnson Company, visit http://www.stanjohnsonco.com/careers/job_listings.aspx.

Contact:

David Ebeling

Ebeling Communications

(p) 949.861.8351

(c) 949.278.7851

david@ebelingcomm.com

Lincoln Inks Another Deal at One Eleven

ORLANDO, FL– Seeking a presence in downtown Orlando for its administrative offices, BBVA Compass Bank found its new home at 111 N. Magnolia Ave.

The bank has leased 4,386 square feet of space in One Eleven (top left photo) for five years. Jay Dixon (bottom right photo) from Lincoln Property Company represented the owner and Mark Stratman from Jones Lang LaSalle represented the tenant.

One Eleven is a mixed-use project including retail, office and residential. This lease brings the building’s office portion to 83 percent leased. Lincoln leases and manages the property.

 “In 2011 there has been a lot of interest and activity at One Eleven,” said Dixon. “We still have some ideal space for an office or retail tenant, but space is leasing fast.”

Contact:

Laura Dudebout

O: 404.965.5023

C: 678.642.4301

ldudebout@wilbertnewsstrategies.com

SOLD: CBRE Orlando Closes 379 Unit Apartment Deal

ORLANDO, FL--CB Richard Ellis is pleased to announce the sale of Westlake apartments in the Sanford submarket of Orlando.

Built in 2000, this gated community features 379 units and a full amenity package including two swimming pools, a fitness center, tennis courts, racquetball courts, and a business center.

The property was 94% occupied at closing. Shelton Granade (middle right photo) and Luke Wickham (lower left photo) of CBRE’s Central Florida Multi-Housing Group exclusively represented the seller, and have closed a marketleading $315 million in multi-housing transactions in Central Florida so far this year.

Buyer interest in multi-housing assets in Central Florida has increased significantly.

 For further information, please contact the Central Florida Multi-Housing Group of CB Richard Ellis.

Shelton Granade, Senior Vice President,  T 407.839.3103 shelton.granade@cbre.com

Luke Wickham,  Director of Operations,  T 407.839.3130, luke.wickham@cbre.com

Sperry Van Ness Continues Investment in New Technology

 IRVINE, CA – Sperry Van Ness International, one of the nation’s leading commercial real estate organizations, has completed several key investments in new technology to strengthen its overall business platform.

 Highlights include valuable improvements to its proprietary, cloud-based Online Tracking System (OTS) and the integration of collaborative customer relationship management (CRM) and social media applications.

“Sperry Van Ness has embraced cloud computing for the past decade,”  said Kevin Maggiacomo (top right photo), chief executive officer and president of Sperry Van Ness International.

“ We pioneered OTS, our single-point-of-entry tracking system, years before the technology caught on within the industry.  Today, we are still the only commercial real estate brokerage with a front-to-back-end online tracking solution and we continue to invest in new technology to enhance its value for our advisors and clients,”.

Realcomm recognized Sperry Van Ness’ innovation earlier this year with a 2011 “Digie” award in the category “Best Use of Automation – Brokerage” for its effective use of collaborative Web 2.0 technology to syndicate its inventory and valuable content.

"Sperry Van Ness is unique in that they offer all their advisors free access to a complete suite of technology tools including our CRM system,” said Michael Griffin (lower left photo), chief executive officer at ClientLook.  "This is an incredible benefit that definitely helps differentiate Sperry Van Ness' quality of service."

 For more information visit www.svn.com.

Contact:  Megan Morales, (714) 273-247, megan@meganmorales.com  

Faris Lee Investments Completes Receivership Sale of $3.7 Million Multi-Tenant Retail and Office Property in Aliso Viejo, CA

IRVINE, CA – Faris Lee Investments, the nation’s largest retail-specialized investment sales and advisory firm, has completed the $3.7 million sale of The Shops at Pacific Park (top left photo), a 15,195 square foot multi-tenant retail and office strip center in Aliso Viejo, Calif.

Built in 1999 and situated on 1.18 acres, the property is located at 22912 Pacific Park Drive. The property, which was sold through receivership, is 88 percent occupied and includes a mix of dining, retail, and office tenants.

Dennis Vaccaro and Rich Walter (middle right photo) of Faris Lee Investments represented Overland Park KS-based Key Bank and the receiver for the property. Dennis Vaccaro and Matt Mousavi of Faris Lee Investments represented the buyer, Feldspar LLC from Newport Beach, Calif. who paid all cash.

“Faris Lee’s marketing strategy focused on the strength of the master planned community of Aliso Viejo and the property’s strong historical occupancy,” said Vaccaro. “We generated a total of 10 offers, and despite the lender offering financing, our buyer chose to pay all cash for the asset.”

Vaccaro added that the buyer was attracted to the asset as it presented a rare south Orange County ownership opportunity as well as significant upside potential through rental increases and new tenanting options.

The Shops at Pacific Park has two points of access along Aliso Viejo Parkway and two points of access along Pacific Park Drive, sharing access with the adjacent El Pollo Loco and Chevron.

The master planned community of Aliso Viejo contains approximately 6.9 square miles of land and is located in south Orange County about four miles northeast of the Pacific Ocean.

The community is divided by the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor (SR-73) which extends to the northwest connecting Aliso Viejo to cities such as Costa Mesa, Irvine, and Newport Beach, and to the southeast connecting to San Juan Capistrano and offering access to San Diego County.

The City is bordered on the west by Laguna Beach, on the east by the Cities of Laguna Niguel and Laguna Hills, and on the north by the City of Laguna Woods.

For more information, please visit http://www.farislee.com./

Contact: Darcie Giacchetto, 949.278.6224, Spaulding Thompson & Associates
For Faris Lee Investments

Hospitality CPM Launched to Help Hotel Owners Manage Latest Renovation Boom

 FAIRFIELD, NJ—Hospitality CPM (Construction Project Management) announced that is has launched to help hotel owners manage the significant growth in required renovations.  The company already is experiencing significant growth as the hotel industry continues to recover from the worst economic downturn in more than a generation.

The company represents owners’ interests throughout the design, planning, bidding and implementation of hotel renovation projects and new construction.  Hospitality CPM (HCPM) was spun off as a wholly-owned subsidiary from Paramount Hotel Group, an independent hotel management and ownership company.

The company is led by Stephen Siegel (top right photo), president, a 25-year veteran of hotel development, renovation and construction.  Siegel has completed more than $1.5 billion in hotel capital projects over the course of his career, including construction project management for 100 AmeriSuites, 35 Wellesley Inns and the annual capital improvement plan for the 225-hotel portfolio of Prime Hospitality Corp., a former NYSE company. 

“As the hotel industry begins its return to normalcy, we foresee a significant wave of renovations triggered by accelerating hotel sales and franchisors becoming stricter in enforcing brand standards,” he said.  “This surge in Product Improvement Plans (PIPs) is typical in this phase of the hotel real estate cycle.  

“Renovations today are much more complex than they have ever been,” he noted.  “Once, an owner could add new televisions and install rounded shower curtain rods to meet their PIP obligations.

“ Now, they must contend with ADA compliance, environmental, energy, governmental and tax issues, which makes the process much more challenging.  Given our considerable experience and expertise, we saw a long-term opportunity to act as a completely separate operation and become more actively engaged with other hoteliers on renovation and construction projects.” 

The company already is overseeing projects for a number of hotel companies, including RLJ Lodging Trust.  Carl Mayfield, senior vice president for RLJ stated “We have been very impressed with the professionalism and personal attention provided by HCPM.”

For additional information about Hospitality CPM, please visit the company’s website at www.hospitalitycpm.com.

Contact:  Jerry Daly or Lauralee Dobbins,(703) 435-6293 Lauralee@dalygray.com

The Bainbridge Companies Opens North Carolina Office

Wellington, FL – The Bainbridge Companies, a fully-integrated group of multifamily real estate companies, has expanded into the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. The firm plans to own and develop a number of new luxury apartments in the area; it is also pursuing additional contracts to manage properties owned by other companies.

As part of the expansion, the firm has hired Ron Perera (top right photo) as Senior Development Director for the region. He is now responsible for sourcing and managing new development projects in North Carolina and southern Virginia.

“We will be actively pursuing new development opportunities in the area,” Perera says. “Bainbridge is excited about producing new, high quality luxury apartments here.”

 His previous experience includes managing multifamily and mixed-use development projects for Wood Partners, where he oversaw the successful development of well over 1,000 units in five projects.

The new office, located in Cary, is also home base for the firm’s North Carolina property management services. Bainbridge recently added two more properties to its regional management portfolio: New Haven Apartments and Townhomes in Durham and Bridgeport Apartments in Raleigh.

“Bainbridge is taking an aggressive growth strategy across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states, with new development and property management assignments in a number of regions,” said Tom Keady (lower left photo), President of Bainbridge Development. “We believe that the multifamily market in the Triangle region is very strong, and we look forward expanding our presence.”

Contact:

Terri Thornton

404-932-4347 (Cell)

www.TerriThornton.com

Registration Opens for Ninth Annual Downtown Development Day

  

ATLANTA, GA--Central Atlanta Progress (CAP) and Commercial Real Estate Women Atlanta (CREW Atlanta) will host the ninth annual Downtown Development Day on Nov. 3 at Hyatt Regency Atlanta. The Obama Administration’s Federal Environmental Executive Michelle Moore (top right photo) and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed (top left photo) will serve as keynote speakers.

 The event, which runs from 7:15 a.m. to noon, is designed to educate attendees on the progress of Downtown Atlanta’s revitalization and showcase plans for the future. The program includes a Downtown Development Expo, breakout sessions and an optional tour of downtown.

Two awards will be presented that morning: the Downtown Atlanta Economic Impact Award and Atlanta Downtown Design Excellence Award. The economic impact award, presented by Central Atlanta Progress President A.J. Robinson (middle right photo), is given to a company or project that stimulates revitalization as an initiative of its own and benefits a surrounding neighborhood.

 With the significant amount of investment in Downtown buildings, CAP intends to showcase the stellar projects that make the community architecturally and spatially unique. The design excellence award, presented by Atlanta Magazine Publisher Sean McGinnis (lower left photo), recognizes achievement in four categories: Community/Residential, Hotel, Office and Restaurant/Bar.

Registration is now open. Tickets are $45 for CAP or CREW members and $400 for a table of 10. Non-member tickets are $55 and $500 for a table of 10. Student tickets are $25.  Visit www.atlantadowntown.com to learn more about the event and purchase tickets.

 Event sponsors include-Gold: Cousins Properties, Georgia Power, Reznick Group and Skanska; Silver: AmericasMart Atlanta, The Coca-Cola Company, Georgia-Pacific, Integral Group, KPMG, Turner Broadcasting and W Atlanta Downtown; Bronze: Atlanta Development Authority, Development Authority of Fulton County, DLA Piper, Greenberg Traurig, Legacy Property Group, Luckie Marietta District, Parkway Realty Services, Richard Bowers & Co., Stites & Harbison, UPS and Wilbert News Strategies.

Central Atlanta Progress, Inc., founded in 1941, is a private nonprofit community development organization providing leadership, programs and services to preserve and strengthen the economic vitality of Downtown Atlanta. With a board of directors of Downtown’s top business leaders, CAP is funded through the investment of businesses and institutions.

 CREW Atlanta, founded in 1982, CREW Atlanta’s mission is to elevate women to positions of power and influence in commercial real estate by providing resources and business opportunities. CREW-Atlanta is a member of CREW Network, a growing organization of over 8,000 members and 66 chapters across the United States and Canada that provides a business development network representing every discipline in commercial real estate.

 The Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, founded in 1995 by Central Atlanta Progress, is a public-private partnership that strives to create a livable environment for Downtown Atlanta. With a board of directors of nine private- and public-sector leaders, ADID is funded through a community improvement district. The District currently contains 220 blocks within an area generally bounded by North Avenue on the north, Memorial Drive on the south, Piedmont Avenue and the Downtown Connector on the east, and the Norfolk-Southern rail line on the west.

  

Contact:

Laura Dudebout

O: 404.965.5023

C: 678.642.4301

ldudebout@wilbertnewsstrategies.com