HFF secures $34.5 million participating construction loan for West Los Angeles luxury multi-housing development

LOS ANGELES, CA – HFF announced today that it has secured a $34.5 million participating/construction loan for the bw (top left photo), a 78-unit, luxury multi-housing development at Barrington and Wilshire in West Los Angeles.

Working on behalf of California Landmark, HFF placed the loan with a pension fund advisor. The non-recourse loan has a term of 12 years, inclusive of a 29-month construction period.  The loan features a low current coupon plus a split of cash flows to lender and sponsor during the term and at maturity. 

The bw is located at 11669 Wilshire Boulevard at the northeast corner of Wilshire and Barrington in the Brentwood neighborhood of West Los Angeles, close to the 405 Freeway. 

The six-story property will have one- and two-bedroom units averaging 949 square feet each plus 2,000 square feet of ground floor retail space.  Community amenities will include a two-level underground parking garage, fitness center, roof deck with a tree and fire pit, conference center and concierge service.

The HFF team representing California Landmark was led by senior managing director Paul Brindley (middle right photo), managing director Todd Sugimoto (lower left photo), and co-head of HFF’s national multi-housing investment sales group Sean Deasy.

California Landmark is a medium-size real estate company formed in 1988 for the purpose of investing in residential and commercial projects.  The company has expertise in acquiring, rehabilitating, developing and financing all core product types. 

 Over the last 20 years they have been involved in most residential product types including single family, multifamily and senior housing projects.  California Landmark’s commercial experience includes flex industrial, office and retail developments.

Contacts:                

PAUL BRINDLEY                                     KRISTEN MURPHY

HFF Senior Managing Director                 HFF Associate Director, Marketing

(310) 407-2100                                          (713) 852-3500

pbrindley@hfflp.com                                 krmurphy@hfflp.com

Morrison Commercial Real Estate Completes $400,000 Sale and 8,400-SF Lease at Sunport Building in Orlando

ORLANDO, FL (Nov. 22, 2011):  Greg Morrison, CCIM, SIOR, Principal of Morrison Commercial Real Estate, announced the completion a building sale for $400,000 and an 8,400 sf lease at  Sunport Center (top left photo), 170 Sunport Lane  in Orlando. 

 Christi Davis of Morrison Commercial Real Estate represented the owner in the selling 587 Ruby Court in Maitland for $400,000 to Glenn Ritchie Agency, Inc.  Michele Davis of Coldwell Banker represented the Buyer in this transaction.

 Lisa Bailey and Phil Marchese representing the landlord, leased 8,400± square feet to Calvary Chapel Orlando South at Sunport Center,  170 Sunport Lane in Orlando.

Contact: Buffy Gillette, Phone: 407.219.3500

Email:  bgillette@morrisoncre.com

EPA Certifies Tower Companies' 1909 K St, 1828 L St, Tower Building Energy Star Third Year in a Row in Metro Washington, DC

ROCKVILLE, MD, PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Tower Companies announced today that 1909 K Street (middle right photo)/The Millennium Building, 1828 L Street (lower left photo) and Tower Building (top left photo), have earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) ENERGY STAR certification for 2011, for the third year in a row, which signifies that the buildings are performing in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency under strict EPA guidelines.

"The Tower Companies has a corporate-wide commitment to achieving energy efficiencies throughout our entire portfolio," said Jeffrey S. Abramson, Partner, "and we will continue to educate all of our stakeholders every year so we not only achieve, but surpass our goals, getting one step further in protecting our precious planet."

"Improving the energy efficiency of our nation's buildings is critical to protecting our environment," said Jean Lupinacci, Chief of the ENERGY STAR Commercial & Industrial Branch. "From the boiler room to the board room, organizations are leading the way by making their buildings more efficient and earning EPA's ENERGY STAR certification."

 For more information about ENERGY STAR Certification for Commercial Buildings:

www.energystar.gov/labeledbuildings

For more information about The Tower Companies:

http://www.towercompanies.com

*To calculate greenhouse gas emissions, please visit

http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html

Contact:  Elizabeth Oliver-Farrow

Elizabeth@TheOliverGroupInc.com

Mobile:  202.494.1977/Direct

Web Site: http://www.towercompanies.com

American Healthcare Investors, LLC Formed by Jeff Hanson and Danny Prosky

 NEWPORT BEACH, CA(Nov. 22, 2011) – Jeff Hanson (top left photo) and Danny Prosky (top right photo) announced today that earlier this month they formed and launched American Healthcare Investors LLC, a commercial real estate investment firm headquartered in Newport Beach. 

 American Healthcare Investors has established a joint venture with Griffin Capital Corporation and affiliates to advise and manage Grubb & Ellis Healthcare Trust, a publicly registered non-traded real estate investment trust that currently owns a portfolio of healthcare properties valued in excess of $430 million and seeks to raise up to $3.0 billion in equity capital.

 The REIT will be renamed Griffin-American Healthcare Trust, Inc.  

On Nov. 8, the independent members of the REIT’s board of directors announced that it had elected to replace Grubb & Ellis as sponsor with American Healthcare Investors and Griffin Capital as co-sponsors. It also appointed Griffin Capital Securities as replacement dealer-manager.

 “We formed American Healthcare Investors with one goal in mind,” explained Hanson.  “And that is to continue to execute, in partnership with Griffin Capital, our established vision for the REIT, which has firmly established itself as one of the finest performing non-traded REITs in the industry.”  

 Hanson continues to serve as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the REIT, in addition to being one of its largest individual stockholders. Prosky continues to serve as president, chief operating officer, and as a director.  Hanson and Prosky have served in the same roles since the inception of the REIT in 2009 and will continue to do so.  

 “We are extremely proud of the exceptional economic performance of the REIT, which began acquiring assets in 2010,” said Prosky. “We will continue the disciplined management approach that has delivered these results, while further enhancing the investor-friendly structural elements that differentiate us in the industry, most notably our significant alignment of interests among REIT shareholders, the management team, and the sponsor.”

Hanson and Prosky have completed in excess of $13 billion in aggregate acquisition and disposition transactions during their careers in commercial real estate investment, $5.0 billion of which has been healthcare-related real estate transactions. 

 Approximately $8.0 billion of the $13 billion was completed as a team while they led Grubb & Ellis’ investment management subsidiary for more than half a decade.

  For more information regarding American Healthcare Investors, please visit http://www.americanhealthcareinvestors.com/.

 For more information regarding Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT II, please visit www.gbe-reits.com/healthcare2.

Contact:

Damon Elder

Partner

Spotlight Marketing Communications

(714) 371-4029 office

(714) 356-1460 cell

HFF arranges $24.5 million acquisition financing for Heritage Commons IV in Alliance, TX

 DALLAS, TX – HFF announced today that it has arranged $24.5 million in financing for Heritage Commons IV (top left photo), a 164,333-square-foot, Class A office building in Alliance, Texas.

HFF worked exclusively on behalf of Global Income Trust, Inc. to secure the five-year, fixed-rate loan through JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A. (CMBS). 

The securitized loan will be serviced by HFF.  Loan proceeds were used to acquire the property.  HFF also arranged acquisition financing on behalf of Global Income Trust, Inc. through JP Morgan for Heritage Commons III in June.

Completed in 2008, Heritage Commons IV is 100 percent occupied by the financing division of a major automobile manufacturer.  The property is situated on 10.29-acres at 13650 Heritage Parkway within the AllianceTexas development about 15 miles north of downtown Fort Worth.

The HFF team representing Global Income Trust, Inc. for this acquisition financing was led by senior managing director Tim Jordan (lower right photo) and director Travis Anderson

Contacts: 

TIM JORDAN                                           TRAVIS ANDERSON                 

HFF Senior Managing Director                HFF Director                                

(214) 265-0880                                         (214) 265-0880                      

tjordan@hfflp.com                                    tanderson@hfflp.com                

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

krmurphy@hfflp.com

HFF arranges $120 million refinancing for nine-property hotel portfolio in eight states

 NEW YORK, NY – HFF announced today that it has arranged a $120 million refinancing for nine full-service hotels totaling 2,264 rooms in California, Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.

HFF worked exclusively on behalf of the borrower, Investcorp, to secure the adjustable-rate loan through J.P. Morgan Chase Bank N.A.  The loan, slated to be securitized in an adjustable-rate securitization, will be serviced by HFF.  Loan proceeds were used to refinance an existing first mortgage. 

The hotels in the portfolio consist of five Doubletree by Hilton-flagged hotels, and one hotel each of Marriott, Sheraton, Wyndham, and Hilton Signature flags. 

The HFF team representing Investcorp International, Inc. was led by senior managing director Michael Tepedino (top right photo) and directors KC Patel (lower left photo) and Michael Gigliotti.

Investcorp is a global investment group with offices in London, New York and Bahrain and has more than 300 employees worldwide.  The Investcorp real estate team is an established, well capitalized, value-oriented real estate investor with a long and distinguished track record of success for almost 30 years, having completed transactions with an aggregate value of nearly $43 billion globally.

Contacts:        

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

Colorado Springs Power Center on Market for $28 Million

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has the exclusive listing for Chapel Hills West (top left photo), a 225,049-square foot power center anchored by Natural Grocers, Ross Dress For Less, PetSmart, Stein Mart, 24 Hour Fitness and Sports Authority located in Colorado Springs.

The listing price of $28 million represents $124 per square foot.

Garrette Matlock (middle right photo), a senior vice president investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Denver office, is representing the seller.

 “Offered by the original owner/developer, Chapel Hills West is the area’s dominant power center,” says Matlock. “The property has an excellent location, provides investors with a quality income stream from national and regional tenants and offers upside from a recovering rental market.”

 Located at 7620-7784 North Academy Blvd., the center can be accessed from either North Academy Boulevard or Goddard Street. North Academy Boulevard is a busy multi-lane thoroughfare with a traffic count of approximately 85,000 vehicles per day.

Adjacent to the  entrance on North Academy Boulevard is a freestanding building containing a Culver’s Restaurant and an inline strip on a parking lot pad that contains a Starbucks, See’s Candies, Hightower Collectibles, Academy Frame Co. and one vacant 2,200-square foot space.

Built in 1996 and 2000, Chapel Hills West has 12 tenants and is 96.5 percent leased.

Two additional freestanding buildings and a buildable pad site that is part of the Chapel Hills West center are located on the south side of Goddard Street and are included in the offering.

A Men’s Wearhouse, situated at the corner of Academy Boulevard and Goddard Street, occupies one of the buildings. The other building, containing 5,554 square feet, was recently vacated and is available for lease.

Contact: Stacey Corso, Public Relations Manager, (925) 953-1716

Jones Lang LaSalle Expands Multifamily Expertise to Phoenix; Hires John Cunningham as Executive Vice President

  

 PHOENIX,AZ, Nov. 22, 2011 – In response to a surge in multifamily transactions and client demand not seen in greater Phoenix for years, Jones Lang LaSalle’s Capital Markets group has hired leading apartment expert John Cunningham (top right photo) to establish and expand the multifamily investment sales practice in Phoenix and throughout the region.

Cunningham joins the firm as an Executive Vice President and will lead Jones Lang LaSalle’s Phoenix growth strategy under the direction of Managing Director David Young (middle left photo), head of the firm’s West Coast multifamily investment sales practice.

“As the economy continues to stabilize, rents are steadily rising in Phoenix, making multifamily increasingly attractive to investors,” said Young.  “John has invested more than 25 years in the Phoenix market, a majority of which has been spent solely focused on multifamily. He is a fantastic addition to our team who will be able to immediately respond to client demands.”

During his more than 25 year career, Cunningham has held various leadership positions at several institutional multifamily companies such as Alliance Residential, Camden Property Trust and United Dominion Realty Trust, and has been responsible for the acquisition and sale of more than 10,000 multifamily housing units totalling more than $2 billion.  He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona.

“Multifamily operations continue to recover from the effects of the recession,” said Cunningham. “In Phoenix, average metro multifamily occupancy levels have stabilized, providing the opportunity to create value through both a capital repositioning and further market recovery. This is spurring increased investment from private and institutional investors alike.”

 Cunningham also points to a recovery in multifamily development. “This is particularly true for infill—higher density projects that are expanding Phoenix’s historically suburban, lower-density development inventory,” he said.

 According to Jubeen Vaghefi (lower left photo), Managing Director and leader of Jones Lang LaSalle’s national multifamily investment sales team, Phoenix is a key part of the firm’s expansion strategy. “We continue to round out our multifamily expertise in target markets across the country,” said Vaghefi. “Bringing John in to steer our apartment expertise in this growing region is key to our growth plan.”

In the past few months, the Phoenix office has completed several strategic hires that respond to client demand and grow the firm’s local presence.

 “This is an important time for Jones Lang LaSalle in Phoenix,” said Dennis Desmond middle right photo) , Managing Director and the company’s Phoenix Market Director. “We recently hired Mark Bauer to our Data Center Solutions team and now welcome John at a perfect time to manage apartment investment sales—an area where we expect to see significant increase in the remainder of 2011 and beyond.”

For further information, please visit our website, http://www.joneslanglasalle.com./

Contact:

Stacey Hershauer

focusAZ

Marketing & Public Relations

(480) 600-0195

http://www.focusaz.com/

Concord Hospitality Sells Four Canadian Hotels to Genesis Hospitality

BRANDON, MANITOBA, CANADA and RALEIGH-DURHAM, NC, Nov. 22, 2011 - - Concord Hospitality Enterprises, Inc., owner or operator of 11 hotels in Canada, today announced the sale of a portfolio of four  Marriott-branded hotels located in Ontario, Canada to Genesis Hospitality, a Manitoba-based private investment group.

 Under the sales agreement, Concord will continue to operate the hotels.  Alam Pirani and Robin McLuskie from Colliers International Hotels and Louis Stervinou and Adam Greenstone from Eastdil Secured acted as exclusive advisors in this transaction. 

                The hotels, all developed by Concord, include:

• ·         The 132-suite Residence Inn by Marriott Toronto Vaughan (top left photo) 

• ·         The 94-room Courtyard by Marriott Mississauga Airport/Corporate Centre West (middle right photo)

• ·         The 133-suite Residence Inn Mississauga Airport/Corporate Centre West (middle left photo)

• ·         The 136-room and suite Courtyard by Marriott Hamilton (lower right photo)

 “Concord has been a leader in developing and managing hotels in Canada since 2002 and currently is the largest operator of Marriott-branded properties in the country,” said Mark Laport (lower left photo), CEO of Concord Hospitality Enterprises, Inc.

 “We continue to have strong development and third-party management interest nationwide.  This is our first transaction with Genesis, and we look forward to the opportunity to build on that relationship.”

“These four hotels bring our portfolio to 10 properties, and we have an aggressive appetite to build on that,” said Gary Buckley a partner in Genesis Hospitality.  “We have plans to continue to reinvest in these market leading hotels to maintain their leadership within their respective markets”. 

Concord Plans Additional Investments

 Laport noted that Concord has four properties in its Canadian development and acquisition pipeline and plans to break ground on at least two properties within the next three to six months.

 “We have established a strong track record and expect to partner with more Canadian institutional and high net-worth investors to develop and acquire hotels. 

“We are in due diligence on projects in and around urban and close-in suburban markets in Ontario and Toronto and possibly several provinces in the Maritimes,” he said.  “We are seriously looking to expand our presence in Alberta, including Calgary and Edmonton, where we already operate one property that is currently undergoing a substantial renovation. 

 “Opportunities for hotel development in Canada have improved over the past year, but still remains difficult,” Laport said.  “International branded hotels, like Marriott, Hilton, Starwood and InterContinental Hotel Group, all want to expand their flags in Canada, and we have strong relationships within all the major brand groups.”

“The Canadian economy did not decline as severely as its U.S. neighbor and is not rebounding as rapidly,” he pointed out. 

 “Financing is still somewhat difficult, but improving, backed by a strong Canadian dollar.  The coming year should be solid for hotels, but not spectacular, creating opportunities for well-capitalized companies.”

In addition, Concord will invest more than $1 million each in upgrades at four of its remaining Ontario hotels with completion expected by the end of the first quarter 2012.    

 For more information, visit http://www.concordhotels.com/.

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

Atlantic | Pacific Companies Team Continues to Grow

 MIAMI, FL – Atlantic | Pacific Companies (A | P), a fourth generation real estate company, is pleased to announce the addition of Anthony Grondin to the team.

 Grondin is the new Project Superintendent for Doral Grande Luxury Rental community with Atlantic | Pacific Development (A | P Development), the development subsidiary of A | P. Before joining A | P Development, he was a former Manager at Lennar Developers, Inc.

 Grondin’s new role will be the oversight of field operations for the construction of Doral Grande, a Class A, multifamily project which will consist of 360 rental units on 30 acre site at 107th Avenue and Northwest 74th Street in Doral, Florida. 

Joseph Roig (lower right photo), Vice President of Construction at A | P Development said “With over twelve years of managing construction in a variety of roles, Anthony is a special addition to the A | P Development team. Anthony has an experienced eye in all aspects of construction, and will tackle our Doral project with ambition and fortitude.”

 For more information, please contact

 Randy Weisburd at rweisburd@apmanagement.net.

or

Jessica Wade Pfeffer / Jessica Wade Inc.,  

Jessica@jessicawadeinc.com

305.804.8424

www.apmanagement.net.