Forest City to Sell The Ritz-Carlton Cleveland Hotel

CLEVELAND, OH, Dec. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Forest City Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: FCEA and FCEB) today announced that it has agreed to sell the 206-room Ritz-Carlton Cleveland hotel at Tower City Center to a subsidiary of Rock Ohio Caesars, LLC, for a total of $36.5 million, including a $2.5 million option payment by Rock pursuant to an option agreement between the two companies.

The hotel will remain a Ritz-Carlton under a long-term management contract. The transaction is expected to close December 15, 2011.

"This is an excellent transaction for Forest City," said David J. LaRue (bottom right photo), Forest City president and chief executive officer.  "The Ritz-Carlton is a premier brand in luxury hospitality, but the hotel is a non-core asset for Forest City.  Our strategic focus is on our core office, apartment and retail property types, and in our primary core markets including New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Denver and California."

"With the property under new ownership, The Ritz-Carlton will continue to be a key amenity for Tower City Center and for the casino," LaRue added. 

"As Rock completes construction of its Horseshoe Casino Cleveland, which is expected to open in March 2012 in our nearby Higbee Building, we believe our Tower City assets will benefit, as will the City of Cleveland and the State of Ohio as a result of the increased tourism, jobs and tax revenues the casino will generate."    

 Contact:

Robert O'Brien, Executive Vice President - Chief Financial Officer, +1-216-621-6060;

Jeff Linton, Senior Vice President - Corporate Communication, +1-216-621-6060

Web Site: http://www.forestcity.net/

StonebridgeCarras, PN Hoffman join with Northwestern Mutual in JV arranged by HFF to undertake new mixed-use development in Bethesda, Maryland

BETHESDA, MD --StonebridgeCarras and PN Hoffman announced that they have formed a joint venture with Northwestern Mutual, arranged by HFF, to develop a mixed-use project (top left rendering) in the heart of Bethesda’s prime commercial district at the corner of Woodmont and Bethesda Avenues.

StonebridgeCarras and PN Hoffman have been working with Montgomery County since 2005 to re-develop the County’s two surface parking lots (commonly referred to as Lots 31 and 31A) into a vibrant mixed-use project featuring 250 residential units and 40,000 square feet of street retail above a public parking garage that will accommodate approximately 950 cars.

With the requisite approvals in place, Northwestern Mutual’s financial strength enables the team to move forward with the $200 million development project, currently expected to break ground in January 2012.

“We are extremely pleased to have been able to bring one of the most successful institutional real estate financial partners into the development of Lot 31,” commented Douglas M. Firstenberg (lower right photo), a principal with StonebridgeCarras. “We look forward to creating a vibrant mixed-use project that builds on the great success of Bethesda Row.”

Residential components of the development include The Darcy, an 88-unit luxury condominium, and The Flats, a 162-unit apartment building.

For additional information,  contact:

Doug Firstenberg,  StonebridgeCarras 301/913-9610

Monty Hoffman,  PN Hoffman 202/686-0010

Matt Ascher,  Northwestern Mutual 703/269-6600

Stephen Conley,  HFF 202/533-2500

Alan Davis,  HFF 202/533-2500

Kristen Murphy,  HFF 713/852-3500