Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Voit Real Estate Services Expands Sacramento Office With Two New Professionals -- Jon Walker and Tom Bacci



 Sacramento, CA – Voit Real Estate Services’ Sacramento office has announced the addition of two new brokers, Jon Walker (top right photo) and Tom Bacci (top left photo). 

Each of the new commercial real estate professionals has nearly two decades of experience specializing in office leasing and sales, according to Kevin Sheehan, Managing Director of Voit’s Sacramento office. 

“Voit is actively recruiting the finest brokers in both Northern California and Reno,” said Sheehan.  “Our team was recently recognized for top honors in the greater Sacramento market.  The addition of Jon and Tom further establishes our growing strength here and the major impact we are going to have moving forward.”

These new hires are part of Voit’s ongoing initiative to increase the size and quality of its brokerage, according to Sheehan.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Jenn Quader/ Judith Brower
Brower, Miller & Cole
(949) 955-7940

Twitter Opens Downtown Detroit Office in Rock Ventures' M@dison Building



 DETROIT, MI,  April 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- There's a new trending topic in #Detroit, as tech giant Twitter announced today it is opening an office in the city's growing downtown technology district.

 The company's first Michigan location will be based in the M@dison Building (lower left photo), owned by Rock Ventures LLC, the umbrella entity formed to provide operational coordination, guidance and integration of Dan Gilbert's portfolio of companies, investments and real estate.

Based in San Francisco, Twitter is a real-time information network that connects people to the latest stories, ideas, opinions and news. 

The company's Detroit office will house a team of employees whose primary focus will be helping marketers and advertising agencies in Detroit leverage Twitter's Promoted Products suite of advertising products. Twitter expects to hire more employees over time as it grows its Detroit presence.

"Detroit's emerging mix of automotive and digital cultures made it a natural location for Twitter's newest office," said Adam Bain (top right photo), Twitter's president of global revenue.

"We're excited to work face-to-face with the city's most established brands and happy to play a role in downtown Detroit's digital renaissance."

The company did not disclose lease terms.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact

Robert Weeks,
@wikiweeks on Twitter;

Rock Ventures and Bedrock Real Estate Services:
Paula Silver, Vice President,
Communications,
Quicken Loans Inc.,
 +1-313-373-7255,

JetBlue, New York's Official Hometown Airline(TM), Lands at New Headquarters in Long Island City

  

NEW YORK, NY, April 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq: JBLU), New York's Official Hometown Airline, today opened its new corporate headquarters in Long Island City, Queens. 

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Senator Charles E. Schumer and other top government leaders joined JetBlue's President and CEO Dave Barger (middle right photo) in cutting the ribbon on the airline's innovative new home, the latest addition to the vibrant Long Island City community.

JetBlue now occupies approximately 200,000 square feet in the historic Brewster Building in Long Island City.  The Brewster Building is owned by Brause Realty, a New York City-based real estate company.  JetBlue is subleasing the space from MetLife, who will continue to maintain a presence at the location.


The Brewster Building (middle left photo) has a relevant aviation history.  It was built in 1911 and is where the Brewster Aeronautical Company manufactured the Brewster F2A (a.k.a. The Brewster Buffalo), the first monoplane fighter airplane used by the U.S. Navy in World War II.

The decision to keep its headquarters in New York City was announced in 2010, setting JetBlue on a journey to combine into one main corporate support center its former Forest Hills, Queens office where more than 900 crewmembers and business partners worked, with its Darien, Conn. office where approximately 70 crewmembers worked.

JetBlue's crewmembers from Darien, who provide transactional financial support for the airline, now work alongside colleagues in Long Island City, bringing 70 jobs to the Empire State.

"Since our start up in New York in 1998 and our first flight from JFK in 2000, JetBlue's home, heart and soul have always remained in New York," said Mr. Barger.

 "Now in our second decade, we are growing jobs with this new office, serving seven Empire State destinations with more daily seats between New York City and upstate than any other airline, and growing the regional economy with competitive fares.  JetBlue is proud to stay here in New York, grow here in New York and continue being New York's hometown airline."

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

JetBlue Corporate Communications,
 Tel:  +1-718-709-3089,

North American Acquires Land for First Luxury Apartment Community in Atlanta



ATLANTA, GA (April 4, 2012) – North American Properties, a privately held, multi-regional real estate company that develops and manages multifamily, retail and mixed-used properties across the country, has closed on land in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood for its first luxury apartment community in the city.

North American acquired 3.7 acres, property that is bound by Glen Iris Drive on the west, Dallas Street on the north, Rankin Street on the south and Historic Fourth Ward Park on the east.

NAP will develop a mid-rise apartment community with 276 units on the park’s “oceanfront,” steps away from the Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail. North American Properties closed late last month on the land, which it acquired for $5,025,920.

Construction is expected to commence by late spring on the $35 million five-story apartment community. North American expects the first residents to take occupancy of their units in fall 2013.

The development will mark North American’s first ground-up multifamily development in Atlanta since the company shifted its focus from retail to mixed-use and multifamily development. North American, which has developed 12,000 multifamily units across the country since it was founded in 1954, has 3,000 additional units in the pipeline in otherhigh-growth cities including Nashville, Tenn.; Austin; and Dallas.

“As the country’s demographics shift, it’s clear Generation Y prefers to rent their homes, and they want their apartments to be in walkable surroundings in urban settings,” said Mark Toro (top right photo), managing partner of North American Properties. “The Old Fourth Ward is undergoing an incredible transition, and our target customers want to live in this exciting neighborhood.”

NAP’s site is a short walk from the former City Hall East, which Jamestown is redeveloping into Ponce City Market (middle right rendering). Ponce City Market will be a vibrant urban mixed-use development that will comprise about 300,000 squarefeet of retail and restaurant space just blocks away from North American’s site.

Midtown Place, just across Ponce de Leon Avenue from Ponce City Market, is anchored by Whole Foods, Home Depot and PetSmart.

“We acquired the best apartment site in the city of Atlanta,” said Richard Munger (top left photo), vice president of development who oversees NAP’s multifamily platform in the Southeast. “The site’s proximity to parks, the BeltLine and amenities including restaurants and shopping makes it an unparalleled location in the heart of the city.”

North American Properties’ Southeast development program has three multifamily projects underway at “AA” sites in walkable areas surrounded by the amenities Gen Y seeks.

In Alpharetta, North America plans to develop 250 luxury for-rent units above retail space as part of its landmark Avalonmixed-use development at Ga. 400 and Old Milton Parkway. In Nashville, ParkCentral will be located in the heart of the Vanderbilt / West End submarket on 25th Avenue overlooking Centennial Park. The luxury rental community will feature a roof top saltwater pool overlooking Centennial Park.
  
Contact:
Elizabeth Hagin
WNSPR
O: 404-965-5023
C: 678-642-4301

CBRE Orlando Handles $11.3 Million Sale of Lakefront I and Lakefront II in Orlando Central Park


ORLANDO, FL--CBRE is pleased to announce the sale of Lakefront I & II, a four-building suburban property with 192,654 square feet in Orlando Central Park. The property was 71 percent occupied.

Tenants include the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, Regions Bank, HCA Management Services and Advanced Care Scripts/Omnicare.

 The property recently sold for $11,300,000.

For more information, please contact:

Ronald J. Rogg, CCIM
Executive Vice President
Capital Markets
407.839.3194