Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Commercial Property Owners Focus On Recycling Capital Into Better Performing Properties In Wake Of Recession, Low Cap Rates, Consultant Says


 St. Petersburg, FL. --- Many of the most astute commercial property owners and investors today are focused on recycling their capital---taking advantage of lower cap rates to dispose of non-core assets and use the proceeds to acquire better-performing properties, says Rachel Elias Wein (top right photo), AIA, founder and principal of WeinPlus Real Estate Advisory Services in St. Petersburg.

In the bargain, they are trimming their operating costs and selling off lower quality assets to gain fewer but more profitable properties.

Wein said capital recycling is a smart investment move as long as cap rates remain low.

“The advantages are two-fold,” Wein said.

“Higher quality assets generate lower capital costs,” she said. “Higher quality assets offer better spreads, which are discounted by the fact that the investor paid more for these assets. Higher quality assets also save management costs,” Wein added.

“It takes fewer resources internally to manage higher quality assets. It might take 10 people to manage 10 average quality properties and fewer than five to manager five very high-quality properties. Companies are able to be more efficient internally with their resources,” she explained.

Wein said WeinPlus Real Estate Advisory Service partners with its clients — including some of the largest public and private real estate and retail companies in the country – to analyze portfolios and make recommendations to recapitalize, acquire or recycle capital investments.

“Recycling is the growing trend among the most astute owners,” Wein said.

For more information, contact

Rachel Elias Wein, AIA, Founder / Principal, WeinPlus, 727-386-9346, www.weinplusassociates.com;
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142, lvershelco@aol.com.

Faris Lee Investments Completes Sales of Three Pizza Hut Properties in Arizona



IRVINE, CA, April 18, 2012 – Faris Lee Investments, the nation’s largest retail-specialized investment advisory firm, has announced it has completed three separate sales transactions for Pizza Hut-occupied free-standing properties in the greater Phoenix market for a total of $3.55 million.

Dennis Vaccaro (middle right photo), senior managing director, and Matthew Mousavi (middle left photo), director, with Faris Lee Investments were responsible for advisory and marketing the properties on behalf of a Pizza Hut franchisee who operates a total of 46 Pizza Hut restaurants in Arizona and Texas.

The properties were all sold to individual all-cash buyers out of California and Arizona.

“The Pizza Hut franchisee looked to Faris Lee to advise on a sale-leaseback scenario for several of its Arizona properties,” said Vaccaro. “Our advisement originated previous to placing the properties on the market and was carefully planned to determine the best asking prices and lease structures. We also crafted a targeted marketing campaign to maximize the private buyer pool and ultimately the final sale price.”

The properties all offered the buyers an absolute NNN lease providing for ease of management and either 15- or 20-year lease terms upon close of escrow.

“With an exclusive specialization in retail property, Faris Lee is able to quickly and strategically execute on sale-leaseback programs for both corporate and franchisee tenants,” said Mousavi.

“As opposed to selling a portfolio of properties together in a single transaction which typically garners a lower final sales price, we market them separately to smaller, private investors who are attracted to the value and stability of a long-term hold with returns far exceeding most other types of non-real estate investments.”
 
Following is information on each of the properties:

  • 4708 South 48th Street in Phoenix (top left photo) sold for $1,629,000 at a 6.9 percent cap rate. , and totaled 3,752 square feet.
  •  2056 E. Baseline Road in Mesa sold for $1,118,000 at a cap rate of 7.2 percent and totaled 2,631 square feet.
  • 808 West Broadway Road in Tempe sold for $800,000 at a 7.0 percent cap rate and totaled 1,409 square feet.

 “Single-tenant NNN leased real estate assets are being identified by individual investors as an important part of their overall wealth management strategy,” said Rick Chichester (lower right photo), president and COO with Faris Lee Investments.

 “Faris Lee not only works to maximize value for the seller, but also identifies   investors interested in acquiring investment grade real estate as part of their overall financial management and diversification plan.”

Over the past 18 months, Faris Lee has completed a total more than 40 transactions for single-tenant absolute NNN leased retail real estate property.


Contact:

Darcie Giacchetto
Spaulding Thompson & Associates
949.278.6224



Cooper Carry Designs Headquarters for Global Center for Medical Innovation in Midtown Atlanta



 ATLANTA, GA (April 18, 2012) – Cooper Carry, the internationally recognized design firm, announced today the opening of the Global Center for Medical Innovation (GCMI).

Billed as the Southeast’s first comprehensive medical device innovation center, GCMI seeks to unite core members of the medical device community, including universities, research centers, clinicians, established device and drug companies, investors, and early-stage companies, with the goal of accelerating the commercialization of innovative medical technology.

The single-story, 12,000-square-foot-facility located at 575 14th St. in Midtown near Georgia Tech and Atlantic Station, will house design, material and mechanical engineering resources, along with rapid andfunctional prototyping equipment capable of producing medical devices for development, pre-clinical testing and clinical studies.

Designed to meet FDA guidelines and also centralize diverse programs and research centers that were previously scattered across the country, the new facility is considered a significant milestone and the first of its kind in the Southeast.

“We designed GCMI’s headquarters with the idea of adaptability, functionality, sustainability and safety in mind,” said Mark Jensen (top left photo), Cooper Carry’s science and technology principal and project designer.  “For the very first time there is a united space for members of the medical device community to interface with the tools and services they need to be successful.”

Working alongside a consulting firm that specializes in FDA compliance, Cooper Carry designed the project to meet FDA requirements for GMP validation. The project includes ISO 7 & 8 level clean rooms, device fabrication, assembly areas and office space.

Supported by $2.6 million in funding -  $1.3 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and $1.3 million matched by the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) - the facility also includes features such as:

• Engineering and computer aided design spaces
• Clean assembly and sterile packaging
• A physical testing lab
• Training area

“We are thrilled with the outcome of our new, state-of-the art facility,” said H. Wayne Hodges (top right photo), executive director of GCMI. “Our aim at GCMI is to facilitate and accelerate medical technology, and Cooper Carry’s design expertise certainly moved us one step closer to achieving that goal.”

 Contact:

Hadley Creekmuir
Wilbert News Strategies
o: 404.965.5024
C:  404.556.0010
 

Voit Completes Sale of Sixth Industrial Building in Orange County’s Kimberly Business Center in Fullerton, CA


 Orange County, CA – Voit Real Estate Services’ Anaheim office has completed the sale of the sixth and final building in Phase One of the Kimberly Business Center (top left photo) in Fullerton, Calif., according to Mitch Zehner (middle right photo), Executive Vice President in Voit’s Anaheim office.

 The 26,540 square-foot industrial building was sold for a total consideration of $3.5 million.

Zehner and Seth Davenport (lower left photo) of Voit’s Anaheim office represented the seller, GLI Kimberly, LLC, and the buyer, GS Enterprises, in the transaction.

“We noticed a pickup in sales activity of mid-sized buildings beginning in late August of 2011, and we’ve seen continued interest in acquiring these smaller and mid-sized buildings,” said Zehner.

“With low interest rates still in place and strong activity among buyers, the amount of mid-sized product available in Orange County is shrinking, and buyers should act quickly if they are hoping to acquire space in this market.”

The Kimberly Business Center, located at 1410-1578 Kimberly Avenue in Fullerton, is comprised of 19 freestanding industrial buildings ranging from 6,000 to 32,000 square feet.  This most recent sale is located at 1410 Kimberly Ave. in Fullerton.  Only seven buildings remain with two of these going into escrow, according to Zehner.

Contact:

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

George Smith Partners Arranges $25 Million in Joint Venture Equity for Multifamily Land Acquisition in Montclair, CA



INLAND EMPIRE, CA (April 18, 2012) – Commercial real estate investment banking firm George Smith Partners has successfully arranged $25 million in  joint venture equity for the acquisition of a 14.7-acre development site (top left rendering) in Montclair, Calif. on behalf of GLJ Partners, according to Vice President, Malcolm Davies (middle right photo) and Vice President, Michelle Lee (lower left photo).

The site will be used to develop a new 385-unit Class A multifamily property.

GLJ Partners is a fully integrated, residential development and construction company based in Carlsbad, Calif. According to Davies, the company is expanding its multifamily platform in Southern California, and GSP was asked to identify and secure an equity partner for the joint venture acquisition. 

“We began by educating potential investors in order to articulate the value of the investment.  Since we are in the recovery stage of the real estate cycle, it was essential that our team demonstrate the value of the Inland Empire market, as well as the site’s prime location,” said Davies.

According to Davies, the land was acquired through a competitive bid process, giving the GSP team a short timeframe in which to secure the equity partner. The acquisition also required a “closed as applied for” structure should GSP’s client secure the property. 

“We launched a diligent search, conducted numerous property tours, and drew upon our strong industry network in order to find and secure an institutional partner for the joint venture,” Davies added. “With the new joint venture equity in place, our client was able to win the bid and acquire the site.”

The property is located across from Montclair Plaza Mall and Montclair Transit Center, and within a few miles from several colleges. According to Davies, the location provides consistent renter demand due to the large amount of employment opportunities in the area, the transit center which brings you to downtown L.A. within 45 minutes, as well as the consistent student population.

Contact:

Corynne Randel/ Judith Brower
Brower, Miller & Cole
(949) 955-7940

Call-center and data-center location expert Jackson Myers joins Avison Young in Dallas, TX

  

DALLAS, TX, April 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Brock Wilson, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the company's Dallas office, announced today that leading commercial real estate broker Jackson Myers (top right photo) has joined Avison Young's brokerage operations in Dallas.

Effective immediately, Myers joins Avison Young as a Principal based in the firm's Dallas office. He will continue to focus on his specialty of fulfilling clients' location requirements for call centers, data centers and headquarters while providing advisory services related to locating educational campuses.

He was most recently with Jones Lang LaSalle in Dallas.

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

Sherry Quan, National Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young:  (604) 647-5098; cell: (604) 726-0959