Friday, April 20, 2012

Voit Reports Positive Net Absorption for Eighth Consecutive Quarter in Orange County, CA Industrial Market



  Orange County, CA – In the first quarter of 2012, the Orange County industrial market posted 362,299 square feet of positive net absorption, giving the market 3.8 million square feet of positive net absorption since the second quarter of 2010, according to a First Quarter Market Report by Voit Real Estate Services. 

In addition, the quarter ended with a vacancy rate of 4.87 percent - one of the lowest figures recorded since the first quarter of 2009. 

“The Orange County industrial market is in recovery mode, and all numbers indicate that the market will continue to improve as 2012 progresses,” said Jerry Holdner (top right photo), Vice President of Market Research for Voit.  “Increasing occupancy will drive lease rates up, and ongoing demand for OC industrial space will fuel growth in sale prices as well.”

Industrial lease rates continue to rise in Orange County, according to Voit’s report. 

The average asking triple-net lease rate came in at $0.55 per square foot per month at the end of the first quarter - two cents higher than the market bottom of $0.53 seen in the first quarter of 2011.        

For a complete copy of the company’s news release and report, please contact:
 
Jenn Quader/ Judith Brower
Brower, Miller & Cole
(949) 955-7940

Brad Thomas Joins Bull Realty as Senior Vice President of Capital Markets


 ATLANTA, GA– Bull Realty has tapped Brad Thomas (top right photo) as senior vice president of capital markets.

Thomas will provide strategically focused net lease investments to REITs, private equity investors, and high net worth investors. In addition, Thomas will assist with originating off-balance sheet transactions via sale-leaseback and portfolio-level acquisitions.

Thomas has more than 25 years of experience in commercial real estate, most recently as Director of Strategic Markets with Embree Group and Senior Vice President at Thompson National Properties.

Thomas has achieved considerable success with his experience and knowledge of REIT securities and his prolific writing partnerships with Forbes, The Street and Seeking Alpha.

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

Stephen Ursery
Wilbert News Strategies
Office: (404) 965-5026
Cell: (404) 405-2354

Signs of Progress Appearing at Buckhead Atlanta

  

 ATLANTA, GA (April 20, 2012) – A surge of springtime activity along Peachtree Street and East Paces Ferry Road is a sign of positive progress at Buckhead Atlanta (four renderings on page)  the six-block, 8-acre, luxury mixed-use development located in the heart of Atlanta’s upscale Buckhead neighborhood.

 San Diego-based developer OliverMcMillan will begin pre-construction work this month on the Buckhead Atlanta site. General contractor Balfour Beatty will begin modifying the existing structures on the site to make them compatible with OliverMcMillan’s vision for a walkable, mixed-use community that will fit seamlessly within the existing Buckhead Village.

The modifications include removing columns and increasing the depth of transfer beams to adapt the structures already in place and digging additional foundations to accommodate redesign of portions of the project. Smaller “hoist cranes” will be brought in to assist in the site work, which must be completed prior to starting vertical construction.

 Georgia Power also will begin burying the above-ground power lines along Buckhead Avenue, enhancing the overall aesthetics.

“Undergrounding the overhead power lines is an important piece of the pre-construction work,” said Hunter Richardson (middle left photo), development director for OliverMcMillan. “We have been working with Georgia Power for several months to find an optimal alignment. Undergrounding will start in the next couple weeks and will take approximately six weeks to complete.”

 Prior to issuing the demolition permit to start pre-construction, the city of Atlanta requested that OliverMcMillan verify the structural integrity of the rebar and the work in place.

Structural engineer Stanley D. Lindsey outlined the testing procedures required. SM&E, a third-party, independent engineering consultant and testing firm, spent more than a month testing rebar from multiple locations around the site and determined the existing rebar is structurally sound.


“Our structural engineer confirmed SM&E’s findings and has recommended an industry-standard cleaning procedure be performed prior to construction,” Richardson said. “Since the rust actually acts to retard any deterioration, the cleaning work will not start until we go vertical with the construction.”

OliverMcMillan also will begin renovating the former HiFi Buys building, a well-known structure in this section of the city, to become the construction offices for Buckhead Atlanta. The building will house general contractor Balfour Beatty’s on-site construction offices and Buckhead Atlanta’s construction management team.

 Vertical construction is expected to re-start at Buckhead Atlanta later this year. Already, OliverMcMillan has spent millions of dollars redesigning Buckhead Atlanta to meld its vision with Ben Carter’s, while meeting the market’s latest trends in retail and consumer tastes. The project currently is on target to be completed in late 2013. “Our pre-construction activities are another step towards restarting vertical construction and putting the long-dormant tower cranes back to work,” Richardson said.

Contact:

 Patrick Hill/Rachel Tobin                             
Jackson Spalding                                            
404-724-2500