Monday, June 4, 2012

BDG Construction Services of Maitland, FL Earns NBIA Award at International Conference




Maitland, FL and Winter Springs, FL --- BDG Construction Services in Maitland, a graduate of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program in Winter Springs, recently received  the National Business Incubation Association’s  2012 Outstanding Incubator Graduate Client of the Year Award in the Non-Technology Category.

The award was presented at the NBIA’s recent international conference in Atlanta, according to Esther Vargas-Davis, site manager for the UCF Business Incubation Program.

A commercial general contractor that provides retail, medical, office and public construction services throughout Florida, BDG Construction Services joined the UCF Business Incubator in Winter Springs in 2009.

With the help of the incubator staff, founders Jay Brown and Kevin Guffee took on a larger business development role, actively networking with business and community leaders across the region to make people more aware of the company and its services. The effort paid off.

“BDG’s reputation as a client-focused contractor capable of managing all aspects of a construction project grew and we began winning bids,” said co-founder Guffee.

By the time BDG graduated from the incubator, their revenues had quadrupled.

“The goal of business incubation is to help accelerate the growth of viable companies in order to generate more economic activity and more local jobs,” said Gordon Hogan, director of the UCF Business Incubation Program.

Many of our client companies focus on technology sectors, and technology is usually the most exciting aspect to business incubation, but non-technology companies generate a great deal of economic growth in most communities,” Hogan said.

For more information, contact:  

Kevin Guffee, Principal, BDG Construction Services, LLC, 407-729-5832 kguffee@bdgcs.com;    

Linda Knopp, Director of Policy Analysis & Research, National Business Incubation Association, 740-593-4331 lknopp@nbia.org

Esther Vargas-Davis, Site Manager, UCF Business Incubation Program–Winter Springs, 407-278-4881, esther@ucf.edu;  

Gordon Hogan, Director, UCF Business Incubation Program 407-882-1577 gordon.hogan@ucf.edu

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142 lvershelco@aol.com  


Bishop Construction Group Earns Continuing Service Contract from Orange County, FL Public Schools





SANFORD, FL.  --- Bishop Construction Group, Inc. (BCG), the Sanford-based minority-owned construction company specializing in water intrusion remediation, commercial construction, design/build and project management services, was recently awarded, along with five other construction firms, a continuing general construction services contract with Orange County Public Schools.

BCG will be one of the six selected to actively bid OCPS construction projects ranging from $15,000 to $250,000. The annual expenditures of this contract are estimated to be close to $3,000,000 collectively district-wide among all firms.

To date, BCG has been awarded two contracts in two months with a combined value of $53,000. The contract covers work at OCPS facilities from March, 2012 through March, 2013.

Steven Bishop, president of Bishop Construction Group, Inc. said the one year contract for general construction services – such as site work, concrete work or air conditioning    includes an option to renew for an additional two years.

Bishop Construction Group, Inc. is a client company of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program and located in Sanford at the UCF Business Incubator on West First Street in downtown Sanford.

For more information, contact:

Steven Bishop, Bishop Construction Group, Inc. 321-804-4419, sbishop@bishopconstruction.com;

 Gordon Hogan, Director, UCF Business Incubation Program 407-882-1577, gordon.hogan@ucf.edu;

 Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142 or LvershelCo@aol.com

Eight-Property Distressed Asset Portfolio Sells for $13 Million in San Diego, CA



SAN DIEGO, CA June 4, 2012 – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has arranged the sale of The Waterfall Block (top left photo), an eight-property portfolio of distressed assets encompassing 58,288 square feet in downtown San Diego. The sales price of $13,032,000 equates to $117 per square foot.

Ben Tashakorian (middle right photo), a vice president investments in Marcus & Millichap’s San Diego office, represented the seller in short sale negotiations with three lenders. Tashakorian also represented the buyer, who was in a joint venture with Starwood Capital Group.

“The previous owner had planned to redevelop the site and acquired the properties over the course of three years,” says Tashakorian. “The final piece was purchased in 2009 for approximately $33 million.”

“The economic downturn significantly decreased the properties’ overall value and extenuating circumstances created a situation in which it was beneficial for all parties involved to minimize further losses,” adds Tashakorian.

“After multiple offers and much negotiation, we closed the transaction to the mutual satisfaction of all parties.”

The Waterfall Block is bordered by Seventh Avenue, Eight Avenue, Broadway and C Street in San Diego.

The portfolio includes retail, office, mixed-use and residential hotel space. The individual properties are:

  • ·         702 Broadway, retail and office plus parking, 23,488 square feet
  •           726-728 Broadway, mixed-use: office and retail, 7,500 square feet
  • ·         740 Broadway, 2 retail spaces, 42 SRO residential units, 6,070 SF
  • ·         701 C St., mixed-use: restaurant and office, 19,500 square feet
  • ·         1041 Seventh Ave., industrial, 10,000 square feet
  • ·         Eighth Avenue, 42 surface parking spaces, 10,000 square feet
  • ·         1018 Eighth Ave., office , 3,870 square feet
  • ·         1060 Eighth Ave., office , 33,414 square feet
  
Contact: Stacey Corso, Public Relations Manager, (925) 953-1716         

444 Brickell Office Building in Miami Welcomes New Tenants


 MIAMI, FL, June 4, 2012 - While extensive renovations are nearing completion at 444 Brickell Avenue (top left photo), the tenant pool at the 200,000-square-foot office building has been on the rise.

Over the last several months, new tenants have leased approximately 16,500 square feet of office space, say exclusive leasing agents Randy Olen (middle right photo), Executive Vice President, and Matthew Anderson (lower left photo), Office Leasing Specialist, with Colliers International South Florida. 

 Over the past six months 444 Brickell has welcomed eight new tenants to the building including:

  • Immerge, Inc., represented by Tony Arellano of Metro 1 Properties
  • Avinode, Inc., represented by Tony Arellano of Metro 1 Properties
  • Workbeast, LLC, represented by Scott Minchew of Scott Minchew & Company
  • Cinium Holdings, Inc., represented by Alfredo Riascos of Metro 1 Properties
  • Trusted Translations, represented by Sharon Silver of Wenzel Investment Group
  • Developmed, LLC - represented by Fleet McLellan of Century 21 United TRG, Inc.
  • Martha Rey USA, Inc.
  • Aragua Services, Inc., represented by Adriana Vollmer Aguilar of Coldwell Banker

  • Building tenants Lujan Investments LLC, Ocean Max Realty Inc. and Packland, LLC also recently renewed their leases at the building.
 
 "We are excited to see such great activity at the building," says Olen. "The combination of competitive rental rates, ideal location and extensive renovations currently underway make 444 Brickell very attractive for companies looking to have a Brickell address."
 
The building's new lobby and outside plaza area renovations are scheduled for completion this summer, and will add to 444 Brickell's onsite amenities including The Capital Grille restaurant, ATM, unobstructed views of Biscayne Bay and Miami River, management office and mailing center.
  
For further information please,  contact:  

Crystal Proenza
Vice President of Marketing
Colliers International South Florida
Commercial Real Estate Services
Tel: 305 476 7138

EmCare, Fast-Growing Provider of Physician Services for Hospitals, Doubles Office Space in Clearwater, FL



 CLEARWATER, FL (June 4, 2012) –EmCare, a fast-growing provider of hospital-based physician services, is doubling its Clearwater office space. Currently at 128 employees in its Clearwater office, EmCare is expanding its 18,000± square-foot space to 37,796 square feet.

Alan Feldshue (top left photo), Managing Director of Office Services, and Melanie Jackson (top right photo), Senior Associate of Office Services for Colliers International Tampa Bay represented the landlord, AHC Metro Harbourside, in the lease expansion.

 Mike Sharapata, John Ruskin and Chris Butler of Jones Lang LaSalle represented EmCare.

“This was a great opportunity for EmCare to grow at its current Class A location,” said Feldshue. “With the building’s new common area improvements underway, the recently added on-site cafĂ© and the well-capitalized position of the building’s ownership, EmCare made the decision to simply expand the current space instead of moving to another building.”  

EmCare contracts with more than 500 hospitals across the U.S. that outsource clinical department staffing and related services, and provides the hospitals with physicians and other clinicians for emergency rooms, inpatient services, operating rooms, and radiology.

Clinicians affiliated with EmCare have the opportunity to work in a mix of assignments in more than 40 states and are provided with administrative support to allow them to focus on their patients. The Clearwater offices provide support services to those facilities and practices.

“When our current Clearwater building presented an opportunity to expand on two floors, we decided to take advantage because of the location of the building and available parking,” said Terry Meadows (lower right photo), M.D., CEO of EmCare’s South Division. “Our need to expand is due to growth we are experiencing both organically and through acquisition.”

Harbourside is owned by The AHC Private Equity Real Estate Funds, a unit of Arthur Hill & Co., LLC, based out of Chicago, IL. “All AHC Fund buildings are managed to deliver a preferred environment for our valued tenants and we believe this mission was realized by EmCare’s expansion,” said Rob Gilbert, Director of Asset Management for AHC.

Located at 18167 U.S. 19 in Clearwater, the 153,586-square-foot Harbourside building is now 82 percent occupied.

Contact:      

 Kyle Parks
Bayview Public Relations
(727) 895-5030, ext. 101 (office)
(813) 352-1325 (cell)



NAI Realvest negotiates new office lease of 7,560 SF at Florida Central Commerce Park in Longwood, FL



ORLANDO, Fla. -- NAI Realvest recently completed an office lease agreement for 7,560 square feet in Florida Central Commerce Park off S.R. 434 in Longwood.

 Robert Blackwell (top right photo) SIOR principal at the firm and associate Sean DuPree (lower left photo), CCIM negotiated the transaction representing the landlord, Chicago based G & G Partners, LLC. 

The new tenant, The Green Savers, LLC leased Suite 400 on the second floor of the 35,120 square foot office building at 1124 Florida Central Parkway.  The tenant relocated from Semoran Blvd. in Casselberry. 

 For more information, contact:

Robert Blackwell, SIOR or Sean Dupree, CCIM at NAI Realvest 407-875-9989; rblackwell@realvest.com, or  sdupree@realvest.com  

 Patrick Mahoney, President, NAI Realvest 407-875-9989 pmahoney@realvest.com

 Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

As Population Grows Older, Seniors Housing Grows in Appeal to Investors



  ATLANTA, GA (June 4, 2012) – After a resilient performance during the recession and with the Baby Boomer generation approaching retirement, the seniors housing market has become anever-more appealing destination for commercial real estate investment dollars.

 That was the view of show host Michael Bull  (top right photo) and his guests in the most recent episode of “America’s Commercial Real Estate Show,” which provided an enlightening look at the seniors housing sector.

 “It seems to have been a stable sector through this recession when you compare it to office, retail and industrial,” said Bull, the president and founder of Bull Realty.

 As a result, “you’re seeing a lot more investors and institutions look at seniors housing than you had five years ago,” noted Andy Isakson (top left photo), managing partner of Isakson Living.

The sector’s properties have a current value of approximately $270 billion, according to Chris Kazantis (middle right photo), a director with AEW Capital Management. “That’s about 80 percent the size of [the hotel sector] and less than a third the size of multifamily,” he said. “But it’s a sector that’s growing tremendously.

 Cap rates in the seniors housing market vary widely, Kazantis added. “But in general, well-located, well-run properties right now are probably trading in the high 6, low 7 percent range,” he said.

Part of the reason for the optimism about the sector’s future performance is that the first wave of the 75 million Baby Boomers are entering their retirement years. But while the trend means an ever-expanding pool of seniors housing residents, it will present challenges for facility operators, guests said.

 “Right now, we’re dealing with the World War II generation,” said Richard A. Thomas (middle left photo), senior vice president of Grandbridge Real Estate Capital. “Tomorrow, we’ll be dealing with the Sixties generation. I think what my grandmother and my great-grandmother are demanding today will be very different than what my mother and what I will demand.”

 he show also touched on seniors housing development, and Glen Haddock (lower right photo), CEO of Haddock & Associates, said landowners looking to build seniors housing facilities must start off by doing a market analysis.

 “We have so many realtors that call I and say, ‘I’ve got this great piece of land’ … and their familiarity with the seniors market really isn’t there,” he said. “They need to take the time to run a feasibility analysis.”

The next “Commercial Real Estate Show” will be available June 7 and will examine tax credits available for businesses and real estate endeavors.

Contact

Stephen Ursery
Wilbert News Strategies
404.965.5026

Five Hotels of the New Orleans Hotel Collection Earn 2012 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence



  NEW ORLEANS – June 4, 2012 - The New Orleans Hotel Collection today announced that it has received a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award for five hotels.

“The New Orleans Hotel Collection is pleased to receive these five TripAdvisor Certificates of Excellence for the Bourbon Orleans Hotel (middle left photo), Dauphine Orleans Hotel (bottom right photo), Hotel Mazarin, Crowne Plaza New Orleans Airport and Hotel Le Marais,” said Craig Hulford, managing director of the Collection.

“We strive to offer our guests a personal and memorable experience, and these accolades are evidence that our diligence is translating into positive guest reviews on TripAdvisor and elsewhere.”

“TripAdvisor is pleased to honor exceptional businesses for consistent excellence, as reviewed by travelers on the site,” said Christine Petersen (top right photo), president of TripAdvisor for Business.

“The Certificate of Excellence award gives highly rated establishments around the world the recognition they deserve. From exceptional accommodations in Beijing to remarkable boutique hotels in New Orleans, we want to applaud these businesses for offering TripAdvisor travelers a great customer experience.”

For more information, visit the New Orleans Hotel Collection website at www.neworleanshotelcollection.com.


Contacts:  
                                                                                          
Marc Becker
Area Director of Marketing
(504) 527-0407

Patrick Daly
Account Supervisor
Daly Gray, Inc.
Office:  (703) 435-6293
Cell:  (703) 300-8289

Trepp May Loss Analysis: Loan Resolutions and Loss Severity Edge Higher; Coming In Near Historical Norms


NEW YORK, NY -- Loan resolutions and loss severities continued to rebound from relatively low levels in the first quarter of the year. In particular, February and March saw losses well below the 12 month moving average of 43.8%. The April and May loss severities have proven more indicative of recent trends, at 42.68% and 43.87%, respectively.

At $1.64 billion, liquidations were about 23% higher than the 12 month moving average of $1.33 billion per month. Liquidations were up 15% month-over-month in May and 85% from the 12 month low seen in February.

Since the beginning of 2010, special servicers have been liquidating at an average rate of about $1.11 billion per month.

The number of CMBS conduit loans liquidated in May was 164, up 11% from April. That 164 is about 10% above the 12 month moving average of 149.

The average loan size for liquidated loans was $10.05 million in May. Over the last 12 months, the average size of liquidated loans has been $8.94 million.

As noted, there were 164 loans liquidated in May. The losses from these liquidations were about $723 million--representing an average loss severity of 43.87%. This was up 1.19% from April's 42.68% reading. May loss severity is up over 18 points from February's 12 month low of 25.55%.

The May loss severity reading is slightly above the average loss severity of 42.62% over the last 29 months, and slightly higher than the 12 month rolling average of 43.87%.



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

Eric R. Gerard
Senior Vice President
Great Ink Communications
27 Union Square West, Suite 205
New York, NY 10001
(212) 741-2977