Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Marcus & Millichap Promotes Kirk A. Felici to First Vice President



MIAMI, FL – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has promoted Kirk A. Felici (top right photo) from vice president to first vice president, according to John J. Kerin (lower left photo), president and chief executive officer.

Felici currently serves as the regional manager of Marcus & Millichap’s Miami office and Jacksonville, Fla. office, positions he will continue to hold.

 “Kirk’s superior management skills, brokerage expertise and excellent knowledge of the investment sales market make him a tremendous asset to our clients and investment specialists in Miami, Jacksonville and throughout Florida,” says Kerin.

Felici joined Marcus & Millichap in 1999 as an office and industrial investment specialist in the firm’s Fort Lauderdale office and significantly contributed to that office’s reputation as the predominant office building brokerage in South Florida. In December 2004, he became sales manager in Fort Lauderdale and in August 2005, he was promoted to regional manager and opened Marcus & Millichap’s Miami office.

Prior to joining Marcus & Millichap, Felici sold precious metals in the Tri-State area. He graduated from Duquesne University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business marketing and management.

Contact:

 Stacey Corso
Public Relations Manager
(925) 953-1716

HFF announces Michael Weinberg as associate director in its Orlando, FL office




ORLANDO, FL – HFF announced today that Michael Weinberg (top right photo) has been promoted to associate director in its Orlando office.  Mr. Weinberg will specialize exclusively in debt placement for all product types.

Mr. Weinberg joined the firm’s Miami office in 2010 as a senior analyst and has most recently assisted in the opening of the Orlando office. 

 Prior to joining HFF, Mr. Weinberg worked as the director of real estate at RIDA Development where he focused on acquisition and development.  Prior to that, he worked as an associate at Trammell Crow Company and CB Richard Ellis.

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

H. BRADLEY PETERSON                                       
HFF Senior Managing Director                         
(407) 286-5524                                                 

OLIVIA N. HENNESSEY
HFF Associate, Marketing
(713) 852-3500


HFF hires Brad Black as managing director in its Los Angeles office


                                      
LOS ANGELES, CA – HFF announced today that Brad Black (top right photo) has joined the firm as a managing director in its Los Angeles office. 

Mr. Black will focus primarily on debt transactions in Southern California.  He has more than 20 years of financial experience in capital markets and the commercial real estate lending industry. 

Prior to joining HFF, Mr. Black worked for Pacific Star Capital as a managing partner.  He also worked as a senior vice president at Countrywide Capital Markets in the Commercial Real Estate Group and as a director at Wachovia Securities in the real estate capital markets division prior to that.

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

 PAUL C. BRINDLEY                                       
HFF Senior Managing Director                         
 (310) 407-2100                                                   

OLIVIA N. HENNESSEY
HFF Associate, Marketing
(713) 852-3500
ohennessey@hfflp.com         


San Diego Bounces Back in Q2 With Strong Numbers in Industrial and Office Markets, According to Voit



San Diego, CA– San Diego’s industrial and office markets demonstrated strong signs of recovery during the second quarter of 2012, according to a Second Quarter Market Report from Voit Real Estate Services. 

Office vacancy dipped to 14.24 percent, the lowest rate seen since mid-2008, while the industrial market posted its ninth consecutive quarter of positive net absorption, posting 165,816 square feet.

“There was substantial improvement in the market from Q1 to Q2, and these numbers are positive indicators that the San Diego market is moving again,” said Chris Wood (lower right photo), Managing Director of Voit’s San Diego office.

 “We have seen a pickup in transaction volume across all product types, and we expect that we will see a further increase in investment and leasing activity throughout the remainder of 2012.”

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

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

HFF secures $47.75 million refinancing for The Shores at Las Colinas in Irving, TX


DALLAS, TX – HFF announced today that it has secured a $47.75 million refinancing for The Shores at Las Colinas (top left photo) a 908-unit Class A multi-housing community in Irving, Texas. 

HFF worked exclusively on behalf of Metropolitan Properties of America to secure the three-year, 1.84 percent adjustable-rate loan through Capital One. 

The HFF investment sales team representing the seller was led by managing director Steve Heldenfels along with senior managing directors Bob Herron and Mona Carlton (lower right photo).

The Shores at Las Colinas is located at 385 East Las Colinas next to the Irving Convention Center and approximately 14 miles northwest of downtown Dallas.  The community is comprised of 17 low-rise buildings as well as two mid-rise buildings containing a total of 792,786 square feet.

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

STEVEN C. HELDENFELS                          
HFF Managing Director                                      
(214) 265-0880                                                   


OLIVIA N. HENNESSEY
HFF Associate, Marketing
(713) 852-3500


The Carlyle Group and The Dow Hotel Company Acquire Lakeway Resort and Spa Near Austin, TX



 AUSTIN, TX and SEATTLE, WA, July 10, 2012—The Dow Hotel Company (DHC), a Seattle-headquartered hotel owner/investor, today announced that a joint venture between DHC and The Carlyle Group’s (NASDAQ: CG) Carlyle Realty Partners VI have acquired the Lakeway Resort and Spa (top left photo) near Austin, Texas.

 In addition, the new owners said they plan to invest more than $5 million to complete a renovation started by the prior ownership group.  Operations of the resort will not be affected by the sale.

Situated on 12 acres with 1,000 feet of waterfront on Lake Travis in the Texas Hill Country, the AAA Four Diamond resort features 174 luxury guest rooms, suites and villas.  The property is less than 30 miles from Austin and offers more than 24,000 square feet of flexible meeting and function space for both business and leisure groups.

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

Chris Daly, media
(703) 435-6293

Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel to Raise Money for Give Kids the World Charity During the “Ride for Hope” from St. Louis, Mo. to Sturgis, SD



ST. LOUIS, Mo., July 10, 2012 - Officials from the Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel (top left photo)  announced today that its general manager, Bill Fontes, will ride in a motorcycle sidecar for nearly 1,000 miles from the hotel to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota in an effort to raise more than $20,000 to help support the Give Kids The World Charity.

 In anticipation of the two-day, 989-mile motorcycle “Ride for Hope” on Friday, August 3, 2012, the hotel will host an on-site send-off rally with entertainment and beverages sponsored by Samuel Adams from 4 pm to 8 pm.

 Donations are welcomed on-site at this event to support the cause.  The “Ride for Hope” will roll out of St. Louis at 9 am on Saturday, August 4, 2012.

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

Contact:

Stephen Abbate,
 Director of Sales
Renaissance St. Louis Airport
(314) 890-3020,



Island Hospitality Management Adds Seven Hotels to Management Portfolio



 PALM BEACH, FL, July 10, 2012—Officials of Island Hospitality Management, LLC, one of the nation’s largest hotel management companies, today announced that it has added seven new contracts to its management portfolio. 

The properties include a six-hotel portfolio of Homewood Suites by Hilton hotels owned by Chatham Lodging Trust, a publicly traded REIT, and an Embassy Suites hotel recently acquired by Clearview Hotel Capital, LLC, a privately held hotel investment and advisory company.

The six-hotel portfolio includes the following Homewood Suites by Hilton: Dallas Market Center, 137 rooms; Farmington (Conn.), 121 rooms; Maitland/Orlando, 143-rooms; Billerica (Mass.), 147 rooms; Bloomington Mall of America (Minn.) and Brentwood/Nashville.  The Embassy Suites Valencia (Calif.) features 156 two-room suites.

“These contracts reflect our growth strategy of building strong relationships with a limited number of institutional investors, who require sophisticated operating and reporting systems and have a longer-term ownership model,” said Tim Walker (top right photo), Island Hospitality’s president.

 “With these additions, we now operate hotels for seven different ownership groups.  Our goal is to have relationships with approximately 10 institutional owners.

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

Lauralee Dobbins/Chris Daly
Daly Gray, Inc.
703-435-6293

Colliers International Reports Record Rents For World's Premier Retail Spaces



 SEATTLE, WA, July 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The most desirable global retail properties continue to show explosive year-over-year rental-rate growth despite continued economic uncertainty, according to a report just published by Colliers International's Retail Services Group.

Colliers' Summer 2012 Global Retail Highlights report looks closely at global industry trends and retail market performance indicators.

In the report, Ann Natunewicz (top right photo), National Manager of Retail Research for Colliers International's Retail Services Group and principal author of the report, explains:

"At a regional level, streets in areas that entered 2007-08 better-positioned economically --Australia, Canada, parts of Eastern Europe -- had a higher percentage of flat-to-higher rents than those slower to emerge from the recession.

We will be watching these areas closely: even as they represent some of the most attractive destinations for expansion-minded companies and yield-seeking investors, they too are vulnerable to softening consumer demand and, for those with reliable data, encroachment of e-commerce."

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

JACKIE JANUS,
 FLEISHMAN-HILLARD,
+1-314-982-1742,



Bull Realty Brokers $2 Million Sale of Cumming, Ga., Mixed-Use Development



 ATLANTA, GA (July 10, 2012) – Bull Realty has brokered the $2,025,000 sale of The Village at Creekstone (top left photo), a 32,463-square-foot mixed-use development in Cumming, Ga.

Rob Whitmire (middle right photo), Partner and Senior Vice President of Special Asset Services for Bull Realty, and Theresa Johnson (lower left photo), Vice President of the firm’s National Retail Group, represented the seller, a super regional bank. John Harrison, an associate in Bull Realty’s National Retail Group, identified the buyer, Alpharetta, Ga.-based Penn Hodge LLC.

The Village at Creekstone includes two retail buildings totaling 27,190 square feet and a two-story office condominium building totaling 5,273 square feet. The property also features three 2,500-square-foot office pad sites, one 4,581-square-foot office pad site and a 0.65-acre retail outparcel.

The property is located on Peachtree Parkway, a main commercial corridor in Cumming, with traffic counts of more than 22,700 vehicles per day.

The surrounding area features strong demographics, including a population of more than 120,000 within a five-mile radius and an average household income of nearly $150,000 in the same area.

Some vacant suites in The Village at Creekstone have been finished with HVAC, drop ceilings and sprinkler systems.

“With its strong surrounding demographics and its high-quality construction, The Village at Creekstone offers tremendous upside for the buyer,” Whitmire said. “We’re pleased to have used our considerable experience and expertise in distressed assets to help the seller dispose of this property.”



Contact

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

Arbor Closes $62.7M in Fannie Mae & Bridge Deals Across the Southeast



UNIONDALE, NY (July 10, 2012) - Arbor Commercial Funding, LLC (“Arbor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arbor Commercial Mortgage, LLC and a national, direct commercial real estate lender, announced the recent closing of 13 loans totaling $62,668,200 across Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia under the Fannie Mae Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS®) Loan, Fannie Mae DUS® Small Loan and Arbor Bridge Loan product lines.


These loans include:


·         Woodland Trail Apartments, LaGrange, GA (ltop left photo) – This 236-unit multifamily property received $17,140,000 funded under the Fannie Mae DUS® Loan product line. The 10-year refinance loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule. Woodland Trail was constructed in 2009 and has quickly become the highest-quality asset in its market. Site amenities include a clubhouse with a computer-equipped business center, a saltwater swimming pool with a sundeck, picnic areas and a nature preserve area featuring a nature trail. The Kalikow Group was the borrower.


·         Ashbury Square Apartments, Mebane, NC (top right photo)– This 192-unit multifamily property received $10,779,300 funded under the Fannie Mae DUS® Loan product line. The 10-year refinance loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule. Ashbury Square is a Class A property that was built in 2005, and its amenities include a swimming pool and clubhouse. The Kalikow Group was the borrower.

·         A 112,880-square-foot retail property in Chapel Hill, NC  received a $10,000,000 acquisition loan with a 60-month term under Arbor’s Bridge Loan product line.


·         Chase on Commonwealth Apartments, Charlotte, NC (middle left photo) – This 132-unit multifamily property received $4,739,000 funded under the Fannie Mae DUS® Loan product line. The 10-year refinance loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule. Chase on Commonwealth’s amenities include an in-ground swimming pool and a fitness center.

·         The Landing on Farmhurst, Charlotte, NC  (middle right photo)– This 125-unit multifamily property received $3,700,000 funded under the Fannie Mae DUS® Loan product line. The 10-year refinance loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule. The property is currently undergoing renovations and includes such amenities as an in-ground swimming pool, a fitness center and a sauna.

 ·         The Oaks Apartments, Raleigh, NC (lower left photo) – This 88-unit multifamily property received $3,150,000 funded under the Fannie Mae DUS® Loan product line. The 10-year refinance loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule. The Oaks Apartments is currently undergoing renovations that will yield new appliances for units as well as new site amenities, including an in-ground swimming pool and a clubhouse.

 ·         Sharonridge Apartments, Charlotte, NC – This 75-unit multifamily property received $3,000,000 funded under the Fannie Mae DUS® Loan product line. The 10-year refinance loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule. Sharonridge is undergoing renovations, and its site amenities include an extensive clubhouse and a swimming pool with a surrounding sundeck.


·         930 Providence Road, Chesapeake, VA (lower right photo)– This 32-unit multifamily property received $1,800,000 funded under the Fannie Mae DUS® Small Loan product line. The 10-year refinance loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule. The property was renovated in 2011 and now includes remodeled kitchens, bathrooms and common halls as well as a refurbished laundry room.

·         710-722 East 29th Street, Norfolk, VA – This 28-unit multifamily property received $1,200,000 funded under the Fannie Mae DUS® Small Loan product line. The 10-year refinance loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule. The property was renovated in 2010, yielding significant interior and exterior improvements, including new roofs, air conditioners, windows and gutters. The parking lot was also resurfaced.

·         1507 O’Keefe Street, Norfolk, VA (bottom left photo) – This 24-unit multifamily property received $1,095,000 funded under the Fannie Mae DUS® Small Loan product line. The 10-year refinance loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule. The property was renovated in 2010 to update numerous interior and exterior aspects.

·         2011 Chesapeake Drive, Chesapeake, VA – This 24-unit multifamily property received $1,044,900 funded under the Fannie Mae DUS® Small Loan product line. The 10-year refinance loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule. The property underwent significant renovations in 2008 and achieved many improvements including new roofs, windows and shutters on all buildings and new air conditioner wall units and appliances in each apartment.


·         811-819 East 29th Street, Norfolk VA (bottom right photo) - This 24-unit multifamily property received $1,020,000 funded under the Fannie Mae DUS® Small Loan product line. The 10-year refinance loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule. The property underwent significant renovations in 2010.

All of the loans were originated by Brian Scharf, Vice President in Arbor’s Uniondale, NY, office.

Contact: 

Christopher Ostrowski, costrowski@arbor.com

The Banks Launches New Website; Focuses on Visitor Experience at Cincinnati’s Premier Riverfront Destination




Cincinnati, OH (July 10, 2012) — The Banks master development team of Carter and The Dawson Company and equity partner USAA are proud to announce the re-launch of http://www.thebankscincy.com/.

Designed from a visitor perspective, the website is more consumer-friendly making information more accessible and easier to navigate for users. 

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

Sarah Whitley
404-965-5025
Wilbert News Strategies
1720 Peachtree St, Suite 1040
Atlanta, GA 30309






Bridgeport Investments Secures $25 Million of Equity Financing for Industrial Acquisitions in California



 ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., (JULY 10, 2012) – Bridgeport Investments, an Orange County-based real estate investment banking and advisory firm, has successfully secured a commitment for $25 million of equity financing for several future acquisitions of  industrial properties in California, according to the firm’s founding principal Randy Bramel (top right photo), a 30-year veteran of the real estate industry. 

The $25 million equity commitment was raised by Bridgeport Investments from an institutional investor on behalf of CapRock Partners, a private investment firm headquartered in Orange County, California.

 This is a second equity commitment that followed a $12.5 million commitment that Bridgeport raised in 2011, which CapRock used to acquire six buildings throughout California. 

CapRock will use the additional funds to acquire  industrial properties in California, which can include buildings, land, or non-performing loans secured by such property. 

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

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

U.S. Urban Realty and GNP Realty Partners Launch new Midwest firm



 CHICAGO, IL July 10, 2012 – U.S. Urban Realty LLC and GNP Realty Partners are combining their expertise, network and resources to launch a full service international commercial and residential real estate firm looking to reinvent the property management business.

The new firm will take the name U.S. Urban Realty, and will initially focus on the Midwest United States and Latin America, with the intention of expanding into other key markets in the future.

 “For too long, property management has been babysitting a building for a fee. We are changing that model and making it truly about service,” says Tony DiBiase (top right photo) international director of U.S. Urban Realty.

“There is a need for high quality property management service. Property owners have complained about management companies that are unresponsive, with too many layers of bureaucracy. I guarantee that won’t happen with U.S. Urban Realty.”

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

Jodie Cantrell,
For  U.S. Urban Realty
312-428-3755