HFF secures $9 million financing for five-property self storage portfolio in Texas and Indiana

LOS ANGELES, CA – HFF announced today that it has secured $9 million in financing for a five-property self storage portfolio totaling 2,506 units in Houston, Texas and Indianapolis, Indiana.

                HFF worked exclusively on behalf of World Class Capital Group, LLC to arrange the 10-year, fixed-rate loan through Deutsche Bank.  The securitized loan was used to acquire the properties and will be serviced by HFF.

                The portfolio is comprised of four properties in Houston and one in Indianapolis, Indiana.  The properties, which were owned and operated by a national self-storage REIT, total 329,884 square feet.

Christopher Vittetoe

                The HFF team representing the borrower was led by director Christopher Vittetoe.

World Class Capital Group, LLC is a leading private real estate investment firm based in Austin, TX. The firm pursues opportunities in all U.S. markets and has a distinct focus on value-add and core-plus real estate investments. 

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

 Kristen M. Murphy

Associate Director

HFF | 9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 700 | Houston, TX 77046

tel 713.852.3500 | cel 617.543.4873 | fax 713.527.8725 | www.hfflp.com

krmurphy@hfflp.com

www.phillipsedison-arc.com

. 

HFF closes sale of three-property HEB & Publix retail portfolio

Brad Peterson

ORLANDO, FL – HFF announced today that it has closed the sale of three grocery-anchored retail centers totaling 276,143 square feet located in suburban communities of Houston, Texas; Columbia, South Carolina; and Tallahassee, Florida. 

The properties are: Kleinwood Center, Murray Landing and Vineyard Shopping Center. 

HFF marketed the portfolio on behalf of the seller, Charter Hall Retail REIT and Regency Centers Corporation.  Phillips Edison-ARC Shopping Center REIT Inc. purchased the offering.

Jim Batjer

The portfolio has an average three-mile population of more than 67,000 residents with an average household income of nearly $104,000.  Individual property details are listed below:

Property Year Built            Square Feet            Occupancy            Anchor          

Kleinwood Center, Spring, TX,  built 20003, 148,963 SF, 92%, anchor HEB                

Murray Landing, Irmo, SC, built 2003, 64,359 SF, 100%.  Publix           

Vineyard Shopping Center, Tallahassee, FL, built 2002, 62,821 SF, 84.7%, Publix        

Jim Hamilton

The HFF investment sales team representing the seller was led by senior managing directors Brad Peterson in Orlando and Jim Batjer in Dallas, and managing directors Jim Hamilton in Atlanta and Ryan West in Houston. 

According to Peterson, “The scarcity of HEB and Publix offerings, coupled with desirable anchor lease terms and sales performance across the portfolio, presented Phillips Edison-ARC Shopping Center REIT Inc. with a rare opportunity to acquire three high-quality, grocery-anchored centers in a single transaction.”

Ryan West

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

 Kristen M. Murphy

Associate Director

HFF | 9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 700 | Houston, TX 77046

tel 713.852.3500 | cel 617.543.4873 | fax 713.527.8725 | www.hfflp.com

krmurphy@hfflp.com

www.phillipsedison-arc.com

. 

HFF closes REO sale of Stamford, CT office property

9 West Broad Street, Stamford, CT

FLORHAM PARK, NJ – HFF announced today that it has closed the REO sale of 9 West Broad Street, a 200,301-square-foot office property located  in downtown Stamford, Connecticut.

HFF marketed the property on behalf of the seller. The purchaser is a joint venture between Forstone Capital LLC and certain funds managed by Westport Capital Partners LLC.

Jose Cruz

9 West Broad Street is situated on 2.88 acres at the north end of Mill River Park in Stamford, with quick access to Interstate 95, Route 1, Merritt Parkway, the Stamford Metro North commuter rail station and Stamford Town Center. 

Andrew Scandalios

Renovated in 1999, the nine-story property is anchored by American Institute for Foreign Studies. 9 West Broad Street features a full-service cafeteria and a separate parking garage.

The HFF investment sales team representing the seller was led by senior managing directors Jose Cruz and Andrew Scandalios, managing directors Kevin O’Hearn and Jeffrey Julien as well as associate director Steve Simonelli.

Kevin O'Hearn

“9 West Broad Street is well-positioned for value creation through lease-up and will benefit from its location in Stamford, which is home to numerous Fortune 500 companies and top financial firms,” said Cruz.  

 O’Hearn added, “Forestone continues to expand their presence in the Fairfield County and is one of the most active investors in this submarket.”

Forstone Capital, LLC is a boutique real estate investment firm located in Darien, Connecticut that provides a full range of commercial real estate services to private equity investors and select individual clients.

Jeffrey Julien

 Since its inception in 2007, Forstone Capital has acquired over 1 million square feet of office, retail, and multi-family properties throughout Connecticut.

At Forstone Capital, the firm strives to provide clients with valuable investment opportunities through off-market deal sourcing, intimate market knowledge and hands-on execution of their asset strategies through proprietary leasing, development and management services.

Steve Simonelli

Westport Capital Partners LLC is an investment management company focused exclusively on opportunistic and distressed real estate investments. The company invests in real estate through direct and indirect property ownership and through public and private real estate securities and financial instruments. 

The company focuses on distressed assets, value-added transactions, and domestic and international development opportunities

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

 Kristen M. Murphy

Associate Director

HFF | 9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 700 | Houston, TX 77046

tel 713.852.3500 | cel 617.543.4873 | fax 713.527.8725 | www.hfflp.com

krmurphy@hfflp.com

Stan Johnson Co. Completes Unique Sale-Leaseback of American Forest Products Industrial Portfolio for $13,807,600

                      

Camille Renshaw

                       

 NEW YORK, NY (March 27, 2013) – In a transaction that highlights how corporations are leveraging sale-leaseback transactions for growth, Stan Johnson Company, one of the nation’s premier net lease brokerage firms, has structured the sale-leaseback of a portfolio of American Forest Products properties totaling $13,807,000.

American Forest Products is the leading provider of third-party logistics and retail services, in conjunction with the sale of moulding and specialty millwork, into big-box retail and pro-dealer locations, such as Home Depot.

Camille Renshaw, CCIM, of Stan Johnson Company represented the seller, American Forest Products, and the buyer, a private equity fund.  The portfolio included five industrial properties, totaling +/- 575,000 square-feet, with properties located within California, South Carolina, and Virginia.

Under the terms of the deal, AFP agreed to a lease term of 21 years as the single tenant within each property under an absolute net, master lease.  A unique component of the transaction is the seller’s attractive buyback clause in year five, which gives it the necessary capital for growth today, coupled with ongoing control of all its sites.

“Every detail of the sale-leaseback had to be specially managed to create a strong growth path for American Forest Products,” said Camille Renshaw.  “Ultimately, the seller was able to pay off debt and expand its credit revolvers for immediate and expansive new business growth.”

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

David Ebeling

Ebeling Communications

(949) 278-7851                      

                        

FrontDoor Communities Taps Eric White as Division Vice President of Atlanta Office

Eric White

ATLANTA, GA  (March 27, 2013) -- FrontDoor Communities announced today it has expanded its Atlanta office with the addition of Eric White, who will serve as the firm’s division vice president.

Chief among White’s duties will be managing FrontDoor’s real estate acquisitions, development, homebuilding and sales in Atlanta. White brings more than 20 years of experience to his new role.

“FrontDoor Communities is growing quickly as the housing market rebounds, and we are poised to kick off new developments in our hometown of Atlanta,” said Terry Russell, chief executive officer of FrontDoor.

Terry Russell

"An accomplished industry veteran, Eric White is the ideal person to oversee our Atlanta activity.”

Prior to joining FrontDoor, White worked at Ryland Homes in Atlanta, where he spent the past 19 years.

Launched by veterans of the home building industry with 25+ years’ combined experience, FrontDoor Communities is a full-service real estate firm that is grounded in the reality of the marketplace with an eye toward the current economy’s consumer needs and wants.

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

Michael Phillips

404 996 0828

mphillips@frontdoorcommunities.com

                        

Registration for Hotel Equity & Lender Perspectives (HELP) Conference in Boston up 60 Percent

  

BOSTON, MA, March 27, 2013—Hotel equity investors and lenders are showing a marked increase in investing in the industry based on advanced registration for the Hotel Equity & Lender Perspectives (HELP) Conference set for April 8-9 at the Boston Seaport Hotel.

According to conference officials advance registration for the two-day event is up more than 60 percent.  “The biggest change is that a greater pool of capital has increased the number of registrants from public and private investment organizations and lenders,” said Jim O’Connell. 

Jim O'Connell

 “Virtually all the major brand groups will be represented, as well as many more owners from around the country.  We have doubled the number of Dine-Around events, at which small groups of hoteliers meet for a private dinner, and are scrambling to find more venues.”

More information about the Hotel Equity & Lender Perspectives Conference, including registration, program and sponsorship details, is available at www.helpconference.com or by calling (978) 777-4100. Registration for the HELP Conference is $795.     

    

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

 Jerry Daly, Chris Daly

 Daly Gray, Inc.

703-435-6293

Jerry@dalygray.com

      

Regency Centers’ 2012 greengenuity® Metrics Show Improvements in Sustainability

Mark Peternell

JACKSONVILLE, FL--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regency Centers (NYSE:REG), a national owner, operator and developer of grocery-anchored and community shopping centers, increased its annual energy savings by 75 percent, achieved LEED® certification for three projects and tripled the amount of construction and demolition material recycled in 2012.

These sustainability improvements are just three of the metrics illustrating the company’s ongoing commitment to reduce the environmental impact of developing and operating shopping centers through its greengenuity® program.

“We believe our commitment to greengenuity leads to better risk management and cost savings, improves our communities, encourages innovation and is in the best interest of our shareholders,” said Mark Peternell, vice president of sustainability for Regency Centers. “Our 2012 performance metrics are the strongest yet in our ongoing effort to be responsible stewards of natural and economic resources.”

Regency measures its greengenuity progress through steady improvement in five key areas: green building certification, energy efficiency, water conservation, renewable energy and waste reduction.

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

Cohn Marketing

Lisa Wieting, 720-233-791

Lisa@cohnmarketing.com

or

Regency Centers

Mark Peternell, 303-300-5331

Vice President, Sustainability

MarkPeternell@RegencyCenters.com

First Green Bank Officials Attend Global Alliance for Banking on Values Summit in Berlin

Shannon Carlyle

Mount Dora, Fla. --- The chairman, president and two directors of First Green Bank, headquartered in Mount Dora, recently attended the Global Alliance for Banking on Values summit conference in Berlin.

Kenneth M. LaRoe, chairman of First Green Bank, Paul Roundtree, president and bank directors Shannon Carlyle and Randy Strode attended the conference.

Paul Roundtree

First Green Bank was admitted to the Global Alliance for Banking on Values last year.

The Alliance, which includes 22 banks in 16 countries, including four U.S. banks, is an independent network of banks using finance to deliver sustainable development for unserved people, communities and the environment.

First Green Bank launched its first capital offering in January.  LaRoe said First Green Bank has raised more than $4 million in investments.

Randy Strode

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

Kenneth E. LaRoe, CEO and Chairman, First GREEN Bank, 352-483-9100, ken@firstgreenbank.com

Paul Rountree, President, First GREEN Bank, 352-483-9100, paul@firstgreenbank.com

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142 or 407-461-3780, lvershelco@aol.com  

Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. Arranges $6.5 Million Office Refinance in Northern California

Jeffrey Shaddy

 BERKELEY, CA– Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation (MMCC) has arranged $6.5 million in debt as a refinance on a 47,000-square foot Class B office property in Berkeley’s central business district.

            Jeffery Shaddy, a director in MMCC’s Sacramento office, arranged the loan.

            “There were several challenges facing this transaction,” says Shaddy. “Despite the short-term, predominately single-tenant lease, the request was for longer-term, low-rate financing without tenant improvement and leasing commission or lease-up reserves and a 30-year amortization schedule, instead of the more conservative standard of 25 years for commercial properties.

“And, due to proximity to a seismic fault zone, the request was for non-recourse financing without an earthquake insurance requirement,” adds Shaddy.

            “We were able to resolve environmental, seismic, term structuring, estoppel and swap issues and meet the client’s expectations,” concludes Shaddy. “We delivered at the rates and terms promised and closed precisely on time.”

            The 10-year loan amortizes over 30 years at 4.5 percent. The LTV is 65 percent. The property was built in 1969.

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

Ben Johnson,

Marketing Director

(925) 953-1736

Two-Building Mixed-Use Portfolio Changes Hands in Los Angeles, CA

Guardian Arms Apartments, Los Angeles, CA

 LOS ANGELES, CA – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has arranged the sale of a two-building mixed-use portfolio well positioned in the upward trending area between Hollywood and Los Feliz in Los Angeles.

 The two buildings are the Guardian Arms Apartments, a seven-story 90-unit apartment building with four retail spaces on the ground level, and an adjacent four-story mixed-use asset with 11 apartments and five ground-floor retail units.  

Richard Ringer

The buildings are located at 5217-5233 Hollywood Boulevard. The terms of the sale were not disclosed.

            Richard Ringer, a first vice president investments in the firm’s West Los Angeles office, represented the seller, a private partnership, and the buyer, M West Holdings LLC, a vertically integrated private real estate investment company.

Jake Roberts and Anita Roberts, both vice presidents capital markets in Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation’s (MMCC) West Los Angeles office, arranged the financing.

Jake Roberts

            “Guardian Arms Apartments is a ‘character building’ with a grand lobby, polished concrete and marble floors, art-deco style units, 180-degree unobstructed views of  the Hollywood sign, Griffith Park Observatory and the downtown skyline, and a prestigious Hollywood Boulevard address,” says Ringer. 

“The new owner is in an excellent position to realize rental upsides through unit turns and stronger management, and may apply for reduced real estate taxes under the Mills Act property tax abatement program.”

Los Angeles skyline

The two contiguous properties were built in the late 1920s on a lot totaling 44,998 square feet with 100 feet of boulevard frontage.

 The total unit mix for the two buildings is 21 “bachelor” apartments without kitchens, 52 studios with kitchens, 28 one-bedroom/one-bath apartments and nine retail spaces

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

Ben Johnson,

Marketing Director

(925) 953-1736

Jones Lang LaSalle Inks Lease to Expand BSE Group’s Arizona Office Presence

Jim Sadler

PHOENIX, AZ – On behalf of Boston Semi Equipment, LLC the Phoenix office of Jones Lang LaSalle has completed a 54,900-square-foot lease in Tempe, Ariz. that allows Massachusetts-based Boston Semi Equipment (BSE) to expand its local market presence and increase its production capacity.

“BSE recognized its growth potential in Phoenix and conducted an extensive multi-market search to find a location that supports this important move in the company’s history,” said Jones Lang LaSalle Executive Vice President Jim Sadler, who brokered the deal with Jones Lang LaSalle Vice Presidents Keith Lammersen and Jason Moore on behalf of BSE Group.

Keith Lammersen

“They have done a thorough job of researching and selecting a new home that fulfils a requirement for state-of-the-art engineering space, provides a central location for employees and offers space for expansion. We were honored to be selected to help them in this effort.”

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

 Stacey Hershauer

480.600.0195

stacey@focusaz.com

Donna Abood and Colliers International South Florida Named to TCI's Top 50 Women-Led Businesses

Donna Abood

MIAMI, FL - We are pleased to announce that the Commonwealth Institute South of Florida (TCI) has selected Chairman-Founding Partner of Colliers International South Florida Donna Abood as one of the Top 50 Women-Led Business Leaders in Florida.

Abood's inclusion in the list of honorees was derived from her participation in a recent study conducted by TCI and Moore Research that examined the characteristics of woman leaders and the businesses they lead.

 In addition to announcing the Top 50, the survey found that a majority of women-led organizations (53%) are more optimistic about current economic conditions in Florida, with many expecting continued improvement through 2013. A detailed summary and additional findings will be released in the full report later this month.

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

Crystal Proenza

Vice President of Marketing

Colliers International South Florida

Commercial Real Estate Services

Tel: 305 476 7138

Email: crystal.proenza@colliers.com

www.colliers.com