Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Wyndham Hotel Group Announces First Wyndham Hotel in the U.A.E.


  

                           Wyndham Dubai Marina Hotel rendering


DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company with approximately 7,380 hotels and part of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: WYN), announced plans for the first Wyndham® Hotels and Resorts property in the United Arab Emirates following the signing of an agreement with Sigma III Limited, a subsidiary of British-owned developer The First Group, to manage its impressive 33-story building in the Dubai Marina

Dubai Marina
 Currently under development, the Wyndham Dubai Marina is expected to open within the next three years with 497 guest rooms including 251 luxurious suites.

The hotel will also comprise nearly 6,800 square feet of food and beverage outlets, including all-day-dining and specialty restaurants, as well as a coffee shop, an executive lounge and a bar.

 Alongside meetings and conference space, the hotel will also offer almost 2,500 square feet of spa and leisure facilities including a gym and outdoor pool with a pool bar.

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

Roz Money
Director of Brand Marketing
Wyndham Hotel Group
The Triangle, Hammersmith Grove, London, W6 0LG, United Kingdom
+44 (0) 20 8762 6600

Trepp April Payoff Report: Percentage of Loans Paying at Maturity Rebounds


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NEW YORK, NY -- According to the Trepp April Payoff Report, the percentage of loans paying off on their balloon date registered 64.6%. This was eight points above the March reading of 56.6%.

 The rate has now exceeded 60% in six of the past eight months. The March rate of 64.6% is well above the 12-month moving average of 52.8%.

(This number sums the averages of each month and divides by 12, there was no balance weighting across the months.) By loan count (as opposed to balance), 73.6% of loans paid off. By that measure, it was the highest reading since September 2008. The 12-month rolling average by loan count is now 60.8%.

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

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

Investment Sales of Retail Properties Spike as Sector Continues to Recover


   
Michael Bull at the mike
ATLANTA, GA – With commercial real estate investors searching for higher yields, investment sales of retail properties have spiked, and buyers are showing more interest in purchasing properties in secondary and tertiary markets.

 That was one of the market insights provided on the most recent episode of the “Commercial Real Estate Show” radio program, hosted by Michael Bull of Bull Realty.

The episode provided an enlightening look at the U.S. retail sector. Topics included investment sales volume, in-demand markets, the federal Marketplace Fairness Act and the upcoming RECon 2013 convention in Las Vegas.

Dan Fasulo
 Retail investment sales totaled more than $20 billion in fourth-quarter 2012, a pace not seen since before the Great Recession, said Dan Fasulo, managing director of Real Capital Analytics (RCA). The brisk activity was fueled in part by sellers’ motivation to close deals before higher capital-gains tax rates took effect early this year, he added.

 Overall, nearly $53 billion of retail investment sales were completed in 2012, a 20 percent increase from the year before, according toRCA.


Laurel David
 “There were a lot of buyers, institutional investors, that had focused on office and multifamily earlier in this recovery cycle, but who have now shifted to other property sectors like industrial and certainly retail because of the higher yields available,” Fasulo said.

 Nationwide, retail cap rates average just above 7 percent, a mark that has remained the same for several years. However, “you’ve got to dig underneath [that average],” Fasulo said. “Where we have seen some cap rate compression recently is in the secondary and tertiary markets, which were late to the party a little bit.”

 In another positive development for the retail sector, the federal Marketplace Fairness Act, which would give states the authority to require large Internet retailers to collect state and local sales taxes at the point of sale, seems to have a good chance of soon becoming law, said Laurel David, an attorney with The Galloway Law Group and the chair of the ICSC Georgia Government Relations group.

President Barack Obama
 The bill is slated for a Monday vote in the U.S. Senate, where it appears to have broad bipartisan support. If passed in the Senate, it would go to the House. President Obama has indicated he would sign the legislation if passed by Congress, David said.

Bricks-and-mortar retailers, who do have to collect sales taxes at the time of a transaction, support the legislation because they feel the current system gives an unfair advantage to their online counterparts, and state and local governments are behind the measure because of the tax revenue they lose.

Jesse Tron
Even though consumers are technically required to eventually pay sales taxes for their online purchases, hardly any ever do, and the result is that state governments lose $23 billion in taxes each year, David said.

 “The bill will level the playing field,” David said.

 Indicative of the gathering momentum in retail real estate, the International Council of Shopping Centers’ (ICSC) annual RECon convention is on pace for a noticeable increase in attendance, according to Jesse Tron, communications manager for ICSC.

The show is the sector’s largest convention by far, and should draw 33,000 to 35,000 attendees this year, up from about 32,000 in 2012, Tron said. “I think the buzz (about the industry) has picked up, probably the most since the recession,” he said.

 The entire episode on the U.S. retail market is available for download at www.CREshow.com. The next “Commercial Real Estate Show” will be available May 9 and will examine the U.S. multifamily market.


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


Stephen Ursery
The Wilbert Group
Office: (404) 965-5026
Cell: (404) 405-2354

Beech Street Capital Closes $10 Million Fannie Mae loan to Refinance Springfield, TN Apartments




                 Legacy Village Apartments, Springfield, TN


BETHESDA, MD – Beech Street Capital, LLC announced it has provided a $10 million Fannie Mae DUS loan for the refinance of Legacy Village Apartments, a 212-unit apartment complex in Springfield, Tennessee.

Damon Reed
The transaction was originated by Damon Reed, vice president based out of Beech Street’s Birmingham, Alabama office.

The first time borrower purchased Legacy Village in 2011 and was looking to retire existing debt, cover closing costs and escrow funds required for completion repairs. .

The borrower has over 30 years of experience in various aspects of commercial and residential real estate including acquisition, renovation, construction and management. 

 The property is located in Robertson County, part of the Nashville MSA, and is in close proximity to several major arteries of transportation which provide direct access to downtown Nashville. Springfield is located 30 miles north of Nashville and 12 miles from the Kentucky state line.

 The property consists of twenty-nine, two-story buildings on over 15 acres.  Amenities include a community pool, fitness center, car care facility and a children’s playground. 

The fixed-rate loan has a 10-year term with a 30-year amortization schedule with an all in interest rate in the high three percent range.

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

Courtney Lewis
 240-507-1948  
Jenifer Bernardi
240-507-1946.

Tempe, Arizona Market Continues Stride: Jones Lang LaSalle Completes Lease Expansion for Silicon Valley Bank


  


                                Hayden Ferry Lakeside I office building
                                              Downtown Tempe, AZ

  
PHOENIX, AZ– On behalf of California-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the Phoenix office of Jones Lang LaSalle has completed a 25,579-square-foot lease expansion in the Hayden Ferry Lakeside I office building in downtown Tempe, Ariz.

Keith Lammerson
The announcement brings SVB’s total leased space at the building to approximately 75,000 square feet across three floors and currently makes it the largest tenant in the 10-story, Class A office property.

Jason Moore
“Silicon Valley Bank is fulfilling its original expansion plans, which are going well and ahead of schedule,” said Jones Lang LaSalle Vice President Keith Lammersen, who represented SVB in the lease transaction along with Jones Lang LaSalle Vice President Jason Moore and Executive Vice President Jim Sadler.

The building owner, Parkway Properties, Inc., was represented by its Vice President and Managing Director Mat Mooney and Senior Property Manager Mark Sanford.

Jim Sadler
SVB signed its original lease at Hayden Ferry Lakeside I in early 2013, moving into 49,374 square feet by mid-year. It uses the space for an IT and operations center and will use the additional space to continue to build the teams that are now located there.

“Our local talent, affordability and quality of life helped attract SVB to the Valley. Those factors continue to support the company’s local growth plan,” said Lammersen.

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

Stacey Hershauer
focusAZ
Marketing & Public Relations
(480) 600-0195

Marcus & Millichap Sells 27,000-SF Bank of America Building in Lighthouse Point, FL for $1.5 Million




                                    Bank of America Building, Lighthouse Point, FL

LIGHTHOUSE POINT, FL – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has announced the sale of Bank of America Building, a 27,000- square foot office property located in Lighthouse Point, FL. The asset commanded a sales price of $1,500,000.

Douglas K. Mandel
Douglas K. Mandel, a First Vice President Investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Ft. Lauderdale office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a limited liability company from New York.  The buyer, a limited liability company from Illinois, was secured and represented by Senior Associate Jason N. Yukins, also in the firm’s Ft. Lauderdale office. 

The Bank of America Building is a four-story, class-B office building totaling 27,008 rentable square feet and is situated on 2.2 acres.  The building was constructed in 1968 and is currently 29 percent occupied by a Bank of America branch with seven drive-thru lanes.

Jason N. Yukins
The property has ample frontage along Federal Highway, just blocks south of Sample Road, and provides access to Interstate 95, the Florida Turnpike and the beaches. The Bank of America Building is located at 2850 N Federal Highway in Lighthouse Point, FL.

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

Gregory Matus
Regional Manager / Vice President,
Fort Lauderdale, FL
(954) 245-3400

Manhattan Construction Co. Begins Construction on Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network’s New Headquarters in Hall County, Ga.


 


                              Gateway Industrial Center, Hall County, GA

ATLANTA, GA (May 7, 2013) – Representatives of Manhattan Construction Co. joined state and local officials, including Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal and Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, Monday for the groundbreaking of the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network’s (GPLN) new headquarters in Hall County’s new Gateway Industrial Centre.

Gov. Nathan Deal
Manhattan Construction will build the $13.7 million, 39,000-square-foot facility. Completion of the single-story building, whichwill feature laboratories with biosafety levels (BSLs) of 2 and 3 as well as general office space, is scheduled for late summer 2014.

GPLN provides diagnostic and monitoring services to Georgia’s commercial poultry industry to ensure the safety and health of poultry flocks, eggs and other poultry products. Its headquarters are currently located in Oakwood, Ga.

Barton Plunkett
 “This is an exciting project for Manhattan, and we are honored to be a part of Georgia’s ongoing efforts to improve the poultry industry through the application of more sophisticated diagnostic and monitoring technologies,” said Barton Plunkett, a senior vice president for Manhattan who oversees the firm’s Atlanta office.

 “The poultry industry is a major component of Georgia’s economy, and this facility will strengthen this vital, job-creating industry.”

More than 100,000 residents of Georgia are either directly or indirectly employed by the poultry industry.



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

Stephen Ursery
The Wilbert Group
E-mail: sursery@thewilbertgroup.com
Office: (404) 965-5026
Cell: (404) 405-2354

@ManhattanBuild, via Facebook/ManhattanConstruction and on LinkedIn.

Marcus & Millichap Names Craig M. Fuller Director of National Retail Group and Net Leased Properties Group


  
Craig M. Fuller

 CLEVELAND, OH – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has named Craig M. Fuller director of the firm’s National Retail Group and Net Leased Properties Group in Cleveland, according to Bill Rose, national director of the National Retail Group and Net Leased Properties Group.

Fuller joined Marcus & Millichap in June 2008 and earned the firm’s Pace Setter Award, which is given to agents who meet a high standard of performance during their first four months following training. He was promoted to senior associate in March 2012.

Bill Rose
Fuller specializes in the sale of both multi-tenant and single-tenant net-leased retail investment properties throughout the Midwest with a special focus on Ohio and Pennsylvania. During his career, Fuller has closed more than 70 transactions valued at well over $195 million.

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

Ben Johnson,
Marketing Director
(925) 953-1736

$17.1 Million BJ’s Wholesale Club Ground Lease Hits the Market in New England


  

                      BJ's Wholesale Club retail store, Revere, MA
  
REVERE, MA – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has received the exclusive listing for the ground lease on a 120,224-square foot BJ’s Wholesale Club retail store in Revere, Mass. The listing price of $17,120,000 equates to $142 per square foot.

Robert Horvath
            Robert Horvath, a vice president investments, and Todd Tremblay, an associate vice president investments, both in the Boston office of Marcus & Millichap, are representing the seller, a regional developer, manager and owner.

            “This BJ’s Wholesale Club is located in a well-established trade area with proximity to numerous national tenants,” says Horvath. “BJ’s signed the original 15-year ground lease in March 2008.”

“The lease includes one five-year and six 10-year options and rental increases are scheduled every five years throughout the base term and option periods,” adds Tremblay. “The property includes a full service BJ’s gas station for club members.”

Todd Tremblay
Built in 2009, the property is located approximately six miles from downtown Boston on a 1.88-acre parcel just off Route 60, Squire Road, in Revere, Mass. The location is easily accessible from Route 1, a main thoroughfare. Traffic counts along Squire Road are in excess of 47,000 vehicles per day and more than 26,000 vehicles per day pass by on the nearby Salem Turnpike.

Local, regional and national tenants in the area include CVS, Family Dollar, Burlington Coat Factory, Uno Chicago Grill, McDonald’s, East Boston Savings Bank, Wendy’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, AutoZone, Dollar Tree, Price Rite and Taco Bell.

The population within a three-mile radius is 191,707 and 448,934 within a five-mile radius.

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

Ben Johnson,
Marketing Director
(925) 953-1736

Access Point Financial Announces Major Expansion Initiative


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Patrick Feltes
 ATLANTA, GA May 07, 2013—Access Point Financial, Inc., (APF) a direct full-service lending and advisory firm focused on the hospitality industry, today announced a major expansion initiative to service anticipated increased demand for its broad range of hotel financing products.  

The growth activity includes adding two hotel lending veterans as senior vice presidents—J.W. Clements and Patrick Feltes.  

They will be responsible for providing regionalized APF financing products and services and over time develop full processing capabilities supported by additional business development and credit officers.  

Jon S. Wright
  In addition, the company has opened three new offices and plans to double the company’s Atlanta headquarters  by midyear.

“Since the launch of Access Point in July of 2011, we have reassembled one of the most active hotel lending platforms serving our historic global brands and client base of proven hoteliers replicating 25 years of proven success,” said Jon S. Wright, president and CEO of Access Point Financial. 

  “With that foundation in place, we’re now well-positioned to prudently manage increases in our projected loan production and our geographic footprint, as well as deliver the local expertise and maintain our focus of being a ‘Nationwide Community Bank for Hoteliers’.” 
  
 For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Jerry Daly, Chris Daly
(703) 435-6293

Taubman Asia Promotes Paul Wright to Group Vice President--Leasing


  
Paul Wright
HONG KONG, May 7, 2013 – Taubman Asia is pleased to announce that Paul Wright has been promoted to group vice president, leasing. In this role, Mr. Wright is responsible for overseeing Taubman Asia’s leasing activities and growing the company’s leasing platform in Asia.

 Since joining Taubman Asia as director of leasing in 2006 and being promoted to vice president of leasing in 2007, Mr. Wright has been a key contributor in leading Taubman Asia’s leasing strategy in numerous Asian projects, including the International Financial Center Mall (IFC) in Seoul, South Korea, which opened in August 2012.
                                
Rene Tremblay
Mr. Wright has over 16 years of experience across leasing, retail operations and relationship management of key international retailers, accumulated from his former advisory roles for development and redevelopment projects throughout the Asian region including China, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. 

Mr. Wright is based in Taubman Asia’s regional headquarters in Hong Kong. In addition to the ongoing management operations of IFC Mall in Seoul, Taubman Asia is also developing a portfolio of projects including Hanam Union Square in Greater Seoul, and two recently announced projects in Xi’an and Zhengzhou, China.

 RenĂ© Tremblay, president, Taubman Asia, said, “Paul brings tremendous experience to this important role. His in-depth knowledge of best practices helps us close deals with high quality tenants and introduce a unique merchant mix to shoppers in Asia.”

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

Pamela So
Weber Shandwick,
Hong Kong
+852 2533 9916