McCarthy Building Companies Hires Michael W. Benford as Director of Business Development for Commercial Projects

Michael W. Benford

NEWPORT BEACH, CA –McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., one of California’s preeminent builders, recently hired Michael W. Benford as business development manager, commercial services for the firm’s Southern California Division.

Based in McCarthy’s Newport Beach office, Benford will lead the initiatives for the commercial business unit, focusing on Fortune 500, entertainment, transportation, science and technology and other markets in the commercial building sector. 

Benford has over five years of construction industry experience in roles ranging from project engineer to business development.  Prior to joining McCarthy, he served as business development manager for another large, national general contracting firm. 

“Mike is a great addition to our team as McCarthy continues its momentum and growth in the commercial market,” said Jim Madrid, McCarthy vice president, business development.

 “He will apply his construction industry background to focus on new opportunities in the Los Angeles market including entertainment, parking structures and the many mixed-use projects developing from the rebounding economy.”

James Madrid

A resident of Rancho Santa Margarita, Benford has bachelor’s degrees in communication and psychology from the Dornslife College of Arts, Letters and Sciences and a minor in business management from Marshall School of Business at University of Southern California. 

He serves as a board member for the Irvine Chamber of Commerce and is an active member of the Society of Marketing Professionals and Design Build Institute of America.  

   

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

 Laura Mickelson (LM Communications) Lauramickelson@cox.net; (949) 453-0851            

Susan Garritano (McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.)  Sgarritano@mccarthy.com; (314) 968-3300 

www.mccarthy.com.

        

ZipRealty Study Finds West Coast Metros Buck the Trend in Median Home Sales Price Growth

Lanny Baker

EMERYVILLE, CA– ZipRealty, Inc. (http://www.ziprealty.com) (NASDAQ: ZIPR), the nation’s most prominent online technology-powered residential real estate brokerage firm and real estate marketing solutions provider, has released a new Housing Trends Report, which points to a less-frenzied real estate market compared to last spring.

While the median sales price of $267,215 at the end of October was 14.2% higher on a year-over-year basis, the ZipRealty report indicates that across markets, prices are moderating, the inventory of homes has started to increase and sold-to-list price ratios are trending downward.

However, Sacramento, Las Vegas, the San Francisco Bay Area and Phoenix were the strongest local markets at the end of October, as median sales prices in these metros have increased over the past 30 days, bucking the seasonal trend seen in the overall averages.

Leading Metros for Price Growth

Metro Area	Median Sales Price as of Oct. 31	Year-Over-Year Growth
1.Sacramento	$245,700	37%
2.Las Vegas	$172,100	32%
3.San Francisco Bay Area	$570,000	31%
4.Los Angeles	$352,000	25%
5.Orlando	$142,000	24%

Housing inventory was 382,873 at the end of October 2013, 10% fewer homes for sale than in October 2012.

“Throughout 2013, tighter inventory has contributed to rising home sales prices as eager buyers have competed for a relatively scarce supply of homes. Inventory levels tightened during October 2013, starting the month at 386,500, based on the 10/15/13 Housing Trends Report, and ending the month at 382,873 homes,” explained Lanny Baker, ZipRealty’s CEO and President.

”However, that 1% decline in inventory during October 2013 compares to a 5% decline during the same time frame last year. In other words, the trend in inventory levels points to more supply coming on − and staying on − the market.”

Metros with the Greatest Rise in Inventory

Metro Area	Inventory as of Oct. 31	Year-Over-Year Growth
1.Tucson	5,568	21%
2.Sacramento	8,166	18%
3.Las Vegas	9,599	15%
4.San Diego	6,660	14%
5.Phoenix	21,566	5%

“Sold to-list-price ratios also seem to reflect a slight increase in supply, signaling the beginning of a less-frenzied market, though the average across metros in ZipRealty’s study was still a selling price equal to 98.7% of the listing price.

“ Earlier this year, the ratio hit 100%, a very unusual sign that highlighted a significant imbalance of buyers vs. sellers. Even in October, one-third of the metros analyzed show sold-to-list price ratios of 100% or more,” stated Mr. Baker.

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

Stacey Corso
510.735.2667
scorso@ziprealty.com

NAI Realvest Negotiates Two New Leases at South Park Business Center and Two Renewals at Plaza Central in Orlando, FL

South Park Business Center, 8600 Commodity Circle, Orlando, FL

Tom R. Kelley II

ORLANDO, FL – NAI Realvest recently negotiated two new leases and two renewal leases all totaling 8,258 square feet at industrial and office centers in Orlando

 Tom R. Kelley II, CCIM, principal at NAI Realvest, brokered two new industrial leases on behalf of Miami-based South Park, LLC, the landlord of the South Park Business Center, a flex, office and warehouse center at 8600 Commodity Circle in Orlando. 

 The new tenants are Advanced Cockpit Solutions, LLC of Miami, leasing Unit 113 with 2,218 square feet and Orlando-based Sunlight Enterprises, Inc., Unit 109 with 1,830 square feet. 

Chris Adams

 At the same time, Kelley and NAI Realvest Associate Chris Adams negotiated two renewal leases for office space at Plaza Central located at 6220 S. Orange Blossom Trail.

KKP Holdings, LLC renewed its lease of suite 320 with 3,510 square feet, and Mark Anthony Arias renewed the lease of Suite 101 with 700 square feet.

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

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

      

Post Properties Announces Quarterly Dividends

Post Alexander Apartments, Phase 2, Atlanta, GA

ATLANTA, GA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Post Properties, Inc. (NYSE: PPS), an Atlanta-based real estate investment trust, today announced quarterly dividends on its common stock of $0.33 per share for the fourth quarter of 2013.

The dividend is payable on January 15, 2014 to all common stockholders of record as of January 2, 2014.

Post Biltmore Apartments, Atlanta, GA

Post also announced regular quarterly dividends on its 8.5 percent Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock of $1.0625 per share for the fourth quarter of 2013.

The dividend is payable on December 31, 2013 to all Series A preferred stockholders of record as of December 16, 2013.

Post Properties, founded more than 40 years ago, is a leading developer and operator of upscale multifamily communities. The Company’s mission is delivering superior satisfaction and value to its residents, associates, and investors, with a vision of being the first choice in quality multifamily living.

Post Brarcliff Apartments, Atlanta, Ga

Operating as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”), the Company focuses on developing and managing Post® branded high density urban and resort-style garden apartments.

Post Properties is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and has operations in ten markets across the country.

Post Properties has interests in 22,516 apartment units in 60 communities, including 1,471 apartment units in four communities held in unconsolidated entities and 1,620 apartment units in five communities currently under development or in lease-up.

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

Post Properties, Inc.

Chris Papa, 404-846-5000

Bull Realty Brokers Sale of 1.15 Acres on Peachtree Street in Atlanta’s Buckhead District

  

1753 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA

ATLANTA, GA – Bull Realty has brokered the $4.3 million sale of 1753 Peachtree St., a 1.15-acre site in Atlanta.

Michael Bull

UHS-Pruitt purchased the site on Nov. 12 from Woodhaven Ventures LP with plans develop an upscale six-story, 120-bed skilled nursing facility on the property.

The corner site is located less than half a mile south of Piedmont Hospital and the Shepherd Center, one of the top rehabilitation hospitals in the country.

Michael Bull, CCIM, and Daniel Latshaw, CCIM, of Bull Realty marketed the property and represented the seller in the transaction. Rush Bradley of Lavista Associates represented the buyer.

UHS-Pruitt, which is based in Norcross, Ga., owns and operates healthcare properties throughout the Southeast. 

The firm plans to tear down the existing single-story, 9,440-square-foot building to make way for a Class A, 60,832-square-foot skilled nursing facility.

The site, located at the intersection of Peachtree Street and Huntington Road in the popular Buckhead area of Atlanta, features 123 feet of frontage on Peachtree Street and a daily traffic count of 39,530 vehicles. The new building will have great views of Buckhead and Midtown and will be convenient to numerous high-end restaurants and stores.

Rush Bradley

“With its proximity to two premier hospitals, this location represents an outstandingpurchase for UHS-Pruitt and an ideal demographic for a skilled nursing facility,” said Michael Bull, the founder and president of Bull Realty.

 “All the factors are in place for this new development to be a wonderful addition to Buckhead and a very successful project.”

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

Stephen Ursery • The Wilbert Group

1720 Peachtree St., Suite 350 • Atlanta, Ga. 30309

O: 404-549-7150  • M: 404-405-2354

www.thewilbertgroup.com

Consolidated Contracting Services Completes Construction of New Clinic and Urgent Care Center for San Ysidro Health Center in Chula Vista, CA

Waiting Center for Patients at San Ysidro Health Center Clinic and Urgent Care Center
678 3rd Street, Chula Vista, CA

Terry Whitaker

SAN DIEGO, CA – Consolidated Contracting Services, Inc., a leading Southern California commercial builder with offices in San Diego and San Clemente, has completed construction for the new three-story, 46,016-square-foot San Ysidro Health Center clinic and urgent care center, located at 678 3rd Street in Chula Vista, CA 91910.

The facility is set to open for patients in December of 2013.

San Ysidro Health Center purchased the building last March for approximately $12 million, before it was completely renovated to accommodate the consolidation of three of its satellite clinics – Chula Vista Family Clinic, Otay Family Health Center and South Bay Family Urgent Care Center – under one roof. 

With the new facility, San Ysidro Health Center has expanded its community health services to include behavioral health and dental services, as well as ancillary services such as digital x-rays.  The expansion increases the organization’s number of available exam rooms from about 40 to 65.

Nick Rehnberg

Nick Rehnberg of Boulder & Associates served as the project architect.  Jean Young of Young+Co., Inc., was the interior designer.

“The design goal was to create a non-institutional environment that is both uplifting for staff and pleasing to visit for patients,” said Terry Whitaker, CFO of San Ysidro Health Center.  “This new facility will actually change our entire care model to make it a more patient-centric, residential-feeling, healing experience.”

Charlie Young served as project leader for Consolidated Contracting, with Steve Viscioni as superintendent and Kim McComb as project engineer. Peter Carlson with Miyamoto International was the structural engineer, Joe Hammond of Rick Engineering Company was the civil engineer, Steve Kurtzman of Michael Wall Engineering was the electrical engineer, and Jeff Dufoe of Dufoe Consulting Engineers was the mechanical/plumbing engineer. 

Jean Young

The scope of work by Consolidated Contracting included complete renovation of the building’s interior, including structural upgrades; new electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems; telecommunication systems; fire/safety and intrusion alarm systems; and fire sprinkler upgrades.

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

Bonnie Kutch

Director

619-299-1010

Kutch & Company

6434 Caminito Listo | Suite B-100 | San Diego, California 92111

www.consolidatedcontracting.com.

Cousins Properties Announces New Leases at Colorado Tower in Downtown Austin, TX

Rendering of planned Colorado Tower office development
Downtown Austin, TX

Larry Gellerstedt

AUSTIN, TX--Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE: CUZ) announced today that it has signed three leases, totaling 79,000 square feet, at Colorado Tower in Downtown Austin, TX.

The 373,000-square-foot, Class-A office development will be the first high-rise tower built in Austin since Cousins developed Frost Bank Tower in 2003.

Colorado Tower is projected to be delivered December 2014 and still has approximately 294,000 square feet available.

"We are excited to announce the addition of these high-quality tenants to Colorado Tower and are encouraged by the positive leasing momentum building since breaking ground in June," said Larry Gellerstedt, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cousins.

Additional information on these leases:

• DuBois, Bryant & Campbell, LLP leased 24,342 square feet.
• Scott, Douglas & McConnico, L.L.P. leased 40,011 square feet and was represented by Commercial Texas LLC.
• Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. leased 14,768 square feet and was represented by CBRE, Inc.

Frost Bank Tower, Downtown Austin, TX

Cousins has played a prominent role in the Austin real estate market for over 20 years, with a list of notable projects including Frost Bank Tower, Palisades West, and its recent acquisition of 816 Congress.

Cousins Properties Incorporated is a leading diversified real estate company with extensive experience in development, acquisition, financing, management and leasing. 

Based in Atlanta, the Company actively invests in office and retail projects. Since its founding in 1958, Cousins has developed 20 million square feet of office space and 20 million square feet of retail space. 

Palisades West, Austin, TX

Cousins has built and maintained an industry-wide reputation for innovative and sustainable developments, premium management services and top quality leadership. 

The Company creates and maintains value in real estate assets for the benefit of shareholders, and partners.

Cousins Properties is a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust (REIT) and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CUZ.

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

Cousins Properties Incorporated

Tim Hendricks, 512-477-3434

Senior Vice President

timhendricks@cousinsproperties.com

www.cousinsproperties.com.

Investment Grade Commercial RE Market Frenzy Continues

                                                                                                

Stamping Ground, KY --  The commercial real estate world continues it’s feeding frenzy of investment grade single tenant credit deals chasing prices to new highs and cap rates to new lows (cap rates have an inverse relationship to prices).  The recent sale of a brand new construction Dollar General in Stamping Ground, KY serves as another example. 

David Wells

The asset traded at a 7.6% cap rate to an all cash foreign buyer for a price of $980,000.  Both the buyer and seller were represented by the Wells Net Lease Group, the largest brokerage firm of Dollar stores in the Nation.

“We’ve done 50 dollar store transactions this year, they’re a great credit asset with a strong long-term outlook,"  says Wells Net Lease Group CEO David Wells.

"The buyer on this deal was a foreign national, we’re dealing with more and more foreign investors.  People here like to sing the blues about our economy, it’s a bunch of crap.

"America is resilient our legal system in regards to property rights is the best in the world and capital keeps pouring in.  The buyer on this deal is from Afghanistan.  

"I travel a lot and people always ask me about the strength of the US market, put it this way I’ve never once had a US investor ask for a deal in Afghanistan."

The overall outlook for US real estate assets with long-term credit tenants remains strong across all commercial real estate market sectors.

  “For credit rated tenants with ten or more years of term prices have steadily risen throughout the year as more investors are seeking higher yields than the bond market offers and the security of the underling real estate," says Mr. Wells. 

"Cap rates will rise slightly going forward in respect to the increase in interest rates but overall demand for credit assets will continue.”

Wells adds, “People always get excited when cap rates rise or fall, it’s just a function of the 10-year.  

"The relationship between the cost of capital and the cost of the asset remains historically at a 200-300 basis point spread, the spread necessary to incentivize investors with positive leverage.  Cap rates move with the 10-year treasury, it’s the most efficient gauge of market valuation.” 

“The industry tends to think the demand for credit rated tenants is a trend, it’s no trend, and we’ve all learned hard lessons over the past cycle.  

"Standard & Poors & Moody’s ratings are the only plausible benchmark to mitigate risk and lenders.  Investors agree."

Dollar General has an investment grade credit rating of BBB-. 

For more information, please contact David Wells directly:

305.498.6095

david.wells@wellsnetlease.com

 www.wellsnetleasegroup.com