Thursday, April 3, 2014

MBA to Host 2014 Strategic Markets & Diversity Conference in Washington, DC


Debra W. Still
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 3, 2014) – The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced today that it would host the 2014 Strategic Markets and Diversity Conference, June 25-27 at the Westin City Center in Washington, DC.  

The conference is designed to bring together industry leaders, community organizations, hiring and recruiting specialists and others interested in increasing diversity among real estate finance company personnel, vendors and homebuyers.  More information can be found here.

At the same time, MBA also announced the members of its appointed Board of Directors Diversity and Inclusion Committee as well as four strategic areas of focus that will drive the group’s work in 2014.

Committee Members are:

Debra W. Still, CMB, President & CEO, Pulte Mortgage (Chairman)
Gary Acosta, CEO, Community Asset Solutions
Teresa Bazemore, President, Radian Guaranty Inc
Brad Blackwell, EVP, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
Byron Boston, President & CEO, Dynex Capital, Inc
E.J. Burke, EVP, Key Bank Real Estate Capital
Daryl Carter, CEO, Avanth Capital Management, LLC
Craig Chapman, CEO, Salataris


Teresa Bazemore
Kyung Cho-Miller, VP & Assistant General Counsel, Chase
Bill Cosgrove, CMB, CEO, Union Home Mortgage
Rodrigo Lopez, CMB President & CEO, Amerisphere Multifamily Finance, LLC
Don Maxwell, Principal, Genesis
Betty Shaw, SVP – Head of Mortgage Lending, Bank2 Native American Home Lending
David Willmarth, VP, OSM and ISD Business Solutions, Pulte Mortgage LLC


For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:
   
John Mechem
(202) 557-2924


Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. Arranges $14.15 Million in Financing in New York and Florida

  


NEW YORK, NY, April 3, 2014 – Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. (MMCC), a leading provider of commercial real estate financing and capital markets expertise, arranged two loans totaling $14.15 million.

A New York City property was refinanced for $7.15 million, while an acquisition in Coral Gables, Fla. was funded by $7 million in financing. Jerry Kray, a senior originator in the firm’s Manhattan office, handled both assignments. 

            The New York City property is a six-story, modern mixed-use building, and features apartments over ground floor retail.

Gerald Kray
“The borrower wanted to take advantage of a discounted payoff opportunity with the existing lender,” says Kray.

“The property was stabilized less than a year ago, which was a challenge for many lenders but we were able to find one who offered very attractive terms.” MMCC sourced a 10-year, fixed rate loan at 4 percent. The loan amortizes over 25 years with a 75 percent loan-to-value. 

            The Coral Gables property is 40,370-square-foot portion of a new condominium of office and retail space. It was only 30 percent occupied, on five floors within the mixed-use development.

“The borrower is an experienced real estate developer,” says Kray. “He required a highly leveraged, nonrecourse loan and we closed the transaction in 30 days. We secured an 80 percent loan-to-value, interest only, non-recourse loan.”

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

Gina Relva
Public Relations Manager
Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation
(925) 953-1716

Cuhaci & Peterson Architects completes design of a New Wawa and a Gordon Food Service near its Baldwin Park headquarters in Orlando, FL


Jed Downs
ORLANDO, FL - Cuhaci & Peterson Architects Engineers Planners was recently awarded contracts to design a new Wawa facility and Gordon Food Service (GFS) operation.

Jed Downs, president of the Baldwin Park based architectural firm, said the Wawa facility offering 6,500 square feet and Gordon Food Service with 16,000 square feet are located next to one another on Colonial Drive at Bennett Rd. in Orlando.

“We love working for retail clients on jobs that we not only design and oversee construction for, but can visit regularly when they are so close to our office,” said Downs.

Cuhaci & Peterson Architects is one of the nation’s leading designers of retail space with projects that total more than two million square feet annually.

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

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

Tolaris Homes to Start Construction of Luxury Custom Homes at Sand Hill Cove in Lake Mary, FL

  

Rick Bavec

Lake Mary, FL --- Tolaris Homes will start construction of a luxury custom home in May at Sand Hill Cove, located on a private cul-de-sac off Country Club Road and Linda Lane near downtown Lake Mary.

Rick Bavec, a principal with Tolaris Homes, said he plans to build six luxury custom homes at Sand Hill Cove priced from $600,000 to more than $1 million.

Two home sites at Sand Hill Cove are already under contract.

“We are in the design stage now on the first home and we expect to start construction in May,” Bavec said.

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

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




Daniel Polfer Joins SightPlan in Orlando, FL as Chief Technology Officer


Daniel Polfer
ORLANDO, FlL– Daniel Polfer has been named chief technology officer for SightPlan an Orlando-based company that provides resident and service management software solutions to the multifamily industry.

Polfer comes to SightPlan from Voxeo, a multi-channel communications provider to more than half of the Fortune 100, where he was senior vice president of engineering since 2007 and helped to transition the company through their recent 160M acquisition by Aspect Software.

 At SightPlan Polfer will be responsible for the strategic direction and expansion of the company’s product engineering team.

“Daniel is the rare combination of technical depth and business awareness,” according to SightPlan President Joseph Westlake. “He shares our values, our focus on innovation, and cares deeply about the details of our customers’ experience. Throughout his career, Daniel has proven himself a strong leader focused on engineering excellence.”

Joseph Westlake
Before joining Voxeo, Polfer spent 12 years leading the development of industry-defining applications for Yahoo!, Musicmatch, and Roxio.

 In 1995 he founded Moxie Technologies, which developed CD/DVD recording engines and device drivers. 

Moxie Technologies was acquired by Musicmatch in 2000, which was subsequently acquired by Yahoo! in 2004. 

As the VP of OEM Engineering at Musicmatch and Director of Engineering at Yahoo!, Polfer managed the development and deployment of multimedia solutions used by millions of users.

SightPlan is revolutionizing Multifamily Resident and Service Management with its modern approach to managing work orders, resolving resident issues and improving asset value. SightPlan is Modern Multifamily.
  
SightPlan is a member of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program.

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


Charlene Hager-Van Dyke, Larry Vershel Communications, 386-532-8862 or 407-644-4142; chagervandyke@yahoo.com  

Lawson Dann of Morrison Commercial Real Estate Completes 20,560 SF industrial investment sale in Orlando, FL for $725,000



Lawson Dann

 ORLANDO, FL (APRIL 3, 2014):  Morrison Commercial Real Estate negotiated the sale of a 20,560 SF industrial investment sale for $725,000.

 11236 Satellite Boulevard, a 20,560 SF single-tenant light industrial building located in the Regency Industrial Park, just off Central Florida Parkway on Satellite Boulevard, was purchased by CWN Holdings – Satellite, LLC for $725,000.

The seller was Regions Bank.  Lawson Dann, Vice President of Morrison Commercial Real Estate, represented the seller in this transaction.

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

Gina Wade
Phone: 407.440.6651

  
Rendering of Lexington Hills townhome development in Palatine, IL


Jeff Benach
Chicago (April 2, 2014) – Chicago-based Lexington Homes has announced that despite a frigid winter, home sales have been hot at its Lexington Hills townhome development in Palatine,Ill., with 95 percent of the community’s “phase one” homes already sold.

The builder has also announced that it has broken ground on three new models that will showcase the townhomes’ fluid floor plans and high-end finishes.

“We did a soft launch in September and sales took off,” said Jeff Benach, co-principal of Lexington Homes. “I believe the quick sales at Lexington Hills shows signs that the housing market is turning a corner. We even had a handful of buyers who bought a home at Lexington Hills before selling their current home. That hasn’t happened for years, and it’s a sign that buyers’ confidence in the housing market is continuing to increase.”

Lexington Hills is just 30 miles from Chicago’s Loop and 14 miles from O’Hare International Airport. 

The community is located in the renowned Community Consolidated School District 15, a winner of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, a prestigious award few school districts in the nation have won. 

For more information about Lexington Hills of Palatine, call (847) 818-0800 or visit www.lexingtonchicago.com.

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

Kelly Shumaker kshumaker@taylorjohnson.com, 312-267-4519
Emily Johnson, ejohnson@taylorjohnson.com, 312-267-4522


Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort Opened


ORLANDO, FL -- Loews Hotels & Resorts and Universal Orlando Resort opened Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort, their fourth on-site hotel, on March 31.




From left: Adnan Bizri, Managing Director, Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort, the Hicks family, the first family to check in to the new hotel, David Bartek, Vice President of Operations, Loews Hotels at Universal Orlando and Tom Roditus, Senior Vice President, Loews Hotels & Resorts

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

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

Charles Dunn Company Completes $2.7 Million Sale of 8-Unit Multifamily Property in Los Angeles

  
1937 Pelham Avenue, West Los Angeles, CA

Ramin Gheitanchi
 LOS ANGELES, CA, April 3, 2014 – Charles Dunn Company, one of the largest full-service regional real estate firms in the western United States, has completed the $2.7 million sale of a fully occupied, eight-unit multifamily property located at 1937 Pelham Ave. in west Los Angeles.

Ramin Gheitanchi of Charles Dunn Company who specializes in listing and selling multifamily properties in the prime Westside market, represented the buyer, Chateau Pelham LLC, as well as the seller, 1937 Pelham LLC. The closing cap rate was 4.2 percent.

Built in 1961, the fully renovated property consists of four one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units. The well-located asset is near Santa Monica Blvd. and is within the Westwood sub-market. 

“The buyer owns other multifamily properties in the area and wanted to expand his portfolio.  With such a low turnover of apartment buildings in the prime Westside market, this was a rare opportunity for the buyer to acquire a luxuriously renovated turnkey property that will appreciate in value as rents continue to rise in the local area,” said Gheitanchi.

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

Darcie Giacchetto
D.G. Communications, Inc.
949.278.6224

Capital Square Realty Advisors Acquires CVS on Las Vegas Strip

  
Louis Rogers
LAS VEGAS, NV – Capital Square Realty Advisors, LLC announced today that an affiliate of the company has purchased a 14,378-square-foot CVS retail facility on the Las Vegas Strip.

Located at 2700 S. Las Vegas Blvd., the retail facility is situated on the ground floor of Sky Las Vegas, a 45-story high-rise luxury condominium development on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip.

“This retail facility is 100 percent net leased on a long-term basis to a CVS entity and guaranteed by CVS Caremark Corporation, the largest provider of prescriptions and related healthcare services in the U.S. with an annual revenue base approaching $100 billion per year

“ The facility also benefits from a strategic location on the rapidly-developing north end of the Las Vegas Strip,” said Louis Rogers, founder and chief executive officer of Capital Square Realty Advisors.

The property is surrounded by new development activity, including the SLS Las Vegas currently under construction on the site of the former Sahara Hotel & Casino.

Yogi Singh
 This 1,600-room boutique resort with an estimated $300 million in construction costs is scheduled to open in 2014. 

The property is also near Resorts World Las Vegas, currently under construction at the previous site of the Stardust Hotel and Casino. The project is estimated to cost between $2 and $7 billion and is scheduled to open in 2016.

Yogi Singh, vice president of acquisitions, added, “Capital Square placed highly accretive debt on the property based on the credit of the tenant, CVS Caremark Corporation.” 

“Financing a CVS on the Las Vegas strip provided a unique opportunity for a lender that understands not only the valuation methodology of a credit tenant lease but also the condominium structure,” said Adam Levinson, managing director of BGC Capital Partners, who procured the senior debt for Capital Square. 

 “This deal combined both certainty of cash flow from an investment grade tenant and upside from billions of dollars of new development activity in the area.”

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

Julie Leber                                                                         
Spotlight Marketing Communications                    
949.427.5172, ext. 703