Wyndham Hotel Group Signs Deal for Seven Properties in Peru

PARSIPPANY, NJ – Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company with approximately 7,590 hotels and part of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: WYN),announced the signing of a franchise agreement with local partner Costa del Sol to open 1,000 rooms across seven Wyndham Hotels and Resorts® branded properties that will open within the next year in key destinations across Peru.

The agreement includes the conversion of six properties, located in Tumbes, Chiclayo, Lima Airport, Trujillo, Cajamarca and Piura, to the Wyndham Hotels and Resorts brand, as well as the construction of a new 144-room property in Lima.

“Peru’s economy and tourism industry has been growing steadily in recent years, creating more demand for hotels and offering an ideal setting for our brands to expand,” said Paulo Pena, president and managing director of Latin America and the Caribbean for Wyndham Hotel Group. 

“This deal with Costa del Sol represents our commitment to continue to grow our portfolio in key markets throughout Latin America to benefit our solid base of loyal guests who recognize the value of our global hotel brands.”

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

Paula Carreiro

Wyndham Hotel Group

22 Sylvan Way

Parsippany, NJ 07054

(973) 753-7927

paula.carreiro@wyn.com

Resolve Maritime Academy Expanding in Fort Lauderdale, FL

  

Judy Dolan

 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- Berger Commercial Realty, a regional, full service commercial real estate firm, announced that Resolve Maritime Academy has expanded its space at Harbor Place, a 36,000-square-foot office building situated in the heart of Fort Lauderdale's marine district at 1600 S.E. 17th St.

Resolve Maritime Academy extended its existing lease and signed a new lease for an additional 7,134 square-feet of extra space. 

  Berger Commercial Realty brokers Judy Dolan and St. George Guardabassi represented Resolve Maritime Academy. Broker Keith Graves, also of Berger Commercial Realty, represented Harbor Place.

The four-story Harbor Place building features free covered parking, an onsite bank with ATM, and FedEx and UPS drop-boxes. Resolve Maritime Academy plans to use the additional space for its growing training academy.

St. George Guardabassi

Resolve Maritime Academy is a subsidiary of Resolve Marine Group, which recently purchased an 11,709-square-foot office building at 1550 S.E. 17th St. in Fort Lauderdale from Ardell Marina, Inc.

Dolan represented Resolve Marine Group in the purchase and Guardabassi and Graves represented the seller.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Resolve Marine Group is a leading marine services organization that provides salvage, emergency response, training, naval architecture, marine engineering and many other services to the global maritime industry.

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

Marielle Sologuren

Pierson Grant Public Relations

msologuren@piersongrant.com

954-776-1999, ext. 226

Waterton Purchases Martha Lake Apartments in North Suburban Seattle, WA

  

Peter Kuzma

 CHICAGO, IL  – Waterton Associates LLC, a U.S. real estate investor and operator, is pleased to announce its re-entry into the Seattle market with the acquisition of Martha Lake Apartments, a 155-unit garden-style apartment community in north suburban Lynnwood.

Located approximately 15 miles north of downtown Seattle, Martha Lake Apartments offers a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom residences and a variety of on-site amenities, including an outdoor swimming pool, spa and racquetball court, as well as a resident-only fitness center and lounge.

 It is the sixth property acquired by Waterton in 2014 and the first community Waterton has owned in the Seattle area since 2004.

“Seattle has been and will continue to be a target market for Waterton because of its strong demand drivers and high barriers to entry,” said Peter Kuzma, assistant vice president, acquisitions, at Waterton Associates. 

“Development has been concentrated in the urban core, which has created an opportunity to implement value-add programs in older, well-located suburban communities like Martha Lake where we’re able to achieve strong rent premiums.

  

For leasing information, call (866) 545-7074 or visit www.marthalakeapts.com.

  

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

Abe Tekippe, atekippe@taylorjohnson.com, (312) 267-4528

Kim Manning, kmanning@taylorjohnson.com, (312) 267-4527

Ackerman & Co. & The Meddin Company Arrange Sale of Glenwood Park Retail in Atlanta, GA for $11million to Coro Realty

Shea Meddin

Atlanta, GA – Ackerman & Co., in partnership with The Meddin Company, announced it has brokered the sale of Glenwood Park Retail, a seven-building, 48,515-square-foot retail community located in one of Atlanta’s most recognized mixed use developments, to Coro Realty Advisors, LLC for $11 million. 

At the time of sale, the properties were more than 83 percent occupied by an impressive lineup of credit-rated tenants including popular Atlanta restaurants Gunshow, Vickery’s and The Shed.

Ackerman & Co.'s Shea Meddin and Stuart Meddin of The Meddin Company brokered the sale on behalf of the Seller, Glenwood Park Builder LLC.

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

Fara Wilson

Vice President, Marketing

P: 770.913.3904    C: 678.358.2060    F: 770.913.3965

Mortgage Bankers Association Announces Five Year-End Promotions

  

Annie Gawkowski

 WASHINGTON, DC – Today, David H. Stevens, President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), announced the promotion of five MBA staff.  The promotions will be effective January 1, 2015.

Joel Kan, Associate Vice President of Industry Surveys and Forecasts

Having joined MBA in 2006, Mr. Kan is responsible for managing the production of MBA’s macroeconomic and housing market forecasts. 

  He also oversees the production of MBA’s industry surveys, including the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, the National Delinquency Survey, Builder Applications Survey, and Mortgage Credit Availability Index, four of the association’s most high profile reports.

David H. Stevens

  Mr. Kan writes monthly commentaries regarding economic statistics and industry data.   Prior to his promotion, he was Director of Economic Forecasting.  He holds a BS in Economics and Statistics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Other promotions:

Annie Gawkowski, Associate Director of Political Affairs

Chaya Zahn, Associate Director of Registration

Annie Jacobs, Business Solutions Support Specialist

William Hackney, Senior Helpdesk Technician

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

Shawn Ryan

sryan@mba.org

(202) 557-2727

 www.mba.org.

PM Hospitality Strategies, Inc. Announces Management Contract for The DoubleTree by Hilton DFW Airport North in Irving, TX

      

Doubletree by Hilton DFW Airport North, Irving, TX

 WASHINGTON, DC —Officials of PM Hospitality Strategies, Inc. (PMHS), a leading, national hotel management company, announced it signed a management agreement to operate the 282-room DoubleTree by Hilton DFW Airport North on behalf of The Buccini/Pollin Group, a privately held, full-service real estate acquisition, development and management company.  The addition of the DoubleTree hotel brings PMHS’ portfolio of managed hotels to approximately thirty hotels, including five new assignments in 2014 and development projects.

Joseph Bojanowski

“This hotel, our sixth west of the Mississippi River, marks our first entry into the Dallas/Fort Worth market and furthers our effort to expand our presence in the Western United States,” said Joseph Bojanowski, president of PMHS. 

  “As this is our 15th Hilton flagged hotel, we expect that it will immediately benefit from our deep familiarity with Hilton Worldwide and its numerous brands.”

Situated in Irving, Texas less than two miles from DFW Airport, the eight-story hotel is convenient to such companies as Allstate, Siemens, Verizon, AT&T, IMB and Microsoft.  

The DoubleTree by Hilton hotel features approximately 17,000 square feet of function space, outdoor pool, 24-hour fitness center, full-service business center and continual airport shuttle service. 

Guest rooms are equipped with 250 thread-count sheets and bedding, plush mattresses, ergonomic desk chairs, in-room movie channel and 32-inch LCD HDTV.  Dining options include the Flatland Grille & Bar, featuring contemporary Texas cuisine, and Starbucks Café.

"The Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area is continuing to grow thanks to an airport that is easily accessible and the numerous business headquartered there," Bojanowski continued. "Unemployment is lower and wage growth is higher than the national average, setting the stage for accelerating business metrics in the coming year.  We're very optimistic about this hotel and this market."

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

Chris Daly media

 (703) 435-6293

 chris@dalygray.com

Englewood Construction Gives 2015 Commercial Construction Trends and Predictions

William Di Santo

                                                CHICAGO, IL –  Top commercial construction trends for 2015 include an increase in retail and restaurant ground-up construction and a rise in shopping mall renovations, according to national general construction firm Englewood Construction.

“Confident in the improving economy, national retailers and restaurant owners have been adding new locations this year, and we expect that activity to continue in 2015,” said William Di Santo, president of Lemont, Ill.-based Englewood Construction. 

“Shopping mall owners are also renovating their space to make trips to the mall more experiential.”

Retail, restaurant projects on the rise

“In 2014, many retailers and restaurateurs added new venues as well as tore down existing stores and replaced them with new ones in order to meet brand standards,” Di Santo said. “While there still is ample space for retrofits in empty storefronts, we’re seeing more focus on ground-up construction.”

Cooper's Hawk Wintery and Restaurant
Oak Lawn, IL

Englewood recently started three new ground-up projects toward the end of 2014, a Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant in Oak Lawn, Ill., a Seasons 52 restaurant from Darden in Bridgewater, NJ, and a 55,000-square-foot Hobby Lobby at Seabrook Crossings in Seabrook, N.H. 

In 2014, Englewood completed a ground-up Goodwill store in the Chicago area.

                                                         “Over the past few years, the majority of restaurant construction has been confined to upscale activity,” Di Santo said. “That has changed in recent months as consumers are returning in all categories, including fine dining, fast casual and fast food. As a result, we expect a very robust pipeline for restaurant work in 2015.”

 Englewood also recently began an expansion at white tablecloth restaurant The Purple Pig in Chicago, as well as the renovation of a Yard House in Kansas City’s Power and Light District. Englewood is also working with Red Robin and Buffalo Wild Wings in the fast casual arena to roll out several new restaurants in 2015.

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

Mark Thomton, mthomton@taylorjohnson.com, 312-267-4523

Lexington Homes Opens Sales Center and Begins Construction at Lexington Oaks in Palatine, IL

  

Jeff Benach

 CHICAGO, IL – The on-site sales center is now open at Lexington Oaks, Chicago-based Lexington Homes’ newest townhome development in Palatine, Ill. Construction of the community’s 15 townhomes has commenced with first deliveries expected in spring 2015.

Located on Northwest Highway/Route 14, a quarter-mile west of Smith Road and a half-mile east of Quentin Road, Lexington Oaks is near downtown Palatine, less than a mile from Palatine’s central business district and the Palatine Metra station.

“Lexington Oaks is in a coveted infill location,” said Jeff Benach, co-principal of Lexington Homes. “Not only does Lexington Oaks back up to the Palatine Hills Golf Course, but it is also close to downtown Palatine, providing a convenient mix of residential, commercial and open space.

“Now that we have our on-site sales center open, buyers can see just how centrally located Lexington Oaks is to just about any kind of shopping, dining or recreational experience. 

"Combine that with Palatine’s hometown charm and you have a perfect location for young couples looking to move from the city or empty-nesters looking to downsize,” added Benach.

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