Proper Title, LLC Welcomes Beth L. LaSalle as Commercial Escrow Closer

Beth LaSalle

 CHICAGO, IL (July 5, 2016) — Palatine, Ill.-based Proper Title, LLC, a full-service title insurance agency serving the residential and commercial real estate industries, announced the firm has hired Beth L. LaSalle as a commercial escrow closer. LaSalle brings more than 32 years of experience in the title insurance industry to Proper Title.

“We are thrilled to welcome Beth to our team, as her expertise will help us build upon Proper Title’s exponential growth, particularly in the commercial sector,” said Ben Niernberg, executive vice president of business development and operations at Proper Title. 

“She has an incredible reputation in the industry, and will perfectly complement our deep bench of experts in the commercial and residential sectors.”

LaSalle, 56, will provide title insurance and escrow services at Proper Title, with a specialty in commercial construction escrow at the firm’s Chicago office. Over the course of her career, she has served in various escrow services roles, most recently as a senior commercial escrow officer at Chicago Title & Trust Company.

Ben Niernberg

 In that position, LaSalle managed multiple escrow accounts, working closely with lender, buyer and seller counsel, as well as underwriting teams. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University.

“My career has been singularly focused on the title industry since graduating from college, so I am excited to bring my decades-long experience to a firm that truly supports innovation and customer service,” said LaSalle. “Proper Title is poised for continued growth, and I look forward to contributing to its success.”

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

Julie Liedtke, jliedtke@taylorjohnson.com, (312) 267-4521

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

www.propertitle.com.

HFF closes $69 million sale of and arranges $47.4 million financing for premier creative office building in the heart of Portland’s North CBD Tech Cluster

Cmmonwealth Building, North CBD Tech Cluster Area, Portland, OR

Nicholas Kucha

PORTLAND, OR, July 5, 2016 – Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announced today that it has closed the $69 million sale of and arranged $47.4 million in financing for the Commonwealth Building, a 216,099-square-foot creative-tech office tower situated in the heart of Portland’s North CBD Tech Cluster.

HFF marketed the property on behalf of the seller, Unico Properties LLC.  KBS Capital Advisors purchased the asset on behalf of KBS Growth & Income REIT, and was assisted by HFF in securing a $47.4 million, five-year, floating-rate acquisition loan through an insurance company. 

Originally built in 1948, the Commonwealth Building was renovated between 2013 and 2015 to convert the mid-century building into a creative-tech office tower blending traditional egalitarian design and unique building amenities with timeless design.

 The property offers tenants flexible office spaces with abundant natural light and an amenity package featuring a rooftop amenity deck, building conference room, tenant lounge, basement bicycle storage and an on-site fitness center. 

Fronting the Sixth Avenue transit mall, the Commonwealth Building boasts a Walk Score© of 100 and a Bike Score© of 98.  Additionally, the 95-percent-leased property has been awarded an Energy Star rating and is certified LEED Gold from the U.S. Green Building Council. 

Nick Kassab

The HFF investment sales team representing the sellers was led by senior managing director Nick Kucha and director Nick Kassab.

HFF’s debt placement team was led by senior managing directors Tom Wilson and Kevin MacKenzie.

“The Commonwealth Building was a catalyst for the creative-tech movement to the northern central business district,” said Kucha. 

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

Olivia Hennessey

Public Relations Coordinator

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

tel 713.852.3403 | fax 713.527.8725 | www.hfflp.com

ohennessey@hfflp.com

www.kbs.com.

www.unicoprop.com.

HFF arranges sale and financing for Hilton Tampa Downtown hotel

Hilton Tampa Downtown Hotel, Downtown Tampa, FL

 

Alexandra Lalos

TAMPA, FL, July 5, 2016 – Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announced today that it has closed the sale of and arranged acquisition financing for the Hilton Tampa Downtown, a 520-room, full-service hotel in the heart of downtown Tampa, Florida.

HFF marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a partnership between Driftwood Hospitality Management, LLC and H.I.G. Realty Partners.  

CrossHarbor Capital Partners LLC purchased the asset.  Additionally on behalf of the new owner, HFF placed the floating-rate acquisition loan with a banking and financial services holding company.

Hilton Tampa Downtown was built in 1982 and fully renovated when it was converted from a Hyatt to a Hilton in 2013.  

The 18-story hotel features a rooftop sundeck, fitness center, executive lounge, business center, heated outdoor pool and spa, 30,000 square feet of meeting space and three food and beverage outlets, 211 Lounge, 211 Restaurant and a full service Starbucks. 

Situated on 5.6 acres at 211 North Tampa Street, the hotel is proximate to several demand generators, including Amalie Arena, Tampa General Hospital, Historic Ybor City, the Florida Aquarium, Port of Tampa Cruise Terminal, Raymond James Stadium and 9.7 million square feet of office space in Tampa’s central business district. 

Daniel C. Peek

The hotel is within walking distance to the planned $2 billion, six million-square-foot, mixed-use office, retail and multi-housing development being executed by Strategic Property Partners, a real estate development firm, which includes Jeff Vinik and Bill Gates’ Cascade Investments.

The HFF investment sales team representing the seller was led by senior managing director and head of HFF’s hotel group, Daniel C. Peek and associate directors Preston Reid and Alexandra Lalos.

The HFF debt placement team representing the borrower was led by managing director Michael Weinberg.

HFF’s Hotel Team continues to be extremely active throughout the state of Florida, having closed 56 hotel-related transactions in the last 24 months, including Hilton Clearwater Beach, La Playa Beach & Golf Resort, Naples Grande Beach Resort, Sheraton Sand Key Resort, Embassy Suites Downtown Orlando, Hilton Key Largo and, locally in Tampa, the Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk Hotel and the Sheraton Suites Tampa Airport Westshore.

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

Olivia Hennessey

Public Relations Coordinator

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

tel 713.852.3403 | fax 713.527.8725 | www.hfflp.com

ohennessey@hfflp.com

www.crossharborcapital.com.

http://higrealty.com/.

www.driftwoodhospitality.com.

KTGY Architecture + Planning’s Chicago/Midwest Office Welcomes Two New Job Captains

Ralitsa Todorova

CHICAGO, IL (July 5, 2016) — KTGY Architecture + Planning, an award-winning national architecture and planning firm, announced it has hired Joy DeWitt and Ralitsa Todorova as job captains at the firm’s Chicago/Midwest office.

Together, DeWitt and Todorova bring more than 14 years of architecture and design experience in the healthcare, mixed-use and senior housing sectors, among others.

“Joy and Ralitsa perfectly complement the team at our growing Chicago office, as they both have extensive experience within the sectors in which KTGY specializes,” said David M. Kennedy, AIA, LEED AP, principal at KTGY Architecture + Planning’s Chicago/Midwest office.

 “We’re excited to leverage their exceptional talents and continue the firm’s Midwestern expansion into the healthcare, mixed-use, senior housing and retail space.”

As job captains, DeWitt and Todorova, both 31, will oversee construction document production and building coordination for a number of national projects out of KTGY’s Chicago/Midwest office. Both will also manage design solutions, code analysis and space planning on behalf of the firm.

Joy DeWitt

Prior to joining KTGY, DeWitt worked at Chicago-based PFB Architects as a project manager, specializing in healthcare and senior living developments. During that time, she was involved in a number of medical projects at The University of Chicago Medical Center.

 Prior to that, DeWitt also spent several years in Tianjin, China, working on master-planning competitions, high-rise housing and several commercial projects. She earned a master’s degree in architecture and a bachelor’s degree in design architectural studies from the University of Nebraska. 

Additionally, DeWitt is a certified Construction Documents Technologist (CDT) through the Construction Specifications Institute.

Todorova comes to KTGY from Chicago-based FitzGerald Associates Architects, where she spent two years working alongside architects to develop feasibility studies and designs for multiple mixed-use, mid-rise residential and single-family housing developments.

She previously served in a junior architect role at SAS Architects & Planners, where she led designs for healthcare and senior living facilities. Prior to that, Todorova managed commercial tenant build-out projects, focusing primarily on restaurant and foodservice design, for Chipman Design Architecture.

She graduated with honors from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in architecture.

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

Julie Liedtke, jliedtke@taylorjohnson.com, (312) 267-4521

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

 www.KTGY.com.

Lincoln Announces Anchor Tenant for Tremont Plaza in Orlando, FL

Nan McCormick

ORLANDO, FL (July 5, 2016) – Lincoln Property Company (Lincoln), the developer for the 28-story Tremont Plaza in downtown Orlando, Florida, is pleased to announce its anchor tenant, FAIRWINDS Credit Union, the largest Orlando-based financial institution with $2 billion in assets.

Nan McCormick of CBRE represented FAIRWINDS in the transaction.

“We’re pleased to be growing as a financial institution and expanding our presence in downtown Orlando,” said Larry Tobin, president and CEO of FAIRWINDS Credit Union. “We look forward to the development that Tremont Plaza will bring to our beautiful city, including jobs, local business, and tourism.”

Tremont Plaza, a mixed-use high-rise located on the “gateway corner” of Garland Ave. and South St., will include retail, restaurant, and banking space in the lobby, approximately 650 parking spaces in 10 levels of structured parking, seven levels of office space totaling more than 200,000 square feet, and an eight-story, 180-room AC Hotel by Marriott.

Scott Stahley

“Tremont Plaza will offer a prime location in an office market that has been experiencing a wealth of leasing activity, but hasn’t had new office space since Lincoln built 111 North Magnolia almost a decade ago,” said Scott Stahley, senior vice president of Lincoln.

The plans also include incorporating a new Sunrail platform for Church Street Station inside the building, providing for a ‘Grand Central Station’ type of feel and arrival, which will offer future access to Orlando International Airport and connectivity to Miami CBD via All-Aboard Florida’s high-speed train.

“It’s become apparent that this unprecedented transit-oriented development, centrally located in the CBD, coupled with its lifestyle hotel as an amenity, will make the property very appealing to not only start-up and tech companies who are seeking to attract and retain top talent, but typical office tenants and hotel guests as well,” Stahley added.   

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

Savannah Durban

The Wilbert Group

404-343-0870

sdurban@thewilbertgroup.com

Lincoln Property Company to Provide Technical Services for Brookside I and II in Alpharetta, GA

Jeff Clayton

ATLANTA, GA (July 5, 2016) – Lincoln Property Company (Lincoln) has been retained to provide technical maintenance services for Brookside I and II, two Class A office buildings located in Alpharetta, Georgia.

The new ownership group, IPX Brookside Investors, LLC, which is managed by BPG Management Company, LP, selected Lincoln Property Company Commercial, Inc. to continue its day-to-day technical management services.

“The quality of the buildings and their location make Brookside I and II perfect for tenants looking to expand or open new offices in the north Fulton submarket,” said Jeff Clayton, director of engineering. “Our attention to detail and programmed maintenance optimizes operations while reducing operating expenses.”

Located off Old Milton Parkway near Interstate 400, the property offers suites ranging from 1,835 to 6,445 square feet, surface parking and immediate proximity to hotels, banks and dining.

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

Savannah Durban

The Wilbert Group

404-343-0870

sdurban@thewilbertgroup.com