Berger Commercial Realty Secures 26,000 Square-Feet in Lease Transactions in Palm Beach County, FL

Joseph Byrnes

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - Berger Commercial Realty/CORFAC International  brokers recently closed 11 leases totaling 26,116 square-feet at five properties in Palm Beach County.

Delray Office Plaza

Senior Vice President Joseph Byrnes and Broker Associate Robert Dabrowski represented Atlantic Avenue Properties & Investments, LLC in the lease renewal and expansion of 5,034 square-feet of office space to B.I. Incorporated at Delray Office Plaza. Dabrowski also facilitated the lease renewal for 1,086 square-feet of office space to Forest Hill Injury Center, Inc. at the property.

Woolbright Professional Building

Byrnes and Dabrowski represented Woolbright Properties & Investments, LLC in leasing 4,278 square-feet of office space to Bella Albertson, LLC and 1,671 square-feet of office space to Tobias & Associates, Inc. at the Woolbright Professional Building, located at 2240 Woolbright Road in Boynton Beach. Additonally, Dabrowski facilitated the lease expansion for 398 square-feet of office space to First Class Nursing Registry.

Woolbright Corporate Center I

Byrnes and Dabrowski represented Congress Properties & Investments, LLC in the lease renewal of 3,620 square-feet of office space to Tetra Tech, Inc. at Woolbright Corporate Center. Additionally, Dabrowski leased 1,387 square-feet of office space to Payday Loan Resolution, LLC at the property.

Robert Dabrowski

Gulfstream Professional Building

Byrnes and Dabrowski represented Upper Gulfstream Properties & Investments, LLC in the lease expansion for 2,975 square-feet of office space to Real Solutions Home Health Care, Inc. and the new lease for 2,490 square-feet of office space to Cutting Edge Outlook, LLC at the Gulfstream Professional Building, located at 500 Gulfstream Blvd. in Delray Beach.

Woolbright Corporate Center II

Dabrowski represented Congress Properites & Investments, LLC in leasing 1,610 square-feet of office space to Payday Payroll at Woolbright Corporate Center II, located 1903 S. Congress Ave. in Boynton Beach. Along with Byrnes, Dabrowski also leased 1,567 square-feet of office space to Global Maritek Systems, Inc. in the building.

For more information about Berger Commercial Realty's leasing services, call 954-358-0900. www.bergercommercial.com

 For more information on the CORFAC network, call 224.257.4400 visit www.corfac.com.

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

954-776-1999

Lexi Robinson, ext. 255, lrobinson@piersongrant.com

Jane Grant, ext. 224, jgrant@piersongrant.com

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George Smith Partners Announces Focus on Rapid Growth; Appoints Co-Managing Directors to Lead Expansion

  

 

Jonathan Lee

LOS ANGELES, CA – National commercial mortgage banking firm George Smith Partners has announced a new leadership structure which includes the appointments of two Principals to Co-Managing Directors to lead the firm’s upcoming growth and expansion.

The two new Managing Directors, Jonathan Lee and Shahin Yazdi, will drive the company’s platform forward alongside co-Principal Bryan Shaffer and Co-Founders Gary M. Tenzer, Steve Bram, and Gary Mozer.

“George Smith Partners has a proven track record and a deep history of success in the capital markets sector,” says Steve Bram (60), who has been managing the company since the death of George Smith in 2005. 

“Our innovative structuring expertise, strong lender relationships, and entrepreneurial culture have enabled us to grow rapidly and secure more than $44 billion in financing on behalf of our clients to date.”

Lee explains that George Smith Partners’ new leadership structure will position the firm for additional growth, while maintaining its culture of diligence, integrity, and commitment to client service.

“We are poised to grow to an even higher level of activity while upholding our strict standards of excellence, allowing us to attract and retain the best employees and clients,” says Lee.

Shahin Yazdi

In their newly appointed roles as Managing Directors, Lee and Yazdi will be responsible for driving the firm’s business development and overseeing corporate operations. In addition, the pair intends to ramp up recruitment and also plans to open new office locations in the near future, according to Yazdi.

“This is the time to grow, and we have the right team in place to do just that,” Yazdi explains. “Our firm has a reputation as a leader in the industry, and through this new expansion plan, we will be able to serve more clients and facilitate more financing than ever before.”

Newly appointed Co-Managing Director Jonathan Lee (40), has arranged more than $2 billion in financing across all product types since joining George Smith Partners in 2005 and being promoted to Principal in 2015. 

Co-Managing Director Shahin Yazdi (33) joined George Smith Partners in 2007 and was promoted to Principal in 2015 as the youngest Principal in the firm’s history. During his decade-long tenure, Yazdi has arranged more than $1 billion in financing across all property types.

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

Miki Conant / Katie Kea

Brower, Miller & Cole 

Lincoln Property Company Southeast Offering 150,000 SF Class A Office Space In Renovated Northwinds Development In Alpharetta GA

  

Rendering of Northwinds Office Park, Alpharetta, GA

 

Michael Howell

ATLANTA, GA – Lincoln Property Company Southeast (Lincoln) is marketing Northwinds VII, a 150,000-square-foot , soon to be fully renovated Class A office building located in the popular Northwinds Office Park in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Michael Howell and Hunter Henritze of Lincoln represent the ownership of Northwinds Office Park, The Brookdale Group.

“Northwinds VII represents an attractive opportunity for users to lease a large block of space in one of the most appealing developments in the area,” said Lincoln’s Howell. “The location of Northwinds has always been desirable to tenants, and other development in the area, specifically Avalon, has only made it more appealing.”

The North Fulton office market has experienced solid gains over the past three years, having absorbed almost 1.4 million square feet, leaving Class A office vacancies now pushing toward single digit vacancies at just over 11 percent.

Hunter Henritze

Rental rates have also climbed steadily in the submarket and now Northwinds, the premier office park in the area, is offering a full building opportunity that will certainly attract interest from larger corporate users.  

Northwinds VII offers a unique, 150,000-square-foot block of space to prospective tenants and is in the midst of a $1.6 million makeover that includes a renovated lobby, expanded rear patio, new restrooms, common areas, elevator cabs, upgraded landscaping and monument signage. 

The renovations will be completed in April. Exclusive of Northwinds VII, the Northwinds office park is 94-percent leased.

The renovations are being financed by The Brookdale Group, which acquired the building from Blackstone last summer.

In addition to the renovations, Northwinds VII offers 4.5/1,000 parking, sits less than one mile away from Avalon via the newly extended Northwinds Parkway, and offers immediate access to Ga. Highway 400 via Haynes Bridge Road.

  

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

Gary Tanner • The Wilbert Group

Account Executive

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

706-229-2524

@garyttanner

www.thewilbertgroup.com

Mark Braykovich

The Wilbert Group

404-343-0886

mbraykovich@thewilbertgroup.com

www.lpcsoutheast.com.

Veteran Real Estate Developers Opens de Guardiola Family Office to Fund Real Estate Upstarts

Eduard de Guardiola

ATLANTA, GA – Vista Realty Partners’ CEO Eduard de Guardiola will incorporate more than 30 years of experience to his latest venture, the de Guardiola Family Office, LLC., targeting upstart residential, retail and commercial real estate investment opportunities.

On the heels of selling 2,500 apartment units in the last 18 months in Atlanta, for $265 million, de Guardiola is launching the family office with $100 million to seed, provide growth capital to and mentor upstart development companies. He will turn over his day-to-day responsibilities with Vista Realty Partners to three long-time senior managers.

“I built my career on executing real estate deals,” said de Guardiola. “This feels like a great time to use the liquidity from recent sales to target opportunities that may come from experienced entrepreneurs or junior managers looking to strike out on their own.”

De Guardiola brings expertise in residential and retail management and development, as well as acquisitions, dispositions, lease negotiations, joint venture documentation, financial analysis, and management to the de Guardiola Family Office, which will focus exclusively on the real estate industry.  In addition to the funding aspect, the family office can assist with accounting, legal and tax planning services, as well as human resources and back-office administration.

De Guardiola formed Vista Realty Partners in 2000, orchestrating the acquisition, development and financing of more than 80 new and existing apartment communities and condominiums consisting of over 14,886 units valued in excess of $1.6 billion.  Prior to founding Vista, he was president and a director of the Focus Group companies. Born in Cuba, he immigrated to the US in 1960 with his parents, graduated from Florida State University and moved to Atlanta in 1987 to launch his real estate career.

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

EMMA

CATHEY

PUBLICIST

LIZ LAPIDUS PR

O | 404-688-1466

C | 678-588-1661

FOLLOW US @lizlapiduspr

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772 Edgewood Ave, NE

Atlanta, Georgia 30307

HFF arranges $45 million refinancing for 4-property Marriott-branded hotel portfolio in Tennessee and Texas

 

Steven Klein

 NEW YORK, NY -– Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announced it has arranged a $45 million refinancing for a portfolio comprising four Marriott-branded hotels totaling 441 rooms in College Station and Round Rock, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee.

HFF worked on behalf of the borrower, Wheelock Street Capital, LLC (Wheelock), to place the three-year, floating-rate loan with two one-year extensions with a national bank.  

The loan was used to take out existing acquisition financing and provide capital to continue the borrower’s property improvement plan.

The portfolio, which the borrower acquired in 2013, comprises two properties in Texas, the 125-room Courtyard Marriott in College Station and the 113-room Courtyard Marriott in Round Rock, and two in Nashville, Tennessee, the 94-room Courtyard Marriott Opryland and the 109-room Fairfield Inn & Suites Opryland. 

All four hotels are located next to significant demand drivers in their respective markets.  The Nashville hotels are located at 225 and 125 Music City Circle approximately one mile from the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center and the Grand Ole Opry. 

Casey Wenzel

The Courtyard College Station, at 3939 State Highway 6, is at the main campus of the Texas A&M University System, and the Courtyard Round Rock is at 2700 Hoppe Trail next to the 2.1 million-square-foot Dell world headquarters and an additional nine million square feet of premier office space within a five-mile radius. 

The HFF debt placement team representing the borrower was led by managing director Steven Klein, director Casey Wenzel and associate Rory Shepard. 

“A large part of the success of this transaction is attributable to Wheelock’s ability to increase the hotels’ performances through both their institutional ownership and deep knowledge of improving and operating hotel portfolios as well as the strategic locations next to significant demand drivers in their respective submarkets,” Klein said.

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

Kristen M. Murphy

Director, Public Relations

HFF | One Post Office Square, Suite 3500 | Boston, MA 02109

Main: 617-338-0990 | Direct: 617-848-1572 | Cell: 617-543-4873 | www.hfflp.com

krmurphy@hfflp.com

www.wheelockst.com

HFF arranges $350 million in financing for office, hotel and retail assets within Ballantyne Corporate Park in Charlotte, NC

Ballantyne Corporate Park, Charlotte, NC

 

Travis Anderson

CHARLOTTE, NC –– Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announced it has arranged $350 million in combined financing on behalf of Northwood Investors for a portfolio of 13 office properties, two retail buildings and two hotels located within Ballantyne Corporate Park in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

In total, Northwood acquired a vast majority of Ballantyne Corporate Park, which includes 36 office buildings (4.2 million square feet), four hotels (588 rooms), two restaurants (13,000 square feet) and land entitled for additional office, hotel and multifamily developments. 

Only a 20 minute drive from Charlotte’s central business district and proximate to many affluent residential neighborhoods, Ballantyne Corporate Park was developed over a 20-year period and is situated along Interstate 485 in South Charlotte. 

HFF worked on behalf of Northwood to secure three separate acquisition loans, which include a fixed-rate loan with two life companies on the office and retail component, and two bank loans for The Ballantyne, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Charlotte and Aloft Charlotte Ballantyne.  Also at closing, Northwood assumed existing debt on the other remaining assets in the park. 

The commercial component of the financing was comprised of 13 office properties, which total 1.8 million square feet and are 96 percent leased to tenants including MetLife, Wells Fargo, Premier, TIAA, Liberty Mutual and Novant Health, while the two retail properties are occupied by Stone Mountain Grill and Vine Restaurant.

Cory Fowler

 The hotel portion of the financing includes The Ballantyne, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Charlotte, a 244-room luxury resort featuring 30,000 square feet of meeting and event space, Ballantyne Spa (Charlotte’s only Forbes Four-Star spa), indoor and outdoor pools, a fitness center, tennis courts, the Forbes Four-Star rated Gallery Restaurant and access to a PGA golf course with a renowned golf school.

 In addition, HFF arranged financing for the 136-room Aloft Charlotte Ballantyne which offers guests the W XYZ bar, an indoor pool, fitness center, a food café and access to the nearby golf course at The Ballantyne.

The HFF debt placement team representing the borrower was led by senior managing director Travis Anderson, director Brent Bowman and director Cory Fowler.

"Acquiring such a diverse portfolio with the breadth of Ballantyne Corporate Park is a generational opportunity, unprecedented in the state of North Carolina and one of the largest real estate trades ever in the Southeast,” said Anderson. 

“By having the ability to control the second largest sub-market outside of Charlotte's CBD coupled with additional development potential, Northwood is extremely well positioned to improve upon the legacy of Ballantyne while delivering exceptional returns for its investors."

  

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

Kristen M. Murphy

Director, Public Relations

HFF | One Post Office Square, Suite 3500 | Boston, MA 02109

Main: 617-338-0990 | Direct: 617-848-1572 | Cell: 617-543-4873 | www.hfflp.com

krmurphy@hfflp.com

New Castle Hotels & Resorts Appoints Julian Buffam To Development and Acquisitions Team

Julian Buffam

SHELTON, CT — Gerry Chase, president and COO of New Castle Hotels & Resorts, a leading third-party management company and hotel developer, announced Julian Buffam has joined the company’s acquisitions and development team as director of business development. 

        Buffam most recently was an investment analyst with HEI Hotels and Resorts, charged with underwriting new opportunities, providing supporting analyses for existing investments, and producing and delivering third-party management presentations. 

Previously, Buffam was a project manager with HVS where he conducted appraisals and feasibility studies across the eastern seaboard of the United States and developed an expertise in adaptive reuse projects, publishing two articles on the subject in the Real Estate Financial Journal.

        "Julian has a passion for the development side of the hospitality industry and already has demonstrated strong insights in the sectors where New Castle is a player, specifically upper- upscale, urban hotels, historic hotels and resorts, and premium select service hotels,” said Chase. 

“Our development team has a very active and diverse pipeline and Julian’s expertise will enable us to bring more deals to fruition.”         

        Buffam earned a BA in economics and environmental studies from Connecticut College as well as multiple certificates from the Appraisal Institute. 

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

Lauralee Dobbins

Write Touch Public Relations

856-979-8929

Lauralee@WriteTouchPR.com

www.newcastlehotels.com.

Wendover Housing Partners Announces New Senior Living Community, Brixton Landing Apartments, in Apopka, FL

Jonathan L. Wolf

ORLANDO, FL, March 7, 2017 – Wendover Housing Partners, a privately held real estate development, investment and management company, announces it is accepting rental applications for Brixton Landing Apartments, an affordable community for seniors in Apopka, Fla.

Roger B. Kennedy Construction began construction on the 80-unit apartment community in the summer of 2016. With the first residents expected to move in April 2017, Brixton Landing provides a social, carefree and affordable lifestyle to seniors in the area.

“By the year 2040, 3.9 million residents age 65 and older are expected to call Florida home—and represent 40 percent of all households in the Sunshine State,” said Jonathan L. Wolf, President and Founder of Wendover Housing Partners. “Wendover is making it a priority to create affordable senior housing facilities now to prepare for the future, all while keeping senior comfort and safety in mind.”

Brixton Landing is now accepting rental applications for new residents. To learn more, call (407) 880-0299 or visit www.brixtonlanding.com.

For information about Wendover Housing Partners, visit www.wendovergroup.com.

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

Melissa Landy

Uproar PR for Wendover Housing Partners

321.236.0102 ext. 233

mlandy@uproarpr.com