Thursday, June 21, 2012

Beech Street Capital Closes $21.25 Million Fannie Mae Loan to Acquire Class A Orlando, FL Apartments



BETHESDA, MD – Beech Street Capital, LLC announced it has provided a $21.25 million Fannie Mae conventional loan for the acquisition of Vista at Lost Lake (top left photo), a Class A, 276-unit apartment complex in Clermont, Florida—located to the northwest of Orlando. 

The transaction was originated by Jacob Katz and was financed by Beech Street Capital.

The repeat borrower was actively looking to expand into the greater Orlando market with the purchase of Vista at Lost Lake, while taking advantage of the low interest rate environment.

Having previously secured financing for the borrower in June 2011 to refinance a 166-unit apartment complex in Zionsville, Indiana, Beech Street was familiar with the borrower’s expectations.

“Constant communication between the Beech Street team and the sponsors allowed for a seamless execution,” states Katz. “Beech Street was able to meet the client’s needs by providing a very low rate while meeting the acquisition timeline.”

 Built in 2007, Vista at Lost Lake is situated in a newer area of development within the Clermont community neighboring other residential, retail, and office development, including a Wal-Mart Supercenter located next door.

 Amenities include gated entry, free surface parking, resort-style swimming pool and clubhouse with free Wi-Fi, fitness center with fitness classes and children’s play room, playground area, sauna, theatre, executive conference room, business center, billiard tables, lounge with fireplace, veranda, car care center, indoor basketball court, cyber cafĂ© and coffee bar.

 The fixed-rate loan has a seven-year term with two years interest-only and 30-year amortization thereafter, payable on an actual/360 basis.
  
Contacts:

Courtney Lewis
 240-507-1948

Jenifer Bernardi
 240-507-1946.

MACK Companies Surpasses 100 Single-Family Home Investment Sales in Past Fiscal Year



CHICAGO, IL June 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- MACK Companies, the largest owner of single-family investment properties in the Midwest, has announced it completed 102 investment sales between June 1, 2011 and May 31, 2012, the company's fiscal year.

This was an increase of 540 percent over the previous year. James McClelland (lower left photo), president and CEO of MACK Companies, and Eric Workman (lower right photo), vice president of sales and marketing for the Tinley Park, Ill.-based firm, made the announcement.

"For more than 15 years, we've been buying foreclosed single-family homes and turning them into rentals because we knew this was one of the best ways to enhance an investment portfolio," said McClelland. "But it's really only in the past year that investors have paid attention to this asset class as they see the news headlines reporting how many foreclosures are on the market."

According to housing data firm CoreLogic, the rise in foreclosures over the past five years has turned more than 3 million homeowners into potential renters, which means the single-family rental sector has the potential to be a $3 trillion market.

Prior to June 1, 2011, 95 percent of MACK Companies' investors were from the Chicago area. Today, out-of-towners purchase 80-85 percent of the firm's investment properties, while Chicago-area investors account for approximately 15 percent of its sales. International investors also find MACK's successful business model hard to resist, as they purchased almost 22 percent of its investment properties in the past fiscal year.

"One of the reasons why investors like MACK is because we serve as the property manager for their investment," said McClelland. "To be a successful real estate investor, property management has to be a priority. Brick and mortar has never made a mistake. Any piece of real estate has to be managed and maintained in order for it to perform. Without great property management you won't have great tenants. And great tenants are the key to a successful real estate investment."

Through MACK's AAA+ Investment Properties program, investors can buy a tenant-occupied, single-family rental home and receive the financial benefits of being an owner without the responsibilities of being a landlord. MACK oversees all maintenance needs for its investors' properties, hand-collects rent and guarantees its investors a positive monthly cash flow for the first two years after an investment purchase.

"Most investors want to enjoy the returns real estate offers, but don't have the expertise to ensure they are successful," said Workman. "Our turnkey investment program makes owning a rental property as easy checking your online statements and direct deposits from MACK."

MACK Companies currently manages approximately 600 single-family rentals. For more information on MACK Companies and its investment program, visit http://www.MACKcompanies.us.

Media contact:

 Kim Manning,
312-267-4527

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Voit Completes Two Industrial Sales Totaling $6.2 Million in Orange County, CA



Orange County, CA – Seth Davenport (top right photo) and Mitch Zehner (middle left photo) of Voit Real Estate Services’ Anaheim office have completed two industrial transactions in Orange County encompassing 54,078 square feet for a total consideration of $6.2 million.

“Both buyers and sellers are now benefitting from increased activity in the OC industrial market,” said Seth Davenport, a Senior Vice President in Voit’s Anaheim office.

 “Because mid-sized industrial product is in short supply, pricing is on the rise. This motivates buyers to move quickly to acquire product within their desired areas, while also helping sellers to more easily dispose of product they wish to sell.” 

Transaction #1


Seth Davenport and Mitch Zehner of Voit’s Anaheim office completed a $3.3 million, 26,033 square-foot industrial sale located at 4100 E. La Palma Ave. (top left photo) in Anaheim, Calif., on behalf of the buyer.

Voit’s Anaheim office represented the buyer, DG Performance, a manufacturer of aftermarket motorcycle exhaust pipes. DG Performance will fully occupy the building for its operations.

“Our challenge in this deal was to identify a property that could accommodate DG Performance’s manufacturing, while remaining within the city of Anaheim,” explained Davenport. “With industrial inventory running low in Anaheim, we drew upon our local resources to identify this property, which met our client’s manufacturing needs, while staying within their ideal geographical area.”

The seller, Simon Ozkan, was represented by Derek Paul of Ashwill Associates.   

Transaction #2  


Voit’s Anaheim office directed the $2.95 million sale of a 28,045 square-foot industrial building located at 1240 N. Red Gum Street (middle right photo) in Anaheim, Calif., on behalf of the seller. The buyer, La Jolla Leasing M&A, LLC, a nutraceuticals company, plans to fully occupy this building to expand its manufacturing operations.

Seth Davenport and Mitch Zehner, an Executive Vice President in Voit’s Anaheim office, represented the seller, Frances Seiford, in the transaction.

“This sale demonstrates how buyers are increasingly more flexible in their property demands,” noted Davenport. 

“Our client’s property was ideally located for the buyer’s needs, with access to two major freeways.  However, the buyer was not originally in the market for a two-story building with 13,806 square feet of office space.

“ We were successful in communicating the opportunity to use the space for future expansion, and ultimately negotiated a deal that was beneficial to both parties.”

La Jolla Leasing M&A, LLC was represented by Scott Seal of Lee & Associates.

  Contact:

Jenn Quader/ Judith Brower
Brower, Miller & Cole
(949) 955-7940

CalPERS Names Douglas Hoffner to Top Post for Operations and Technology



SACRAMENTO, CA – The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) today announced that it has selected Douglas Hoffner as its Deputy Executive Officer for the pension fund’s operations and technology.

Hoffner will be responsible for CalPERS support and operational functions, advising the senior leadership team and Board on issues, including human resources, fiscal planning and budgeting, enterprise strategy and performance, information technology, and facilities management.

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

External Affairs Branch
(916) 795-3991
Robert Udall Glazier, Deputy Executive Officer
Brad Pacheco, Chief, Office of Public Affairs

Hard Rock International And Aabar Properties Announce Development Of Hard Rock Hotel Abu Dhabi



ORLANDO, FL /PRNewswire/ -- Hard Rock International announced an agreement with Aabar Properties, a subsidiary of aabar Investments PJS for the development and management of Hard Rock Hotel Abu Dhabi (top left photo) a five star international hotel located in the United Arab Emirates' capital city of Abu Dhabi.

The 378-room luxury hotel will be ideally situated within the picturesque seafront of the Corniche and just a short distance from the modern city's bustling financial district, marking Hard Rock Hotels' exciting entrance into the Middle East.


Overlooking the turquoise waters of the Arabian Gulf, Hard Rock Hotel Abu Dhabi will feature an assortment of signature restaurants, entertainment and meeting facilities, including the renowned Hard Rock Cafe.

Other key attractions include a beautifully appointed Sky Lobby on the fifth floor podium, spectacular Lobby Bar with outdoor entertainment deck and hookah lounge, as well as a 37(th) floor Sky Bar with swimming pool.

With more than 12,000 square feet dedicated to wellness and spa facilities, the resort will host the Body Rock® fitness center and signature Rock Spa®.

Additionally, guests of the hotel will enjoy the convenience of the state-of-the-art events and meeting facilities, as well as the business center, accompanied by six meeting rooms and a 5,200 square foot ballroom.

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

Jennifer Jackson, jjackson@zimmerman.com, or
 Samantha Schmidt, of The Zimmerman Agency, +1-850-668-2222

Berger Commercial Realty Corp. Announces Three New Lease Transactions


 FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Berger Commercial Realty, a full service commercial real estate firm based in Fort Lauderdale and serving clients around the state, announced new deals from brokers Judy Dolan (top right photo), Keith Graves (middle left photo), Greg Milopoulos (middle right photo) and St. George Guardabassi (bottom left photo).

Dolan, Graves and Milopoulos represented Oakland Center Associates, LTD in the lease of a 2,142-square-foot flex space, located at 3215 N.W. 10th Terrace in Fort Lauderdale, to Cardinal Scale Manufacturing Company.

Dolan and Guardabassi represented East Port Center Joint Venture in the lease of a 11,670-square-foot office space, located at 1885 State Rd. 84 in Fort Lauderdale, to Periodic Products, represented by Robert J. Simeone of Atlantic Properties International.

Dolan represented Trustee Sara Baxt in the lease of a 2,040-square-foot restaurant/retail space, located at 1931 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, to Three Heads Group, LLC, d/b/a Cinquecento.


Contact:

 Marielle Sologuren
Pierson Grant Public Relations
(954) 776-1999, ext. 226

Kevin Rude Joins Colliers International South Florida as Director of Property Management Services



MIAMI, FL - Kevin K. Rude (top right photo), RPA, CCIM, has a reputation for expanding property management portfolios for some of the country's top commercial real estate firms.

Kevin is now the newest member of the Colliers International South Florida team. As the Directory of Property Management Services, Kevin will be responsible for all operations of the property management arm of the firm, including a portfolio of properties of office, retail, industrial and multifamily assets.

 "I am extremely excited to be joining Colliers South Florida to oversee the property management team," says Kevin. "We are unique among our competitors because we customize delivery to meet our clients' needs. As a result, we will be able to leverage our strong brokerage presence in the market to offer clients a full range of best-in-class real estate services."

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

 Crystal Proenza
Vice President of Marketing
Colliers International South Florida
Commercial Real Estate Services
Tel: 305 476 7138

Residents, Veterans at Del Webb Stone Creek in Ocala, FL raise new flag and flag pole to mark community entrance



OCALA, FL. – The entrance to Del Webb Stone Creek off SW 80th Ave. in Ocala has a patriotic new look thanks to residents and local veterans.

Michael Finley, general sales manager for Del Webb Stone Creek, said more than 75 residents — most of them veterans — were on hand Flag Day to raise a new flag pole and a new 12 by 18 foot American Flag.

“We have many veterans in our community and they suggested we ought to have a more noteworthy commemoration at the entrance to the community,” Finley said.

“We thought they were right,” he said.

After the formal flag raising ceremony participating residents headed for the Reunion Center for coffee, juice and donuts.

Del Webb Stone Creek is one of the homebuilder’s largest communities in the U.S. featuring the Reflection Bay and Elan Spa clubhouses and 29 acres of gardens, the Stone Creek Grille and an 18-hole championship golf course.

 For more information, visit delwebb.com/stonecreek  or call 877-333-5932.

For more information,  contact: 

 Lyndsey Patterson, Director of Marketing Del Webb/ PulteGroup North Florida Division, 407-661-2150 ext 1416 2301 Lucien Way, Suite 400, Maitland, FL 32751; lyndsey.patterson@pultegroup.com;

 Sean C. Strickler, Vice President Sales, Del Webb/PulteGroup/North Florida, 407-661-1461 sean.strickler@pultegroup.com;    

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



REITs Poised to Continue Recent Run of Success




ATLANTA, GA– Despite the overall hardships of the commercial real estate market and the grinding economy, real estate investment trusts (REITs) have performed well in recent years and appear poised for continued success.

Those were some of the points made by show host Michael Bull (top right photo)and his guests on the most recent episode of “America’s Commercial Real Estate Show,” which provided an enlightening look at the recent history of REITs and the factors that will influence their performance moving forward.

Over the last three years, the compound annual return for REITs has been about 40 percent, compared with 22 percent for the stock market overall, noted Brad Case (middle left photo), senior vice president with the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. “You’ve had much stronger performance during the upturn for the REIT industry relative to other stocks,” he said.

Part of the reason for REITs’ success is the caliber of their portfolios, noted Bull, president and founder of Bull Realty. “REITs have a great quality of properties generally - Class-A, institutional-quality properties – and those help you recover a lot faster as well,” he said.

REITs currently enjoy “tremendous and wonderful access to capital” and are also benefitting from improving real estate fundamentals, said Steven Marks (middle right photo), managing director, REITs, for Fitch Ratings.

However, the agency isn’t entirely bullish on the REIT sector, Marks explained. Headwinds in the economy are cause for concern, and “we think the sector remains over leveraged despite the degree of equity capital that’s been raised over the last three years,” he said. “We still think the sector has a ways to go before we would think about upgrading the sector [from ‘stable’] to ‘positive.’”

By contrast, Brad Thomas (lower left photo), vice president of capital markets for Bull Realty who also writes about REITs for Seeking Alpha and Forbes, applauded REITs for their “very conservative management practices.”

“We’ve seen pretty low leverage balance sheets as compared to the private sector and the developers who all were highly leveraged,” he added. “Coming out of this recession, we’ve seen REITs perform much better [than private real estate firms simply because of the conservative capital.”

Like the other guests, William Kahane (lower right photo), CEO of American Realty Capital, expressed optimism about the health of commercial real estate markets and REITs moving forward, and he also noted that his retail REIT is seeing higher quality tenants and improved income streams.

“We are seeing sales growth among our retail tenants … ,” he said. “We’ve got a very durable income stream. We now derive over three-fourths of our rents from investment-grade-rated tenants.”

The entire REIT Market Update episode is available for download at www.CREshow.com.

The next “America’s Commercial Real Estate Show” will be available June 21 and will provide a look at the latest commercial real estate technology.

Contact:

Stephen Ursery
Wilbert News Strategies
Office: (404) 965-5026
Cell: (404) 405-2354

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

HFF named to market for sale KBR former headquarters in Houston, TX



 HOUSTON, TX – HFF announced it has been named to market for sale 135.76 acres of land, which served as the former KBR headquarters (top left aerial photo), in Houston, Texas.

HFF is marketing the property on behalf of the seller, KBR, for an undisclosed amount free and clear of debt.

The property is located at 4100 Clinton Drive less than one mile from downtown Houston and contains nearly a mile of water frontage on Buffalo Bayou. 

 In addition, the location provides access to the area’s major freeways and mass transit facilities. 

Five existing office buildings totaling approximately 720,000 square feet, and a 36,000-square-foot employee center that includes a cafeteria, gymnasium and day care facilities are currently situated on the site. 

The HFF investment sales team representing the seller is led by managing director Davis Adams (lower left photo).

 “We are very pleased to announce this extremely rare opportunity.  This is one of the largest land sites in the United States with immediate proximity to a major metropolitan area’s central business district, which makes it a prime location for major infill redevelopment,” commented Adams.

 “The site is fully open to a wide variety of development opportunities, particularly considering Houston’s standing as one of the best performing markets with some of the strongest job growth in the nation.”

KBR (NYSE: KBR) is a global engineering, construction and services company supporting the energy, hydrocarbon, government services, minerals, civil infrastructure, power, industrial, and commercial markets. For more information, visit www.kbr.com.
  
Contacts:    
 
DAVIS ADAMS                                                    
HFF Managing Director                                                                              
(713) 852-3500                                                     
dadams@hfflp.com                                            
     
MYRA F. MOREN
HFF Director, Marketing
(713) 852-3500

HFF closes sale of Class A office and industrial development in Alameda, CA



SAN FRANCISCO, CA – HFF announced it has closed the sale of The Waterfront at Harbor Bay (top left photo), a Class A suburban office and industrial development totaling 381,439 square feet in Alameda, California.

HFF marketed the property exclusively on behalf of the seller, ALAMEDA WATERFRONT INVESTORS, LLC, L.P. an affiliate of BPG Properties, Ltd. 

An unnamed buyer acquired the property for an undisclosed amount free and clear of debt.

The development is located within the Harbor Bay Business Park at 1601-1851 Harbor Bay Parkway near Oakland International Airport to the east of San Francisco Bay. 

The development encompasses five Class A office buildings and one Class A industrial building.  The property was originally completed in 2000 for Lucent Technologies.  Currently at 85 percent occupancy, tenants include Simco Ion, ABB Concise, Webcor Builders and Citibank.

The HFF investment sales team representing the seller was led by managing director Steven Golubchik (middle right photo) and senior managing directors Michael Leggett (middle left photo) and Gerry Rohm (lower right photo).

“With stable in-place cash flow, improving market fundamentals and the highest quality project in Harbor Bay, the Waterfront at Harbor Bay attracted a multitude of institutional value-add investors, providing the opportunity to purchase the asset at a very attractive price-per-square-foot basis compared to historical trades in the submarket,” commented Golubchik.

For additional information on BPG Properties, please visit the company’s website at www.bpgltd.com.


Contacts:    
           
 STEVEN E. GOLUBCHIK                             
HFF Managing Director                                      
(415) 276-6300                                                    
sgolubchik@hfflp.com                                      
                                       
MYRA F. MOREN
HFF Director, Marketing
(713) 852-3500

HFF arranges construction financing and joint venture equity for development of student housing project at the University of North Texas in Denton, TX




DALLAS, TX – HFF announced it has arranged construction financing along with joint venture equity for the development of 33° North, a 139-unit, 427-bed student housing project at the University of North Texas (top left photo) in Denton.  

HFF worked exclusively on behalf of the borrower, a joint venture between Fountain Residential Partners, LLC and Crosswind Development, LLC, to secure the construction loan through American Bank of Texas.  In addition, HFF assisted in securing the joint venture equity on behalf of the borrower through a private investor.

33° North is located at 919 Eagle Drive on the southeast corner of the University of North Texas campus in Denton.  Due for completion in the fall of 2013, the community will be the first of two student housing assets currently in development within walking distance of campus and will consist of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units. 

Amenities will include fully furnished units featuring granite countertops and 50-inch flat screen televisions in addition to a pool area and clubhouse. 

The HFF team representing the borrower was led by associate director Adam Herrin (middle left photo).

Fountain Residential Partners, together with the Dallas-based Carl Westcott Family, was founded by principals Brent Little, Jon Clayton and Trevor Tollett, each seasoned real estate professionals that have more than 40 years combined experience in student housing development.  The principals have built over $1 billion in student housing developments across the country. 

Crosswind Development Partners is a Dallas-based real estate investment and development firm with experience investing in multi-housing projects including development, construction and asset management. 

Contacts:    
           
 ADAM F. HERRIN                                   
 HFF Associate Director                          
(214) 265-0880                                              
aherrin@hfflp.com                                    
                                       
MYRA F. MOREN
HFF Director, Marketing
(713) 852-3500

Faris Lee Investments Completes Sales of 10 Ruby Tuesday Properties

  

IRVINE, CA – Faris Lee Investments, the nation’s largest retail-specialized investment advisory firm, has announced it has completed the sales of ten properties occupied by Ruby Tuesday restaurants for a total of $22 million.

Six of the eight properties were sold for $12.8 million to a private investor from Southern California. The properties included:

• Pooler, GA: 110 Pooler Parkway (4,645 SF)
• Rock Hill, SC: 1410 Old Springdale Road (5,655 SF)
• North Charleston, SC: 7400 Northside Dr. (4,658 SF)
• Durham, NC: 210 NC Highway 54 (4,959 SF)
• Wytheville, VA: 145 Commonwealth Ave (5,097 SF)
• Harrisonburg, VA: 111 Burgess Road (5,084 SF)

The properties are all located in strong locations, include new, NNN absolute 15-year lease terms and annual rent increases, and were sold at record-breaking cap rates.
 
Matt Mousavi (middle right photo), director with Faris Lee Investments, represented the seller, Ruby Tuesday, Inc. (NYSE: RT). In December 2011, Faris Lee had been named the exclusive broker to market a portfolio of properties occupied by Ruby Tuesday throughout the Eastern United States.

According to Mousavi, 21 of the properties have now sold or are currently in escrow.

For more information, please visit http://www.farislee.com/.

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

Darcie Giacchetto,
949.278.6224
Spaulding Thompson & Associates
For Faris Lee Investments
                              

Fortress Construction Group Breaks Ground on 12,000-SF Medical Facility in Downtown, Orlando, FL



ORLANDO, FL --- Fortress Construction Group, Inc. has started construction of a new 12,000 square foot medical facility (ltop left rendering  at 326 N. Mills Ave. for the Central Florida Pulmonary Group (CFPG).

Charles Ayers (middle right photo), president of Fortress Construction Group, Inc. said the project includes the state-of-the-art medical facility along with new parking and complete renovation of existing medical offices.

The project is a challenging one, Ayers said.  The site is relatively small, with an existing 7,500 square foot medical office building that will remain open while construction is under way, Ayers explained.

James Garritani (middle left photo) R.A. of DDP Architects P.A. designed the new facility. “Our focus was to soften the transition between the commercial buildings of Mills Avenue and the adjacent historic residential areas,” Garritani said.

“The City of Orlando was very helpful in accommodating the needs of the client and helping to craft a compatible design at the streetscape level,” he said.

Ayers said the new medical facility is expected to open by the end of this year.

Central Florida Pulmonary Group specializes in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, Critical Care Medicine, and Sleep Medicine.

The new facility will provide a variety of services including Respiratory Therapy, the CFPG Institute of Sleep Medicine, CT Scan, DEXA Scan, and a Drive-Through Pharmacy.


 For more information about this press release, contact

Charles Ayers, President, Fortress Construction Group and Charles Ayers Custom Homes, 407-467-7696 Charles@ayerscustomhomes.com

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644 4042 Lvershelco@aol.com