Wilshire Marina Short Sale Completed in Hollywood, FL

 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL, Sept. 24, 2012 - The former Wilshire Marina (top left photo), located at 2308 S. Ocean Drive, Hollywood, FL has sold in an all cash transaction for $3.37 million.

Achikam Yogev (middle right photo), Senior Vice President and Ron Osborne, Vice President, represented the seller, Wilshire Marina, LLC in the transaction, which was well below the original loan amount.

 The 87,120-square-foot property was originally going to be redeveloped into a high end hotel condominium with a marina component. The downturn in the economy had the developer, Wilshire Marina, LLC, looking for alternative uses, including a high end destination restaurant and marina.

 The project was caught in a tough market and faced delays. As a result of the downturn, the property had been in foreclosure for several years and the lender for the property, New Orleans-based Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Company, reached out to Colliers International for advice and assistance.

The lender requested Colliers reach out to the borrower, who Osborne had a previous relationship with. They borrower engaged Colliers to exclusively list the property as a short sale. Within a week of signing the agreement they had contacted several buyers and fielded several offers, from which the seller choose the buyers, Mark and Michael Walsh, to negotiate the sale.

"The property was sold and closed within 45 days of being brought to market," says Yogev. "This was accomplished through a strong relationship with both the lender and property owner." The closing actually would have been even sooner, if not for Hurricane Issac, which was hitting New Orleans, making communications with the bank difficult and postponing the closing for one week.

"The property's location on A1A and Nevada on Hollywood Beach, among the development activity within that CRA, will bring even more traffic to the property and increase value," says Osborne. 

For further information, please contact:  

 Crystal Proenza

Vice President of Marketing

Colliers International South Florida

Commercial Real Estate Services

Tel: 305 476 7138

Email: crystal.proenza@colliers.com

www.colliers.com

Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. Arranges $6.9 Million in Student Housing Refinancing

PHILADELPHIA, PA Sept., 24, 2012 – Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation (MMCC) has arranged $6.9 million in financing for a six-property student housing portfolio. 

            John Banas (top right photo) and Kris Wood (lower left photo), directors in MMCC’s Philadelphia office, arranged the loan. It is their second student housing portfolio financing in the amount of $6.9 million within two months for a total of $13.8 million.

 “The client requested financing for multiple properties across Kutztown University and Penn State University’s Harrisburg campus,” said Banas. “The owner wanted to free up some equity to buy out a partner.”

            “The market locations were too small for agency financing,” adds Wood. “It was challenging to find competitive rates and terms. MMCC has a great deal of experience handling complex student housing financing.”

            MMCC used its underwriting and loan packaging abilities to present a comprehensive analysis of the diverse student housing portfolio. The portfolio contains a number of newly constructed and recently stabilized buildings.

            The loans were structured with 10-year terms and amortize over 30 years at an interest rate of 4.25 percent. The LTV is 75 percent.

Contact:

Stacey Corso

Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation

(925) 953-1716

www.mmCapCorp.com

CRE Show: Outlook is Increasingly Positive for Availability of Capital

ATLANTA, GA (Sept. 24, 2012) – With continuing low interest rates and increasingly available CMBS financing, the capital markets are more accessible than they have been since 2007.

 On the latest episode of “America’s Commercial Real Estate Show,” a panel of experts shared insights about the availability of capital in the future and gave an insightful look at the myriad of forces driving this dynamic capital market.

 Here’s a bit of good news: capitalization (cap) rate compression is helping put some shovels in the ground again.

Today’s cap rates are driving a significant uptick in development in the multi-family sector as it makes more economic sense for companies to develop rather than to buy, explained Steven Marks (top right photo), managing director at Fitch Ratings.

 Many lenders are still focused on value-add projects, but some construction loans are flowing.

 “The market has given us construction loan opportunities in multi-family, anchored retail or single-tenant retail, some medical office buildings and maybe some build-to-suit industrial,” said Christopher Sweitzer (top left photo), senior vice president and commercial real estate manager at BB&T.

Another hot topic for the capital markets is the Quantitative Easing Round 3 (QE3), which is expected to cause a further decline in all-in interest rates and reduce the cost of capital for borrowers. This third round of quantitative easing was announced by the Federal Reserve Bank in mid-September.

 The Fed pledged to keep the federal funds rate at zero to .25 percent through mid-2015 and to buy an additional $40 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities per month.

For the capital markets, this means Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are going to be viable sources of financing for multi-family developments for the near future, said Tom Walsh (middle right photo), senior vice president at Grandbridge Real Estate Capital LLC.

Meanwhile, these low interest rates will encourage institutional investors to allocate more money toward commercial real estate, explained Michael Hartman (lower left photo), director of capital markets at the Reznick Group.

 In addition, some banks are taking baby steps toward easing underwriting standards on commercial real estate loans after many years of very stringent guidelines.

 “I think these loans on commercial real estate today are probably going to be some of the safest loans that we’ve seen in a long time,” said show host Michael Bull (lower right photo) founder of Bull Realty Inc.

 Of course, there are still some clouds looming on the horizon. These risks in the current market are different because they are macro-level issues, explained Marks of Fitch Ratings.

“In the past, we were more concerned about property-level fundamentals or access to capital,” Marks said. “Going forward our concern is more macro: What happens with the economy? What happens with the European effort?”

 The entire episode on capital markets is available for download at www.CREshow.com.

 The next “America’s Commercial Real Estate Show” will be available Sept. 27 and will focus on retail tenant strategies.

Contact:

Stephen Ursery

Wilbert Public Relations

E-mail: sursery@wnspr.com

Office: (404) 965-5026

Cell: (404) 405-2354

www.wnspr.com

Lincoln Property Company Brokers Four Office Leases in Suburban Orlando, FL

 ORLANDO, FL. (Sept. 24, 2012) – Lincoln Property Company Southeast has brokered leases totaling more than 7,750 square feet at two metro Orlando office complexes. Robert Kellogg (top right photo), vice president – office, for Lincoln, represented the landlords in the deals.

 The leases included the following transactions:

 • Grace Title signed a three-year, 2,687-square-foot renewal at Premier Point (bottom left photo), a two-building, 95,403-square-foot office complex in Altamonte Springs, Fla. Andrade P.A. also inked a five-year, 1,600-square-foot new lease at the site. Neither tenant was represented by a broker.

 • SeniorBridge signed a three-year, 1,998-square-foot new lease at 1801 Lee Road in WinterPark, Fla. Joe Abascal of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant. Orlando Hypnosis Clinic also signed a 1,472-square-foot new lease at the building; the transaction was a direct deal.

 “It is encouraging to see the increased activity in the suburban Orlando office market,” Kellogg said. “An improving economic climate and the market knowledge and resources we have at Lincoln will enable us to create real value for our landlord clients.”

For More Information, Contact

Stephen Ursery

Wilbert Public Relations

404-965-5026

sursery@wnspr.com

Cooper Carry Higher Education Studio in Atlanta, GA Advances Footprint with Completion of Three Projects

 ATLANTA, GA  (Sept. 24, 2012) – Cooper Carry, the internationally recognized design firm, continues to grow its higher education practice, delivering innovative, sophisticated and inspirational environments that foster growth and learning.

 This summer, the firm celebrated the opening of three projects: the new student center at Georgia Highlands College, the renovation of the library at Atlanta Technical College (top left photo) and a library expansion at Shorter University.

 The student center at Georgia Highlands College in Cartersville, Ga., was unveiled in August in time for the fall semester. Students voted to help fund the project, a 55,000-square-foot center featuring a two-story student lounge, the campus bookstore, a café with seating areas, a game room and meeting space for student organizations.

For more information, please visit www.coopercarry.com

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

Caroline Wilbert

o: (404) 965-5020

c: (404) 405-6479

e: cwilbert@wnspr.com

Colliers International Completes Sale of Industrial Building in Orange, CA

ORANGE, CA. (Sept. 24, 2012) Colliers International, the third largest global real estate services organization, has completed the $1,059,000 sale of a 10,000-square-foot industrial building located at 1721 Lime St. in Orange, Calif.

Chuck Wilson (top right photo) and Blake Garrett (lower left photo) of Colliers International represented the buyer, Excell Excavating, Inc., an excavating and demolition company, who will use the property for its corporate headquarters. 

Mike Hefner and Mike Vernick with Voit represented the seller, Berg Family Trust from Laguna Hills, Calif. The tenant is expanding and relocating from Laguna Niguel, Calif.

“A building of this size with a fenced yard is hard for an owner/user to find in Orange County as the for-sale market is extremely tight,” said Wilson, senior vice president with Colliers International. “We were able to identify this opportunity for the buyer who will begin making significant improvements to the property which had some deferred maintenance.”

Built in 1976, the free-standing industrial building offers a fenced yard and is situated on .56 acres. The property is well located near the major freeways in Orange County.

Contact:

Darcie Giacchetto

Spaulding Thompson & Associates

949.278.6224

North American Hotel Prices Up Five Percent from 2011, According to the Latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI)

DALLAS, TX  /PRNewswire/ — The latest edition of Hotels.com® Hotel Price Index™ (HPI®) indicates that North America saw the second fastest rise in average hotel prices in the first half of 2012, with a growth of 5 percent, putting the Index at 109.

The good news for travelers is that prices stayed 10 Index points behind their peak in 2007 and were still cheaper than in 2006.

The HPI tracks real prices paid per room by Hotels.com customers at approximately 140,000 properties within the Hotels.com network in major destinations around the world. T

his edition of the report, which compares the first six months of 2012 with the same period in 2011, shows an upward trend in hotel prices across all global regions, resulting in an average global increase of 4 percent. This is the first time in five years that Hotels.com has seen an increase across the globe.

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

Chris Daly

President

Daly Gray, Inc.

Ph: 703-435-6293

Cell: 703-864-5553

chris@dalygray.com

Loews Hotels & Resorts Announces Coordinated Effort with U.S. Department of Homeland Security

  

NEW YORK, NY (Sept. 24, 2012) – Loews Hotels & Resorts Chairman Jonathan Tisch (top right photo) and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano (lower left photo) announced a joint effort today to promote the Trusted Traveler Network which incorporates the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Global Entry and the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Pre✓™programs. 

Loews Hotels is the first hotel and resort company to work in conjunction with the two offices within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to offer these programs to guests to enhance the travel experience.

Loews Hotels is offering YouFirst Platinum loyalty rewards members complimentary enrollment in the Global Entry program via an online process by incurring the cost of the $100 application fee for its most loyal guests.  With a Global Entry membership, U.S. citizens are automatically qualified to participate in expedited screening with TSA Pre✓™.

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

Lark-Marie Antón / Sarah Murov

Loews Hotels & Resorts

(212) 521-2779 / (212) 521-2495

lanton@loewshotels.com / smurov@loewshotels.com

Carla Tracy

Laura Davidson Public Relations

(212) 696-0660

carla@ldpr.com

Nicole Stickel

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

(202) 282-8010

mediainquiry@dhs.gov

Chris Daly

President

Daly Gray, Inc.

Ph: 703-435-6293

Cell: 703-864-5553

chris@dalygray.com

Arbor’s FHA Multifamily Lending Business Accelerates Expansion with Hiring of New Chicago Originator

UNIONDALE, NY (Sept. 24, 2012) - Arbor Commercial Mortgage, LLC (“Arbor”), a leading, direct commercial real estate lender originating on a national basis, has expanded its multifamily FHA loan origination capabilities further with the appointment of an experienced FHA Originations Director in the company’s Chicago, IL, office.

 Paul Olson (top right photo) was appointed as FHA Originations Director in Arbor’s Chicago, IL, office, where he is responsible for originating FHA-insured multifamily, seniors housing and healthcare facility loans nationwide on an expedited basis for acquisition, refinance and construction transactions.

He reports to Joseph Donovan (lower left photo), Senior Vice President, Director of FHA Lending.

Mr. Olson has more than 20 years of experience in commercial lending, investment banking and equity investment. Previous to Arbor, he was Vice President and Regional Director for Great Lakes Financial Group, another FHA MAP and LEAN Lender.

Prior to that, Mr. Olson was the principal of Olson Financial Resources, Inc., a full-service commercial loan brokerage and capital consulting firm, where he assisted clients across the United States in obtaining commercial real estate capital. Earlier in his career, Mr. Olson held executive roles with such firms as MMA Financial, GE Capital, Bank of America Securities and The Sumitomo Bank.

 Mr. Olson earned his Masters of Business Administration degree in Finance from the University of Chicago. He graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Japanese from Carleton College. He is a member of the Real Estate Investment Association of Chicago, the Chicago Real Estate Council and the University of Chicago Alumni in Real Estate. He resides in Chicago, IL

Contact:

Chris Ostrowski

Arbor Realty Trust, Inc.

 Tel: (516) 506-4255

333 Earle Ovington Blvd, Suite 90

 costrowski@arbor.com

Matthew Abrahamson Joins Hunter Realty

CHICAGO, IL and ATLANTA, GA, Sept. 24, 2012—Officials at Hunter Realty today announced that Matthew Abrahamson (top right photo) has joined the company’s Chicago office.  In his new role, he will advise and support clients on hotel real estate sales as well as oversee the company’s direct marketing efforts for the greater Midwest region.

 “We now have a national brokerage infrastructure in place and are building our bench strength at our seven offices to provide even better service to our clients,” said Teague Hunter (middle left photo), President.  “Matt brings to Hunter Realty a strong understanding of Midwest real estate trends and activity and has a solid understanding of the hotel industry.  After all, he grew up in the business.   He adds robust depth to our Midwest representation.” 

“Hunter is confident and growing” said Lee Hunter (lower right photo), COO. “We sold 27 hotels in the first half of 2012.”

Prior to joining Hunter, Abrahamson was a commercial real estate advisor in the Chicago office of Newmark Knight Frank, one of the world’s largest real estate service firms. His responsibilities included marketing, brokerage and consulting.

Abrahamson received his Bachelor of Science in finance from DePaul University and currently is pursuing an MBA at St. Xavier University.

 Hunter Realty, an award-winning firm founded in 1978, has offices in Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Washington, D.C.  Hunter’s exclusive focus is on hotel investment advisory services.  Additional information, including current listings, is available at the company’s website, www.HunterHotels.net, or by contacting the Atlanta office at (770) 916-0300.

 Contact:    

Chris Daly, Jerry Daly media

 (703) 435-6293

 hris@dalygray.com

Marcus & Millichap Sells 83,340-SF Retail Building in Kissimmee, FL for $9.55 Million

KISSIMMEE, FL– Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has announced the sale of Kissimmee Korners (top left photo), an 83,340 square-foot retail property located in Kissimmee, FL. The asset commanded a sales price of $9,550,000.

Vice President Investments Douglas K. Mandel (lower right photo) in Marcus & Millichap’s Fort Lauderdale office and Senior Associate Mark Thompson in the firm’s Orlando office had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, an individual/personal trust from Boca Raton, FL.  The buyer, an individual/personal trust from Canada, was also secured by Mandel and Thompson.  

“The underlying real estate provides the buyer a proven net operating income, while at the same time offering diversity among the tenant mix and a core location on one of the main thoroughfares in the area,” says Mandel.  Kissimmee Korners’ tenants include: Budget Rent-A-Car, Little Caesars, United Legacy Bank and state government offices. 

Kissimmee Korners is located at 1507 N John Young Parkway in Kissimmee, FL. 

Press Contact:

Gregory Matus

Vice President/Regional Manager,

Fort  Lauderdale, FL

(954) 245-3400

Century West Partners Breaks Ground for The Gibson at 7th and Arizona in Santa Monica

  

Santa Monica, CA – Century West Partners, a Los Angeles-based residential development venture, in partnership with Hartford, Conn-based Cigna, have broken ground on the first phase of The Gibson (top left photo) at 7^th and Arizona – a two-building, 106-unit upscale apartment development in Santa Monica, Calif.  Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom attended the ground-breaking..

Formed last year, Century West Partners is headed by veteran residential developers Michael Sorochinsky (lower right photo) of Los Angeles-based Cypress Equity Investments and Randy and Steve Fifield of Chicago-based Fifield Companies.  

The project will be the venture’s first apartment development in the Santa Monica market and third development in the Los Angeles Area, following the 404-unit Avant and 303-unit K2 LA, in downtown Los Angeles and Koreatown, respectively.

 “Bringing the Century West brand to the Santa Monica market is an exciting opportunity for us,” said Sorochinsky. “This is a highly-desirable location that will offer residents immediate access to some of the best cultural and retail destinations the Los Angeles area has to offer.

“They will be only a short walk from the famed Third Street Promenade, as well as Santa Monica State Beach and Santa Monica Pier.”

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

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

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

Four New Properties Added to Cassidy Turley Atlanta Portfolio

ATLANTA, GA -- Cassidy Turley, a leading commercial real estate services provider in the U.S., continues to expand its property management division with the recent addition of four Georgia properties.

 Flagstar Bank selected Cassidy Turley to provide property management services for Holcomb Center (top left photo) and Mulberry Centre (middle right photo). Holcomb Center is a 87,564-square-foot retail property in Roswell, and Mulberry Centre is a 13,400-square-foot retail property in Braselton.

 Cassidy Turley also has been hired to manage a 106,000 square-foot office building in the Lake at Northpoint office park in Roswell, and 1382 Peachtree Street inAtlanta’s CBD for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

 “Cassidy Turley is thrilled that we’ve been selected to serve these new clients,” said Holly Hughes (lower left photo), Senior Managing Director of Cassidy Turley’s property management group. 

“Our commitment to client service and our property management expertise has enabled us to quickly grow the Cassidy Turley brand and portfolio in Atlanta.”

 Cassidy Turley manages more than 455 million square feet both domestically and internationally. It has been instrumental in the turn-around of many properties in its Atlanta office and nationwide.

Public Relations Contact

Tony Wilbert

Wilbert News Strategies

404-965-5022

twilbert@wnspr.com

Wells Fargo Advisors Leases 8,000 SF at City Center in St. Petersburg, FL

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Wells Fargo Advisors has leased 8,000 square feet at City Center (top left photo) in downtown St. Petersburg.  This latest lease brings occupancy at the building to over 80%.

 “Over the last 20 months, we've leased over 105,000 square feet and have taken occupancy from 44.1% at acquisition in December of 2010 to over 80% in September of 2012.  In addition, we've inked over 20,000 square feet in renewals.” stated Larry Feldman (middle right photo), CEO of Feldman Equities, Inc.

Broker Reynolds McCabe (middle left photo) of Travers Realty represented Wells Fargo Advisors in the transaction.

 The Wells Fargo Advisors’ lease follows on the heels of a multi-million dollar renovation program at the property. Ownership recently completed a state-of-the-art fitness center complete with shower facilities.

Ownership also upgraded the elevator lobbies and the parking garage, and work is nearly completed to upgrade the elevator systems and elevator cabs. The elevator work involves a million dollar upgrade of the motors and controls, as well as all new elevator cabs.

A marble-clad concierge desk has been installed in the lobby which is providing tenants with services ranging from welcoming visitors to the building to finding baseball tickets for the Tampa Bay Rays game or even acting as a temporary secretary for the day.

 “Our success at City Center has been derived from an aggressive pricing program coupled with a spectacular renovation program. As a result of our renovations, the building has by far the best amenity package of any building in downtown St. Petersburg,” stated Feldman.

On-site building amenities at City Center in downtown St. Petersburg include a state-of-the-art fitness center complete with shower facilities, a full time concierge, an Atrium Café, a large conference center capable of seating 65 people with Wi-Fi and audiovisual equipment, on-site banking and a recently renovated six-story parking garage. These amenities are in addition to all of the waterfront retail and dining options located within walking distance.

 City Center is owned by a joint venture consisting of affiliates of Second City Capital Partners, Feldman Equities, Inc., and Tower Realty Partners, Inc.

More information can be found on the City Center website www.citycenterstpete.com

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

Feldman Equities

Larry Feldman

727-822-3395

 lfeldman@feldmanequities.com

Smith Equities Reports Lackluster Year of Leasing in Central Florida Student Housing Market

 ORLANDO, FL -- Paul M. Guyet (top right photo), Student Housing Specialist at Orlando, FL-based Smith Equities Real Estate Investment Advisors, reports that in what seems to have been a rather lackluster year of leasing in both markets, two new student housing complexes came on the market this year, one at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando and the other at the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa..

There are also several new properties in the pipeline planned for next year and several years after that. 

At UCF, University House was a resounding success leasing all 995 of its bedrooms. Most of the leasing was done from a mobile trailer/office while the complex was under construction. The community has all the bells and whistles, including a Hi‐tech gaming lounge w/ multi‐screen TV wall.

At USF, Sterling North Campus came online with a bit less fanfare as its final lease‐up tally for its 734 bedrooms was in the mid 90%.

UCF is like that never‐ending “Eveready Battery”. It just continues to grow and grow and grow and it now has over 60,000 students, an increase of about 2,000 students, keeping its status as the second largest university in the country.

However the freshmen class had a slight reduction (down by 200) so

most of UCF’s enrollment growth seems to have come from transfer students who graduate from the area’s community colleges and unemployed and underemployed people who go back to school to upgrade their educations and job prospects.

Many of these transfer/graduate students do not use student housing to the extent that other four year students do. On‐line classes may also cut down on the use of student housing since those students can learn from home or another location.

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

Paul M. Guyet

Student Housing Specialist

Senior Investment Advisor/Mortgage Broker

Smith Equities Real Estate Investment Advisors (SEREIA)

350 East Pine Street

Orlando, FL 32801

 Tel: (407) 422-0704 X 105

Fax: (407) 422-0705

Cell: (407) 925-7608

Email: PGuyet@SmithEq.com

 SEREIA Websites: www.SmithEq.com | www.MyRentComps.com