Monday, July 7, 2008

HFF Secures $27.19M in Joint venture equity for Class A Multifamily Development in Hollywood



LOS ANGELES, CA, July 7, 2008 – The Los Angeles office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) announced today that it arranged joint venture equity on behalf of JPI, Inc. for Jefferson at Hollywood,(above centered aerial) a Class A multifamily development in Hollywood (Los Angeles), California.

HFF senior managing directors Paul Brindley (top right photo) and Doug Bond (middle right photo) and managing directors Todd Sugimoto (top left photo) and Mark Wintner (bottom left photo) represented JPI, a national multifamily development firm with a $13.7 billion institutional track record.

Fidelity Real Estate Group provided the $27.19 million in joint venture equity for the project.

Upon completion in 2010, Jefferson at Hollywood will have 271 residential units averaging 881 square feet each, 8,500 square feet of ground-level retail space and a subterranean 755-space parking garage.

Amenities at the new complex will include a full-service business center, clubhouse with concierge services, movie theatre, pool, jacuzzi, outdoor grill area, lounge area and fitness center.

Jefferson at Hollywood is located on Highland Avenue adjacent to Hollywood & Highland, an entertainment center that houses the Kodak Theatre (bottom right photo).

The property is also within 500 feet of the MTA Red Line Station, which provides access to downtown Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.

“Despite ongoing redevelopment efforts in Hollywood, multifamily development in the area has been limited to less than 1,500 units since 1995, accounting for approximately 2% of current inventory,” said Sugimoto. “Jefferson at Hollywood will provide much needed rental housing in an area that is extremely underserved by modern multifamily product.”

Founded in 1989, JPI is dedicated to “Building Quality for Our Customers” and committed to making quality investments and providing the highest level of real estate services. JPI operates regional offices in Irving, Texas; Washington, D.C.; Carlsbad, California; New York; Boston; and Atlanta.

JPI is one of the nation’s largest and most successful multifamily real estate firms with 1,500 associates, providing acquisition, development, construction and asset management services for conventional multifamily and student living communities nationwide.

JPI also provides property management and leasing services for over 40,000 multifamily units across the United States and is the preferred multifamily property manager for RREEF Asset Management Group.

Fidelity Real Estate Group pursues value-added real estate investment opportunities throughout the U.S. on a fully discretionary basis for its managed funds. The Fidelity Real Estate Group is a division of Pyramis Global Advisors, a Fidelity Investments company. Fidelity Real Estate Group manages in excess of $12 billion on behalf of institutional and accredited individual investors as of March 31, 2008.

HFF (NYSE: HF) operates out of 18 offices nationwide and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry.

HFF offers clients a fully integrated national capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, structured finance, private equity, note sales and note sale advisory services and commercial loan servicing.

CONTACTS:

Paul C. Brindley, HFF Senior Managing Director, 310 407 2100, pbrindley@hfflp.com

Laurie Fish McDowell, HFF Associate Director, Marketing,l 617 338 0990, lmcdowell@hfflp.com

Exploitation of Residents at Wasserstein and Lazard-linked Senior Care Facilities Exposed


Lazard CEO Bruce Wasserstein (top right photo) comes under fire as healthcare workers' union informs residents, families that Atria senior care facilities value private equity gain over safety measures;


Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films releases documentary exposing Lazard and Wasserstein greed

NEW YORK, NY July 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) launched an online campaign today to bring attention to ongoing safety concerns at leading assisted living provider Atria Senior Living, as well as the controversial business practices of its parent, Lazard Real Estate Partners, a private equity fund affiliated with Lazard Ltd.

While costs have increased for Atria residents and some Lazard executives celebrate record compensation, problems with resident care persist. Beginning today, Web ads running on some of the world's largest news sites will highlight Atria's gouging of its elderly residents.

"One complaint regarding the safety of residents of Atria facilities is enough to warrant concern," said SEIU president Andy Stern (top left photo).

"The hundreds of complaints we're hearing make it an epidemic. The Lazard private equity fund's mission to squeeze profit out of its companies is responsible for some of the problems at Atria, and the families of the more than 14,000 residents of Atria senior care facilities have both a right and a need to hear about it."

The ads coincide with the online release of a new expose of Bruce Wasserstein by Brave New Films, a new media venture of acclaimed documentary-maker Robert Greenwald.

Ad samples are also available upon request. The film, titled Gouging Grandma: Billionaire Bruce Wasserstein, follows Robin Berson, the daughter of an Atria resident, and Dino Vallenes, a maintenance worker at an Atria facility, as they travel to Bermuda to speak out at Lazard Ltd.'s annual shareholder meeting.

"Lazard can pay its principals princely sums while its affiliates treat the most vulnerable among us this way?" asked Robert Greenwald, founder of Brave New Films. "Not in my book: Wasserstein needs to be called to the mat for his indifference to how cost-cutting hurts Atria residents and workers."
More information on the connections between Lazard, Wasserstein, and Atria Senior Living can also be found on at http://www.lazardunveiled.org/ and http://www.lazardunveiled.org/
CONTACT:

Evan Thies, +1-917-715-9265, for SEIU Healthcare
Web Sites:

The Wells Retail Group of Marcus & Millichap Announces 6.38% Cap Sale of 7-11

Represents Buyers Continued Appetite For Quality

PARKER, CO, July 7, 2008 – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services has announced the sale of a single tenant 7-11 in Parker, CO for $2,618,000. The sales price represents $856 per square foot and a 6.38% cap rate.

David Wells (top right photo) with the Wells Retail Group of Marcus and Millichap, a top senior associate working out of the firm’s Tampa office, brought the buyer to the property. The seller is a developer based out of Dallas, TX. The buyer is a private investor from Virginia.

“The sale represents a commons theme in the marketplace. Investors are still willing to
come to the table in a challenging market for a true class A asset,” comments Mr. Wells.
“The property’s lease was backed by Southland which is the corporate parent of 7-11 and has outstanding credit. The buyer already owns multiple 7-11’s with corporate guaranteed leases which allows for an elevated level of comfort for them.”

The property is newly developed with the construction being completed in the fall of
2007. It sits in on 1.22 acres on a highly trafficked commercial corridor of Parker, CO.

For more information about the transaction or the state of the commercial real estate market, please contact David Wells at (813) 387-4700.

Marcus & Millichap closes $12.5M Sale of Northwoods Resort in Big Bear, CA


BIG BEAR LAKE, CA – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has arranged the sale of Northwoods Resort and Conference Center, (middle left photo) a 148-room hotel in Big Bear Lake. The sales price was $12.5 million.

Robert Brauchli (top right photo) and Jigar Patel, both senior associates in the San Diego office of Marcus & Millichap, represented the seller, WWW Asset One Corp.
Scott Clawson, an investment specialist in the firm’s Chicago Downtown office, represented the buyer, McSam Hotel Group. Michael Goldstein of Packard Hospitality also represented the buyer.

“Purchased below replacement cost, Northwoods Resort is an excellent asset with tremendous upside potential. Through a repositioning effort and expansion of vacant, usable space, the new owner will be able to dramatically increase revenues, while cutting expenses,” explains Brauchli.

“The buyer brings a wealth of knowledge to an underperforming asset,” adds Patel. “Through the implementation of a more efficient management and marketing style, the new owner of Northwoods Resort will see tremendous growth in revenues.
Located at 40650 Village Drive, the four-story hotel is situated on 4.77 acres within the village business district and is walking distance to numerous shops, restaurants and Big Bear Lake. In addition, the hotel is only minutes from both Bear Mountain and Snow Summit.

Built in 1995, the 148-room Northwoods Resort and Conference Center is the largest hotel in Big Bear Lake. The property also includes Stillwells Restaurant and Lounge, a gift shop, a pool, whirlpool, sauna, exercise room and an outdoor amphitheatre

Press Contact: Stacey Corso
Communications Department
(925) 953-1716

Harrah's Outlook Revised To Negative On Expected Weak Operating Performance

NEW YORK, NY-- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has revised its rating outlook on Las Vegas-based Harrah's Entertainment Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Harrah's Operating Co. Inc., to negative from stable.

At the same time, we affirmed the 'B+' corporate credit rating on each entity.

"The outlook revision reflects our expectation that operating performance for the remainder of 2008, and likely well into 2009, will remain pressured given weak economic conditions," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Ben Bubeck.Property-level EBITDA declined 7% in the quarter ended March 31, 2008, versus the same period in 2007.

Recent monthly revenue reported across gaming markets appears to show this trend is continuing and may be accelerating, in some cases, as the year progresses.

We expect rising gasoline prices and increasing unemployment rates to continue to impair consumer discretionary spending in the near term. Therefore, the company's ability to meet our projections for property-level EBITDA in 2008, and potentially 2009, now seems questionable.


Media contacts: Mimi Barker, New York (1) 212-438-5054
Analyst Contacts: Ben Bubeck, CFA, New York (1) 212-438-2176
Melissa Long, New York (1) 212-438-3886

REAL ESTATE CHANNEL Launches Commercial Real Estate Video Listing Service

ORLANDO, FL– Media entrepreneur Michael Gerrity,(top right photo) Founder & CEO of the REAL ESTATE CHANNEL(www.RealEstateChannel.com) is pleased to announce that as of July 7th the launch of their new Commercial Real Estate Classified Video Ad Service for individual properties for sale or lease - locally or globally.

REAL ESTATE CHANNEL’s new classified video listing service enables any commercial broker or landlord to produce a short :30 second video profiles of each property listing and these video listings into REAL ESTATE CHANNEL’s IPTV video network for viewing on-demand by potential commercial office tenants or investors from anywhere in the world.

In addition, each commercial video listing will also display each property’s sales or leasing data and agent or landlord contact information with a direct link to each advertiser’s site.





Michael Gerrity commented, “We believe that the use of video on the web is becoming a powerful and convenient tool to help potential tenants or investors looking for commercial space to search for and preview various properties for sale or lease from their convenience of their desktops. Because we are 100% web-based, think of us as creating the first full blown video-based MLS system for the entire commercial real estate marketplace in the U.S. and worldwide”.

REAL ESTATE CHANNEL™ is a global broadband television network (“IPTV”)
based in Universal Studios Florida that delivers professionally produced real estate video content to any viewer on any Internet enabled device anywhere in the world, anytime.

Contact:

Michael Gerrity
Founder & CEO
REAL ESTATE CHANNEL
1000 Universal Studios Plaza, Bldg 22-A
Orlando, Florida 32819
(P) 407.224.6830

Metro Washington, DC Office Sector Absorption Slowing as More Tenants Renew Leases

WASHINGTON, DC--GVA Advantis presents highlights from its second quarter Office Market Review of the metro Washington, DC market. For a complete copy of the report, please contact

Tonya L. Ginter, CCIM, Director of Research & Marketing, 703.790.2127, tginter@gvaadvantis.com


Market Highlights:


--The office sector faced slowing absorption and increasing vacancies during the second quarter of 2008, as vacancy rates increased to 10.8 percent from a first quarter rate of 10.1 percent.

--Landlords are granting generous concessions in response to the slowing rate at which new leases are being signed.

--The increased number of renewals is hurting the absorption of new projects.

--While commercial property sales slowed considerably during the first quarter of the year, activity accelerated during the second quarter of 2008.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Marcus & Millichap Arranges Sale of 9.49-Acre Car Dealership in Norfolk, VA for $10.3M

NORFOLK, VA– Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has arranged the sale of a 9.46-acre property leased to Freedom Ford car dealership (middle right photo) in Norfolk. The sales price is $10.3 million.

Glen Kunofsky, (top left photo) a first vice president investments and senior director of Marcus & Millichap’s National Retail Group in Manhattan, and James Mitchell, Amarainder Goli and Conrad FitzGibbon, all investment specialists in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office, represented the seller, a national real estate investment trust, and the buyer, a private global investment company.

“Franchised automobile dealerships represent an excellent single-tenant net-leased investment because of the strength of the real estate that is inherent with most dealerships and cash flows from operations that can quickly adapt to disruptions in the marketplace that are prevalent today” says Mitchell, who has spent a decade working in the automotive industry.

“The offering was an excellent opportunity for the investor to acquire a well-maintained property leased to a stable tenant in an enviable location along one of the busiest arteries servicing one of Norfolk’s main commercial centers,” adds Goli.

Located at 7520 North Military Highway, the property consists of four buildings, totaling 93,275 square feet, and is situated to the north of North Military Highway and to the east of Hilton Street.

Norfolk is one of Virginia’s largest incorporated cities and is located in Hampton Roads, a large natural harbor located at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Norfolk is considered to be the historic, urban, financial, and cultural center of the region. It is home to both the world’s largest naval base, and corporate headquarters of the Norfolk Southern Railway.

Press Contact: Stacey Corso
Communications Department
(925) 953-1716

Foreclosure Report Newsletter Celebrates One-Year Anniversary With Nearly 50,000 Subscribers

IRVINE, CA– RTI Publishing, Inc., a subsidiary of RealtyTrac™ (http://www.realtytrac.com/), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, announced that its Foreclosure News Report, a monthly newsletter dedicated exclusively to foreclosure investing, has reached nearly 50,000 monthly subscribers after just one year of publication.

Foreclosure News Report — a subscription-based 12-to-16 page newsletter — covers news relating to the foreclosure marketplace, success stories from real foreclosure buyers and investors, legal updates, guest columnists and the latest state and national foreclosure trends.

The publication is chock-full of in-depth reporting on all aspects of the foreclosure process nationwide. Each issue includes a state or regional spotlight that goes in-depth about market conditions in that area.

The newsletter covers all aspects of the foreclosure process, from pre-foreclosures to bank-owned properties to courthouse foreclosure auctions — as well as the inner workings of investing in foreclosure properties.

“The initial response to the newsletter has been favorable beyond even our most optimistic expectations,” said Rick Sharga, (top right photo) publisher of Foreclosure News Report and vice president of marketing at RealtyTrac. “Our paid circulation has grown much faster than anticipated, with nearly 50,000 subscribers receiving the newsletter each month, which I believe is a testament to the high caliber of the editorial team.”

Contact: Tammy Chan, Atomic PR, 415 402 0330. tammy@atomicpr.com

Pinellas County, Florida Office Market Rebounds in First Quarter

TAMPA, FL--Pinellas County’s class A office properties rebounded in the first quarter, posting almost 50,000 square feet of net absorption, according to Randy Smith (top right photo), director of research in the Tampa, FL division of GVA Advantis.

However, heavy occupancy losses in the class B sector dragged down the overall market performance in the opening period and the direct vacancy rate increased 40 basis points to 17.4 percent.

Sublease space has been on a slow climb over the past twelve months and just topped two percent of total office inventory. Market rents for Pinellas office space moved higher in the first quarter, averaging $21.61 per square foot, up 13 percent over the same time last year.

The turbulent economy has taken its toll on the local job market which continues to struggle so far in 2008. Through March, the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area lost 4,000 jobs and the unemployment rate in Pinellas County has risen to 4.8 percent from 4.5 percent at the beginning of the year.

The downturn in the housing market has had a pronounced effect on the Tampa Bay economy, with financial services and construction industries bearing the brunt of the fallout in employment.

Still, this contraction in the market is expected to ease later this year, setting the stage for a comeback in office demand for 2009. This year, gains in office occupancy will come in small steps, as Pinellas benefits from a diverse economy with a growing base of medium-sized entrepreneurial companies.

For a copy of the Pinellas Area Market Review, please contact:

Randy Smith, Director of Research, Advantis Real Estate Services Company, 3000 Bayport Drive, Suite 100
Tampa, FL 33607. Tel 813.342.4725. Fax 813.372.4004. E-mail rsmith@gvaadvantis.com
www.gvaadvantis.com

Hunter Realty Associates, Inc. Closes Sale of the Holiday Inn in Frederick, MD

FREDERICK, MD—Hunter Realty Associates represented Lodgian, Inc. in the sale of the Holiday Inn, (top left photo) Frederick, Maryland.

The sale was arranged by Kyle Stevenson (middle right photo) of the Washington, DC office of Hunter for an undisclosed price.

This 158 unit hotel was purchased by West Patrick Hospitality, LLC. The Holiday Inn is an exterior corridor property, built in 1972, and is well located on Route 40 in this fast growing suburb of Washington, DC.


Since 1978, hoteliers have profited from Hunter’s integrity, experience and most importantly results. With offices in Atlanta and Washington, DC, Hunter’s exclusive focus is in hotel brokerage and hotel-related investment banking. The Hunter name is recognized as one of the most respected firms in the hotel industry.

For more information or to view current listings, please visit http://www.hunterhotels.net/ or contact us at 404-355-0880 in Atlanta, or 703-246-0035 in Washington, DC.

CONTACTS:

Julie Tullbane, Daly Gray Public Relations, T 703-435-6293. F 703-435-6297. julie@dalygray.com

Chris Daly, media, (703) 435-6293. chris@dalygray.com

Southern Commercial Real Estate Advisors Represent Delta Properties in


ORLANDO, FL-- William “Bo” Bradfordm CCIM, SIOR and Tom Mcfadden, SIOR of Southern Commercial Real Estate Advisors have completed the purchase transaction of an 80,389 square-foot industrial property located at 1815 Cypress Lake Drive, Orlando, Florida.
Bradford and McFadden represented the buyer, Delta Properties Intl, LLC, and the seller, LDL Holdings Florida, LLC was represented by Mark Stratman and Danielle Murphy of The Staubach Company.

Media Contact: Celeste MacKenzie Southern Commercial Real Estate Advisors,
321-281-8503 20 N. Orange Avenue, Suite 605, Orlando, FL 32801
cmackenzie@southercommercialre.com

Emerson International Negotiates Eight Long-Term Office Leases Totaling More than 12,300 SF in Central Florida

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL --- Emerson International has negotiated seven long-term lease agreements that total 12,328 square feet of office space at CenterPointe Office Park, Altamonte Lakeside Park in Altamonte Springs and Sanlando Office Park in Longwood.

Pierre de Amezola, director of sales and marketing at Emerson International, Inc., said Emerson leasing associates Sean Westcott and Shauna Norris negotiated a lease agreement for 1,632 square feet at CenterPointe Office Park, 370 CenterPointe Cr. in Altamonte Springs. Developmental Pediatric Therapy Clinic is the new tenant.

Westcott and Norris negotiated another new lease agreement at CenterPointe Office Park for a 160-square foot mini-suite at 378 CenterPointe Cr. Seven Day Challenge is the new tenant.

Westcott and Norris negotiated the following renewal agreements at CenterPointe Office Park (top right photo)


• 1,552 square feet at 378 CenterPointe Circle where Appraisal Group of Central Florida, Inc. is the tenant;
• 705 square feet at 401 CenterPointe Cr. where Onsyte Sales & Services Inc. is the tenant;
• 425 square feet at 370 CenterPointe Cr. where Laura Herrmann Design Inc. is the tenant

Westcott negotiated two new lease agreements at Altamonte Lakeside Park, (bottom left photo) 307 Crane’s Roost Blvd. in Altamonte Springs.

Heilind Electronics Inc. of Wilmington, Mass., leased 3,062 square feet of office space. Joe Hills of Coughlin Commercial, Inc., participated in the lease agreement representing Heilind.

AppleOne Employment, a Glendale, Cal., company, leased 3,228 square feet of office space at Altamonte Lakeside Park. David Wash of Stone Miller in Los Angeles participated in the lease agreement representing AppleOne.

At Sanlando Office Park, (middle left photo) 2170 W. SR 434 in Longwood, Westcott and associate Rosie Ritchie negotiated a lease renewal agreement with the tenant, The Closing Table, who occupies 1,564 square feet of office space.

For more information, contact:
Pierre de Amezola, Director of Sales & Marketing, Emerson International,
407-834-9560. For Leasing Information call Sean Westcott or Kenneth Koch

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

NAI Realvest Negotiates Warehouse Sublease in Maitland

MAITLAND, Fla. NAI Realvest has negotiated a sublease agreement for 11,500 square feet of warehouse space at 110 Atlantic Annex in Maitland.

Jeff Ettinger, (top left photo) NAI Realvest broker associate in the firm’s Maitland office, negotiated the transaction representing the sublessee, Wholesale Furniture Market, Inc. of Fern Park. Norandex Distribution, Inc. of Macedonia, Ohio is the Sublessor.

For more information, contact:
Jeff Ettinger, Broker Associate, NAI Realvest jettinger@realvest.com
Janice Paiano, Marketing Director NAI Realvest jpaiano@realvest.com
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, LV Communications, 407-644-4142