Tenants and Investors Target Downtown Portland, OR Office Buildings

PORTLAND, OR— The effects of the housing slump and the credit crisis have begun to hit the Portland economy, resulting in job losses and a modest weakening of office fundamentals, according to a second-quarter Office Research Report by Marcus & Millichap, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm.

Still, employment expansion in the professional and business services segment is bolstering demand for office space. (The 384,000-sf 200 Market Building, top right photo)

“Employers have targeted Class A space in the bustling city core, though the small amount of available product has prompted developers to turn to revitalization efforts in order to meet the demand,” says Tony Cassie, regional manager of the Portland office of Marcus & Millichap.

(The 125,437-SF 224 Corporate Center, middle left photo)

Following are some of the most significant aspects of the Portland Office Research Report:

· Developers are forecast to bring 335,000 square feet of office space online in 2008, up from 135,000 square feet last year.
· Vacancy is projected to end the year at 11.8 percent.
· Asking rents are projected to rise 1.8 percent to $22.05 per square foot.
· Effective rents will edge up 1.5 percent to $18.23 per square foot.
· The median price has appreciated 12 percent year over year to $163 per square foot, due to a mix of more expensive, higher-quality properties changing hands.

(The 329,127-SF Congress Center, bottom right photo)

For a copy of the complete Portland Office Research Report, as well as reports on other markets nationwide, visit our website at http://www.marcusmillichap.com/.

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

Post Properties Sells Post Oglethorpe® in Atlanta for $38.5M

Refinances Mortgage Debt Securing Properties Held in Joint Ventures; Moody’s and S&P Affirm Ratings and Change Outlook

ATLANTA, GA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Post Properties, Inc. (NYSE: PPS) has announced the sale of its Post Oglethorpe® apartment community (top right photo) located in Atlanta, GA for a gross sales price of approximately $38.5 million.

Post Oglethorpe® is a garden-style apartment community located in the Brookhaven area of Atlanta and consists of 250 units with an average unit size of approximately 1,150 square feet. The community was completed in 1994. The buyer was not disclosed.

Post expects to report a gain of approximately $23 million relating to this sale.

In addition, Post announced today that it has closed two 5-year mortgage loans with Fannie Mae to refinance existing debt secured by mortgages on its Post Biltmore™ community in Atlanta, GA (middle left photo) and its Post Massachusetts Avenue™ community in Washington, D.C. (bottom right photo)

Each of these communities is held in an unconsolidated joint venture, in which Post holds a 35% interest. The Post Biltmore™ mortgage loan has a principal amount of approximately $29.3 million, requires fixed interest-only payments at 5.83% and matures on September 1, 2013.

The Post Massachusetts Avenue™ mortgage loan has a principal amount of approximately $50.5 million, requires fixed interest-only payments at 5.82% and matures on September 1, 2013.

Both of these loans are pre-payable without penalty beginning after August 2011.

The Company also announced that Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s last week affirmed Post's senior unsecured credit ratings of Baa3 and BBB, respectively.

Moody’s also revised the rating outlook to stable from developing for Post Properties, Inc. and Post Apartment Homes, L.P., and S&P removed the Company from Credit Watch while changing its outlook to negative. These rating affirmations and outlook changes follow Post’s announcement that it had concluded its formal process to pursue a potential sale or other business combination.

CONTACTS: Post Properties, Inc., Christopher Papa, 404-846-5028 or pbutler at pbutler@postproperties.com.

Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors Acquires One Live Oak in Atlanta

SANTA ANA, CA/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors, LLC has acquired One Live Oak, (top right photo) an approximately 199,000-square-foot Class A office building in the Buckhead - Lenox submarket of Atlanta, on behalf of tenant-in-common investors.

Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors purchased One Live Oak from Crescent Real Estate Equities, which was represented by W. Hayes Swann & Matt Tritschler of DTZ Rockwood LLC.

Built in 1981 on more than two acres, the 10-story property is within walking distance of the five-star Ritz Carlton Hotel and world class shopping at Lenox Square Mall. (Ceiling shot atd bottom right)

One Live Oak's main lobby is finished with granite floors, cherry and walnut walls, and is home to The Bucket Shop restaurant and bar. The property offers ample parking with a seven-level, 625-space parking structure that provides 3.1 spaces per 1,000 square feet.

One Live Oak is currently 92 percent leased to a number of tenants, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, University of Georgia Real Estate Foundation Inc., and Corporate Offices Georgia LLA.

"This is a high quality office building located in a market where we believe we can maintain a high occupancy rate," said Jeff Hanson, (top left photo) President and Chief Investment Officer of Grubb

& Ellis Realty Investors.

.Overall average asking rents in the Buckhead submarket are $26.27 per square foot/year plus expenses, which represents a 3.8 percent rental rate growth from the previous year.

The submarket had a positive net absorption of 646,000 square feet in 2007, with 221,000 square feet absorbed in the 4th quarter 2007.

CONTACT: Julia McCartney of Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors, LLC,+1-714-667-8252, ext. 230, julia.mccartney@grubb-ellis.com

Web site: http://www.grubb-ellis.com/

CalPERS Sets Infrastructure Allocation

NEW YORK, NY, Aug. 20, 2008--The largest public pension fund in the United States aims to invest 3 percent of its portfolio, or roughly $8.3 billion, in infrastructure over the next two years, according to alternative investment news service PrivateEquityOnline.

The impact of institutional allocations on the market will be a major theme at the upcoming Infrastructure Investor: New York conference, to be held Oct. 22-23 at the New York Marriott Downtown Hotel.

This is the premier gathering for institutional investors in the growing infrastructure asset class.
Learn more about why LPs are initiating and increasing allocations to this relatively inflation-proof asset class. See how private equity firms are responding to this growing institutional demand by setting up funds to invest specifically in this sector.

The event’s confirmed keynote speakers are among the top names in the industry:

George Bilicic,(top left photo) Managing Director & Head of Infrastructure, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

Peter F. Hofbauer,(bottom right photo) Global Head of Infrastructure, Babcock & Brown

Adebayo Ogunlesi, (middle right photo) Chairman & Managing Partner, Global Infrastructure Partners.

Michael Queen, (bottom left photo) Managing Partner - Infrastructure, 3i

To see the full speaker list and conference agenda, visit: www.peimedia.com/infrany08

Four easy ways to register:

1) Download the registration form and fax to +1 212 633 2904

2) Online at: http://peimailings.com/infrany08

3) Call our registrations team on +1 212 633 2905

4) E-mail Nicole Lelchuk at Nicole.L@peimedia.com

CONTACT:

Arleen BuckleyVP - Conferences PEI Media - The alternative asset information group, T: (212) 633-1452, F: (212) 633-2904 Arleen.B@peimedia.com
http://peimailings.com/_

3 East 28th Street, 7th floor, New York, NY 10016

rue21 Lifts Spirits at Florida ICSC

WASHINGTON, DC--Retail leasing pros weren’t optimistic coming into this year’s ICSC Florida Conference in Orlando, notes Kurt Ivey, (top right photo) Senior Vice President, Marketing at MadisonMarquette.

" The economy is slumping and many retailers aren’t expanding this year. Expectations sank even lower Monday morning when tropical storm “Fay” forced many to cancel or alter their travel plans," Ivey says in his Places Magazine Blog published by MadisonMarquette.

"But like a breath of fresh air, affordable teen fashion retailer rue21 lifted everyone’s spirits by announcing that they were looking to add 100 new stores this year — including a significant expansion in Florida.

" The announcement came during the “Hot Retailers” session and really seemed to energize everyone.

"Other bright spots included the continued rapid expansion of the Five Guys burger franchise in Florida and around the country. I’m also sensing continued bullishness towards Orlando and the entire Southeast Florida region — even despite the housing market."

CONTACT: Kurt Ivey, Senior Vice President, Marketing, MadisonMarquette, kurt.Ivey@madisonmarquette.com

S&P: Report Discusses The Rough Road And Tough Choices Ahead For Financial Institutions

NEW YORK Aug. 19, 2008--According to a panel of credit analysts at Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, financial institutions face more credit and liquidity risks that will require them to make some tough choices as the downturn evolves.

Even though government support and sovereign wealth funds' cash infusions have helped put the industry on a path to recovery, the rebound will be slow and painful.

This is the consensus that emerged in the course of roundtable discussions conducted on June 23 and June 25, 2008, as reported in "For Financial Institutions, More Rough Road And Tough Choices Are Ahead," published earlier today on RatingsDirect.

Capital markets have regained some life, but most U.S. and European banks maintain a heightened sense of alert as difficult business conditions and substantial write-downs continue to weigh on financial performance. Analysts agreed that a return to a stable banking industry outlook is at least a year away in the U.S.

"We haven't seen in any previous credit cycle downturn as much capital raising to match potential losses, and that's a positive balancing effect," said Rodrigo Quintanilla, Standard & Poor's head of North American bank ratings.

"How long this will go on and how much of this capital-raising capability smaller banks will have available to them are questions that remain unanswered. That said, we probably will see the lagging effect of consumer lending and commercial real estate delinquency flowing well into 2009."

Of Standard & Poor's 50 top-rated North American financial institutions, 22 had a negative outlook as of June 30, a figure that is the highest proportion of negative outlooks in top-tier mature-market financial groups in the past 15 years.

(Federal Reserve Bank building, Washington, DC, bottom right photo)

Media Contact: Jeff Sexton, New York, (1) 212-438-3448 jeff_sexton@standardandpoors.com

Analyst Contacts:

Jayan U Dhru, New York (1) 212-438-7276
Tanya Azarchs, New York (1) 212-438-7365
Scott Bugie, Paris (33) 1-4420-6680
Rodrigo Quintanilla, New York (1) 212-438-3090
Michael Zlotnik, Frankfurt (49) 69-33-999-150
Gary R Arne, New York (1) 212-438-5034

Richmond Industrial Market Shows Strong Leasing Demand

RICHMOND, VA--A stark differential in the key industrial statistical categories emerged this quarter in the Richmond market, according to Perry H. Moss, (top right photo) CCIM, MBA of GVA Advantis.

On one hand was a fantastic leasing trend and a nice fall in the warehouse/distribution/manufacturing segment vacancy rate. On the other, the sales market is having a rough time and the flex segment sees its usual steady performance stumble moderately.

Market Statistics & Summary

A second look at the first chart (at left) is very much warranted.

The leasing market, buoyed by several massive leases in the distribution segment has launched the year over year trend into greatly positive territory.

While this level of trend growth cannot realistically be expected to continue, it none the less, has given a strong statement to the stability and resourcefulness of the market. Flexible lease terms and landlord concessions helped pave the way for the strong leasing demand.

There was a bit of a trade-off with the flex market as that segment has an office/retail component which is more sensitive to immediate economic changes.

Flex spaces also tend to attract more smaller and local firms which cannot afford to risk the capital and don’t have the resources of major corporations.

The sales market fell sharply from last year as the scarceness of financing coupled with the economy revealed its darker side.

For more information, please contact Perry H. Moss, CCIM, Tel 804.672.4248, pmoss@gvaadvantis.com
GVA Advantis, 707 E. Main Street, Suite 1400, Richmond, Virginia 23219 gvaadvantis.com

Arbor Closes $13M Fannie Mae DUS® Loan for The Meadows in Montgomery, AL

UNIONDALE, NY (Aug. 19, 2008) Arbor Commercial Funding, LLC (“Arbor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arbor Commercial Mortgage, LLC, announced the recent funding of a $13,000,000 loan under the Fannie Mae DUS® product line to refinance the 200-unit complex known as The Meadows (top left photo) in Montgomery, AL.

The 10-year loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule and carries a note rate of 5.78 percent. The loan was originated by Ronen Abergel, (bottom right photo) Director, in Arbor’s full-service New York City, NY lending office.

“We committed to a rate in two weeks by executing an early rate lock agreement with the borrower. In addition, we closed in 29 days with a 5% increase in proceeds over initial screening,” said Abergel. “In light of the current volatility in the market, Arbor’s execution of this transaction exceeded the borrower’s expectations.”

CONTACT:

Ingrid Principe, Arbor Commercial Funding, iprincipe@arbor.com

Daryl Carter-Guided Trust Buys 208 Acres in Marion County, FL for $602,319

ORLANDO, FL--Daryl M. Carter, Trustee of Carter-Marion 211 NE 46th Street Land Trust has purchased 208± acres in east Marion County from Terrapointe LLC for $602,319.85 cash.


The property is located just east of CR 314 and has 4,770± feet of frontage on the north and south sides of NE 46th Street and 150± feet of frontage on the south side of NE 52nd Place Road.

Preston Hage and Patrick Chisholm with Maury L. Carter & Associates, Inc. represented the Buyer. Anne Barnett and Sondra Blake with Southern Property Services, Inc. represented the Seller.


CONTACT:


Joan M. Fisher, Administrative Assistant, Maury L. Carter & Associates, Inc., 3333 S. Orange Avenue, Suite 200, Orlando, FL 32806-8500. (407) 581-6207 direct. (407) 422-3144 office.
(407) 422-3155 fax.

jfisher@maurycarter.com

NAI Realvest Negotiates New Long-Term Lease of 26,680 SF for IDS Sports Expansion in Oviedo, FL

ORLANDO, FL – NAI Realvest has negotiated a new long-term lease agreement for 26,680 square feet of industrial space at 5707 Dot Com Ct. in Oviedo.

Paul P. Partyka, (top right photo) principal and managing partner at NAI Realvest, negotiated the lease agreement representing the tenant, Supplement Synergy d/b/a IDS Sports, a body-building supplements company. Ganesh Holdings of Oviedo is the landlord.

Partyka said IDS Sports recently had explosive growth which is expected to continue for the next several years and the increased space is needed for its anticipated new business. IDS previously occupied a smaller space in Seminole County.


For more information, please contact:

Paul P. Partyka, Principal/Managing Partner NAI Realvest 407-875-9989 ppartyka@realvest.com;


Janice Paiano, Director of Marketing, NAI Realvest 407-875-9989 jpaiano@realvest.com



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

Davidson Hotel Company Announces Two New Management Agreements

Company Will Operate Sheraton Orlando-Downtown Hotel and Miami Mart Airport Hotel

MEMPHIS, TN—Davidson Hotel Company, one of the nation’s largest hotel management companies, today announced that it now operates two additional Florida hotels, the 341-room Sheraton Orlando-Downtown Hotel(top right photo) and the 332-room Miami Mart Airport Hotel.(bottom left photo).

The properties are owned by CF Hospitality, Inc. and SF Hotels, Inc., both privately-held Florida companies.

“With the addition of these two large, full-service hotels, Davidson now has a portfolio which includes five upscale hotels in Florida,” said John A. Belden, (middle left photo) Davidson’s president and chief executive officer.

“We are attracted to the strong demographics in both Orlando and Miami, and following the implementation of our proprietary marketing and management systems, we believe these hotels will quickly gain strong market share and substantially increased value for ownership.”

Located in the Blue Lagoon business district of Miami, the 12-story Miami Mart Airport Hotel adjoins the Miami International Merchandise Mart and is within minutes of such area attractions as South Beach, Bayside Marketplace, The Venetian Pool, The Biltmore, Biscayne National Park, and family-themed locales like Jungle Island, Miami Metrozoo, and Monkey Jungle.

“These two properties reflect Davidson’s on-going strategy to augment its overall growth through third-party management,” said Steven A. Margol, (bottom right photo) Davidson’s executive vice president of Business Development.

“We continue to seek out opportunities where we can apply our skills to help owners unlock new or unrealized value in their assets. This is particularly important in today’s economic conditions.”

Additional information on Davidson may be found at the company’s Web site, http://www.davidsonhotels.com/onhotels.com/.


CONTACTS:

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

Cyndi Norwood Davidson Hotel Company (901) 821-4155 cnorwood@davidsonhotels.com )

Jerry Daly, Chris Daly (media, Daly Gray Public Relations, (703) 435-6293 jerry@dalygray.com

Orlando-based Terry's Electric, Inc. ranked as Florida's sixth largest electrical contractor

ORLANDO, FL – Terry’s Electric, Inc. is prominently ranked as Florida’s sixth largest electrical contractor according to the 2008 “Top Specialty Contractors” issue of Southeast Construction magazine published in August.

The Orlando-based company reported 2007 revenues of $49.9 million. The prestigious survey of trade contractors includes concrete, electrical, masonry, mechanical, steel and numerous other specialties.

Founded in 1979 by B. Terence “Terry” and Jeanne Quigley, (top right photo) Terry’s Electric, Inc. has experienced steady growth and nationally ranks among Engineering News-Record’s Top 600 Specialty Contractors. Originally established to serve the local community following the opening of nearby Walt Disney World, Orlando-based Terry’s Electric also operates branch offices in Tampa and West Palm Beach.

Terry’s Electric, Inc.’s headquarters is located at 600 N. Thacker Avenue, Suite A, Kissimmee, FL 34741, telephone (407) 572-2100.

Contact: Kenneth H. Cristol 407-774-2515

Marcus & Millichap Lists $10M Class A Industrial Warehouse in South Holland, IL

SOUTH HOLLAND, IL– Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has retained the exclusive listing for a new state-of-the-art 200,000-square foot Class A warehouse and distribution facility in South Holland leased to Liberty Furniture Industries. The listing price is $10 million.

Howard Wiese, (top left photo) a vice president investments and senior director of Marcus & Millichap’s National Office and Industrial Properties Group in Chicago, is representing the seller, Hamilton Partners.

“This offering presents the investor with an opportunity to acquire a 2007-constructed institutional-quality distribution facility strategically located in Chicago’s south suburbs,” says Wiese.

Located at 555 West 167th St., the building is situated on 10.97 acres and features easy access to Chicago’s central business district and all major airports. Interstates 80, 94, 294 and 57 are less than five minutes away.

“A close-in location is critical to many distributors who need to service city-based customers,” explains Wiese.

The building is leased to Liberty Furniture Industries, Inc., until April 2014 with annual increases in base rent of approximately 2.5 percent. The capitalization rate during the remaining lease term averages approximately 7.5 percent.

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

HFF Atlanta investment sales team closes sale of Lanier Commons in Cumming, GA

ATLANTA, GA – An HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) investment sales team based in Atlanta has closed the sale of Lanier Commons, (top right photo) a 74,471-square-foot, grocery-anchored retail center in the Atlanta suburb of Cumming, Georgia.

Varner Properties, Inc. was represented by senior managing director Whitney Knoll, (top left photo) director Jim Hamilton (middle right photo) and associate director Kevin Hurley who are former members of the Staubach Capital Markets retail investment sales team that joined HFF in May.

The team began marketing Lanier Commons while with Staubach. Mimms Enterprises purchased the property for $12.99 million.

Lanier Commons is located at 3480 Keith Bridge Road one mile east of State Route 400 and one mile west of Lake Lanier, a top ranked national recreational lake. The property is approximately 30 miles north of downtown Atlanta.

Completed in 2004, Lanier Commons is currently 94% occupied to tenants including anchor tenant Publix, as well as Hollywood Video, Hair Cuttery and Johnny’s New York Style Pizza.

Varner Properties, Inc. is a well-known long standing real estate developer in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mimms Enterprises is a fourth generation family-owned commercial real estate company based in Roswell, Georgia, with properties in Georgia, Florida and Tennessee. Mimms specializes in the construction, redevelopment, leasing and management of retail, industrial and office properties. The company’s portfolio totals 6.1 million square feet with approximately 575 tenants.

CONTACTS:

Whitney Knoll, HFF Senior Managing Director, 404 832 8460, wknoll@hfflp.com

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

Parkway Properties Announces Sale of Wachovia Plaza in St. Petersburg, FL

JACKSON, MS /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Parkway Properties, Inc. (NYSE:PKY) announced the closing of the fee simple sale of the Wachovia Plaza (top right photo) office property, located in the CBD of St. Petersburg, Florida, and the assignment of the leasehold interest in 240 parking spaces in the adjacent Mid-Core Garage owned by the City of St. Petersburg.

Wachovia Plaza is a 186,000 square foot property that was 97.8% occupied as of August 1, 2008. The gross sales price was $26.0 million and represents a capitalization rate of approximately 6.8% on twelve months projected cash net operating income from the date of closing.

Parkway received net cash proceeds from the sale of approximately $25.0 million, which were used to reduce amounts outstanding under the Company's line of credit. The Company will recognize a gain on the sale of approximately $9.3 million in the third quarter of 2008.

CONTACT: Steven G. Rogers, President & Chief Executive Officer, or J.Mitchell Collins, Chief Financial Officer, +1-601-948-4091, both of Parkway Properties, Inc.Web site: http://www.pky.com/