Marriott 4Q earnings reflect increased EPS, weak RevPAR

BETHESDA, MD – Feb. 11, 2010 – Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) today reported fourth quarter and full year 2009 results.

Fourth quarter 2009 adjusted income from continuing operations attributable to Marriott totaled $118 million, a 2 percent decline over the year-ago quarter, and adjusted diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) from continuing operations attributable to Marriott shareholders totaled $0.32, down 3 percent. On October 8, 2009, the company forecasted fourth quarter adjusted diluted EPS of $0.20 to $0.23.

For more information or reservations, please visit our web site at http://www.marriott.com/.

 For an interactive online version of Marriott's 2008 Annual Report, which includes a short video message from Chairman and CEO J.W. Marriott, Jr. (top right photo), visit www.marriott.com/investor.

For a complete set of financial tables, click here: Download 02 11 MAR Q4 2009 Press Release Schedules FINAL.

Marcus & Millichpa Lists $44.5M Mobile Home Park in San Diego County

 

POWAY, CA– Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has retained the exclusive listing for Poway Royal Estates, a 399-space, 51-acre mobile home community in Poway.

 The listing price of $44.5 million represents $111,529 per space at a 5.75 cap rate.

Douglas Danny, (middle right photo) a vice president investments and senior director of the firm’s National Manufactured Home Communities Group in San Diego, is representing the seller, the City of Poway.

“Poway Royal Estates is a high-quality, fully amenitized, all-age community in a prime San Diego County location near all services, schools, transportation and medical facilities,” says Danny. “The seller will carry secondary, interest-only financing at 5 percent for 20 years.”

The property was constructed in 1972 at 13300 Alpine Dr. and received significant upgrades to its infrastructure in 1997. The park is surrounded by single-family residential developments, prime commercial office space, retail centers and open space. The community has pedestrian access to all of the city amenities.

Poway Royal Estates has city utilities and electric, gas, water, sewer and cable TV are sub-metered or passed-through. The park consists of almost all doublewide homes on all doublewide sites. There are 396 revenue-generating sites, one vacant park-owned home and two park-owned employee homes.

The sites are built on 45.18 net acres with a density of 8.26 sites per gross acre and the sites measure from 40 feet to 42 feet in width and from 70 feet to 74 feet in length. The road area is 3.09 acres, or 134,600 square feet. There is a 2.69-acre vehicle storage lot with 87 spaces for vehicle storage.

The park is currently 99 percent occupied and is one of the premier manufactured home communities in Southern California. Poway Royal Estates is a trophy asset that is rarely on the market.

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

LA Fitness in Highland, CA Commands $9.2M Sale Price

HIGHLAND, CA– Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has brokered the sale of a 45,000-square foot LA Fitness (top right photo)  in Highland.

The sales price of $9,215,000 represents $205 per square foot.

Chris Maling, (middle left photo) a first vice president investments and a director of the firm’s Net Leased Properties Group in Los Angeles, and David Maling, a vice president investments and a director of the firm’s National Retail Group in Los Angeles, represented the seller, a real estate investment trust, and the buyer, an Arizona-based opportunity fund.

“LA Fitness is part of a master-planned community that includes more than 165 acres of new homes and commercial services,” says Chris Maling.

 “LA Fitness operates under a 15-year, triple-net lease with fixed rent escalations every five years and three five-year options to extend the lease, each with a 10 percent fixed rental escalation.”

Located in the southeast quadrant of Interstate 210 and Greenspot Road in Highland, LA Fitness is one of the anchor tenants in Highland Crossroads,(bottom right map) a new 8.5-acre retail development. The other anchor tenants are Lowe's and Staples.

The average household income within three miles of the property exceeds $60,348 and the population within a five-mile radius is greater is than 201,000.

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

City of Oviedo, FL selects Ardaman & Associates for contract

ORLANDO, FL —Ardaman & Associates Inc. has been selected for a new continuing services contract by the City of Oviedo, Fla.

The scope of services includes geotechnical engineering, materials testing and environmental sciences services on an as needed basis for a period of one-year with the possibility of three, one-year renewals. Fees for this contract are awarded per task order based on an approved unit fee schedule.

Ardaman & Associates Inc. is an engineering practice that provides geotechnical, environmental, water resources, facilities engineering, and construction materials testing to public, industrial and private clients worldwide.

Headquartered in Orlando, Fla., the Company has offices in Bartow, Cocoa, Fort Myers, Miami, Port St. Lucie, Sarasota, Tallahassee, Tampa, and West Palm Beach, Fla., and in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Monroe and Alexandria, La. Established in 1959, Ardaman employs a professional, support and field staff of 485.

Please visit http://www.ardaman.com%20for/ more details about services and experience.

Media contact: Elaine@prworks.com

Grubb & Ellis Reports Preliminary Results for Fourth Quarter 2009; Updates Fiscal Year 2010 Outlook

SANTA ANA, CA, (Feb. 11, 2010) – Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, today announced unaudited preliminary results for the fourth quarter of 2009 and updated expectations for fiscal year 2010.

For the fourth quarter of 2009, the company expects to report revenue of approximately $147 million and adjusted EBITDA of approximately $1.0 million. The company’s previous guidance had anticipated revenue of $149 million to $161 million and adjusted EBITDA of $6 million to $10 million. (1)

“Although we are beginning to see early signs of a recovery and an improvement in market sentiment and business confidence, these trends did not translate into the higher transaction volume we historically have experienced in the fourth quarter,” said Richard W. Pehlke, (top right photo)  executive vice president and chief financial officer of Grubb & Ellis.

Overall revenue and adjusted EBITDA were positively impacted by better than anticipated results in the Management Services and Investment Management segments. Those results were offset by lower than expected revenue in Transaction Services due to reduced transaction activity, higher direct costs and the deferral of transactions that the company anticipated closing late in the quarter, which resulted in the fourth quarter 2009 shortfall.

Given the company’s current market expectations and following a detailed review of its three main business segments, the company has reset its outlook for 2010. The company now anticipates 2010 total revenue of $550 million to $575 million and adjusted EBITDA of $10 million to $15 million.

The company expects to return to profitability in 2010 as its recruiting efforts mature and cost containment efforts are fully realized. The company is targeting further reductions in operating expenses of 12 to 14 percent on an annualized basis.

The company stated that it continues to expect a 25 to 30 percent increase in 2010 investment sales activity over 2009 levels, and a 10 to 15 percent increase in leasing activity over the prior year. The company’s original guidance was based on stronger financial performance for 2009.

“Having reviewed all the company’s operations, Grubb & Ellis has a very solid foundation from which to build, and I am optimistic about the company’s long-term growth potential,” said Thomas P. D’Arcy, (middle left photo)  president and chief executive officer of Grubb & Ellis.

“Our recent recapitalization, which generated gross proceeds of $96 million and net proceeds of $40 million after repayment of debt and expenses, considerably strengthened our financial position and the company today is essentially debt-free.

"When combined with our key strategic hires, broad market presence and strong client relationships, Grubb & Ellis is well positioned to capitalize on the opportunities that will present themselves as the market recovers.”

D’Arcy added, “During the year we will continue to invest in our business to drive revenue, expand our service offerings and improve our overall service quality.

"At the same time, we will realign our cost structure to more closely match resources to the drivers of our revenue in order to make our company lean, profitable and cost competitive. We look forward to discussing these initiatives and the company’s growth opportunities in greater detail on our fourth quarter earnings call.”

(1) Revenue excludes approximately $4.0 million of revenue from wholly owned properties held for investment.

Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure which excludes the impact of non-cash items such as charges related to sponsored programs, real estate-related impairment and stock-based compensation.

The company will release its fourth quarter earnings before the market opens on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010. Management will host a conference call at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time to review the results. A live webcast will be accessible through the Investor Relations section of the company's Web site at http://www.grubb-ellis.com/.

The direct dial-in number for the conference call is 1.800.706.7749 for domestic callers and 1.617.614.3474 for international callers.

The conference call ID number is 81705538. An audio replay will be available beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 18 until 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 25 and can be accessed by dialing 1.888.286.8010 for domestic callers and 1.617.801.6888 for international callers and entering conference call ID 41102092.

In addition, the conference call audio will be archived on the company's Web site following the call.

Contacts: Janice McDill, Phone: 312.698.6707, Email: janice.mcdill@grubb-ellis.com

Grubb & Ellis Represents Landlord in Lease Extension and Expansion Totaling 251,000SF to NCR Corp.

ATLANTA (Feb. 10, 2010) – Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, today announced that it represented Satellite Realty Holdings LLC in the lease extension of 187,298 square feet and lease expansion of 64,198 square feet of office space at 2651 Satellite Blvd. in Duluth to NCR Corporation.

Steve Morgan, senior vice president, Office Group, facilitated the transaction on behalf of the landlord; John Shlessinger and John Ferguson of CB Richard Ellis represented NCR Corporation.

“The quality of the building, the numerous amenities in the area and the proximity of 2651 Satellite Blvd. to NCR’s new world headquarters makes this facility a prime location for NCR’s continued tenancy,” said Morgan. “We’re pleased to support NCR Corporation’s growth in Atlanta, and we look forward to talking to additional prospective tenants interested in a global corporate neighbor like NCR.”

The transactions extend the term of NCR’s lease of 187,298 square feet for an additional six years, while the lease term of the 64,198-square-foot expansion is 10 years and nine months.

Built in 1989, 2651 Satellite Blvd. is a single-story, 308,000-square-foot Class B office building. Originally owned and fully occupied by NCR, the building was sold to Satellite Realty Holdings in 1996 on a sale/partial leaseback basis. At that time, NCR occupied 187,000 square feet and has since regrown its presence in the facility to more than 251,000 square feet. The building currently has 57,000 square feet of space available for lease.

Contact: Erin Mays, Phone: 312.698.6735, Email: erin.mays@grubb-ellis.com

Grubb & Ellis Tapped as Leasing Agent of 2.3 Million-SF300 East Randolph Street in Chicago

CHICAGO, IL– Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm,  has been selected as the leasing agent for 300 East Randolph Street, (centered photo below) a 2.3 million-square-foot Class A office building in downtown Chicago.

 The building is owned by Health Care Service Corporation, which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, as well as the Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Mark Parrish, (middle left photo) senior vice president, and Sara Spicklemire, (bottom right photo)  LEED AP, associate, both members of Grubb & Ellis’ Office Group, will assist HCSC in leasing up to 175,000 square feet of space in the building. Spaces ranging from 15,000 square feet to as much as 130,000 square feet could be made available for occupancy as soon as early 2011.

“We are delighted that HCSC has selected Grubb & Ellis as the exclusive leasing agent for this project,” said Parrish. “World-class architecture and access to public transportation and amenities combined with strong, stable ownership and anchor tenancy by HCSC serve to make this an unparalleled opportunity for prospective tenants in the downtown Chicago marketplace.”

The building, fully occupied by HCSC since it was built in 1997, recently completed an unprecedented vertical expansion that added 24 stories comprising 900,000 square feet to what had been a 33-story, 1.4 million-square-foot structure.

 For the first time, third party tenants will be added to the expanded building to complement HCSC’s occupancy. All building tenants will have access to the building’s amenities, including its conferencing center, cafeteria, on-site parking and direct access to the Grant Park Garage via enclosed pedestrian overpass. The building, designed by Goettsch Partners, features efficient 32,000-square-foot floor plates.

Contact:  Erin Mays, Phone: 312.698.6735, Email: erin.mays@grubb-ellis.com

HFF arranges sale and financing of former Goodwill Headquarters in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH, PA – The Pittsburgh office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) announced today that it has closed the sale of and arranged financing for the former Goodwill Headquarters (centered photo below) on Pittsburgh’s South Side.

HFF managing director Mark Popovich (bottom left photo) exclusively represented the seller, Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Burns & Scalo Real Estate Services purchased the property for an undisclosed amount.

Popovich assisted the buyer in arranging the acquisition/bridge loan through a local bank and also assisted in the identification and structuring of Goodwill’s new headquarters location at 51st Street Business Center in Lawrenceville.

“Burns & Scalo was a great choice to buy Goodwill’s building. As a full-service real estate firm, they were also instrumental in helping Goodwill plan and build-out their new facility in Lawrenceville,” said Popovich.

Originally built in the early 1900’s, the former Goodwill Headquarters has 130,000 square feet in a seven-story former department store. The buyer is planning to convert the building into loft apartments as well as developing additional land parcels included in the sale. The property is located at 2600 East Carson Street in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood.

Burns & Scalo Real Estate Services (“BSRES”) has developed and currently manages more than 2,000,000 square feet of office, warehouse, flex and retail properties in western Pennsylvania.

Contacts:

Mark Popovich, HFF Managing Director, (412) 281-8714, mpopovich@hfflp.com
Kristen Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, (713) 852-3500, krmurphy@hfflp.com

HFF secures financing for One Smithfield Street Building in downtown Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH, PA – The Pittsburgh office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) announced today that it has secured financing for One Smithfield Street, (center photo below) a 132,500-square-foot office building and an adjacent 90-space surface parking lot in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

HFF managing director Mark Popovich (bottom right photo)  worked exclusively on behalf of the borrower, Burns & Scalo Real Estate Group, in arranging the long-term fixed-rate financing for the building through a credit lender and the adjustable-rate loan for the parking lot through a local bank.

 Project financing was bifurcated because Burns & Scalo plans to develop the surface lot in the future and needed the flexibility to refinance the parking lot loan to finance the future development.

The property is located at the corner of Smithfield Street and Fort Pitt Boulevard adjacent to Interstate 376 in downtown Pittsburgh. One Smithfield Street was originally built in 1964, and completely renovated in the early 1990’s. Allegheny County’s Department of Health & Human Services leases the entire building.

Burns & Scalo Real Estate Services has developed and currently manages over 2,000,000 square feet of office, warehouse, flex and retail properties in western Pennsylvania.

Contacts:

Mark Popovich, HFF Managing Director, (412) 281-8714, mpopovich@hfflp.com
Kristen Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, (713) 852-3500, krmurphy@hfflp.com

HFF San Francisco hires Samuel Brownell as director in its investment sales group

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) announced today that it has hired Samuel Brownell (top right photo)  as a director in the investment sales group in its San Francisco office.

Brownell will focus on retail investment sales in northern California and throughout the west coast. He has more than nine years experience in commercial real estate acquisitions, asset management and investment sales.

 Prior to joining HFF, he was the chief acquisitions officer for Blatteis and Schnur Inc., a fully integrated retail real estate investment management firm. During the course of his career, Brownell has been involved in the acquisition, development, leasing and financing of retail assets totaling more than $300 million. He is a member of International Council of Shopping Centers, Urban Land Institute and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Los Angeles
.

“Over the past 18 months, HFF has successfully expanded its west coast investment sales presence with the addition of individuals and teams in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Francisco,” said senior managing director of HFF San Francisco, Michael Leggett (bottom left photo).

“We are excited to bring Sam on board as he rounds out our west coast property type specialties with a focus on the sale of retail assets,” added Leggett.

Contacts:

Michael G. Leggett, HFF Senior Managing Director, 415) 276-6300, mleggett@hfflp.com
Kristen M. Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, ( (713) 852-3500, krmurphy@hfflp.com

NAI Realvest Negotiates Sales of Two Industrial buildings at Orange and Seminole County industrial centers for $1.78M

ORLANDO – NAI Realvest recently negotiated two sales totaling $1.78 million for two industrial properties in Orlando and Longwood.

Michael Heidrich, (top right photo)  principal at NAI Realvest, represented Conquistador Realty Holdings Inc. of Miami, the seller of a 32,000 square foot industrial facility at 3941 Bryn Mawr St. in Orlando.

Overland Holding Corporation of Altamonte Springs purchased the property for $1,300,000 and was represented in the transaction by Joe Ardolina.

Heidrich also negotiated the sale of a 5,250 square foot industrial building at 370 North St. in Longwood representing the Newport News, Va.-based seller, Ferguson Enterprises, Inc. The buyer, Structural Contactors South, Inc. of Winter Park represented by Lee Ungaro of Charles Rutenberg Realty, paid $480,000 for the property.

For more information, please contact:

Michael Heidrich, Principal,  NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989,  mheidrich@realvest.com;
Patrick Mahoney, President, NAI Realvest,  407-875-9989,  pmahoney@realvest.com
Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142,  lvershelco@aol.com

Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty named exclusive sales and marketing agents for Keith Fields Mount Dora Estate Home

ORLANDO- Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty’s was recently named exclusive sales and marketing agents for a custom built estate home by Keith Fields with a two acre Lake Dora Home site at 3835 Lake Shore Drive in Mount Dora.

Janice McGeough, (top right photo) certified luxury home marketing specialist at Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty, said the 6,719 square foot estate home offers a total of 9,081 square feet under roof, with four bedrooms, six and one-half baths, a three car garage a separate guest cottage and a private boat/seaplane dock on Lake Dora.

The spectacular New England traditional home is priced at $2,950,000.

For more information, please contact:

Janice McGeough, Stirling Sotheby's International Realty, 352-217-0465; jmcgeough@stirlingsir.com;
Roger Soderstrom, Founder/Owner, Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty 407-581-7890; rsoderstrom@stirlingSIR.com
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142; lvershelco@aol.com

Post Properties, Inc. Announces At-the-Market Offering

ATLANTA, GA--Post Properties, Inc. (NYSE: PPS), an Atlanta-based real estate investment trust, has filed a prospectus supplement under which it may sell up to 4 million shares of its common stock from time to time through J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc. and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., as sales agents.

Sales of common stock under the at-the-market offering, if any, would be made by means of ordinary brokers’ transactions on the New York Stock Exchange at market prices or as otherwise agreed with the agents. The Company intends to use the proceeds from any sales for general corporate purposes.

J.P. Morgan and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. are the sales agents for the at-the-market offering. Copies of the prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to these securities may be obtained by contacting J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., Attention: National Statement Processing, Prospectus Library, 4 Chase Metrotech Center, CS Level, Brooklyn, New York, 11245, telephone: 718-242-8002 or Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Attention: Equity Capital Markets, 110 East 59th Street, New York, New York, 10022, telephone: 212-829-7122.

Contact:  Post Properties, Inc., David Stockert, (top right photo)  president,  404-846-5000

Foreclosure Filings Fall 7% In South Florida In January

MIAMI, FL-Lenders initiated seven percent fewer foreclosure actions in South Florida in January 2010 on a year-over-year basis, with total filings slipping for the month below 5,800 in the tricounty region, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.

By comparison, in January 2009 there were nearly 6,200 foreclosure actions - also known as Lis Pendens or Notices of Default - filed in the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

In January 2008, there were nearly 4,100 actions filed, according to a report prepared using the Condo Vultures® Foreclosure Database™.

"President Obama's loan modification program to keep people in their homes combined with a newfound willingness of lenders to work with borrowers appears to be slowing South Florida's foreclosure spiral downward," said Peter Zalewski, (top right photo)  a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC.

 "It is unclear if this sudden decrease in foreclosure actions in South Florida is a trend or just an anomaly due in part to the December holidays. If this does prove to be a trend, that would mean South Florida may not eclipse the psychological threshold of 100,000 foreclosure actions in a year."

Zalewski is scheduled to discuss South Florida's foreclosure trends in 2010 along with banking analyst Ken Thomas, (bottom right photo) who is a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School, at the upcoming Condo Vultures® seminar scheduled for Feb. 16 at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel just north of Downtown Miami.

Contact:  Peter Zalewski, Condo Vultures®,  800-750-0517, peter@condovultures.com

Grubb & Ellis Commercial Florida's Jeff Sweeney Expects Rise in Commercial Foreclosures

TAMPA, Fla. --- The nationwide economic downturn will result in an increase in commercial real estate foreclosures this year, one of the region’s top commercial property executives will tell a Tampa real estate summit Friday Feb. 12 at the Double Tree Hotel.

Jeff Sweeney, (top right photo) SIOR, president of Grubb & Ellis Commercial Florida, with offices in Tampa, Orlando and Melbourne, will moderate a panel discussion at the Tampa Distressed Real Estate Summit.

The Tampa Distressed Real Estate Summit is being sponsored by the Real Estate Communications Group.

“Commercial property owners are facing some of the same sorts of financial challenges that home owners have been facing and the result is a substantial increase in the volume of distressed properties throughout Florida,” Sweeney will tell the group.

“Property owners who are losing tenants or granting concessions in order to keep their buildings filled are having difficulty making payments on their commercial property loans, and that adds tremendous pressure to banks,” according to Sweeney.

Sweeney’s panel will focus on adding value to distressed assets.

Ray Hayhurst, (bottom right photo) an associate at Grubb & Ellis Commercial Florida, and Don Lombardi, (middle left photo) who heads Commercial Florida Advisors, an affiliate of Grubb & Ellis Commercial Florida in Tampa, will also moderate panel discussions on evaluating commercial properties and partially completed construction projects.

Sweeney predicts that Grubb & Ellis Commercial Florida will see a 30 percent increase in 2010 distressed commercial property sales over 2009 levels, as a result of the economic downturn.

Contacts:

Jeff Sweeney, SIOR 407-481-5387, 315 E. Robinson St. Suite 555, Orlando, FL 32801http://www.commercialfl.com/
 Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142,