Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Voit Completes 34,006-SF Office Acquisition at MacArthur Center in Irvine, CA



Irvine, CA  (March 27, 2012) – Voit Real Estate Services’ Irvine office has successfully completed the $4.5 million acquisition of a 34,006 square-foot bank owned office building in the MacArthur Center (top left photo) located at 1420 Reynolds Avenue in Irvine, Calif. on behalf of the buyer.

 Originally built as a medical condo project, this property will be used as a church for a non-denominational religious organization, according to Skyler Serrano (middle right photo), a Senior Associate in Voit’s Irvine office. 

Serrano worked with Mike Dorsey (lower left photo), a Senior Vice President in Voit’s Irvine office, to represent the buyer, Radha Soami Society Beas America, Corp. The seller, Redus CA Properties, LLC, was represented by Jeff Chiate, Rick Ellison, and John Gallivan of Cushman & Wakefield.

“Our client had very specific requirements, and we drew upon our knowledge of the Orange County market to provide an out-of-the-box solution with this high quality office building. The property meets the client’s needs exactly by providing enough space for group seating, and a high parking ratio,” said Serrano.

According to Serrano, office buildings for sale in the 30,000 square-foot range are scarce in Orange County, especially buildings at this lower, bank-owned price point.

“There were several very interested parties ready to make offers on the building when we began our negotiations, but we worked quickly to secure this property for our client, who was an all-cash buyer,” Serrano explained.

Radha Soami Society Beas America, Corp., is a philosophical organization based on the spiritual teachings of all religions and the process of inner development. It is a registered non-profit society and is not affiliated with any political or commercial organizations.

 Contact:

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

Voit Helps National Auto Parts Retailer Expand Its Orange County, CA Presence With New 6,000-SF Lease



SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA – Voit Real Estate Services’ Irvine office has successfully directed a new 15-year, 6,000 square-foot retail lease in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. for O'Reilly Automotive, Inc.

The building (top left photo), formerly a Sizzler, was in negotiations with a fast food chain for over two years until design permits caused a deal to fall through, allowing the Voit team to move quickly to secure the space for its client, according to Keith Kropfl (middle right photo), Senior Vice President in Voit’s Irvine office.

 Kropfl represented the lessee, O'Reilly Automotive, Inc., an auto parts retailer with over 3,600 locations nationwide. O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. currently has over 290 retail locations throughout California, and plans to use this property for its growing Orange County presence.  

“Voit has been tracking the San Juan Capistrano market for several years to find an ideal location to fit O'Reilly Automotive’s needs,” said Kropfl. “The company required a free-standing building with parking, located at a major arterial. We knew that this building and location was a great match for our client, and we diligently tracked the property and worked quickly to complete the lease once it became available.”

The lessor, Theodore H. Stroscher Investments, LLC, was represented by Jim Clarkson of Strategic Retail Advisors.

The property, located at 31863 Del Obispo in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., is situated on one acre of land, between I-5 and downtown San Juan Capistrano.

 Contact:

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

Colliers International South Florida Represents World Wrestling Entertainment in Miami Lease Transaction




MIAMI, FL - Colliers International South Florida is pleased to announce a lease has been negotiated for World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. at Courvoisier Centre II (top left photo), located at 601 Brickell Key Drive, Miami.

Joe Abood (lower right photo), Office Leasing Consultant, represented the tenant in the 2,000-square-foot transaction.

WWE is launching a new television network, and this location will serve as the Latin American sales office, says Abood.

"This requirement was very unique because the transaction and occupancy had to happen within 45 days," he says. "The tenant was originally focusing on a location in South Beach, but was drawn to Courvoisier Centre II on Brickell Key because of the unique tenant mix, including Latin American media companies such as CNN en EspaƱol."
  
For further information,  please contact:  

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


Modus Hotels Bolsters Hotel Development and Acquisitions Team; Mark Morris Joins as EVP of Acquisitions

  

 WASHINGTON, D.C., March 27, 2012—Modus Hotels, an owner/operator of a collection of independent and branded hotels and a division of Cafritz Interests, a diversified real estate company,  today announced they have hired hotel real estate veteran Mark Morris as executive vice-president of acquisitions.

With two Washington, D.C. acquisitions, the Washington Suites Downtown hotel last year, and more recently the Chase Suites (middle right photo), Modus seeks to increase its investment activity.
 
 “With the industry outlook remaining strong and financing availability continuing to improve, we believe now is an ideal time to further ramp-up our acquisition program, especially in this early phase of the hotel real estate cycle,” said Aaron Katz, president & CEO of Modus Hotels.

 “With nearly 20 years of hospitality investment and real estate experience, Mark brings hands-on experience in virtually every meaningful U.S. hotel market, as well as an incredible database and the knowledge and skillset to creatively get deals done.” 

Morris’s career spans a wide range of real estate investment and development activities, predominantly in the hotel industry.  Prior to joining Modus, he was executive vice president of Molinaro Koger, a hotel real estate brokerage firm. 

While there, he was involved in transactions totaling more than $3 billion, with a focus on business class and extended stay hotels, as well as unique independent hotels. 

Contacts:
Chris Daly or Lauralee Dobbins, media
Lauralee@Dalygray.com
703-435-6293

DiamondRock Closes Sale of Three Hotel Portfolio to Inland American



BETHESDA, MD  /PRNewswire/ -- DiamondRock Hospitality Company (the "Company") (NYSE: DRH) today announced that it has completed the previously disclosed sale of a 3-hotel portfolio consisting of the 409-room Griffin Gate Marriott Resort & Spa (top left photo)in Lexington, Kentucky; the 521-room Renaissance Waverly (middle right photo) in Atlanta, Georgia; and the 492-room Renaissance Austin (middle left photo) in Austin, Texas. 

All of the hotels are subject to long-term management agreements with Marriott International, Inc.  Inland American, through its affiliates, acquired the portfolio for a contractual sales price of $262.5 million.

As part of the sale, the Company received approximately $10 million for hotel working capital and cash previously held in restricted escrow accounts, net of closing costs.


The hotels collectively generated $21.1 million of Adjusted EBITDA for the Company in 2011.  The Company expects to record a book gain on the transaction, which will be excluded from its reported Adjusted EBITDA.

"We are pleased to announce the completion of the sale of the three hotels to Inland American.

"We believe the disposition achieves three primary benefits for DiamondRock: (1) improves portfolio quality and market concentration; (2) enhances the Company's already best-in-class balance sheet by reducing debt by $180 million and increasing corporate cash by approximately $93 million; and (3) further positions DiamondRock to be an opportunistic acquirer of hotels in 2012," stated Mark W. Brugger (lower right photo), Chief Executive Officer of DiamondRock Hospitality Company.

Eastdil Secured advised DiamondRock on the sale of the hotel portfolio.

Contact:
 Chris King, +1-240-744-1150

Monday, March 26, 2012

Spence Hill Associates Arranges $1.4 Million Permanent Financing for Warrenton, VA Retail Center



FALLS CHURCH, VA – March 26, 2012 – Spence Hill Associates announced today that it has arranged $1,400,000 of permanent financing for North Rock Plaza (top left photo), a 9,300 square-foot retail center located at 484 Blackwell Road, Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia.

 Michael H. Trauberman, Managing Director of Spence Hill Associates, arranged and negotiated the financing on an exclusive basis on behalf of a Falls Church-based commercial real estate investor.

The loan was placed with a community bank, and refinanced an existing loan with a different bank.  The 78% loan-to-value financing features a fixed interest rate of 4.375%, a five-year term with a five-year extension option, 25-year amortization, and the ability to prepay without penalty.

 Mr. Trauberman commented:  “The loan drew the attention of a large number of lenders due to the property’s excellent sponsorship, location, demographics, and tenancy.  The bank that ultimately won the day offered an extremely attractive combination of pricing, structure, flexibility, and customer service.”

North Rock Plaza’s tenants include Northern Piedmont Federal Credit Union (lower left photo), MBH Settlement Group, Vocelli Pizza, and Nail Designs.

 Spence Hill Associates, a real estate investment banking firm founded in 1993, arranges the financing and sale of commercial real estate, and provides financial advisory services to real estate owners, developers, and institutions throughout the United States.  Spence Hill Associates is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia.


For additional information, please contact:

Michael H. Trauberman
Spence Hill Associates
571-641-3050

Marcus & Millichap Sells Vacant Croydon Arms Apartment Building in Miami Beach, FL for $6.75 Million


 MIAMI BEACH, FL, March 26, 2012 – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has announced the sale of Croydon Arms (top left photo), a 96-unit vacant apartment building in Miami Beach, according to Greg Matus, Vice President/Regional Manager of the firm’s Fort Lauderdale office.

The asset commanded a sales price of $6,750,000 representing $71,809 per unit.

Vice President Investments Felipe J. Echarte (middle right photo) and Senior Associate Joseph P. Thomas (lower left photo) of the firm’s Fort Lauderdale office represented the buyer, a private investor from Miami Beach in the off-market transaction of the Croydon Arms. 

“The sale of Croydon Arms is a good indicator that investors are aggressively looking for well-located properties.  The buyer plans to make extensive renovations to restore the property to a trophy asset,” says Echarte.

Croydon Arms is a 94-unit, seven-story apartment building located on the southwest corner of Collins Avenue and 38th Street in Miami Beach, Florida.

The property is currently a concrete shell and the building has been vacant for a few years. The building was constructed in 1937 as a hotel and most units have ocean views and some have balconies.   It is located at 3720 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach.

Press Contact:
Ashley Steele,  (954) 245-3400

NAI Realvest Negotiates New Lease for Timeshare firm at SouthPark Business Center in Southwest Orlando

  
 ORLANDO, Fla. – NAI Realvest recently negotiated a new office lease agreement for 2,094 square feet at 8600 Commodity Circle, Suite 119 in South Park Business Center in Southwest Orlando.

 Tom R. Kelley II (top right photo), CCIM, principal at NAI Realvest, brokered the transaction representing the landlord Miami-based South Park, LLC.  The tenant, Vacation Innovations LLC is based in Orlando. 

For more information, please contact:

Tom R. Kelley II, CCIM, Principal, NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989, tkelley@realvest.com;

Patrick Mahoney, President, NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989 pmahoney@realvest.com;

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

Is South Florida Commercial Real Estate Making a Comeback?



ATLANTA, GA, March 26, 2012 — February 2012 marked the fewest commercial real estate foreclosures over $250,000 since November, further pulling down the average number on a monthly basis, according to an exclusive report by Off-Market RADAR, the only source for direct contact information to decision-makers on commercial real estate transactions.

Miami-Dade and Broward counties combined for 35 foreclosures in February after posting 67 in January, near a seven-month record. There have been an average of 45 foreclosure filings each month on commercial properties over $250,000 over the past seven months and this average has been drawn up by two significant spikes in August and January. Every other month has been below the average for the time period, some significantly lower.

Off-Market RADAR tracks foreclosures, loan sales, mortgages, deeds, CMBS loans and other transactions in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Jacksonville and Tampa Bay. The Atlanta-based firm utilizes information from public records as well as its own, independent research.

Miami-Dade County

Brian McCarthy, (top right photo) Vice President of Off-Market RADAR says, “It seems like there was an onslaught of filings in Miami-Dade County in January which really disrupted a significant downward trend in South Florida.” Prior to January, the most filings in Miami-Dade County were 45 last August. As expected, Miami-Dade has a higher number of filings on average at 27 than Broward County.

McCarthy adds, “The larger difference is that when you look at those 55 commercial foreclosure filings in Miami-Dade in January, only four were over $2 million. Our clients are primarily looking for deals over $2 million and in months like this, it can take a lot of time spent just digging through the data to uncover the four or five deals worth chasing.”

Broward County

Broward County is much more consistent in filing volume, with an average of 18 filings per month over the past seven months.  Nevertheless, with January and November having very low filing counts of 12 and 13 respectively, the trend is towards fewer commercial foreclosures.

Larger Deals


“Most of the filings for properties under $1 million are for owner-occupied properties in non-investment-grade assets which are very hard for all but the most management-intensive investors to tackle,” McCarthy continues. November was clearly the slowest month from September to January, with only two foreclosures over $2 million, but September and October were very active with a dozen in each month.

Most Active Banks


Bayview Loan Servicing was the most active foreclosing lender since August of last year. Bayview went after 22 commercial properties over $250,000, almost double the next most-active filer.

 Bayview primarily buys small-balance commercial loans from banks and other lenders, then attempts to work out those loans with borrowers. US Bank and Wells Fargo, both in second place with 14 filings, have Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (CMBS) Trustee divisions, which may account for a larger portion of their filings.
 
Tied for third place are Florida Community Bank, SunTrust Bank, and US Century Bank, all with 11 filings over the same time period.

Looking Forward

“There are a lot of maturities on the horizon,” says McCarthy. “We really see lots of investors chomping at the bit to scoop up deals this year before they hit the auction block in 2013 or beyond. Filings will likely start towards the middle or end of this year as borrowers find they are unable to refinance or sell above the debt levels, and opportunistic investors are looking to buy notes or judgments instead of waiting for the foreclosure to play out.

“Now that banks are generally better capitalized, the losses they’ve been ignoring over the past couple years are going to start hitting the books and at that point, there’s not a huge reason for them to wait for the drawn-out foreclosure process to play out,” adds McCarthy.

www.OffMarketRADAR.com

 The goal of Off-Market RADAR is to relentlessly pursue transparency of commercial real estate information to drastically increase the efficiency of the market, drive down transaction costs, and increase transaction probability.

For more information, contact Brian McCarthy at 404.939.7256 or brian@offmkt.com.



Marcus & Millichap Names Kevin W. Boeve Senior Director of National Retail Group in Ontario, CA



ONTARIO, CA – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has named Kevin W. Boeve (top right photo) senior director of the firm’s National Retail Group in Ontario, according to Bill Rose, national director of the National Retail Group.

Boeve joined Marcus & Millichap in June 1999. During his career, he has closed 188 transactions valued at more than $591 million.

Contact: Stacey Corso, Public Relations Manager, (925) 953-1716

Colliers International South Florida Sells Airport West Flex Unit at Miami Airport Center





MIAMI, FL- Colliers International South Florida is pleased to announce the sale of a 1,400-square-foot flex unit located at Miami Airport Center (top left photo) at 7640 NW 25th Street, Miami, FL.

Kristopher Wagner, Senior Commercial Associate, represented the seller, FVP Airport LLC in the all cash transaction. The buyer is a foreign investor from Colombia who purchased the leased unit as an investment. The property sold at a 9.2% cap rate.

For further information, please contact:  

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

Crossman & Co. Names Amanda Steidtmann senior associate for new Atlanta office


 
ORLANDO, FL and ATLANTA, GA. --- Crossman & Company, the Orlando and Atlanta commercial property firm that ranks as one of the largest retail leasing and management firms in the Southeast, has named Amanda Steidtmann (top right photo) senior associate.

John Zielinski (lower left photo), who heads the Atlanta office of Crossman & Company, said Steidtmann has 10 years of experience as a commercial real estate executive.  She was formerly a regional leasing director for Equity One, Inc. and most recently a partner with DART Retail Advisors -- both in the metro Atlanta area.

Steidtmann attended the College of Charleston and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Affairs, concentration on International Business.

For more information, contact:

John Crossman, CCIM, President, Crossman & Company, 407-581-6218, jcrossman@crossmanco.com;

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

Cantor Fitzgerald Makes Investment in EL Media Company



PHOENIX, AZ,  March 26, 2012.-- EL Media, a division of Phoenix-based Ellman Companies, announced today that Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P., a leading financial services firm, purchased a stake in EL Media and all of its subsidiary media entities (EL Media) for an undisclosed sum.

The transaction follows last year’s venture that EL Media entered with a division of Panasonic Corporation to help further a massive network of digital signage throughout North America.

 EL Media's current outdoor signage business includes operations in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver and San Jose in the United States and its joint venture with Clear Channel Outdoor in Canada with operations in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton, Vancouver and Winnipeg.

EL Media has an exclusive digital venture with Panasonic throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico and a venture with Swift Transportation in Truckside Media for exclusive advertising rights on their 47,000 truck trailers.

 “Today’s announcement involving a renowned Wall Street firm like Cantor Fitzgerald, and last year’s affiliation with Panasonic, provides EL Media with significant capital to grow and establish a global outdoor media network,” said Steve Ellman (top right photo), Founder and CEO of EL Media.

 “We plan to continue to grow our media presence through both acquisitions and organic development,” he said.  EL Media currently has over 2,000 billboards in its portfolio.

Steven Kantor (middle left photo), Global Head of Investment Banking at Cantor Fitzgerald stated, “We were attracted to EL Media’s near debt-free balance sheet, goal to create one of the largest digital networks in North America, its growth opportunities and technological market advantages due to its exclusive venture with Panasonic.”

 Under the terms of the agreement, Ellman will continue to be responsible for all day-to-day operations of EL Media and its subsidiaries.

 Ellman has been involved in the outdoor signage business since the mid-1990s.  Ellman bought Clear Channel Outdoor's majority interest in Clear Channel Branded Cities in October 2010 after being a partner with Clear Channel Outdoor in the U.S. for several years.  Ellman remains a partner with Clear Channel Outdoor throughout Canada.

 EL Media will deploy Panasonic cloud technology to distribute specialized, targeted advertising and information content to digital signs across North America, offering customers the ability to advertise in major city centers seamlessly.

Contact:

David Ebeling
Ebeling Communications
949.861.8351
949.278.7851 (Cell)


Sunday, March 25, 2012

$25 Million in Walgreens Sales Closed by Marcus & Millichap



 ENCINO, CA – Lior Regenstreif (middle right photo) of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has arranged the sale of four separate net-leased Walgreens drugstores throughout the United States totaling $24.93 million.

The properties are located in Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Minnesota and Georgia.

Regenstreif, a vice president investments in the Encino office of Marcus & Millichap, represented the private sellers of these separate transactions.

Also providing representation were Spencer Yablon (middle left photo), vice president in Marcus & Millichap’s Philadelphia office; Adam Schlosser (middle right photo), the firm’s broker of record in Minnesota; William Hoffpauir,  a senior associate in the Lafayette, La., office; and John Leonard, (lower left photo), a first vice president in the firm’s Atlanta office.

“Two of the buyers were in a 1031 exchange, coming out of management-intensive properties, and found triple-net leases to be very attractive and stress free,” says Regenstreif. “Another utilized this investment to continue estate building for his children, and the last buyer was a foreign investor seeking to establish a foothold in the United States,” he notes.

“In step with the economic recovery, national drugstore chains stand as strong passive investment vehicle opportunities which has and continues to outpace investment alternatives in return and reliability,” says Regenstreif.

“Not surprisingly, more private buyers and exchange investors are increasing their acquisition efforts in secondary and even tertiary markets.  In fact, we’ve seen an 18 percent jump in transaction activity in the last 12 months, driven primarily by investors fleeing the stock market for the less-risky net-leased drugstores,” he adds.

In McMurray, Pa., Regenstrief arranged the largest of these sales: An $8.32 million transaction for a Walgreens at 100 East McMurray Rd.

The newly constructed, 14,640 square-foot net-leased asset is located in an affluent region where average household incomes within a mile of the site exceed $146,000 annually. The property is an out pad to Donaldson’s Crossroads, the largest power center in the region with nearly 51,000 vehicles per day passing by the area.

The second-largest transaction closed in Willmar, Minn. Regenstreif arranged the sale of a 14,900 square-foot Walgreens drugstore at 301 First Street South for $6,494,400.

In Ruston, LA., a 14,550 square-foot Walgreens (top left photo) at 108 West California Ave. traded for $5,774,500. The region has shown significant growth due to the implementation of local and state initiatives that are benefiting both retailers and developers.

In his final Walgreens sale of the quarter, Regenstreif sold a 15,120 square-foot drugstore located at 1855 Hudson Bridge Rd. in Stockbridge, Ga. for $4,342,000, an Atlanta suburb.           

Regenstreif predicts that for 2012, “We will continue to see pricing compress, and if interest rates remain low, we can anticipate that the investment market will begin to resemble that of 2006.”

 Contact: Stacey Corso, Public Relations Manager, (925) 953-1716

Mercantile Capital Corp.Reports Busiest Month Ever in February; March Shaping Up to Smash another Record





ORLANDO, FL --- Mercantile Capital Corporation, which specializes in U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 loans to small business owners who want to acquire or develop their own facilities, reports it closed a record volume of loans in February.

Chris Hurn (top right photo) chief executive officer of Mercantile Capital Corporation, said the firm closed 11 new loans to finance projects valued at $31.2 million in six states: Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Illinois, California and Colorado.

Hurn said the largest single loan during the month will finance the $9.5 million acquisition of a hotel in Aberdeen, N.C.

Geof Longstaff (middle left photo), chairman of Mercantile Capital Corporation, said the surge in new business can be attributed to improved economic conditions and further awareness of Mercantile’s specialty: the SBA 504 loan program.

“We are seeing a marked increase in loan inquires, as more business owners project growth in the coming year and want to purchase still-discounted real estate, before values increase from here,” Longstaff said.

Hurn said loan applications in various stages of approval point to an equally strong volume in March.

“We may very well break another record for us in March,” Hurn said.

For more information about this press release, contact:

Chris Hurn, Chief Executive Officer, Mercantile Capital Corporation, ChrisHurn@MercantileCC.com, 407-786-5040

Geof Longstaff, Chairman, Mercantile Capital Corporation 407-786-5040 Glongstaff@Mercantilecc.com

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