Bishop Construction Group Earns Continuing Service Contract from Orange County, FL Public Schools

SANFORD, FL.  --- Bishop Construction Group, Inc. (BCG), the Sanford-based minority-owned construction company specializing in water intrusion remediation, commercial construction, design/build and project management services, was recently awarded, along with five other construction firms, a continuing general construction services contract with Orange County Public Schools.

BCG will be one of the six selected to actively bid OCPS construction projects ranging from $15,000 to $250,000. The annual expenditures of this contract are estimated to be close to $3,000,000 collectively district-wide among all firms.

To date, BCG has been awarded two contracts in two months with a combined value of $53,000. The contract covers work at OCPS facilities from March, 2012 through March, 2013.

Steven Bishop, president of Bishop Construction Group, Inc. said the one year contract for general construction services – such as site work, concrete work or air conditioning  –  includes an option to renew for an additional two years.

Bishop Construction Group, Inc. is a client company of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program and located in Sanford at the UCF Business Incubator on West First Street in downtown Sanford.

For more information, contact:

Steven Bishop, Bishop Construction Group, Inc. 321-804-4419, sbishop@bishopconstruction.com;

 Gordon Hogan, Director, UCF Business Incubation Program 407-882-1577, gordon.hogan@ucf.edu;

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

Eight-Property Distressed Asset Portfolio Sells for $13 Million in San Diego, CA

SAN DIEGO, CA June 4, 2012 – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has arranged the sale of The Waterfall Block (top left photo), an eight-property portfolio of distressed assets encompassing 58,288 square feet in downtown San Diego. The sales price of $13,032,000 equates to $117 per square foot.

Ben Tashakorian (middle right photo), a vice president investments in Marcus & Millichap’s San Diego office, represented the seller in short sale negotiations with three lenders. Tashakorian also represented the buyer, who was in a joint venture with Starwood Capital Group.

“The previous owner had planned to redevelop the site and acquired the properties over the course of three years,” says Tashakorian. “The final piece was purchased in 2009 for approximately $33 million.”

“The economic downturn significantly decreased the properties’ overall value and extenuating circumstances created a situation in which it was beneficial for all parties involved to minimize further losses,” adds Tashakorian.

“After multiple offers and much negotiation, we closed the transaction to the mutual satisfaction of all parties.”

The Waterfall Block is bordered by Seventh Avenue, Eight Avenue, Broadway and C Street in San Diego.

The portfolio includes retail, office, mixed-use and residential hotel space. The individual properties are:

• ·         702 Broadway, retail and office plus parking, 23,488 square feet
•           726-728 Broadway, mixed-use: office and retail, 7,500 square feet
• ·         740 Broadway, 2 retail spaces, 42 SRO residential units, 6,070 SF
• ·         701 C St., mixed-use: restaurant and office, 19,500 square feet
• ·         1041 Seventh Ave., industrial, 10,000 square feet
• ·         Eighth Avenue, 42 surface parking spaces, 10,000 square feet
• ·         1018 Eighth Ave., office , 3,870 square feet
• ·         1060 Eighth Ave., office , 33,414 square feet

  

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

444 Brickell Office Building in Miami Welcomes New Tenants

 MIAMI, FL, June 4, 2012 - While extensive renovations are nearing completion at 444 Brickell Avenue (top left photo), the tenant pool at the 200,000-square-foot office building has been on the rise.

Over the last several months, new tenants have leased approximately 16,500 square feet of office space, say exclusive leasing agents Randy Olen (middle right photo), Executive Vice President, and Matthew Anderson (lower left photo), Office Leasing Specialist, with Colliers International South Florida. 

 Over the past six months 444 Brickell has welcomed eight new tenants to the building including:

• Immerge, Inc., represented by Tony Arellano of Metro 1 Properties
• Avinode, Inc., represented by Tony Arellano of Metro 1 Properties
• Workbeast, LLC, represented by Scott Minchew of Scott Minchew & Company
• Cinium Holdings, Inc., represented by Alfredo Riascos of Metro 1 Properties
• Trusted Translations, represented by Sharon Silver of Wenzel Investment Group
• Developmed, LLC - represented by Fleet McLellan of Century 21 United TRG, Inc.
• Martha Rey USA, Inc.
• Aragua Services, Inc., represented by Adriana Vollmer Aguilar of Coldwell Banker

• Building tenants Lujan Investments LLC, Ocean Max Realty Inc. and Packland, LLC also recently renewed their leases at the building.

 

 "We are excited to see such great activity at the building," says Olen. "The combination of competitive rental rates, ideal location and extensive renovations currently underway make 444 Brickell very attractive for companies looking to have a Brickell address."

 

The building's new lobby and outside plaza area renovations are scheduled for completion this summer, and will add to 444 Brickell's onsite amenities including The Capital Grille restaurant, ATM, unobstructed views of Biscayne Bay and Miami River, management office and mailing center.

  

For further information please,  contact:  

Crystal Proenza

Vice President of Marketing

Colliers International South Florida

Commercial Real Estate Services

Tel: 305 476 7138

Email: crystal.proenza@colliers.com

www.colliers.com

EmCare, Fast-Growing Provider of Physician Services for Hospitals, Doubles Office Space in Clearwater, FL

 CLEARWATER, FL (June 4, 2012) –EmCare, a fast-growing provider of hospital-based physician services, is doubling its Clearwater office space. Currently at 128 employees in its Clearwater office, EmCare is expanding its 18,000± square-foot space to 37,796 square feet.

Alan Feldshue (top left photo), Managing Director of Office Services, and Melanie Jackson (top right photo), Senior Associate of Office Services for Colliers International Tampa Bay represented the landlord, AHC Metro Harbourside, in the lease expansion.

 Mike Sharapata, John Ruskin and Chris Butler of Jones Lang LaSalle represented EmCare.

“This was a great opportunity for EmCare to grow at its current Class A location,” said Feldshue. “With the building’s new common area improvements underway, the recently added on-site café and the well-capitalized position of the building’s ownership, EmCare made the decision to simply expand the current space instead of moving to another building.”  

EmCare contracts with more than 500 hospitals across the U.S. that outsource clinical department staffing and related services, and provides the hospitals with physicians and other clinicians for emergency rooms, inpatient services, operating rooms, and radiology.

Clinicians affiliated with EmCare have the opportunity to work in a mix of assignments in more than 40 states and are provided with administrative support to allow them to focus on their patients. The Clearwater offices provide support services to those facilities and practices.

“When our current Clearwater building presented an opportunity to expand on two floors, we decided to take advantage because of the location of the building and available parking,” said Terry Meadows (lower right photo), M.D., CEO of EmCare’s South Division. “Our need to expand is due to growth we are experiencing both organically and through acquisition.”

Harbourside is owned by The AHC Private Equity Real Estate Funds, a unit of Arthur Hill & Co., LLC, based out of Chicago, IL. “All AHC Fund buildings are managed to deliver a preferred environment for our valued tenants and we believe this mission was realized by EmCare’s expansion,” said Rob Gilbert, Director of Asset Management for AHC.

Located at 18167 U.S. 19 in Clearwater, the 153,586-square-foot Harbourside building is now 82 percent occupied.

Contact:      

 Kyle Parks

Bayview Public Relations

(727) 895-5030, ext. 101 (office)

(813) 352-1325 (cell)

Kyle@BayviewPR.com

NAI Realvest negotiates new office lease of 7,560 SF at Florida Central Commerce Park in Longwood, FL

ORLANDO, Fla. -- NAI Realvest recently completed an office lease agreement for 7,560 square feet in Florida Central Commerce Park off S.R. 434 in Longwood.

 Robert Blackwell (top right photo) SIOR principal at the firm and associate Sean DuPree (lower left photo), CCIM negotiated the transaction representing the landlord, Chicago based G & G Partners, LLC. 

The new tenant, The Green Savers, LLC leased Suite 400 on the second floor of the 35,120 square foot office building at 1124 Florida Central Parkway.  The tenant relocated from Semoran Blvd. in Casselberry. 

 For more information, contact:

Robert Blackwell, SIOR or Sean Dupree, CCIM at NAI Realvest 407-875-9989; rblackwell@realvest.com, or  sdupree@realvest.com  

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

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

As Population Grows Older, Seniors Housing Grows in Appeal to Investors

  ATLANTA, GA (June 4, 2012) – After a resilient performance during the recession and with the Baby Boomer generation approaching retirement, the seniors housing market has become anever-more appealing destination for commercial real estate investment dollars.

 That was the view of show host Michael Bull  (top right photo) and his guests in the most recent episode of “America’s Commercial Real Estate Show,” which provided an enlightening look at the seniors housing sector.

 “It seems to have been a stable sector through this recession when you compare it to office, retail and industrial,” said Bull, the president and founder of Bull Realty.

 As a result, “you’re seeing a lot more investors and institutions look at seniors housing than you had five years ago,” noted Andy Isakson (top left photo), managing partner of Isakson Living.

The sector’s properties have a current value of approximately $270 billion, according to Chris Kazantis (middle right photo), a director with AEW Capital Management. “That’s about 80 percent the size of [the hotel sector] and less than a third the size of multifamily,” he said. “But it’s a sector that’s growing tremendously.

 Cap rates in the seniors housing market vary widely, Kazantis added. “But in general, well-located, well-run properties right now are probably trading in the high 6, low 7 percent range,” he said.

Part of the reason for the optimism about the sector’s future performance is that the first wave of the 75 million Baby Boomers are entering their retirement years. But while the trend means an ever-expanding pool of seniors housing residents, it will present challenges for facility operators, guests said.

 “Right now, we’re dealing with the World War II generation,” said Richard A. Thomas (middle left photo), senior vice president of Grandbridge Real Estate Capital. “Tomorrow, we’ll be dealing with the Sixties generation. I think what my grandmother and my great-grandmother are demanding today will be very different than what my mother and what I will demand.”

 he show also touched on seniors housing development, and Glen Haddock (lower right photo), CEO of Haddock & Associates, said landowners looking to build seniors housing facilities must start off by doing a market analysis.

 “We have so many realtors that call I and say, ‘I’ve got this great piece of land’ … and their familiarity with the seniors market really isn’t there,” he said. “They need to take the time to run a feasibility analysis.”

The next “Commercial Real Estate Show” will be available June 7 and will examine tax credits available for businesses and real estate endeavors.

Contact

Stephen Ursery

Wilbert News Strategies

404.965.5026

sursery@wnspr.com

Five Hotels of the New Orleans Hotel Collection Earn 2012 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence

  NEW ORLEANS – June 4, 2012 - The New Orleans Hotel Collection today announced that it has received a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award for five hotels.

“The New Orleans Hotel Collection is pleased to receive these five TripAdvisor Certificates of Excellence for the Bourbon Orleans Hotel (middle left photo), Dauphine Orleans Hotel (bottom right photo), Hotel Mazarin, Crowne Plaza New Orleans Airport and Hotel Le Marais,” said Craig Hulford, managing director of the Collection.

“We strive to offer our guests a personal and memorable experience, and these accolades are evidence that our diligence is translating into positive guest reviews on TripAdvisor and elsewhere.”

“TripAdvisor is pleased to honor exceptional businesses for consistent excellence, as reviewed by travelers on the site,” said Christine Petersen (top right photo), president of TripAdvisor for Business.

“The Certificate of Excellence award gives highly rated establishments around the world the recognition they deserve. From exceptional accommodations in Beijing to remarkable boutique hotels in New Orleans, we want to applaud these businesses for offering TripAdvisor travelers a great customer experience.”

For more information, visit the New Orleans Hotel Collection website at www.neworleanshotelcollection.com.

Contacts:  

                                                                                          

Marc Becker

Area Director of Marketing

Marc.Becker@neworleanshotelcollection.com

(504) 527-0407

Patrick Daly

Account Supervisor

Daly Gray, Inc.

patrick@dalygray.com

Office:  (703) 435-6293

Cell:  (703) 300-8289

Trepp May Loss Analysis: Loan Resolutions and Loss Severity Edge Higher; Coming In Near Historical Norms

NEW YORK, NY -- Loan resolutions and loss severities continued to rebound from relatively low levels in the first quarter of the year. In particular, February and March saw losses well below the 12 month moving average of 43.8%. The April and May loss severities have proven more indicative of recent trends, at 42.68% and 43.87%, respectively.

At $1.64 billion, liquidations were about 23% higher than the 12 month moving average of $1.33 billion per month. Liquidations were up 15% month-over-month in May and 85% from the 12 month low seen in February.

Since the beginning of 2010, special servicers have been liquidating at an average rate of about $1.11 billion per month.

The number of CMBS conduit loans liquidated in May was 164, up 11% from April. That 164 is about 10% above the 12 month moving average of 149.

The average loan size for liquidated loans was $10.05 million in May. Over the last 12 months, the average size of liquidated loans has been $8.94 million.

As noted, there were 164 loans liquidated in May. The losses from these liquidations were about $723 million--representing an average loss severity of 43.87%. This was up 1.19% from April's 42.68% reading. May loss severity is up over 18 points from February's 12 month low of 25.55%.

The May loss severity reading is slightly above the average loss severity of 42.62% over the last 29 months, and slightly higher than the 12 month rolling average of 43.87%.

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

Eric R. Gerard

Senior Vice President

Great Ink Communications

27 Union Square West, Suite 205

New York, NY 10001

(212) 741-2977

New Oceanfront Condo Tower Marks 32nd Project Proposed For South Florida

 MIAMI, FL --A 32nd new condo tower - this one proposed for an oceanfront site just south of West Palm Beach - is under construction in South Florida as the coastal market increasingly shows signs of recovering from the dramatic real estate crash that began in 2007, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.

The proposed six-story 4001 North Ocean project is located on North Ocean Boulevard on the barrier island in the town of Gulf Stream between West Palm Beach and Boca Raton, according to the CondoVultures.com Preconstruction Condo Projects list.

With presale prices beginning at $550 per square foot, the 34-unit 4001 North Ocean project is slated to feature spacious floor plans ranging from nearly 2,800 square feet to more than 4,800 square feet each on a 3.2-acre site with 300 feet fronting the Atlantic Ocean, according to the licensed Florida brokerage CVR Realty™.

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

Condo Vultures® LLC is a real estate consultancy and marketing company based in the 225 Midtown Building at 225 NE 34th St., Suite 209B, Downtown Miami, Florida, 33137. Condo Vultures® LLC can be reached at 800-750-0517.

Marcus & Millichap Arranges Sale of Budget Host Inn & Suites in North Branch, MN

NORTH BRANCH, MN – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has announced the sale of the Budget Host Inn & Suites (top left photo), a 42-room economy hotel located in North Branch, Minnesota, according to Bryn D. Merrey, vice president and regional manager of the firm’s Tampa office.

 Jonathan S. Ruprai (middle right photo), a hospitality investment specialist in Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a financial institution.  The buyer, a limited liability company, was also secured and represented by Ruprai. 

Dan Linnell (lower left photo), of the Minneapolis office, was the local Broker of Record on this transaction.

 Press Contact:  Bryn D. Merrey, Vice President/Regional Manager, Tampa,

(813) 387-4700

Marcus & Millichap Sells $29.5 Million Multifamily Property in Waukesha, WI

WAUKESHA, WI – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has brokered the sale of River’s Edge (top left photo), a 340-unit luxury apartment complex in Waukesha. The sales price of $29,500,000 equates to $86,765 per unit and $95 per square foot.

Matthew Whiteside (middle right photo), a vice president investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Milwaukee office, represented the seller, a Waukesha-based developer, and the buyer, a large Milwaukee-based owner.

“The property is a signature award-winning multifamily asset located in Waukesha County, the most sought-after county in Wisconsin,” says Whiteside. “Occupancy in the submarket is 98 percent and during the past six months, the average occupancy at River’s Edge has been 99.4 percent.”

The 310,679-square foot property is located on 5.2 acres at 100 Corrina Blvd. in downtown Waukesha on the banks of the Fox River and adjacent to 34.5-acre Frame Park.

River’s Edge was built in three phases in 1993, 1995 and 2007. The 11 floor plans range in size from 479 square feet to 1,314 square feet and include studios, one-bedroom/one-bath units and two-bedroom/two-bathroom apartments. Rents range from $610 to $1,195 per month.

Amenities at River’s Edge include a fitness center, community rooms, underground parking, in-unit washers and dryers, dishwashers, microwave ovens and large balconies with beautiful Fox River views.

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

Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. Arranges $11.5 Million Self-Storage Portfolion Loan

    

AUSTIN, TX – Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation (MMCC) has arranged refinancing on a six-property, 2,109-unit self-storage portfolio located across the state of Texas. The loan totals $11.5 million. 

Michael Laurencelle (top right photo), an associate director in MMCC’s Austin office, who has an extensive background in self-storage financing, understood the concerns of the borrowers and identified the right capital source by utilizing the firm’s platform.

“The challenge was to secure a non-recourse loan without a lock box and cash-sweep management mechanism while securing a 10-year loan with a 30-year amortization schedule at a fixed rate of 5.41,” Laurencelle says.

MMCC’s ability to leverage existing relationships with the lenders in the self-storage sector was the key to completing this transaction.

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

Sionic Mobile Selects Midtown Atlanta for Headquarters

 ATLANTA, GA – Sionic Mobile, an Atlanta technology start-up advised by Invest Atlanta, has moved into a new headquarters building in Midtown Atlanta and will release new smart phone apps for consumers and merchants on Monday.

The firm has moved into a 12,000-square-foot building at 909 W. Peachtree St. (top left photo) Sionic Mobile is leasing the building, which had stood vacant for several years, with intent to purchase. Invest Atlanta, the city of Atlanta’s economic development agency, assisted Sionic Mobile with site selection.

Invest Atlanta also partnered with the the Georgia Department of Economic Development and Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce’s technology team to provide Sionic Mobile with state and local incentives information and to provide assistance with permitting at City Hall.

“We are ecstatic about Sionic Mobile’s new location and the promise this company possesses both for the Midtown marketspecifically and the city of Atlanta as a whole,” said Brian P. McGowan (top right photo), president and CEO of Invest Atlanta. “They currently have 14 employees and plan to add 45 this year.”

 

McGowan added: “This is exactly the type of company that will further solidify Atlanta’s image as an innovation center, and Sionic Mobile’s story is a great example of how Invest Atlanta can pave the way for these types of firms to grow and prosper.”

Sionic Mobile’s new ION Rewards app for consumers and its new ION Loyalty app for merchants will be available for download in the iTunes App Store and Google Play on Monday. The apps are designed especially for intown environments and connect neighborhood merchants with nearby mobile customers.

Contact:

Tony Wilbert

Wilbert News Strategies

404-965-5022 (O)

404-405-3656 (C)

twilbert@wnspr.com

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

ATLANTA, GA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Post Properties, Inc. (NYSE: PPS), an Atlanta-based real estate investment trust, today announced that it has filed a prospectus supplement under which it may sell up to 4,000,000 shares of its common stock from time to time through J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (USA), Inc., as sales agents.

As of May 31, 2012, approximately 136,500 shares of common stock remain available for issuance under the Company’s existing at-the-market offering previously announced on February 9, 2010.

 The Company expects to sell these remaining shares pursuant to its existing at-the-market offering before selling any shares pursuant to the new at-the-market offering announced today.

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

Post Properties, Inc.

Chris Papa,

404-846-5028

Mortgage Markets Benefiting From Weakened Stock Market, RECI Reports

CHICAGO, IL -- The Real Estate Capital Institute's Scoreboard reports the big news, of course, is another precipitous drop of treasury rates to record-low levels at the close of the month.

 The 10-year treasury plummeted by more than 40 basis points during the month, settling below 1.5%!   Mortgage markets continue benefiting from a weakened stock market, a recovering housing market and improved industrial output. Also, lower energy costs this past quarter continue helping to counterbalance markets woes and the Eurozone crisis.

The residential real estate markets are rebounding.   Developers started

more new home construction than expected, rising more than 2.5%. 

The recovery is sporadic and directly linked to job growth in various parts of the country.

Falling to a three-year low, the jobless rate hovers at about 8% anchored by improving fundamentals of the manufacturing sector. 

U.S. industrial production output in the U.S. climbed more to the highest levels since December, 2010, mostly fueled by automotive demand, according to the CensusBureau.  Yet economic expansion remains fragile as fewer than expected workers were hired.

The Fed confirmed its low-rate policy, planning to hold a steady monetary policy through 2014.  As a result, the benchmark 10-year treasury floated below two percent all month, helping mortgage rates stay low, accompanied by relatively tight spreads. 

Multifamily spreads over comparable-term treasuries hover at approximately, about 15 basis points wider than a month ago - although absolute rates are low due to benchmark treasuries.  

As for other commercial properties, retail and industrial properties are about 10 basis points wider than multifamily deals for lower leveraged transactions of 60% or less; office loans are priced about 20 basis points wider.

Generally speaking, most long-term multifamily rates are in the 4%-or-less range; commercial properties fall in the 4.25%-4.75% range.  Full leverage commercial properties are priced near five percent. 

 Capital remains available from Wall Street, Life Insurance and Agencies for well-underwritten properties.

  

Jeanne Peck (top right photo) of the Real Estate Capital Institute notes, "Multifamily continues to enjoy the best of all worlds:  rising rents, lower energy costs and record-low rates.  But investors are concerned with new construction activity in some of the gateway markets." 

She suggests, "On the other extreme, office property vacancies decreased to about fifteen percent, with inconsistent but improving results".

The Real Estate Capital Institute(r) is a volunteer-based research organization that tracks realty rates data for debt and equity yields.  The Institute posts daily and historical benchmark rates including treasuries, bank prime and LIBOR.

 Furthermore, call the Real Estate Capital RateLine at

7RE-CAPITAL (773-227-4825) for hourly rate updates.

The   Real Estate Capital Institute(r)

3517 West Arthington Street

Chicago, Illinois USA 60624

Contact:

Jeanne Peck, Executive Director

director@reci.com

www.reci.com