Marcus & Millichap Arranges Sale of Washington Square in Palm Desert, CA for $12.5M

PALM DESERT, CA – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has arranged the sale of Washington Square, (top right photo) a 49,972-square foot shopping center in Palm Desert.

The sales price of $12.5 million represents $250 per square foot.

Paul Bitonti, a vice president investments in the Newport Beach office of Marcus & Millichap, represented the seller, a local shopping center developer. Bitonti also represented the buyer, a TIC sponsor.

“The new owner has acquired a well-positioned, fully entitled project with a newly constructed Rite Aid,” says Bitonti. “The project has received interest from national tenants and will prove to be a successful shopping center in the near future.”

Located at the northwest corner of Washington and Market streets, the shopping center is situated on 6.17 acres.

Built in 2007, Washington Square is directly across from the Stater Brothers shopping center and near the Del Webb Sun City housing community, which is a prestigious active adult community with 5,000 homes, lakes, waterfalls and a 36-hole golf course.

With more than 1,300 investment professionals in offices nationwide, Encino, Calif.-based Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services is the largest commercial real estate brokerage in the nation focusing exclusively on real estate investments.

In 2007, the firm closed $20.7 billion in transactions. Founded in 1971, the firm has perfected a powerful system for marketing properties that combines product specialization; local market expertise; the industry’s most comprehensive research and analysis capabilities; state-of-the-art technology; and established relationships with the largest pool of qualified investors nationally.

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

http://www.marcusmillichap.com/

HFF closes $103M sale and $70.7M financing for Roosevelt Raceway Center in Westbury, NY

NEW YORK, NY – The New York office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) announced today that it closed the sale of and financing for Roosevelt Raceway Center, a 427,000-square-foot retail power center in Westbury, New York.

HFF senior managing director Glenn Whitmore (top right photo) and managing director Robert Delitsky (top left photo) exclusively represented the buyer, The Mattone Group and Gartenstein Properties in the $103 million purchase of the property from ING Clarion Partners, LLC.

HFF also arranged the $70.7 million fixed-rate acquisition loan with New York Community Bank.

Roosevelt Raceway Center is located along Corporate Drive in the Long Island suburb of Westbury. Completed in 1995, the property is currently 100% leased to tenants including Home Depot, Home Depot Expo, Michael’s, Babies “R” Us, Sprint, Loew’s Theatre, Applebee’s and Chili’s.

The Mattone Group is a Queens-based development company that currently owns and manages approximately 2.0 million square feet of commercial property in the New York Metro area.

Gartenstein Properties is located in Brooklyn, New York and is active in the development of multifamily and commercial projects in Brooklyn and in the New York metropolitan area.

HFF (NYSE: HF) operates out of 18 offices nationwide and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry. HFF offers clients a fully integrated national capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, structured finance, private equity, note sales and note sale advisory services and commercial loan servicing.

(At bottom right, Roosevelt Raceway grandstand in 2000 before it was demolished for a retail project.)

CONTACTS:

Glenn E. Whitmore, HFF Senior Managing Director, 212 245 2425, gwhitmore@hfflp.com

Robert Delitsky,HFF Managing Director, 212 245 2425, rdelitsky@hfflp.com

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

DBSI Announces a New Retail Development in Lexington, SC

GROUNDBREAKING FOR THE SHOPPES AT LEXINGTON COMING SOON

BOISE, ID /PRNewswire/ -- DBSI is pleased to announce the groundbreaking of The Shoppes at Lexington, (top right site aerial) a new 7,300 square-foot Class A retail center development in Lexington, South Carolina.

The Property is located on Sunset Boulevard/Highway 378, the primary East-West retail corridor connecting Interstate-20 and Columbia, South Carolina.

The project site is adjacent to a Super Wal-Mart (middle left photo) and the approximate value of the development is $3,250,000.

The old Southtrust Bank building that currently sits on the site will be demolished and replaced with an attractive brick and stucco building that will feature a drive-thru and patio seating area.

Consumers will be able to access the site directly off Sunset Boulevard or to the rear of the property via Old Cherokee Road.DBSI recently executed a lease with national wireless communications provider AT&T for 3,500 square feet of the project.

Leasing space remains available for The Shoppes at Lexington. Please contact Josh Diggs for more information at 727-329-1950 or jdiggs@dbsi.com.

DBSI Development is a wholly owned subsidiary of DBSI. DBSI Development develops properties through partnerships with an array of development professionals who have roots in growing regions of the country.

DBSI is a 29 year old leader in diversified investment real estate. The company currently manages over 18.6 million square feet, encompassing 280 properties in 34 states with an aggregate value of over $2.65 billion. DBSI specializes in the acquisition and development of real estate in all four stages -- land banking, land entitlement, development & construction and income producing assets.

CONTACT:

Matt Shifley, Marketing Manager of DBSI, +1-208-287-1835, mshifley@dbsi.com

Web site: http://www.dbsi.com/

http://www.dbsidevelopment.com/

Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors Sells Great Oaks Center in Alpharetta, Ga.

SANTA ANA, CA/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors, LLC has sold Great Oaks Center (top right photo) in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta on behalf of tenant-in-common investors.

Great Oaks Center is a four building, single-story business park that offers approximately 235,000 square feet of rentable space. Built between 2000 and 2002, the property is situated on approximately 22 acres of land.

It offers easy access to State Highway 120 and 400, and has 516 on-site parking spaces for visitors and tenants.

Purchased by Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors in July 2004, Great Oaks Center was sold to KBS Great Oaks LLC.

Stewart Calhoun and David Meline from Cushman & Wakefield of Georgia Inc. represented the seller in the transaction.The disposition marks the 58th securitized 1031 TIC exchange program taken full-cycle by Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors, an unrivaled industry record.

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/

Cousins Properties Declares Third Quarter Preferred and Common Stock Dividends

ATLANTA, GA--Cousins Properties Incorporated's (NYSE: CUZ) Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend on its Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock.

The dividend of $0.484375 per share, or $1.9375 on an annualized basis, is payable August 15, 2008, to Series A preferred stockholders of record on August 1, 2008.

The Board of Directors has also declared a regular quarterly cash dividendon its Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock.

The dividend of $0.46875 per share, or $1.875 on an annualized basis, is payable August 15, 2008, to Series B preferred stockholders of record on August 1, 2008.

The Board of Directors has also declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.37 per share, or $1.48 on an annualized basis, payable August 25, 2008, to common stockholders of record on August 11, 2008.

CONTACTS:

Jim Fleming, (top right photo) Chief Financial Officer, 404-407-1150, jimfleming@cousinsproperties.com or

media, Matt Gove, Senior Vice President, 404-407-1490, mattgove@cousinsproperties.com

Web site address: http://www.cousinsproperties.com/

CBRE Jacksonville Releases Q2 Marketview Reports

JACKSONVILLE, FL-CB Richard Ellis presents market reports on the office, industrial and retail markets in Jacksonville, FL for second quarter 2008. For complete copies of the reports, please contact Brian Cornett at brian.cornett@cbre.com. Highlights follow.

Office Market

"Activity has slowed down as it typically does during the summer months and additional sublease space continues to appear in the market," accordin to CBRE Senior Associate Traci Jenks, CCIM. (top right photo)

The overall rate of vacant space in Jacksonville's Office Market increased over the previous quarter from 13.3 percent to 14.8 percent.

Construction activity at the end of second quarter 2008 totals approximately 322,900 square feet. New project development for office space in Jacksonville tends to be within the suburban submarkets such as Fleming Island in Orange Park.

This quarter, asking rates for direct office space increased from $18.19 to $18.48. Rates increased in both the Downtown and Suburban submarkets.

Direct net absorption in the first quarter 2008 was positive at 26,342 square feet. This quarter, net absorption is negative 34,327.

View the full Jacksonville Office MarketView report

Industrial Market

"We're starting to see some pick up in activity from companies looking to position themselves for 2009," says Jeff Nelson, middle left photo) Senior President, 2008.

The Jacksonville Industrial Market experienced approximately 492,056 square feet of positive absorption in the second quarter of 2008. Most of this absorption occurred within the Oceanway submarket with the delivery of the build-to-suit property for Sears.

According to Jess Simmons, Senior Associate, "The Jacksonville market overall has slowed due to the tightening economic conditions and resulting low consumer confidence." Nevertheless, the Jacksonville Industrial Market has continued to expand into the first half of 2008 albeit at a slowing pace.

The average triple net asking rate for available warehouse/distribution space is approximately $4.08 per square foot. This is down over the previous quarter from $4.15 per square foot.
View the full Jacksonville Industrial MarketView report

Retail Market

"The remainder of 2008 should remain weak by prior year's standards but look for things to pick up pace in 2009 and return to a more normative level by 2010," says Cliff Taylor,(bottom right photo) First Vice President, 2008.

The Jacksonville Retail Market's overall vacancy rate showed a slight decrease to 6.8 percent in second quarter 2008.

The unemployment rate in the Jacksonville MSA was 5.1% in the second quarter of 2008. This represents an increase over the unemployment rate one year ago when it was 3.4%.

The state and national unemployment rate for second quarter 2008 is 5.3% and 5.2%, respectively.

The average lease rate for local retail space in the Jacksonville Retail Market increased in the second quarter of 2008. Historically, the lease rates have proven to be stable regardless of the economic conditions.

Focusing on geographic submarkets, the highest net absorption levels during second quarter 2008 was found in Westside with a positive absorption of 280,853 square feet.

View the full Jacksonville Retail MarketView report

RealtyTrac enters FrontDoor.Com Partnership

Agreement Brings RealtyTrac Foreclosure Data to FrontDoor

IRVINE, C. – July 23, 2008 – RealtyTrac™ (http://www.realtytrac.com/), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, and FrontDoor.com (http://www.frontdoor.com/), the real estate website powered by HGTV, today announced a new agreement and strategic partnership that will allow RealtyTrac to feed FrontDoor.com real-time properties from its nationwide foreclosure database of default, auction and bank-owned homes.

“FrontDoor.com is an exciting addition to our ever-growing network of valued partners,” said Rick Sharga,(top left photo) vice president of marketing at RealtyTrac. “We are committed to providing FronDoor.com and its visitors the most comprehensive set of foreclosure properties, and exclusive foreclosure-related editorial content, written specifically for them.”

“We are delighted to announce this new partnership with one of the strongest and most trusted real estate brands on the Web,” said Vikki Neil, vice president of real estate for SN Digital.

“This new alliance between FrontDoor and RealtyTrac will open the door to help promote a full view of home transactions to the FrontDoor and HGTV audience in this challenging market.”

FrontDoor.com (http://www.frontdoor.com/) is an online real estate listing service powered by HGTV, the No.1 source for home-related media content. The site currently offers more than 3 million listings of homes for sale and partners with top real estate brokerages throughout the U.S

CONTACT:

Tammy Chan, Atomic PR, 415 402 0230, tammy@atomicpr.com

Hispanic Hotel Owners Association Members Developing Rapidly

HHOA Has Acquired or Began Development on 48 Projects in Last 12 Months

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 23, 2008—The Hispanic Hotel Owners Association (HHOA), a rapidly growing non-profit organization that seeks to increase Latino ownership of hotels, today announced that its members have either acquired or began development on 48 hotels in the past 12 months.


The organization has more than 300 members and continues to attract both existing and potential Hispanic hotel owners and investors at a rapid pace.

“Obviously, this has been an untapped market,” said Angela Gonzalez-Rowe,(top right photo) founder and president of the Hispanic Hotel Owners Association. “Because hotels arguably are the most complex real estate class, investment can be quite intimidating. Through our Hotel Investment Series, we have been able to attract more than 115 Hispanics who have the financial strength and want to learn more about the investment opportunities in the industry.



"Many are invested in other segments of hospitality, such as restaurants, and this is a natural extension for them.”

Of the 48 new Hispanic-owned, 12 have been through acquisitions and 34 are hotels in development. More than 80 percent are branded properties. The hotels range from the limited-service to luxury segments.

“When HHOA was founded, we could identify less than 1 percent of hotels in the U.S. that were Hispanic-owned,” she pointed out. “In less than two years, that number has increased dramatically. We are on target with our goal of having at least 500 Latino-owned, U.S. hotels by 2011.


“Our members are developing in urban, suburban and resort locations,” she noted. “In many cases, they are pioneering new locations. For example, the Finvarb Group, which has four hotels in development, broke ground on the first Hispanic-owned hotel in Washington, D.C.”


Headquartered in Washington, D.C., HHOA is a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase the number of Hispanic-owned, -developed and -operated hotels, further the participation of Hispanic-owned suppliers serving the hotel industry and increase executive level employment opportunities for Hispanics within the lodging industry.

HHOA membership is open to hotel owners, developers, investors, financiers, real estate executives, investment bankers, professional advisors, analysts, franchisors, management company executives, industry product and service providers, hotel general managers, hotel sales and marketing managers, government agencies for tourism and development, hospitality schools, hospitality students or anyone seeking to do business within the Hispanic market.

Additional information about HHOA is available at the association’s Web site, http://www.hhoa.org/. To learn more about the Hotel Investment Series, contact Angela Gonzales-Rowe at 202-587-5707, or http://www.hhoa.org/.

CONTACTS:

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

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

Cushman & Wakefield Negotiates 77,821-SF Sale of Tampa Warehouse

TAMPA, FL – Cushman & Wakefield negotiated the sale of 5110 W. Clifton Street in Tampa, Florida. Masonite Corporation, as seller, is an 80-year old innovative manufacturing company of interior doors and entry door systems and remains as one of the world’s leading manufacturers in the industry.

Roth Investment Partnership, as buyer, is a commercial and industrial real estate investment company with an expanding portfolio bolstered by the Roth Family’s investments of industrial and office space.

5110 West Clifton Street is a 77,821 square foot, multi-tenant, Class B warehouse distribution building located in Tampa’s airport submarket at the corner of Anderson Road and Clifton Street.

Jim Paladino, Senior Director, John Fish, Senior Director, Mike Davis, Executive Director and Rian Smith, Director negotiated the sale on behalf of the seller, Masonite Corporation.

Cushman & Wakefield negotiates sale of Royal Breeze Apartments for $11.7M

TAMPA, FL – Cushman & Wakefield’s Florida Apartment Brokerage Services with apartment specialists in Tampa, Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, announces the sale of Royal Breeze (photo at left) for $11,775,000. The purchaser was Hachem Investments. Executive Director Byron Moger and Director Luis Elorza negotiated the sale on behalf of the owners, MAXX Properties.

Royal Breeze, located at 21227 US Highway 19 North in Clearwater, Florida, just north of Clearwater Mall, was built in 1973. It is a 204,140 square foot, 200-unit apartment community that offers a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms. Royal Breeze features two swimming pools, lighted tennis courts and a new fitness center.

“Royal Breeze offers the buyer excellent upside through a capital program to update the property and capitalize on its central Pinellas location,” said Byron Moger of Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.

To view our current multifamily listings, please visit http://www.apartments.cushwake.com/ or contact

Byron Moger, Executive Director, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., 813.204.5316, byron.moger@cushwake.com

Marcianne Foster, 813-204-5325, Marcianne.Foster@cushwake.com

Marcus & Millichap Sells 59,711-SF Mountain View Plaza in Scottsdale, AZ for $14.85M

SCOTTSDALE, AZ– Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has arranged the sale of Mountain View Plaza, (top left photo) a 59,711-square foot shopping center in Scottsdale. The sales price of $14.85 million represented $248.70 per square foot.

Joseph Compagno, an investment specialist and associate director of Marcus & Millichap’s National Retail Group in Phoenix, represented the seller, a Phoenix-based investorprincipal looking to liquidate part of his portfolio and retire from the real estate business.

Compagno also represented, the buyer, aand the Beverly Hills, Calif.-based investorbuyer, who acquired bought the property as part of a through a large 1031 tax-deferred exchange.

“Mountain View Plaza represented an excellent opportunity for the buyer to acquire a well-maintain located shopping center in a thrivingvery sought- after Scottsdale market at a 6.65 percent cap rate,” says Compagno.

Located at 9699 North Hayden Road, the shopping center is 94.5 percent occupied with 23 tenants on triple- net leases.

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

HFF arranges $31 million refinancing for landmark San Diego mixed-use property

SAN DIEGO, CA – The San Diego office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) has arranged a $31 million refinancing for Village Hillcrest, (above centered photo) a landmark 577,535-square-foot retail, office, medical, residential and 705-stall parking structure development in the Hillcrest neighborhood of San Diego, California.

Working exclusively on behalf of SunCoast Properties, Inc., HFF director Aldon Cole (top right photo) and associate director Rob Hinckley placed the 10-year, loan with John Hancock Real Estate Finance.

Loan proceeds will prepay and retire an existing first lien financing with the remaining funds earmarked for SunCoast’s future growth opportunities. SunCoast Properties, a long-standing private real estate company, professionally manages and leases approximately one million square feet of commercial properties in Orange County and San Diego.

Village Hillcrest is located at the intersection of 5th Avenue and Washington Street in the Hillcrest/Uptown community two miles north of San Diego’s central business district.

The property was completed in 1992 and has a total of six buildings including a medical office and hospital building, a retail/office building, two retail/residential buildings, two additional retail buildings, and a four-story parking garage.

Tenants include the Hillcrest Cinemas, 24-Hour Fitness, Scripps as well as three dining establishments and a hospital facility.

“Village Hillcrest is one of the most irreplaceable trophy real estate assets in San Diego and is located in a premier in-fill location.

Not only is this a centralized Hillcrest icon, it serves as a gathering place for the greater San Diego Community as it is within a 10-minute drive of most areas of San Diego,” said Cole.

HFF (NYSE: HF) operates out of 18 offices nationwide and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry. HFF offers clients a fully integrated national capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, structured finance, private equity, note sales and note sale advisory services and commercial loan servicing.

CONTACTS:

Aldon L. Cole, HFF Director, 858 552 7690, acole@hfflp.com

Rob Hinckley, HFF Asociate Director, 858 552 7690, rhinckley@hfflp.com

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

MBA's Quinn: HUD Takes Bold Step to Modernize FHA with Housing Tax Credit Program

WASHINGTON, DC (July 22, 2008) -The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today applauded issuance of HUD Mortgagee Letter 2008-19 which streamlines processing of FHA multifamily insurance applications with Low Income Housing Tax Credits.

The Mortgagee Letter contains important changes to FHA processing which will provide flexibility and cut costs, making FHA insurance a very competitive financing vehicle for affordable rental properties with low income housing tax credits.

"I want to thank FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery (middle left photo) and John Garvin, his Senior Advisor and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs, for taking a leadership role on this issue.

"This will assist the tax credit market by removing some of the impediments to financing with FHA insurance as well as eliminating unnecessary costs in the program," said Kieran P. Quinn, (top right photo) CMB, Chairman of the MBA. "This is a major step forward in modernizing and enhancing FHA processes and will make it much easier to combine tax credits with FHA insurance, producing more affordable housing at a lower cost."

A key feature of the streamlined process permits the deferred submission of full plans and specifications, which will better align the FHA process with the tax credit process and will allow borrowers to lock rates earlier.

Another significant change is that 20 percent of the tax credit equity (reduced from 100 percent) must be funded at the time of HUD's initial endorsement, with the remainder allowed to be paid in over the development period-as is the case for most conventional financing.

"This provision alone will significantly increase the tax credit proceeds for these properties and will allow many more projects to be feasible," said Quinn. "Investors will pay more for the tax credits if they can phase in the purchase price over time. This is critical for the feasibility of many of these projects and will bring new entrants into the FHA-insured market."
Other changes introduced by the Mortgagee Letter permit firm commitments to be conditioned, under certain defined circumstances, upon HUD-2530 approval.

This approval must be received prior to initial endorsement, but the ability to condition firm commitments will provide timing flexibility to transactions and will improve borrowers' chances of obtaining favorable rate locks and equity pricing.

In addition, the Mortgagee Letter requires the designation of a LIHTC Coordinator in each Multifamily Hub and Program Center to work with credit allocation agencies and developers to better synchronize tax credit funding cycles with FHA's application process.

The Mortgagee Letter is effective July 22 and should immediately have an impact on properties being financed.

"There are, however, a number of legislative impediments to using FHA insurance with tax credits that need to be resolved," continued Quinn. "Most of those issues were addressed in the House version of the omnibus housing bill. We are hopeful that Congress will include those provisions in its final version of a housing bill this year."

With the changes in the Mortgagee Letter, along with the legislative changes being considered, a number of affordable rental properties that have not been able to find financing at terms that would allow the development to move forward will now be built.

"This is an extremely challenging time for the tax credit program," added Quinn. "At the same time that there are fewer sources of financing, investors are demanding higher returns and interest rates are higher.

" With these adverse market conditions, it has become more difficult to make these developments work. FHA should be commended for understanding the need for the FHA multifamily programs in this market and stepping in to improve their product."

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

CONTACT: Jason Vasquez, (202) 557-2950, jvasquez@mortgagebankers.org