Sunday, December 2, 2012

MetLife’s MetWest International Named Best Mixed-Use Project by NAIOP Tampa Bay; Taylor & Mathis Named Best Developer



MetWest International, Tampa, FL
 TAMPA, FL – MetWest International, MetLife’s 32-acre, mixed-use development, garnered two Best of the Best Awards this month from the Tampa Bay Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), the Commercial Real Estate Development Association. 

 The development was named Best Mixed-Use Project while Taylor & Mathis earned Best Developer honors for a second time for their role in the project’s development. Taylor & Mathis handles office leasing, marketing and management responsibilities on behalf of MetLife.

Chuck Davis
"A key part of MetLife’s real estate investment strategy includes acquiring, retaining and maximizing the value of high-quality real estate assets in top-tier domestic and international markets, and MetWest International is a prime example,” said Chuck Davis, regional director of MetLife’s Tampa real estate investment office.

 “It has been extremely satisfying to see our plans for one of MetLife’s flagship developments come to fruition. MetLife has been active in the Tampa Bay real estate market for over 50 years and greatly values this recognition by our peers at NAIOP Tampa Bay.” 

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

Angela Odell,
Taylor & Mathis,
(813) 875-7950

Drew Guthrie,
MetLife,
 (212) 578-2826


HFF arranges financing for newly constructed northern New Jersey office property




Summit Executive Center, Florham, NJ
FLORHAM PARK, NJ – HFF announced it has arranged financing for Summit Executive Center, a 62,188-square-foot, newly constructed office property in Summit, New Jersey.

                HFF worked on behalf of MRY Associates and Normandy Real Estate Partners to secure the 10-year, fixed-rate permanent loan through Cantor Commercial Real Estate (CCRE).  Loan proceeds are taking out an existing construction loan that HFF had previously arranged.

Jon Mikula
Completed in 2012, Summit Executive Center is a LEED Certified office building with a two-level, 196-space parking garage.  The property is fully leased to tenants including one of the world’s leading consulting companies, Pennant Capital Management, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, Callan Associates and Amlin.

 Located at 1 Deforest Avenue, the property is close to Interstate 78, Route 4 and The Summit Train Station in downtown Summit, about 22 miles west of Manhattan.

                The HFF team representing MRY Associates and Normandy Real Estate Partners was led by senior managing director Jon Mikula.

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

Kristen M. Murphy
Associate Director
HFF | 9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 700 | Houston, TX 77046
tel 713.852.3500 | cel 617.543.4873 | fax 713.527.8725 | www.hfflp.com


HFF secures construction financing and joint venture equity for Bell Del Ray in Alexandria, VA


  
Bell Dell Ray rendering, Alexandria, VA
 WASHINGTON, D.C. – HFF announced it has secured construction financing  and joint venture equity for the development of Bell Del Ray, a 276-unit, Class A multi-housing community in Alexandria, Virginia. 

HFF was engaged by a joint venture between Woodfield Investments, Arsenal Real Estate Partners, LLC and The Davis Companies to secure equity and debt capitalization for development of the project.  The debt for the project was secured through Sovereign Bank while the equity was provided by Bell Partners Fund IV. 
David Nachison

In addition to the 276 apartment homes that average 843 square feet each, the five-story community will include 3,513 square feet of ground-floor retail.  Community amenities will include a courtyard swimming pool, outdoor fireplaces, state-of-the-art fitness facility, club room and gaming/theatre room.

 Bell Del Ray will be located at the south end of Alexandria’s 167-acre master-planned Potomac Yard, a mixed-use community that when complete will include more than four million square feet of office space, 1.1 million square feet of retail and dining, 3,200 residential units, a 300-room hotel and more than 60 acres of park land. 

Alan Davis
The HFF team representing the borrower was led by senior managing directors Dave Nachison, Alan Davis and Sue Carras, and managing directors Walter Coker and Brian Crivella.

“Located within the already successful Potomac Yard project, Bell Del Ray will enjoy unique advantages including its location within easy walking distance of both the Braddock Road Metrorail station and the very desirable Del Ray neighborhood, which provides access to an appealing assortment of independently-owned specialty food shops, art galleries, cutting edge restaurants and coffee houses,” said Nachison. 

Sue Carras
“Location and market-proven sponsorship are vitally important in capitalizing development sites today and the market clearly responded to the strong examples of these elements at Bell Del Ray,” added Coker.

Woodfield Investments is a premier developer of Class A multifamily communities in the Mid-Atlantic region.  The partners at Woodfield Investments share more than 140 years of experience and have developed 38 apartment communities representing 11,506 units at a value exceeding $1.4 billion.

Arsenal Real Estate Partners, LLC, is a private real estate investment management firm serving a variety of clients that include pension plans, foundations, endowments and high net worth individuals.

Walter Coker
 The Arsenal partners have a successful track record of investing as fiduciaries in all property types, including multifamily, office, retail, industrial, self-storage facilities, and land.  

Arsenal invests in cash-flowing core properties as well as in ventures with leading operating partners to develop, redevelop and reposition real estate in major markets in the United States.  The Arsenal partners have invested in 78 residential projects across 17 states and in the District of Columbia.  These investments represent more than $2.5 billion in gross investment.

Brian Crivella
Founded in 1976, The Davis Companies (www.thedaviscompanies.com) has earned a reputation for integrity, creativity and excellence, making it one of the premier real estate investment, development and management firms in the Northeast U.S.  

Through the years and across multiple real estate cycles, the company has applied a disciplined and value-oriented investment approach.    Today, The Davis Companies, together with its affiliates, owns and manages a real estate portfolio of approximately seven million square feet.

Bell Partners Inc. is a private real estate company focused primarily on the acquisition and management of high-quality apartment communities located in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Southwest United States.  

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

Kristen M. Murphy
Associate Director
HFF | 9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 700 | Houston, TX 77046
tel 713.852.3500 | cel 617.543.4873 | fax 713.527.8725 | www.hfflp.com


HFF secures $12.5 million financing for eight-property self storage portfolio in Ohio



LOS ANGELES, CA – HFF announced it has secured $12.5 million in acquisition financing for an eight-property self storage portfolio totaling 3,432 units in various Ohio locations.

                HFF worked on behalf of World Class Capital Group, LLC to arrange the 10-year, fixed-rate loan through Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc.  The securitized loan was used to acquire the properties and will be serviced by HFF.

                The portfolio is comprised of five properties in the Dayton area, two in the Youngstown area and one in Cincinnati.  The properties, which were owned and operated by a national self-storage REIT, total 441,914 square feet.


 The HFF team representing the borrower was led by director Christopher Vittetoe and real estate analyst Benjamin Gallant.

World Class Capital Group, LLC is a leading private investment firm based in Austin, Texas.  The firm pursues opportunities in all U.S. markets and has a distinct focus on alternative investments, primarily real estate and private equity.

Contact:

Kristen M. Murphy
Associate Director
HFF | 9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 700 | Houston, TX 77046
tel 713.852.3500 | cel 617.543.4873 | fax 713.527.8725 | www.hfflp.com

Lincoln Property Co. Brokers $7.35 Million Sale of Suburban Atlanta Business Center



Parker Court Business Center, Stone Mountain, GA
 ATLANTA, GA– Lincoln Property Company Southeast has brokered the $7.35 million sale of Parker Court Business Center, a nine-building industrial park in Stone Mountain, Ga., that contains 243,096 square feet of flex and warehouse space.

MR Parker Center LP, a related entity to Janus Realty Advisors, purchased the property. Denton Shamburger, vice president for Lincoln Property Company Southeast, represented the seller, PEM Parker Court LLC, and was the only broker involved in the transaction. The buyer has retained Lincoln Property Company, which had served as a court-appointed receiver for the property before the sale, to manage and lease the industrial park.

Denton Shamburger
Built in the 1980s, Parker Court is located just off Highway78 near the entrance to Stone Mountain Park and serves as a convenient location for small and mid-size companies drawing employees from the eastside neighborhoods of Metro Atlanta. The park was 52 percent leased at the time of sale, and new ownership is intent on investing into the park to accelerate lease up of the asset.

“This is a perfect location and environment for smaller industrial tenants needing proximity to I-285 and the eastside suburban markets of Metro Atlanta,” Shamburger said. “With a renewed focus on leasing and an aggressive rate structure, Parker Court is an excellent value for any tenant ranging in size from 1,500 to 25,000 square feet.”

Tony Bartlett
As a court-appointed receiver for the property, Lincoln was able to bring together the right team to execute a clean up of the existing rent roll and physical property, and to maximize value through a broadly marketed sales process.

“Our teams have become particularly adept at working as a receiver to bring a full complement of services – management, leasing, construction management and investment sales – to find solutions for challenged real estate,” said Tony Bartlett, senior vice president for Lincoln Property Company Southeast. “We really enjoy the process of bringing stability to an asset while executing creative strategies to find value for our clients. This is a great purchase for the buyer, and we are excited about our continuing role in this property.”

Contact:

 Stephen Ursery
The Wilbert Group
Office: (404) 965-5026
Cell: (404) 405-2354



Due Diligence on Environment is Key to Buying Profitable Commercial Real Estate


  
Michael Bull
 ATLANTA (Nov. 27, 2012) – When it’s time to purchase commercial real estate properties, not performing due diligence on a site’s potential environmental issues can be a costly mistake for a buyer.

That was one of the many important points outlined by a panel of environmental-liability experts in the most recent episode of Michael Bull’s “Commercial Real Estate Show.”

The episode provided an enlightening look at the many environmental issues confronting buyers and sellers of commercial real estate, including Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessments, risk mitigation and vapor intrusion.

Robert Brawner
When considering purchasing a property, a potential buyer should always perform due diligence on potential environmental issues and give itself plenty of time to do so, the experts agreed. Otherwise, a property owner could eventually find itself saddled with exorbitant cleanup costs.

“There are horror stories out there,” said Robert Brawner, an environmental engineer and owner of One Consulting Group. “There’s a small Georgia town where a large industrial manufacturer bought a plant, didn’t do enough due diligence to find a problem and wound up with a $30 million environmental remediation issue.”

Ken Burrell
Lenders often require buyers to conduct a Phase 1 test to pinpoint any environmental-liability issues associated with a real estate asset; conducting the test also can provide Superfund liability protection.

A typical Phase 1 test takes about three weeks to complete and would cost the owner of a 2,000-square-foot commercial building about $1,500, Brawner said.

The discovery of an environmental issue doesn’t mean a buyer should automatically walk away from a sale, said John Spinrad, an environmental attorney with Arnall Golden Gregory. “There are very few problems that can’t be solved if you allow enough time for due diligence because there are enough tools that we can use for dealing with risk – whether it’s insurance or a brownfields program,” Spinrad said.

John Spinrad
An emerging environmental issue is “vapor intrusion,” said Ken Burrell, a managing partner of Synapse Services, a provider of environmental insurance. “Vapor intrusion” is the migration of volatile organic compounds from subsurface groundwater into the interior of a commercial building, where people can inhale them.

The entire episode on environmental issues and strategies is available for download at www.CREshow.com.

For More Information, Contact

Stephen Ursery
Wilbert News Strategies
404.965.5026

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Single Tenant Prices Continue Rise in 4th Quarter



7-Eleven Convenience Store, Fort Myers, FL
MIAMI, FL -- The recent sale of a 7-Eleven gas and convenience store in Fort Myers, FL demonstrates cap rates for 2012 continue to fall in the fourth quarter. The property located at 10676 Colonial Blvd., Fort Myers, FL sold for $2,360,000.

The seller was Stone 5150, LLC based in Ft. Myers, FL. The buyer was the Milburn-Keith Family Trust based in Aptos, CA.

David Wells of the Wells Net Lease Group of Sperry Van Ness represented both the seller and the buyer.

David Wells
"For credit rated tenants with 10 or more years of term, prices have steadily risen throughout the year as more investors are seeking higher yields than the bond market offers and the security of the underling real estate,” says David Wells, Managing Director of the Wells Net Lease Group of Sperry Van Ness based in Miami.

“Cap rate compression has come down roughly 100 basis points from the first quarter and forced buyers and sellers to constantly change value expectations. We're now bringing deals to market 25 basis points below the cap on this close and getting several offers."

The property is a brand new construction corporate leased 7-Eleven with a new 15-year lease. The lease has 10% rental increases every five years and three five year options. 7-Eleven corporate is rated S&P rated AA- Investment
grade.

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

 David Wells
305.498.6095

Bull Realty Brokers $7.9 Million Sale of Downtown Atlanta Infill Site



John DeYonker
ATLANTA (Nov. 28, 2012) – Bull Realty has brokered the $7.9 million sale of a 1.46-acre redevelopment site, located at 70 John Wesley Dobbs Avenue in downtown Atlanta.

The hotel, rental-car facility and parking garage on the property will be transformed into a student-housing complex just 100 yards from the future location of Georgia State University’s new business and law schools.

John DeYonker,vice president of Land & Developer Services at Bull Realty, represented the seller, Legacy Palms LLC, in the disposition.

Michael Bull
"For this unique assignment, we had interest from developers all around the country, but the seller chose to work with a Georgia group that had experience in the GSU market," said DeYonker, the only broker involved in the transaction. "This quality student-housing project will be a good fit with the planned GSU projects in the immediate area."

Michael Bull, president of Bull Realty, added, “The student housing market has been a stable sector through the economic downturn and is a popular investment choice in the U.S. today.” 


The buyer, anaffiliate of Valdosta, Ga.-based Ambling University Development Group, will redevelop the site in two phases, the first opening in summer 2013 after a renovation of the old 200-room Ramada Hotel into approximately 138 units and 291 beds. A new tower featuring approximately 108 student-housing units and 424 beds will open in summer 2014, along with a new parking garage.

Besides the close proximity to GSU and its 32,000-student population, the property offers easy access to interstates 75 and 85, Atlanta’s commuter rail and the city’s streetcar line, which will begin operating in 2013. 

 For More Information, Contact

Stephen Ursery
The Wilbert Group
404-965-5026

Friday, November 30, 2012

Charles Dunn Co. Completes $5.4 Million Sale of a 25-Unit Multifamily Property in West Hollywood, CA


  
Kimberly Roberts Stepp
LOS ANGELES, CA – Charles Dunn Company, one of the largest full-service regional real estate firms in the western United States, has completed the $5.4 million sale of a 25-unit multifamily property located at 1251 N. Crescent Heights Blvd. in West Hollywood.

Hamid Soroudi of Charles Dunn Company represented the seller, Los Angeles-based BG Apartments, LLC. Kimberly Roberts Stepp of Charles Dunn Company represented the buyer, Los Angeles-based Hillstreet Realty, LLC. The sale closed at a 4.9 percent cap rate.

Hamid Soroudi
The unit mix of the property includes: mostly one- and two-bedroom units with below-market rents. The property was 100 percent occupied at the close of escrow. It offers quaint and charming architecture, a pool and subterranean parking.

“The buyer intends to reposition the property by renovating the exterior and interior then increasing the rents as allowable under the City of West Hollywood rent control laws,” said Soroudi.

Soroudi and Stepp are members of Charles Dunn Company’s The Soroudi Group. The Soroudi Group is the most successful and active group of brokers involved in selling and exchanging of prime Westside Properties. Their marketing program delivers sold properties at more than 98.5 percent of the list prices within a compressed marketing period.

Contact:

Darcie Giacchetto
D.G. Communications, Inc.
949.278.6224





HSA Commercial Represents Specialty’s Café & Bakery in a Retail Lease at the Inland Steel Building in Chicago, IL


                         
Inland Steel Building, Chicago, IL
 CHICAGO, IL — Michael Havdala, senior vice president, and Brenton Schrader, associate, with the retail brokerage division of HSA Commercial Real Estate represented Specialty’s Café & Bakery in a 6,256-square-foot lease for the entire retail space on the ground level of the Inland Steel Building at 77 South Dearborn Street, Chicago.

 San Francisco-based Specialty’s, which has existing downtown Chicago locations at 525 West Monroe Street and 191 North Wacker Drive, is projected to open the Inland Steel location in March 2013.

Michael Havdala
 Specialty’s Café & Bakery, which currently has 48 operating restaurants primarily in California and Washington, will utilize the location as a central catering hub for its Chicago Loop clientele.

Brenton Schrader
The new location will also serve baked goods, salads, soups, sandwiches, and will feature a Peet’s Coffee & Tea kiosk. Specialty’s is working exclusively with HSA Commercial to open approximately 15 restaurants in the Chicago area, including at least three more locations in the Loop.

 John Vance, vice president with Stone Real Estate, represented ownership, New York-based Capital Properties, in the lease transaction. SKB Architects is responsible for the design of the project, and Turner Construction will serve as the general contractor.

  Contacts:

Mark Thomton,
312-267-4523

Kim Manning,
312-267-4527

Cathrine Cotman Joins Cassidy Turley as Senior Vice President of Strategy


  
Catherine A. Cotman
 CHARLOTTE, NC – Cassidy Turley, a leading commercial real estate services provider in the U.S., today announced that Cathrine A. Cotman has joined the firm’s corporate services team as Senior Vice President of Strategy.

Ms. Cotman will serve the company’s SunTrust account, leading portfolio optimization efforts as the bank seeks to transform its corporate real estate footprint, which currently totals 15 million square feet and more than 1,600 branches. 

Ms. Cotman will be based in Cassidy Turley’s Charlotte office.

Craig Robinson
“Cathrine brings a wealth of experience and keen intellect to our Corporate Services team,” said Craig Robinson, President, Corporate Services, at Cassidy Turley. “She will be invaluable in our efforts to best serve key clients like SunTrust and continue to build our Corporate Services practice.”

Ms. Cotman’s past experience includes consulting and tenant representation.  She joins Cassidy Turley from Bank of America where she led a workplace strategy and planning team overseeing a 100 million-square-foot portfolio and initiatives including call center and operations consolidation, global tech location strategy and retail wealth and mortgage sales office consolidations.

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

Maureen Wheeler                                              
Vice President, Corporate Communications       
202-463-1138                                                    
Maureen.Wheeler@cassidyturley.com                

Bailey Webb
404-682-3381
Cassidy Turley




Mercantile Capital Corp. Names Veteran Banker Penny Brake Portfolio Manager

Penny Brake


 ORLANDO, FL --- Mercantile Capital Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Old Florida National Bank, that ranks as one of the nation’s largest providers of U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 loans for small business owners who want to acquire or develop their own facilities, has appointed Penny Brake as portfolio manager.

Geof Longstaff, chairman at Mercantile Capital Corporation, said Brake has more than 26 years of experience in the banking industry, including a 15-year tenure with Florida Community Bank, formerly First National Bank of Central Florida.

For more information about this press release, contact:

Chris Hurn, Chief Executive Officer, Mercantile Capital Corporation, 407-786-5040
Geof Longstaff, Chairman, Mercantile Capital Corporation, 407-786-5040
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142



HSA Commercial Selected to Market a Fully-Leased Retail / Warehouse Investment Property in Carol Stream, IL


320 Army Trail Road, Carol Stream, IL
CHICAGO, IL— HSA Commercial announced that the company is exclusively representing Blue Vista Capital Management, LLC in the offering of a 97,595-square-foot, fully-leased retail and warehouse property for sale in Carol Stream, Ill.


 The retail portion of the property, located at 320 Army Trail Road, is anchored by American Sale, an eight-unit regional chain based in Tinley Park, Ill. that specializes in the sale of patio furniture, hot tubs, above-ground swimming pools, grills, billiard tables, wooden play sets and holiday décor.

Wheaton, Ill.-based Crossway, a national publisher and distributor of evangelical Christian books, leases 46,635 square feet in the building for use as a regional distribution center. The balance of the retail space is leased to Back to Bed, a 73-unit chain based in Itasca, Ill., and Executive Tan, a nationally-franchised tanning salon.

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

 Mark Thomton,
312-267-4523

Kim Manning,
 312-267-4527

Thursday, November 29, 2012

NAI Realvest Negotiates Four Central Florida Industrial Lease Agreements in Sanford, Winter Park and Orlando Totaling More than 19,000 Square Feet



Monroe CommerCenter South, Sanford, FL

 MAITLAND, FL --- NAI Realvest recently negotiated four lease agreements totaling 19,022 square feet at Monroe CommerCenter South in Sanford, at the Goldenrod CommerCenter in Orlando and at the industrial facility on Metric Drive in east Winter Park. 

 Aron Harrison, broker associate at NAI Realvest, represented the new tenant, Boss Laser, LLC, in the lease of 2,000 square feet at 651 Progress Way in Monroe CommerCenter South in Sanford.   Michael Heidrich, Sr. a principal in the firm, represented the landlord, COP-Monroe, LLC of Maitland.  

Goldenrod CommerCenter, Orlando
Heidrich Sr. also completed a lease agreement with Sanford-based Dignoti Group, Inc. a reupholstery and furniture repair company for 4,240 square feet at 4265 Church St. in Monroe CommerCenter. 

 A.J. Property Holdings, LLC, the landlord at the industrial facility at 4100 Metric Drive in Winter Park, was represented by Heidrich, Sr, in the lease of Suite 700 with 6,000 square feet where the new tenant is a local firm of insurance adjusters and investigators, Specialty Group, Inc.

 A & B Stucco, Inc., longtime tenant at Goldenrod CommerCenter at 1467 N. Goldenrod Rd. in Orlando has expanded by leasing another 6,782 square feet and now occupies a total of 15,606 square feet at the industrial center.  Heidrich Sr. brokered the transaction representing the landlord COP-Goldenrod, LLC of Maitland. 

Aaron Harrison

 Contacts:

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



Marcus & Millichap Announces Sale of Former Quality Inn in Hinesville, GA



Former Quality Inn, Hinesville, GA
 HINESVILLE, GA. – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has announced the sale of the former Quality Inn, a 53-room exterior corridor limited service hotel located in Hinesville, Georgia, according to Richard D. Matricaria, Regional Manager of the firm’s Tampa office.

Jonathan S. Ruprai, a senior associate and hotel specialist in Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a financial institution. 

Jonathan Ruprai

The buyer, a limited liability company based out of Georgia, was also secured and represented by Ruprai.  John Leonard is Marcus & Millichap’s broker of record in Georgia.

The former Quality Inn was built in 1995 and is located at 706 East Oglethorpe Highway

Press Contact:

Richard D. Matricaria
Regional Manager, Tampa
(813) 387-4700