NEW YORK CITY — At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $563.3 billion, new construction starts in November fell 5 percent from the previous month, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. The decline represented a partial pullback after the 13 percent increase reported for total construction in October, as nonresidential building lost some momentum following its improved October pace. Decreased activity was also reported for housing in November, while the nonbuilding construction sector, consisting of public works, electric utilities and gas plants, held steady. During the first eleven months of 2015, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were $597.9 billion, up 8 percent from the same period a year ago. The November statistics lowered the Dodge Index to 119, compared to 125 in October. November was still above the lackluster activity reported for August and September, when the Dodge Index averaged 114. “The pattern of construction starts on a month-to-month basis is rarely smooth, and October and November do show improvement after the subdued activity in late summer,” says Robert Murray, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics. “The construction expansion, while often hesitant, should be able to continue in coming months as the result of several factors.” Nonresidential building …
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LOS ANGELES — Westfield Corp. (ASX: WFD) has sold five of its regional malls to a joint venture between Centennial Real Estate Co., Montgomery Street Partners, USAA Real Estate Co. and a real estate investment affiliate of Blum Capital Partners for $1.1 billion. The portfolio features more than 6 million square feet of retail space across four states. The acquisition includes the Connecticut Post Mall in Milford, Conn.; Main Place Mall in Santa Ana, Calif.; Hawthorn Mall in Vernon Hills, Ill.; Fox Valley Mall in Aurora, Ill.; and Vancouver Mall in Vancouver, Wash. The malls have an average occupancy rate of more than 97 percent. Montgomery and USAA will act as the financial partners, while Westfield will maintain a minority equity interest. Centennial will oversee the malls’ daily operations. The existing on-site management teams will continue to operate the properties under Centennial’s direction. The JV plans to evaluate each property to determine where it can add value through enhancements and new tenants. “A mall can’t just be about shopping anymore,” says Steven Levin, Centennial’s CEO. “Understanding the needs of your market is the cornerstone of creating a one-of-a-kind experience that guests can’t get online or anywhere else. Our goal is …
PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA. — A joint venture between Henley Holding Co., a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) has acquired a 58-million-square-foot portfolio of core industrial properties from Exeter Property Group for $3.1 billion. The properties were owned and managed by Plymouth Meeting-based Exeter, which will continue to manage the properties. The portfolio consists of 209 assets that are located in 25 key distribution markets. The majority of the properties are modern bulk warehouses that support e-commerce retailers, traditional retailers, suppliers and wholesalers. The majority of the assets are located in Dallas, Chicago, Columbus, Memphis and Atlanta. “ADIA and PSP Investments are two of the most highly regarded international real estate investors,” says Ward Fitzgerald, CEO of Exeter, “and we are thrilled to work with our new partners in the continued successful management of these properties as well as in other opportunities in the United States and abroad.” “We have great confidence in the growth potential of the U.S. industrial sector, particularly in high-quality properties that meet the evolving logistical needs of traditional and omnichannel businesses,” says Tom Arnold, head of Americas Real Estate at ADIA. “The Exeter …
LEAWOOD, KAN. — AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC), a movie theater chain based in Leawood, has completed its acquisition of Starplex Cinemas for approximately $175 million. Starplex owns 33 theaters spanning 346 screens in 12 states, primarily in small and mid-size markets. “We are very pleased to welcome the Starplex Cinemas theaters into the AMC family, as we expand our guest experience strategy into new markets,” says Craig Ramsey, interim CEO of AMC. Included among the theater circuit are 90 recliner-reseated screens, with AMC planning to convert an additional 80 screens to recliner seating over the next several years. Per the Department of Justice’s recommendation, AMC will divest two Starplex theaters as part of the transaction — Berlin 12 in Berlin, Conn., and East Windsor Town Center Plaza 10 in East Windsor, N.J. “This transaction adds a number of complementary non-urban and suburban markets to our portfolio, allowing us to serve a wider spectrum of guests while broadening our movie going appeal,” says Ramsey. “We believe that through this transaction, we’ve created value for guests and shareholders through the delivery of innovative new amenities, which is expected to deliver incremental revenue, earnings and operating cash flow and to position …
Wednesday’s decision by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) — the branch of the Federal Reserve Board that determines monetary policy — to raise the benchmark federal funds rate for the first time in almost 10 years raises an important question: What impact will this increase have on commercial real estate? The rate hike will have a “minimal impact,” predicts Jeffrey Rinkov, CEO of commercial real estate brokerage firm Lee & Associates. “Based on a strengthening and stabilizing economy, I believe this was a logical move by the Fed,” says Rinkov. “While the Fed is driven by data, I think this signifies its belief that the economy can operate in an environment with a normalizing monetary policy. Relevant to real estate investment, long-term interest rates should remain at historical low levels, which will continue to incentivize investment.” Prior to Wednesday, the Fed kept the federal funds rate — an overnight interbank lending rate — in a band between zero and 0.25 percent since December 2008, when it lowered rates in the midst of the Great Recession. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet Yellen announced that the FOMC had voted to raise the federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point …
Publicly traded REITs have consistently traded at a discount to net asset value (NAV) since the beginning of April, according to SNL Financial. As of Dec. 14, the SNL U.S. REIT Equity Index was trading at a 6.4 percent discount to NAV. In the retail REIT sector, Inland Real Estate Corp. (NYSE: IRC) traded at a 12.3 percent discount to NAV as of Dec. 14. In fact, IRC has been trading at a discount to NAV since early February of this year the data shows. Against that backdrop, IRC announced Tuesday that it had entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by real estate funds managed by New York City-based DRA Advisors LLC (DRA) for approximately $2.3 billion, including the assumption of existing debt. IRC owns and operates open-air neighborhood, community and power shopping centers located in the central and southeastern United States. As of Sept. 30, IRC owned interests in 135 shopping centers (or retail assets) containing approximately 15 million square feet of leasable space. Under the terms of the agreement, DRA-managed funds will acquire all issued and outstanding common stock of IRC for $10.60 per share in cash. Following the completion of the acquisition, Oak Brook, Ill.-based …
BOSTON — Union Investment Real Estate, a German investor, has agreed to purchase The Godfrey Hotel Boston from a joint venture of Oxford Capital Group and an affiliate of Walton Street Capital for $180 million. The Godfrey Hotel Boston is a 242-room hotel located in the city’s Downtown Crossing neighborhood scheduled to open in January 2016. Under a sale lease/management back transaction, the sellers will manage the hotel once opened. The hotel is situated in Boston’s business district near the seaport. Downtown Boston is in the midst of a transformation, as reflected in a number of new high-rise residential and retail developments as well as significant refurbishments of office buildings, apartments and retail properties. The Godfrey will offer amenities including George Howell Coffee, a fitness center, a soon-to-be-announced partnership with a local restaurant group, and an executive boardroom. “We are confident in the future success of The Godfrey and that the property, brand and management platform will benefit from the transaction,” says John Rutledge, founder, president and CEO of Oxford Capital Group. The Godfrey Hotel Boston transaction is structured as a 25-year lease covering 100 percent of the total rentable area of 135,000 square feet based on an annual fixed rent. …
OAK BROOK, ILL. — Inland Real Estate Corp. (NYSE: IRC) has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by real estate funds managed by New York City-based DRA Advisors LLC (DRA) for approximately $2.3 billion, including the assumption of existing debt. IRC is a publicly traded REIT focused on owning and operating open-air neighborhood, community and power shopping centers located in the central and southeastern United States. As of Sept. 30, IRC owned interests in 135 shopping centers (or retail assets) containing approximately 15 million square feet of leasable space. Under the terms of the agreement, DRA-managed funds will acquire all issued and outstanding common stock of IRC for $10.60 per share in cash. Following the completion of the acquisition, Oak Brook-based IRC will become a privately held real estate investment trust. “The board has been focused on the options available to address the long-term discount at which IRC’s shares have traded versus private market valuations and its shopping center REIT peers,” says Thomas D’Arcy, non-executive chairman of IRC. “The board unanimously believes this all-cash offer is the best course of action to address this valuation gap and provide our stockholders with strong relative value for their investment.” The …
Related Cos., Oxford Properties Receive $5B in Financing for Hudson Yards Project in New York
by Nellie Day
NEW YORK CITY — Related Cos. and Oxford Properties Group have received more than $5 billion in financing for an office tower and retail components within its Hudson Yards development in New York. The financing will support a flagship office tower at 30 Hudson Yards, in addition to a 1-million-square-foot retail project called Shops and Restaurants at Hudson Yards. Wells Fargo is purchasing about 500,000 square feet of office space at the project. The bank will use this space for its Wells Fargo Securities’ New York headquarters. It will occupy the space in 2020. Time Warner also acquired more than 1.3 million square feet of commercial office and broadcast studio space in 30 Hudson Yards. It will use the space as its corporate headquarters. Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts (KKR) has also joined the building’s roster. The project is now fully committed. The 90-story tower will stand 1,296 feet tall. Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates is designing the 2.6 million-square-foot building, which will feature river-to-river panoramic views, the city’s highest outdoor observation deck and a direct connection to the new No. 7 subway extension. Deutsche Bank served as lead arranger and administrative agent, while Bank of China, Crédit Agricole and Industrial and …
Even though the current U.S. economic expansion has lasted 20 months longer than the post-World War II average of 58 months between recessions, Kennesaw State University economics professor Roger Tutterow does not expect a recession in 2016. Tutterow outlined the reasons he expects economic growth to continue for at least the next 12 months during a speech at the InterFace Multifamily Southeast conference at the Westin Buckhead in Atlanta on Thursday, Dec. 3. “When we think about the economy, from 2007 to 2013 we went through a credit crunch and a correction in housing and commercial real estate almost without precedent in my professional life,” Tutterow said. “We stand here today, and as hard as it is to believe, we are now halfway through the seventh year of this economic recovery. By the book, the recession of 2008-09 ended in June of 2009.” The current economic expansion has lasted 78 months, but it has been the weakest recovery since World War II, according to the Wall Street Journal, which points out that while there have been highs and lows in individual quarters, overall the economy has failed to break out of its roughly 2 percent growth pattern for more than …