YOUNTVILLE, CALIF. — Ashford Hospitality Prime Inc. (NYSE: AHP) has closed on the acquisition of the leasehold interest in the Bardessono Hotel and Spa in Yountville, located 60 miles north of San Francisco, for $85 million. Ashford Prime completed the deal through a stock offering, cash, and $2 million in key money. Remington Lodging will manage the luxury property, which includes 62 rooms and suites. The purchase price represents an estimated 12-month capitalization rate of 5.2 percent on net operating income and an estimated forward 12-month EBITDA multiple of 16.5x. On a trailing 12-month basis as of May 31, the Bardessono Hotel and Spa achieved revenue per available room (RevPAR) of $554.01, with 81.9 percent occupancy and an average daily rate of $676.12, according to unaudited financial data provided by the undisclosed sellers. Yountville Investors LLC developed the property on land owned by the Bardessono family, according to The Press Democrat, a local newspaper based in Santa Rosa, Calif. “We are extremely excited to add this trophy asset to our portfolio,” says Monty Bennett, chairman and CEO of Ashford Hospitality Prime. “The award-winning Bardessono Hotel and Spa provides us with a foothold in Napa Valley, one of the strongest and …
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BOSTON — Skanska USA has broken ground on a new 17-story office tower located at 121 Seaport Blvd. in Boston’s Seaport district. The New York-based developer and construction firm will invest $281 million of its own capital in the project. The Class A tower will feature two floors of retail space and two below-grade parking levels. Skanska USA is targeting LEED Platinum certification for the project, which will span roughly 400,000 square feet. The office building will be situated across the street from Seaport Square Green, a neighborhood park. Upon completion, tenants of the tower will have direct access to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Silver Line, a bus rapid transit system. Skanska expects to complete the office building in the first quarter of 2018. Skanska USA Building is the construction manager for the project. The construction firm indicates it will add a value of $150 million in order bookings for the third quarter of 2015. Skanska USA comprises four business units: Skanska USA Building, which specializes in building construction; Skanska USA Civil, specialized in civil infrastructure; Skanska Infrastructure Development North America, which develops public-private partnerships; and Skanska USA Commercial Development, which develops commercial projects in select U.S. markets. …
CHICAGO — Demographic shifts such as the impact of retiring Baby Boomers and the rise of the Millennial generation will likely have the most significant impact on real estate for the long term, according to The Counselors of Real Estate (CRE), which recently released its 2015-16 Top 10 Issues Affecting Real Estate. Many of the issues on the list have strong interrelationships and affect multiple property sectors. Excess capital supply — funds largely flowing into U.S. real estate purchases from foreign institutional and private investors, and rising interest rates — was ranked second and third on the list. “This list reflects a higher degree of economic uncertainty than in years past,” says Noah Shlaes, 2015 CRE chair. “Anticipation of rising interest rates, continued currency devaluation, and excess capital flowing into the United States are all on the minds of our membership. Combine this with a growing wage gap and major changes in demographics, and we’ve got a lot to think about this year.” The CRE 2015-16 Top 10 issues Affecting Real Estate 1. Demographic Shifts: Two key demographics groups, large numbers of retiring “Baby Boomers” (born between 1946-1964) and the next large population wave, the Millennials (born between 1980-2000), will have …
WILMER, TEXAS — Port Logistics Realty (PLR), a Texas-based real estate company, has begun construction on Phase 1 of Southport Logistics Park, a $500 million industrial project and one of the largest of its kind currently under development in the U.S. The project is a joint venture with Diamond Realty Investments (DRI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corp. During the initial development phase, PLR and DRI will invest $22 million for infrastructure including a 2.5 mile interior road system, subsurface utilities, underground electrical distribution and a self-contained water distribution system with an elevated water tower. When complete, the project will span 530 acres and 9 million square feet. “The activity surrounding South Dallas is a testament to both the North Texas region and the South Dallas submarket,” says Rob Huthnance, president of PLR Development. “We are investing in an infrastructure project that is unparalleled in scope and quality and will be a meaningful differentiator within the Inland Port area of South Dallas.” PLR will build five buildings totaling over 3.8 million square feet in Phase 1. The first two buildings, 1.1 million square feet and 400,000 square feet, respectively, are scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2016. The …
NEW YORK — A joint venture comprised of Fisher Brothers, Steve Witkoff and New Valley LLC has received a $445 million construction loan for 111 Murray Street, a 58-story residential condominium project that is set to break ground in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood this month. The construction loan is from a group that consists of Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies, M&T Bank and Deutsche Bank. According to the Wall Street Journal, the total cost of the condo development is $820 million. The project, which is expected to be completed in 2018, will stand nearly 800 feet tall. The flared-glass tower by architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox will house 157 residences designed by David Mann and include 20,000 square feet of amenity spaces designed by David Rockwell. Edmund Hollander will design both a private garden for residents and an adjacent 10,000-square-foot landscaped plaza. According to the Wall Street Journal, the development group has already demolished the St. John’s University building previously found on the site. The group purchased the site in 2013 for $223 million. The 157 units range from one-bedrooms to full-floor penthouses. The amenities will include two pools, a steam room, private dining room and the garden featuring a 15-foot …
WASHINGTON — Office rents in the second quarter of 2015 increased in more than 70 percent of markets in the United States, according to a soon-to-be-released report by global commercial real estate services firm DTZ. U.S. office rents increased 2.7 percent in the second quarter of this year compared to a year ago, the strongest quarterly gain since peaking in 2008, the report found. Office rents rose in 59 out of the 80 metros tracked, and the construction pipeline continued to expand. U.S. markets absorbed 20.1 million square feet of office space in the second quarter of 2015, up 15.3 percent from the same quarter one year ago, DTZ has discovered. Demand for office space continues to outpace new development, which pushed vacancy rates down 20 basis points from the first quarter of 2015 to 14.2 percent in the second quarter of 2015. In the second quarter of 2015, there was 107.7 million square feet of new office construction, up 36 percent compared to the same quarter one year ago. Of the 80 metropolitan areas tracked by DTZ, 68 of them reported occupancy gains. “Net absorption is solid and picking up steam, which links directly to office-using job growth and …
AURORA, COLO. — Steadfast Apartment REIT has purchased two apartment communities in the Denver submarket of Aurora for a total of $91 million. The acquisition includes the 304-unit Bella Terra at City Center and the 360-unit Hearthstone at City Center. The garden-style Bella Terra is located at 15400 E. Evans Ave. It was built in 1980 and is currently 98 percent occupied. The community contains a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom homes that contain an average of 676 square feet and an average rent of $917. Common-area amenities include a clubhouse, fitness center, swimming pool with spa, business center, outdoor basketball court, playground and a picnic area with barbecue stations. Hearthstone is located at 932 S. Helena Way. It was built in 1984. The community contains a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 720 square feet to 1,501 square feet. Average in-place rents are $1,038. The property also includes a fitness center, swimming pool, business center and a playground with a basketball court. Both properties will undergo significant interior and exterior renovations. The assets are situated near the Denver Tech Center Business Corridor, Denver’s largest employment hub, which contains more than 40 million square feet of …
PRINCETON, N.J. and NEW YORK CITY — Chambers Street Properties (NYSE: CSG) has agreed to buy Gramercy Property Trust Inc. (NYSE: GPT) in an all-stock deal valued at about $5.7 billion. The merger will create the largest industrial and office net lease REIT, according to the firms. The Board of Trustees of Chambers Street and the Board of Directors of Gramercy have unanimously approved the merger agreement and the transaction. Per the agreement, Gramercy shareholders will receive 3.18 shares of Chambers Street for each share of Gramercy common stock they own. Upon closing, Chambers Street shareholders will own about 56 percent and Gramercy shareholders will own about 44 percent of the combined company. The stock-for-stock transaction is expected to be tax free to shareholders. The combined portfolio includes 288 properties and 52 million square feet of space in major markets throughout the U.S. and Europe. About 85 percent of the merged company’s real estate assets will be in target markets such as New York/New Jersey, Dallas, Baltimore/Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and South Florida. The portfolio will have an average lease term of more than seven years, with 43 percent of the tenants being investment grade. “This strategic combination is the …
FHFA Taking Steps to Ensure Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Don’t Surpass Their $30B Financing Caps in 2015
by John Nelson
After lending at a furious pace during the first quarter, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s multifamily business divisions were in serious jeopardy of exceeding annual loan production of $30 billion apiece — the mandated cap for the agencies in 2015. Fannie Mae provided $10.4 billion of multifamily loans in the first quarter alone, while Freddie Mac nearly matched that total with $10 billion. Compared to the first quarter of 2014 when Fannie’s multifamily loan volume was $3.5 billion and Freddie’s was $3 billion, the agencies have posted a year-over-year growth of 197 percent and 233 percent, respectively. Due to the heavy deal volume already generated by the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) this year, the consensus among capital markets experts was that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) — which regulates their activity — would raise the cap. Instead, in early May the FHFA revised its list of exclusions, thereby expanding the types of multifamily properties that don’t count against the lending cap. The FHFA’s newly revised exclusions now include properties with units affordable to renters at 60 percent of area median income (AMI) in all markets, 80 percent of AMI in “high-cost” markets, 100 percent of AMI in “very high-cost” …
NEW YORK CITY — AIG (NYSE: AIG) and Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO) have provided a $725 million loan to developers JDS Development and Property Markets Group for the construction of a 90-story residential tower at the former site of the Steinway & Sons piano showroom. The 1,438-foot-tall tower at 111 W. 57th St., which will be one of the tallest residential buildings in the Western hemisphere, is scheduled for completion in 2018. The tower will be just 60 feet wide, and will include 60 condos ranging from two to five bedrooms. According to Crain’s New York Business, the entire property will cost $1 billion to construct. AIG is the senior lender, and Apollo is providing a mezzanine loan. Construction began on the site last year as a foundation was poured and an existing building was renovated. AIG’s debt on the project is approximately $400 million, while Apollo’s loan is $325 million, according to media sources. Kasowitz Benson Torres’s transactional real estate practice group represented JDS Development and Property Markets Group in closing the loan. “Opportunities like this are why we choose to become real estate lawyers — a skyline-altering project that the Kasowitz team worked on at every stage of …