REBusinessOnline.com is conducting a brief online survey of brokers, lenders and the owner/developer/manager community to gauge market expectations for 2016, and we welcome your participation. This survey should only take a few minutes to complete. The results will appear as a news feature story in the January 2016 issues of the regional publications. Questions cover a variety of topics, ranging from the outlook for investment sales and leasing activity in 2016 to development and lending opportunities to interest rates. Note: We prefer to attribute comments we quote from open-ended responses, however you may respond anonymously if you prefer. To take our 2016 broker survey, please click here To take our 2016 developer/owner/manager survey, please click here To take our 2016 lender survey, please click here Thanks for your participation! Matt Valley Editorial Director of Regional Real Estate Publications France Media, Inc.
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SAN FRANCISCO — Affiliated companies of Mirae Asset Global Investments, a financial services company based in Seoul, South Korea, have acquired the Fairmont San Francisco Hotel for $450 million. A partnership of funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management and Woodridge Capital along with Kingdom Holding Co. were the sellers of the historic hotel located in San Francisco’s Nob Hill neighborhood. Mirae is a financial services company that introduced the first mutual funds to Korea in 1998. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, with more than 70 hotels globally, will continue to operate the property under a long-term management agreement. Oaktree and Woodridge purchased the hotel in May 2012 and made improvements through a renovation plan. The Fairmont San Francisco opened in 1907. Over its 108-year history, it has hosted every U.S. President since William Howard Taft as well as several foreign dignitaries, heads of state and entertainers. Tony Bennett’s first performance of the song “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” was performed at the hotel. New York architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, along with Julia Morgan, designed the building in the Beaux-Arts architectural style. With 592 guest rooms and over 55,000 square feet of conference and function space, the hotel …
SAN DIEGO — Funds affiliated with CVC Capital Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) have agreed to jointly acquire San Diego-based Petco Animal Supplies Inc. for approximately $4.6 billion. A group of investors led by TPG and Leonard Green & Partners is selling the pet supplies retailer, which operates more than 1,400 locations across the United States, Mexico and Puerto Rico. “This investment aligns well with CPPIB’s strategy to invest in leading retail businesses with strong omnichannel capabilities,” says Shane Feeney, managing director and head of direct private equity for CPPIB. “Petco has long-term relationships with leading pet food vendors and a significant presence in the fast-growing e-commerce channel.” The acquisition is expected to close in early 2016. Goldman Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are acting as financial advisors, and Ropes & Gray acted as legal counsel to Petco. Barclays, Citigroup and Moelis acted as lead financial advisors to CVC and CPPIB. Barclays, Citigroup, Royal Bank of Canada, Credit Suisse, Nomura and Macquarie provided committed debt financing to CVC and CPPIB. Gibson Dunn acted as legal counsel to CVC and CPPIB. Torys LLP also separately advised CPPIB. Founded in 1981, CVC is a private equity …
New construction starts in October advanced 13 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $591.1 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Much of October’s gain for total construction was due to a sharp rebound by nonresidential building, with additional support coming from a moderate upturn for housing as the result of further strengthening by multifamily housing. During the first 10 months of 2015, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were $551.9 billion, up 10 percent from the same period a year ago. October’s data raised the Dodge Index to 125, compared to 111 in September. “The healthy increase for construction starts in October alleviates concern about a stalling expansion that may have arisen with the sluggish activity in August and September,” stated Robert Murray, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics. Nonresidential building in October jumped 32 percent to $200.7 billion after a weak September. The commercial building categories as a group soared 49 percent in October. Store construction surged 56 percent, pushed upward by the $561 million expansion and renovation of the Westfield Century City Mall in Los Angeles. Office construction advanced 45 percent, helped by the start of two large data center projects — the …
BOSTON — A joint venture between Oxford Properties Group and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management has received $648 million in acquisition financing. The funds will be used to purchase two interconnected, Class A office properties located at 500 Boylston and 222 Berkeley streets in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. The seller is Blackstone Group LP. The portfolio includes a total of 1.3 million square feet of office and retail space. The properties are situated between Copley Square and the Boston Public Garden. They are also near the Massachusetts Turnpike, the Green Line subway and Back Bay Station. Hines developed the 25-story 500 Boylston property in 1989. The 22-story 222 Berkeley was completed in 1991. New York Life Real Estate Investors and co-lender TIAA-CREF Global Real Estate provided the seven-year loan. Eastdil Secured arranged the financing. “We are very pleased to provide financing for this outstanding asset,” says Eric Becher, senior director at New York Life Real Estate Investors. “The properties’ street presence combined with their flexible floor plates, panoramic views, floor-to-ceiling windows and high level of finishes makes them two of the most desirable office buildings in Boston.” Toronto-based Oxford Properties Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of …
CBRE Global Investors has acquired Midtown I & II on behalf of Korea Post. According to Real Capital Analytics, CBRE acquired the property from a joint venture between VEREIT and American Realty Construction Inc. for $260 million. Midtown I & II, also known as AT&T Midtown Center, are two Class A office buildings located in the Innovation District of Midtown Atlanta. The buildings total 794,110 square feet and are fully leased to AT&T. “Atlanta boasts a diverse economy and continues to attract major corporate users,” said Jeffrey Torto, senior managing director of the U.S. Managed Accounts Group of CBRE. “Atlanta is quickly becoming a technology and data center hub for companies looking to relocate or expand outside of the traditional technological hubs such as Silicon Valley and Austin, Texas.” AT&T Midtown Center includes the 512,101-square-foot, 16-story Midtown I building at 754 Peachtree St. N.E. and the 282,009-square-foot, eight-story building at 725 W. Peachtree St. N.E. The office buildings feature a conference and training center, restaurants, a coffee shop and a fitness center. The property also includes a nine-story, 2,459-pace parking garage, which also offers 13,257 square feet of ground-floor retail space and AT&T’s 5,000-square-foot Drive Studio. The Drive Studio is …
CHICAGO — DePaul University and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority have broken ground on a 10,000-seat, $165 million basketball arena in Chicago known as the McCormick Place Event Center. The 300,000-square-foot Event Center will serve as a key component of the McCormick Place Entertainment District, and, in addition to hosting home games by the DePaul Blue Demons, will also host entertainment, large-scale conventions and trade shows. Both DePaul and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority are contributing $82.5 million to the construction of the arena, while the city contributed approximately $40 million in tax increment financing funds to acquire the land, according to Crain’s Chicago Business and The DePaulia, DePaul’s student newspaper. The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority awarded New Haven, Conn.-based Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects the $7.2 million design contract in 2013, according to Crain’s. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Pelli Clarke Pelli CEO Lori Healey, Chairman Jack Greenberg of Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, DePaul University President Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, and Chicago Alderman Pat Dowell all attended the groundbreaking. The arena occupies a full Chicago city block, with landscaped setbacks at the corner of Cermak Road and Indiana Avenue, and a spacious plaza for spectators to congregate before and after events. The arching roof with rising arcs will be lit in the evenings. The fully transparent main entrance is comprised of lightweight glass walls. DePaul has used Allstate Arena in suburban …
New York’s 5th Avenue Has Highest Retail Rents in the World, According to Cushman & Wakefield
by Jeff Shaw
New York City’s 5th Avenue has once again topped the list of most expensive retail rents in the world with an average of $3,500 per square foot annually, according to research by Cushman & Wakefield. Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay placed a distant second, with rents averaging $2,400 per square foot. The research comes from “Main Streets Across the World,” a research report that Cushman & Wakefield releases annually. It tracks over 500 of the top retail streets in the world by prime rental value. Across the U.S., retail rents increased 6.9 percent year-over-year. Seattle experienced the sharpest increase at 27 percent, though at $70 per square foot, is still the least expensive U.S. market tracked by the report. Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles also saw a dramatic rent spike — 23 percent — which maintained the street’s second-place finish in the U.S. with rents of $800 per square foot. Other U.S. markets singled out for strong growth were Chicago (Michigan Avenue), Miami (Palm Beach) and San Francisco (Union Square). “In San Francisco, a combination of a bustling tourism market — the city is one of the top international destinations — and an improving local economy has led to strong luxury …
NEW YORK CITY — W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE: WPC), a New York-based REIT, has acquired a portfolio of six Courtyard by Marriott hotels for $52 million. The portfolio is net leased to a wholly owned subsidiary of Marriott International Inc. The leases have a remaining term of approximately 11 years and include fixed rent escalations. The deal was announced just days after Marriott agreed to buy Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide for $12.2 billion. The acquisition will create the world’s largest hotel company with 30 brands under its belt. The portfolio has shown growth in average daily rate, occupancy and revenue per available room (RevPAR), and has generated consistent operating margins and rent coverage, according to Marriott. In addition, the company says each hotel within the portfolio has received high guest satisfaction ratings. “The acquisition of the Courtyard by Marriott portfolio presented the opportunity to acquire six established operating properties with strong performance,” says Jason Fox, president of W. P. Carey. “The steady, predictable cash flows and annual rent escalations, coupled with the strength of Marriott International’s brand and credit, made this an ideal addition to the W. P. Carey portfolio.” In business since 1957, Marriott International Inc. is …
NEW YORK CITY — Northwind Group and Newmark Holdings have acquired 40-42 Exchange Place, a 20-story office building with ground-floor retail in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District. Eastern Consolidated arranged the $115 million sale. The office building was on the market for the first time in 25 years. “This office building is a great value-add opportunity in Lower Manhattan, which is undergoing a significant renaissance and has become a thriving, 24/7 live/work/play neighborhood,” says Jason Marin, director of Eastern Consolidated. Marin and former Eastern broker Lipa Lieberman represented the seller, Weiss Realty, in the transaction. Lieberman and former Eastern broker Abie Kassin represented the buyer. Gary Meese, senior director of financial services at Eastern, was the analyst for the deal. At one point the tallest building in Lower Manhattan, the 250,000-square-foot property is located at the southeast corner of Exchange Place and William Street, one block from Wall Street. The corner property includes 18-foot ceilings on the first floor, 14-foot ceilings on the 2nd floor and more than 11-foot ceilings throughout the rest of the building. Originally built as a neo-Renaissance residential building in 1896 and ultimately converted to office, the building has two primary entrances — one on Exchange Place and one …