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CHICAGO — John Hancock, the U.S. division of Manulife Financial Corp., has purchased the 55 West Monroe office tower in Chicago’s Central Loop for $244 million. The Hearn Co. and Mount Kellett Capital Management LP had owned the 40-story, approximately 804,000-square-foot building through a joint venture since 2011. “When we purchased 55 West Monroe, we saw a great opportunity to transform the building into a stable, core asset,” says Stephen Hearn, president and CEO of The Hearn Co., “and we’re tremendously proud of the value we have added through renovations and amenity enhancements.” 55 West Monroe was designed by world-renowned architect Helmut Jahn and built in 1981. The building is LEED Gold-certified and located on the southwest corner of Monroe and Dearborn streets, providing access to seven Chicago Transit Authority “L” lines. According to Hearn, when The Hearn Co. and Mount Kellett purchased 55 West Monroe, it was 68 percent occupied. Today, the Class A tower is 91.6 percent leased. 55 West Monroe was renovated in 2003 and named office building of the year by the Chicago Building Owners and Managers Association in 2007. Jones Lang LaSalle served as broker for the transaction. John Hancock’s real estate portfolio consists primarily …

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Family Center Fort Union

SALT LAKE CITY — Excel Trust Inc. (NYSE: EXL), a retail real estate investment trust (REIT), has purchased three shopping centers in the Salt Lake City area from DDR Corp. (NYSE: DDR) for approximately $223 million. The three properties total approximately 1.8 million square feet. “We are pleased to reach an agreement with the team at Excel and appreciate their high level of collaboration to effectuate an off-market transaction that accrues to the benefit of both parties,” says Daniel Hurwitz, CEO of DDR, which is also a retail-focused REIT. According to the two parties, DDR has a desire to exit the Salt Lake City market and Excel wants to expand its presence in a market where it has an established corporate and operating presence. The properties included in the transaction are: · The Family Center at Fort Union · The Family Center at Orem and · The Family Center at Taylorsville As a part of the transaction, Excel Trust has sold The Family Center at Taylorsville to Dallas-based TriGate Capital. LUCESCU REALTY represented Excel in both sale transactions and dealt directly with DDR and TriGate Capital. “We value our relationship with DDR and are pleased to announce this transaction. Utah …

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11 Dupont Circle, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — First Potomac Realty Trust (NYSE: FPO) has acquired a 155,713-square-foot office building in Washington, D.C., for $89 million. The nine-story building is located at 11 Dupont Circle NW in the city’s Dupont Circle neighborhood. The fully leased property houses 15 tenants and 11,692 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Notable tenants include Fresenius Medical Care – Dupont Circle Dialysis, Maggio + Kattar law firm and Books-A-Million. Dupont Circle is known as one of the more vibrant neighborhoods of Washington, D.C., with numerous retail, dining, entertainment and hospitality options. These services are joined by many of the world’s embassies on Embassy Row, including Morocco, Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Uzbekistan, Jamaica and the Republic of Namibia. The office building is also one block from the Dupont Circle Metro station on the Red Line. First Potomac now owns seven high-quality office buildings within the District for a total of more than 1 million square feet. The seller of 11 Dupont Circle was not named. “The acquisition of 11 Dupont Circle continues First Potomac’s strategic initiative to acquire, own and operate high-quality office properties in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area,” says Nicholas Smith, First Potomac’s chief investment officer. “The property has a diverse …

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Post Luminaria NYC

NEW YORK — Post Properties Inc. (NYSE: PPS) has closed the sale of its Post Luminaria and Post Toscana apartment communities in New York City for a total price of $270 million. Post Luminaria was completed in 2002. The property consists of 138 apartment units and approximately 9,400 square feet of retail space. The property was owned in a consolidated joint venture in which Post held a 68 percent interest. Post Toscana was completed in 2003. The property includes 199 apartment units and approximately 11,700 square feet of retail space. The name of the buyer was not released. Eastdil Secured acted as broker in the transaction. A portion of the net proceeds from the sales was used to prepay $82.6 million of secured mortgage indebtedness encumbering the assets and related prepayment premiums totaling $13 million. After expenses, Post expects to retain $141 million of net cash proceeds from the sales. In the third quarter of this year, Post expects to report a net gain on the sale of the assets of approximately $127 million, or $2.33 per share, and a loss on the early extinguishment of debt of $12.3 million, or $0.23 per share. The loss related to debt prepayment …

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17141-Collins-Ave-Miami

SUNNY ISLES, FLA. — Cohen Financial has secured a $167.6 million construction loan for Muse, a planned high-end, multifamily property in Sunny Isles, located in northeast Miami. The condominiums will be located at 17141 Collins Ave. Kevin O’Grady, Daniel Sheehan and Eric McGlynn of Cohen Financial secured the loan with Delaware Life Holdings, a life insurance company owned by shareholders of Guggenheim Partners, a global investment and advisory firm. Property Markets Group (PMG) and S2 Development are the developers for the project. “We are very pleased to have arranged this loan on behalf of PMG,” says O’Grady. “PMG is an extremely sophisticated and experienced developer, and Muse is very much a reflection of that expertise. Muse is already demonstrating success in sales, and we can’t wait to see what it looks like when completed. We are also pleased to further the construction lending program we have structured with Delaware Life Holdings.” The 50-story Muse property will feature 60 feet of ocean frontage and unobstructed views. The condominiums will include 68 units with a variety of floor plans, which range from two to five bedrooms starting at 2,360 square feet. In addition, Muse will consist of two-full floor penthouse units with …

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Real estate services provider Cassidy Turley has entered into an agreement to be purchased by an affiliate of DTZ Investment Holdings, an investment consortium backed by TPG, PAG Asia Capital and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, for an undisclosed price. The combination of Cassidy Turley and DTZ, which will retain the DTZ brand, will create a company with revenues of more than $2.9 billion and more than 28,200 total employees. The acquisition of Cassidy Turley is expected to close on Dec. 31. TPG, PAG Asia Capital and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan are in the process of purchasing DTZ Investment Holdings, and that acquisition is expected to close around Oct. 31. “We are confident that this combination is an excellent cultural fit, as well as an opportunity to partner with a global brand,” says Cassidy Turley CEO Joseph Stettinius Jr. Brett White, former CEO of CBRE Group, is investing in the acquisition alongside the consortium and will be joining the board of directors once the DTZ transaction is completed. White will then become executive chairman of the new company in March 2015. Tod Lickerman will continue in his current role as Global CEO of DTZ, while Joe Stettinius …

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TAMPA, FLA. — Parkway Properties Inc. (NYSE: PKY) has reached an agreement to acquire three Class A office properties located in the Westshore submarket of Tampa. Corporate Center I, II, and III at International Plaza, which are adjacent to Parkway's Corporate Center IV at International Plaza, total approximately 974,000 square feet. HFF represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. As part of the same deal, Parkway has agreed to purchase 19 additional office properties located in six states totaling approximately 2.1 million square feet. The Orlando-based real estate investment trust (REIT) intends to sell these 19 properties, which are not consistent with Parkway's current investment strategy. Parkway plans to sell the assets either concurrently with, or within 12 months after, the acquisition of the Corporate Center assets. Parkway's gross purchase price for the entire portfolio is $475 million. Parkway expects the closing of the portfolio acquisition to occur during the fourth quarter of 2014. The Corporate Center assets have a combined occupancy of 69.7 percent, which is adjusted to reflect approximately 50,000 square feet of known move-outs during the next 12 months. “This transaction is an example of Parkway's ability to creatively structure a deal that will enable us to …

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ORLANDO — CNL Healthcare Properties has acquired a five-property portfolio of inpatient rehabilitation and specialty hospitals throughout the United States for $131.1 million. The properties are located in four states and contain a total of 297,110 square feet. The transaction includes a 58,353-square-foot specialty hospital outside of Dallas that is leased to Victory Medical Center Mid-Cities LP; an 86,128-square-foot specialty hospital and medical office building in Beaumont, Texas, that is leased to Victory Medical Center Beaumont LP; a 53,449-square-foot inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Oklahoma City that is leased to Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital; a 53,260-square-foot inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Las Vegas that is leased to Desert Canyon Rehabilitation Hospital; and a 45,920-square-foot inpatient rehabilitation hospital outside South Bend, Ind., that is leased to Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center – South Bend Campus Inc. “This addition to our medical portfolio gives us the opportunity to invest in two specialty hospitals and three inpatient rehabilitation hospitals that will diversify and add to our growing number of healthcare assets,” says Kevin Maddron, CNL’s senior vice president. “The properties have highly qualified tenants in place that are focused on providing patients with the best possible treatment and care.” Lincoln Harris CSG and Holladay Properties Services …

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OAK BROOK, Ill. — Inland REIT Inc. has signed an agreement to purchase a 15-property portfolio of retail centers located in eight states. The portfolio, which totals 2 million square feet, was purchased from Kite Realty Group Trust for $318 million. The transaction is expected to close in two tranches on or before Dec. 15, 2014 and March 16, 2015. The properties are a combination of grocery and power centers which collectively are 96 percent leased to 174 tenants. Inland Real Estate Acquisitions Inc. assisted Inland Income Trust with identifying the portfolio and negotiating the purchase of the properties. The portfolio was purchased at the same effective cap rate as the 60-property portfolio of Inland Diversified that was acquired by Kite Realty in a merger with Inland Diversified earlier this year. The following properties will be included in the transaction: • Eastside Junction, Athens, Alabama • Harvest Square, Harvest, Alabama? • Prattville Town Center, Prattville, Alabama? • Fairgrounds Crossing, Hot Springs, Arkansas • Heritage Square, Conyers, Georgia? • Regal Court, Shreveport, Louisiana? • The Shoppes at Branson Hills, Branson, Missouri? • Branson Hills Plaza, Branson, Missouri? • Shoppes at Hawk Ridge, Lake St. Louis, Missouri? • Whispering Ridge, Omaha, Nebraska? …

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NEW YORK — SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) and its joint venture partner, The Moinian Group, have entered into an agreement to sell 180 Maiden Lane for $470 million. JV Murray Hill Properties and Clarion Partners will purchase the Manhattan office tower. The sale is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2014, subject to customary closing conditions. “We are very pleased with the outcome of our investment in 180 Maiden Lane,” says Isaac Zion, co-chief investment officer of SL Green. “ It represents the most recent example of what we believe is our unsurpassed ability to find intrinsic value in an asset and to generate significant returns for our shareholders, as evidenced by our internal rate of return on the investment of approximately 16 percent. The monetization of our equity in this transaction will allow us to redeploy capital into other value-creating opportunities.” 180 Maiden Lane is located in the heart of the Financial District with access to all major subway lines. The tower has views of the New York Harbor, Statue of Liberty, South Street Seaport, the East River and Midtown. The building includes a state of the art cafeteria, a four-story glass enclosed atrium and …

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