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BETHESDA, MD. — RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE: RLJ) has entered into a definitive purchase agreement with Hyatt Hotels Corp. (NYSE: H) to acquire a portfolio of 10 hotels totaling 1,560 rooms. A Hyatt affiliate will continue to manage the hotels under new management agreements. The portfolio, which is located primarily on the West Coast, is expected to be acquired for a total purchase price of approximately $313 million. RLJ, a publicly traded hotel real estate investment trust (REIT), intends to spend approximately $25 million in capital expenditures across the portfolio, the majority of which will be invested over the next 24 months. “We are excited about expanding our strategic relationship with Hyatt and increasing our presence on the West Coast,” says Thomas Baltimore, Jr., president and CEO of RLJ Lodging Trust. “Once completed, we will have acquired almost $900 million of assets since our IPO. This deal will be immediately accretive to the portfolio and will reinforce our stated goal of becoming the aggregator in this segment.” The portfolio consists of young, high-performing and well-situated properties, the majority of which were acquired by Hyatt in 2011. The hotels include: · The 142-room Hyatt House Cypress/Anaheim in Cypress, Calif. · The …

DALLAS — Ashford Hospitality Trust has received $200 million in debt refinancing for its Ashford Portfolio, a five-hotel portfolio that includes a total of 1,442 rooms throughout the U.S. The Embassy Suites Philadelphia Airport, Embassy Suites Walnut Creek, Hilton Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport Mall of America, Sheraton Mission Valley Diego Hotel and Sheraton Anchorage Hotel & Spa make up the portfolio. “The portfolio has seen a steady increase in ADR over the past 12 months, and it is well positioned to further capitalize upon operating revenue momentum as lodging market fundamentals continue to improve in 2014,” says Bill Grice, executive vice president of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Hotels & Hospitality Group. Grice secured financing for the REIT along with Mathew Comfort, the firm’s managing director. All five hotels are centrally located near transportation hubs, commerce centers and tourist attractions. The Embassy Suites Philadelphia Airport is less than a mile from Philadelphia International Airport and is also in close proximity to Citizens Bank Park, Lincoln Financial Field and the Wells Fargo Center. Embassy Suites Walnut Creek sits adjacent to a station of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in San Francisco’s East Bay, providing easy access to Lesher Center for Arts, Broadway Plaza …

WILMINGTON, DEL. — Metzler Real Estate, a Seattle-based investment firm, has sold the 305,000-square-foot Bellevue Park Corporate Center in Wilmington for $61.5 million. The Buccini/Pollin Group purchased the three-building complex. The Class A property is located at 300 Bellevue Parkway, in close proximity to U.S. Highway 95, and is leased to a number of financial services tenants, including CIGNA, Blackrock, BNY Mellon and MasterCard. “Our team’s disciplined approach to investment and asset management led to the successful sale of this asset,” says Don Wise, president and CEO of Metzler. “By securing long-term leases with credit-worthy national tenants, we stabilized project occupancy at 98 percent in a competitive market characterized by 88 percent occupancy.” Originally constructed in 1990, the complex offers views of the Delaware River and easy access to Bellevue State Park. The property is situated within 20 miles of the Philadelphia Central Business District and within 30 miles of Cherry Hill, N.J. Metzler sold the asset on behalf of sponsored fund Metzler US Real Estate Fund, which represents German institutional investors. Cassidy Turley represented the seller in the transaction. The Buccini/Pollin Group is a privately held, full-service real estate acquisition, development and management company with offices in Washington, D.C.; …

UNIVERSITY PARK, ILL. AND STREETSBORO, OHIO — W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE: WPC), a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT), has completed two acquisitions on behalf of CPA:18 – Global, one of its managed non-traded REIT affiliates. The total investment in the two assets, which are located in Illinois and Ohio, was approximately $92 million. The Illinois property is a distribution facility located on a 90.2-acre site outside Chicago in University Park. The property is leased to an affiliate of Solo Cup Co. The total acquisition price of the approximately 1.6 million-square-foot facility was $85 million. Solo Cup, founded in 1936 and recently acquired by Dart Container Corp., is the manufacturer of single-use products used to serve food and beverages for the consumer/retail, foodservice and international markets. The Ohio property is a 178,180-square-foot facility located less than 25 miles from Cleveland's central business district in Streetsboro. The facility is leased to Air Enterprises for a period of 15 years. The total acquisition price was approximately $7 million. Air Enterprises, founded in 1964, assembles and produces custom aluminum air handling equipment for commercial customers. “The two transactions closed on behalf of CPA:18 – Global demonstrate how W. P. Carey can …

ORLANDO, FLA. — The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) projects that originations of commercial and multifamily mortgages will grow to $300 billion in 2014, up from $280 billion in 2013, a 7 percent increase. The combination of relatively low interest rates (the 10-year Treasury yield stood at 2.72 percent at the close of business on Mon., Feb. 10), improving property fundamentals, a rebound in property prices and higher loan maturity volumes is expected to drive the increase in loan originations this year, says Jamie Woodwell, vice president of commercial real estate research for the Washington, D.C.-based MBA. The forecast was unveiled Monday afternoon at a press conference during the MBA’s Commercial Real Estate Finance/Multifamily Housing Conference & Expo. Joining Woodwell for the presentation was Michael Fratantoni, chief economist for the MBA, who offered a “cautious outlook” for the U.S. economy during the next year. More than 2,800 industry professionals are attending the conference, the most since 2007 and about 250 more than a year ago, according to MBA. The annual convention, which provides a networking opportunity for lenders, financial intermediaries and borrowers, also features panel discussions on timely topics such as trends in healthcare lending, the rejuvenated CMBS market and the …

LOS ANGELES — Kilroy Realty Corp. (NYSE: KRC), a publicly traded REIT, has acquired an approximate four-acre parcel near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood for $46 million. Kilroy purchased the site from The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Encompassing a full city block, the Academy site is one of the few remaining mixed-use development sites that exist in Hollywood. Shimoda Design Group has been tapped to design the project under the direction of executive architect House Robertson. The parcel was once intended for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. The site is located two blocks from the Red Line Metro stop, the subway line that runs between downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood. Kilroy plans to seek approval and obtain entitlements to develop a creative media mixed-use campus that will include approximately 475,000 square feet of low- and mid-rise office space, apartments, stores and restaurants with a total investment between $250 million and $300 million. “Hollywood will always be the entertainment capital of the world, yet for it to continue to attract and retain production, digital media and technology companies, we need to create environments that the modern work force wants and needs,” …

TAMPA, FLA. — Mall owner and developer Taubman Centers Inc. (NYSE: TCO) has sold a 49.9 percent interest in International Plaza in Tampa to a joint venture that includes TIAA-CREF and APG for $499 million. International Plaza is located adjacent to the Tampa International Airport at the center of the Tampa metroplex. The 1.2 million-square-foot upscale retail center, which opened in September 2001, includes anchors Dillard's, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom. The mall contains approximately 200 specialty stores and several restaurants.Taubman will continue to lease and manage the center and maintain an ownership interest. In December 2012, Taubman bought out CSAT LP’s stake in the shopping center for $437 million, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal, making Taubman the sole owner of International Plaza. The $499 million purchase price for the 49.9 percent interest in the center consists of $337 million of cash and approximately $162 million of beneficial interest in debt. Proceeds will be used to pay off Taubman’s loan on Stony Point Fashion Park in Richmond, Va., and for general corporate purposes. “We’re delighted to align ourselves with two great institutional partners,” says Robert Taubman, chairman, president and CEO of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Taubman Centers. “This transaction strengthens …

NEW YORK — Financial services and private investment group Greystone has arranged a $54.5 million bridge loan for the acquisition of The Hamptons Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing, a 280-bed skilled nursing facility in Southampton, N.Y. SentosaCare LLC, a skilled nursing care owner and operator with 17 facilities in New York City, purchased the asset. The bridge loan, provided by Greystone, includes interest-only payments and has a term of less than one year, at the end of which it will be converted into permanent FHA financing. Greystone has secured multiple loans on behalf of SentosaCare in the last decade. “We’re an organization that places high importance on relationships. After 10 years of working together, we believe Greystone shares the same values,” says Ben Philipson, principal of SentosaCare. “As a trusted partner, Greystone is well-versed in navigating the challenges of securing financing for skilled nursing facilities and senior housing, especially in regions where property values are quite high.” The Hamptons Center, which provides rehabilitation, medical, housekeeping, lab work and physical therapy services for residents, was 96.8 percent occupied at the time of the sale. The facility also offers specialized care in the areas including Alzheimer’s and dementia, amputation, multiple sclerosis and …

NEW YORK — Financial services and private investment group Greystone has arranged a $54.5 million bridge loan for the acquisition of The Hamptons Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing, a 280-bed skilled nursing facility in Southampton, N.Y. SentosaCare LLC, a skilled nursing care owner and operator with 17 facilities in New York City, purchased the asset. The bridge loan, provided by Greystone, includes interest-only payments and has a term of less than one year, at the end of which it will be converted into permanent FHA financing. Greystone has secured multiple loans on behalf of SentosaCare in the last decade. “We’re an organization that places high importance on relationships, and after 10 years of working together, we believe Greystone shares the same values,” says Ben Philipson, principal of SentosaCare. “As a trusted partner, Greystone is well-versed in navigating the challenges of securing financing for skilled nursing facilities and senior housing, especially in regions where property values are quite high.” The Hamptons Center, which provides rehabilitation, medical, housekeeping, lab work and physical therapy services for residents, was 96.8 percent occupied at the time of the sale. The facility also offers specialized care in the areas including Alzheimer’s and dementia, amputation, multiple sclerosis …