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NEW YORK CITY — The Moinian Group has unveiled plans for its 1.8 million-square-foot mixed-use tower, located on 11th Avenue between West 34th and West 35th streets, in the heart of New York City’s new West Side. The project is estimated to cost approximately $800 million, according to the New York Post. In addition to roughly 1.5 million square feet of Class A office and 22,000 square feet of retail, 3 Hudson Boulevard may include another 350,000 square feet of Class A office space, or up to 14 floors of luxury residences with a separate sky lobby entrance. The building will also provide 360-degree views of the Hudson River, Highline, Hudson Park & Boulevard and the Empire State Building. “For more than two decades The Moinian Group has believed that the new West Side would emerge as Manhattan’s most sought-after neighborhood,” says Joseph Moinian, founder of The Moinian Group. “Our new mixed-use building at 3 Hudson Boulevard will stand as the pinnacle of elegance along the new Hudson Boulevard & Park.” Office rents would start at $85 a square foot and exceed $100 a square foot for the tower’s upper floors, which would put it in a class with many …

NEW YORK CITY — Allied Partners has teamed up with private equity real estate firm Brickman to purchase the Brill Building, a historic office building located at 1619 Broadway in New York City, for approximately $185.5 million. For more than 60 years, the iconic building has housed offices for songwriters and entertainers, such as Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Neil Diamond and Paul Simon. The appraised value of the Times Square property is approximately $250 million. Eric Hadar, founder and chairman of Allied Partners, a private real estate investment, management and development firm, says the new ownership plans to reposition the 175,000-square-foot building. Allied Partners and Brickman will dedicate the first four floors of the 11-story property to retail, and the remaining retail and commercial space will undergo extensive renovations. “We’re thrilled that Eric Hadar and his team are giving the Brill Building the attention it deserves,” says Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance. “Their commitment to preserving one of New York City’s landmark buildings while supporting the ongoing development of the Times Square business community is very exciting for the city.” The new owners are in active negotiations with retailers and potential office tenants, according to Hadar. Allied …

SAN FRANCISCO — Northwestern Mutual has funded a $110 million mortgage loan for Foundry Square I, a 10-story 334,320-square-foot property in San Francisco's Central Business District. The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, which has provided benefits and services to Ohio's active and retired educators for more than 90 years, was the borrower. The terms of the loan, provided by Northwestern Mutual, were not disclosed. The pension fund purchased the property last year from AREA Property Partners for $240 million, according to Bloomberg. The office building is 97 percent leased to money manager BlackRock Inc. The lease expires in 2023. The property is part of a four-building complex at Howard and First streets and is adjacent to the Transbay Transit Center, which is slated for completion in 2017. “Foundry Square is a beautiful asset providing key access to the upcoming multi-billion dollar Transbay Transit Center, which some are already calling the 'Grand Central Station of the West,' ” says Brandon Buza, director at Northwestern Mutual Real Estate Investments LLC. “This investment demonstrates our commitment to expanding our presence along the West Coast.” Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual Real Estate Investments LLC is the wholly owned subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual and manages Northwestern …

NEW YORK — Savanna has refinanced $145 million in first mortgage debt for 1375 Broadway, a 513,401-square-foot office building in New York. The multi-tenant building is located at the northwest corner of Broadway and West 37th Street in Manhattan’s Midtown South office market. Savanna purchased 1375 Broadway in December 2010 and recently completed a major capital investment and repositioning initiative. The upgrades included renovation of the lobby, building entrance and retail storefronts, as well as façade and roof improvements. Savanna is currently marketing approximately 80,000 square feet of available office space, including a penthouse with a wraparound terrace. “The refinancing of 1375 Broadway illustrates the substantial progress that Savanna has made in repositioning the building as an institutional-quality asset. We initiated a major capital improvement program, including a new lobby and new retail storefronts. These improvements have transformed the building into a core asset and have led to successful leasing of both office and retail space,” says Cooper Kramer, vice president of Savanna. Jon Estreich, president of Estreich & Co., arranged the debt on behalf of the borrower through Mesa West Capital. The loan includes capital for future leasing costs. “This is the first loan in our new lending program …

ATLANTA — The combination of a record number of international travelers to the United States, healthy growth in business investment and consumer spending and limited new room supply in most major markets means it’s a great time to be a hotel owner or operator. Mark Woodworth, president of PKF Hospitality Research, delivered the upbeat message about the state of the lodging industry to the National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE) on Thursday during its 47th annual journalism conference at the Hilton Atlanta. The projected number of international visitors to the U.S. in 2013 is 69.2 million, up from 56 million in 2007, according to the International Trade Administration. The number of international visitors is expected to grow to 80.5 million in 2017. “That’s good news and particularly relevant as we look at some key gateway cities around the U.S.,” says Woodworth. Meanwhile, Moody’s Analytics is forecasting attractive gains in business investment and consumer spending through the remainder of 2013 and 2014, which gives PKF confidence that outlook for the U.S. lodging industry “remains very, very solid,” says Woodworth. PKF forecasts the average annual net increase in room supply to be 1.9 percent through 2017 in the top 50 major …

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIF. — A joint venture between Lowe Enterprises and JC Resorts has secured a $220 million first mortgage loan for the refinancing of Terranea Resort, a 582-room oceanfront hotel in Rancho Palos Verdes. The new loan, which was provided by a client of Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, was secured before existing loans were due to mature and replaces all previous loans on the property. Eastdil Secured brokered the transaction. Terranea Resort is located on 102 acres of coastline, about 30 miles south of Los Angeles. Lowe Enterprises developed the property, which is owned by a joint venture of Lowe and JC Resorts. In addition to the 400-room hotel and oceanfront bungalows, Terranea offers ownership in 32 private ocean villas and 50 ocean casitas, ranging from 1,850 square feet to 2,800 square feet. “Terranea is truly a one-of-a-kind property that has become a favored destination for leisure and business travelers, groups and the local community,” says Robert Lowe Jr., co-president of Lowe Enterprises. “Cornerstone understands Terranea’s operating model and was able to be flexible in loan terms to allow us to optimize the resort’s performance.” “Terranea brought Cornerstone an opportunity to provide our client with a significant investment …

DALLAS — Affiliates of The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) have borrowed $581 million to refinance a 16-property, 4,798-room hotel portfolio and a golf course/tennis club. The properties are located across the U.S. The portfolio is composed of 12 full-service hotels, which include: Sheraton San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco Hilton Irvine-Orange County Airport in Irvine, Calif. Marriott Irvine in Irvine, Calif. DoubleTree Austin in Austin, Texas DoubleTree Suites Indianapolis-Carmel in Carmel, Ind. Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort in Clearwater, Fla. South Seas Island Resort in Captiva Island, Fla. DoubleTree Orlando-Universal in Orlando, Fla. Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront in Cocoa Beach, Fla. Hilton Key Largo Beach Resort in Key Largo, Fla. The Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City in Arlington, Va. Marriott Princeton-Forrestal in Princeton, N.J. The portfolio also includes four boutique hotels, known collectively as The Inns of Sanibel, and one golf course/tennis club called The Dunes Golf and Tennis Club in Sanibel Island, Fla. The HFF team representing the borrower was led by senior managing directors Trey Morsbach and Dan Peek and managing director John Bourret. The Blackstone Group’s stock price closed Tuesday at $21.05 per share, which is up from closing at $12.08 per share this time last year. — …

CLEVELAND, OHIO — Australian investment manager QIC and Forest City Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: FCEA and FCEB) have agreed to form a joint venture to recapitalize and invest in eight of Forest City's regional retail malls worth a combined $2.05 billion. Under the agreement, the Brisbane-based firm will pay AU$435.6 million (US$420.5 million) for 49 percent of the ventures. Forest City intends to use proceeds to pay down debt, fund expansion and new development. Sales at the eight malls currently average about $500 per square foot on a rolling 12-month basis. Upon closing of the transaction, Cleveland, Ohio-based Forest City expects to raise cash liquidity of $330 million, after transaction costs. The company plans to use a majority of the liquidity to reduce debt, but also expects to use a portion to fund expansion and reinvestment initiatives. Closing of the joint ventures is expected to occur before the end of the company's fiscal third quarter. Ownership of the individual properties, at closing, will vary based on existing partnerships currently in place at three of the malls. Forest City will be the managing member of the individual joint ventures and will continue to be responsible for leasing, operations, marketing, financing, development services …

MEMPHIS, TENN. — MAA (NYSE: MAA) and Colonial Properties Trust (NYSE: CLP) have entered into a definitive merger agreement that will create a powerhouse multifamily REIT focused on the Sunbelt. The combined company is expected to have a pro forma equity market capitalization of approximately $5.1 billion and a total market capitalization of $8.6 billion. Both the Board of Directors of MAA and Board of Trustees of Colonial Properties Trust have unanimously approved the merger, which is expected to close during the third quarter of this year. The deal brings together two multifamily portfolios that include approximately 85,000 multifamily units in 285 properties. The combined company's 10 largest markets will be Dallas/Ft. Worth, Atlanta, Austin, Raleigh, Charlotte, Nashville, Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando and Houston. “The combination of MAA and Colonial Properties Trust will provide an enhanced competitive advantage across the Sunbelt region,” says H. Eric Bolton Jr., CEO of MAA. “The scale of the combined company will support accelerated growth and deployment of capital across our high-growth Sunbelt markets, driving superior value-creation opportunity for our shareholders. In addition, through capitalizing on the strengths gained from the combination of the two platforms, we will enhance our ability to serve residents across the …

NASHVILLE, TENN. — Carey Watermark Investors Inc. (CWI) has acquired Hutton Hotel, a four-star luxury hotel in downtown Nashville, for $73.6 million, or roughly $300,000 a key. Before the sale of Hutton Hotel, the biggest sale price per key in downtown Nashville was $219,933. Apple REIT Nine Inc. paid that price in 2010 for the 194-unit Hilton Garden Inn at 1713 Broadway, according to New York-based Real Capital Analytics. Beyond the purchase price, CWI plans to spend $3.7 million on capital improvements to the 247-room hotel and other acquisition-related costs. Amerimar Enterprises Inc. will continue to manage the hotel. Hutton Hotel is located at 1808 W. End Ave. in the West End neighborhood of Nashville and is close to Music Row, Vanderbilt University, the Grand Ole Opry, Country Music Hall of Fame and the new 1.2 million-square-foot Music City Convention Center. Michael Medzigian, CEO of CWI, says that the non-traded REIT considers the luxury hotel, which is in a growing and diverse market, an attractive addition to its portfolio that’s consistent with generating strong cash flow and future value for its investors. “Given the opening of the new convention center and other existing attractions, the Nashville hotel market is expected …