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SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Los Angeles has chosen Turner Construction Co. to build the $160 million, 216,000-square-foot Fort Irwin Replacement Hospital, located in San Bernardino. The hospital will provide tertiary care, emergency medicine and clinical support, and will take the place of the Weed Army Community Hospital. A joint venture between Ellerbe Becket and RLF designed the property to achieve LEED Platinum certification. The project will also include a 9,000-square-foot renovation of the Mary Walker clinic and construction of a helipad, ambulance shelter, central utilities plant and photovoltaic farm, which will provide sustainable energy to the hospital and ancillary buildings. “The Fort Irwin Replacement Hospital is a significant win for our company because it builds upon Turner’s outstanding reputation as the leading builder of premiere healthcare facilities for the government,” says Chris Jahrling, vice president and general manager of Turner’s federal services group in Washington, D.C. “We are excited and honored to partner with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and contribute to its mission to provide world-class care to service members and their families.” Turner, which is headquartered in New York City, completes $8 billion annually of construction. Recently, the company completed …

SACREMENTO, CALIF. — The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest public pension plan in the U.S., has purchased a one-third stake in Bentall Kennedy, a Toronto-based real estate investment advisory firm, and is now a partial owner. The remaining two-thirds of the limited partnership ownership is evenly split between the British Columbia Investment Management Corp. (bcIMC) and Bentall Kennedy’s senior management team. Founded as a small construction company in 1911, Bentall Kennedy now serves the interest of more than 500 clients with U.S. and Canadian real estate holdings totaling $28.7 billion as of March 2012. “Bentall Kennedy has a track record of fiduciary excellence and is a global leader in environmental, social and governance practices,” says Rob Feckner, president of the CalPERS Board of Administration. “This relationship will allow our real estate team to further expand on trends and opportunities in real estate investment and management.” Victoria, British Columbia-based bcIMC handles a global investment portfolio valued at $91.1 billion as of Dec. 31, 2011. The firm’s clients include public sector pension plans, public trusts and insurance funds. “CalPERS is a complementary and welcome addition to the Bentall Kennedy Group,” says Doug Pearce, CEO and chief investment officer of …

SYDNEY — Sydney-based DEXUS Property Group has sold a 65-property industrial portfolio, located in the central U.S., to Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII (NYSE: BX) for $770 million. The sale is the largest single industrial real estate portfolio transaction in the country so far this year. “The settlement of the central portfolio is a good result and allows our U.S. team to focus on the remaining West Coast portfolio and to leverage our local industrial real estate management and development enterprise going forward,” says Darren Steinberg, CEO of DEXUS. DEXUS now owns and manages 24 industrial properties in the U.S., valued at approximately $550 million, which total 6.8 million square feet. Additionally, the company manages $200 million in properties on behalf of U.S. third-party clients. “Since being established in June 2010, DEXUS’s U.S. team has assumed direct asset management control of the West Coast portfolio and taken an active role in leasing and managing the central portfolio,” Steinberg says. “This active approach resulted in significant improvement in occupancy of the central portfolio from 79 percent to 90 percent prior to its sale.” Included in the sale are three recently completed Class A distribution facilties leased to Whirlpool Corp. Eastdil Secured’s …

NEW YORK CITY — JD Carlisle and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners (DLJ RECP) have sold the 301-unit The Beatrice, a luxury apartment property located in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood, to Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) for $280 million. The property includes the top 29 floors of a 54-story, mixed-use tower located at 105 W. 29th St. “The sale of The Beatrice is testament to our development team’s consistent ability to deliver premier properties of the highest caliber,” says Jules Demchick, chairman of JD Carlisle. “EQR recognizes the tremendous long-term value this proven property offers. New York City Class A multifamily is a highly sought after asset class delivering solid returns to institutional investors. The Beatrice is just one example of the premium quality, institutional-grade product that JD Carlisle and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners have been successfully developing together for years.” The remaining portion of the building includes the 292-room Eventi Hotel and a 529-space parking garage. The Beatrice includes wall-to-wall windows, ceiling heights that range from 9 to 12 feet, hardwood oak floors, Caledonia granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, Textura Coquille porcelain, deep soaking tubs and Lacava, Grohe and Kohler fixtures. Amenities include a private residents’ lobby, landscaped …

DENVER — Bill Hoffman’s business goes up as the performance of commercial real estate loans goes down. With more than $1.4 trillion in commercial real estate loans slated to mature between 2012 and 2015 and many borrowers still underwater, the CEO of Trigild, a San Diego-based distressed real estate, loan recovery and receivership specialist, fully expects his business to continue thriving. Unlike lenders and investors, Hoffman doesn’t lay awake at night worrying about the euro debt crisis or the ripple effects of an economic slowdown in China. “I hate to say that because we sound like an undertaker. I prefer that you think of us as an emergency doctor. You’ll never want to see us, but when you need us we’re there,” Hoffman said half-jokingly during a panel discussion Thursday morning at the National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE) Conference in Denver. Hosted at the historic Brown Palace Hotel downtown, the panel discussion was titled, “Commercial Real Estate: The Crash That Never Happened?” Hoffman outlined a scenario that he believes will cause a relapse in the recovery of commercial real estate prices. If the mortgage on a property is 120 percent of the value and the loan is coming …

SKOKIE, ILL. — Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII (NYSE: BX) and DDR Corp. (NYSE: DDR) have completed the $1.4 billion acquisition of Skokie-based EPN Group’s 46-property shopping center portfolio. The properties include open-air, value-oriented power centers totaling 10.6 million square feet in 20 states. Top tenants by base rent include the TJX Cos., Kohl’s, PetSmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, JoAnn’s, Old Navy, Walmart and The Home Depot. The portfolio is 90 percent leased. Additionally, the joint venture has assumed $635 million of senior non-recourse debt and has originated an additional five-year, $320 million non-recourse loan facility. Blackstone owns 93 percent of the common equity of the joint venture and an affiliate of DDR owns 5 percent. DDR will continue to lease and manage the properties, and has the right of first offer to acquire 10 of the shopping centers under specified conditions. To read the initial article regarding the announcement of the acquisition, click here. Blackstone’s share price closed at $12.3 per share on Wednesday, down from $15.94 a year earlier. DDR’s share price closed at $14.26 per share, up from $13.51 a year ago. — Savannah Duncan

NEW YORK CITY — Toll Brothers City Living, a division of Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL), and Starwood Capital Group, have formed a joint venture to develop a 200-room luxury hotel and a 159-unit condominium community adjacent to Pier 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The 10-story, eco-friendly hotel will carry Starwood Capital’s 1 Hotel brand, and the condominium community is marketed under the Toll Brothers City Living brand. “We are extremely pleased to be partnering with Toll Brothers to build one of the most exciting new developments in New York City in many years,” says Barry Sternlicht, chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group. “With its incredible views of the Manhattan skyline and the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, extraordinary amenities, attractive and affordable location, and close proximity to transportation hubs, Brooklyn Bridge Park is the perfect location to showcase the 1 Hotel and adjoining residences. This development will be perfectly positioned to take advantage of the significant renaissance occurring along the Brooklyn waterfront.” The development will be located immediately south of the DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) neighborhood and the Brooklyn Bridge, west of Brooklyn Heights and adjacent to the park entrance at Pier 1. The properties will feature …

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — Sysco Long Island LLC, part of the nation’s biggest food service company, has opened a $92 million distribution center in Central Islip. The 420,000-square-foot facility will be used to serve customers on Long Island and the metro New York area. The building, which is located at 199 Lowell Ave., includes dry- and cold-storage facilities and an administration area. Additionally, the facility includes a culinary center area in which chefs create dishes for customers and a state-of-the-art hydrogen fuel station to power all of the forklifts used in the facility. Aurora Contractors constructed the building, and the Town of Islip Industrial Development Agency provided $7.3 million in financial assistance. “The construction of this distribution center will allow Sysco to serve Long Island from one centralized location,” says Frank Recine, president of Sysco Long Island. “In terms of size, this facility is unparalleled by any other food-service provider on Long Island. It was built to ensure that our customers could be served both efficiently and with the widest variety and best quality products. More than 10,000 separate food and specialty items are housed within our facility.” Sysco distributes food and other products and services to locations where food …

While the reimbursement-dependent portions of the seniors housing market remain at a crossroads, other segments of the industry are benefitting from an improving economy and housing sector, according to a new research report completed by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services. The occupancy, rent and construction data is based on the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country as tracked by NIC MAP, a data analysis service of the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC). Independent living properties — which recorded the sharpest decrease in occupancy during the Great Recession — are now posting healthy gains. By the end of this year, average occupancy is projected to reach 90.4 percent, up 110 basis points from 2011. Rents are expected to climb 3 percent to an average of $2,780 per month. The quick turnaround in occupancy in the independent living segment is significant and a reflection of conditions in the market-rate apartment market, explains Gary Lucas, director of the National Seniors Housing Group at Encino, California-based Marcus & Millichap. “As nationwide occupancy for traditional apartments has soared over the past 2 years, rents have climbed to a level where traditional apartments are no longer …

OAHU, HAWAII — DeBartolo Development has announced several retailers that will occupy the first phase of a $350 million regional shopping center for West Oahu, which will break ground next year. The mall will be called Ka Makana Ali'i and will total 1.4 million square feet when completed. Walgreens, 24 Hour Fitness, Butterfly Ice Cream, State Farm Insurance and Nail Tek will be among the first tenants in the project's 200,000-square-foot first phase, while McDonald's is in final lease negotiations. The fast food chain currently has 76 locations across the state of Hawaii. The shopping mall will be built in two phases, with the first phase expected to open in 2014. “Ka Makana Ali'i will be one of the only regional malls built in the United States in years, and we are very excited to partner with the West Oahu community to make this a reality,” says Edward Kobel, president and chief operating office of Tampa, Florida-based DeBartolo Development. The second phase of the project will include a major department store, movie theater, retail shops, restaurants, two hotels and a pedestrian plaza with outdoor cafes. Plans for Phase II also call for the construction of a 200,000-square-foot office tower. The …