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CHICAGO — With $21.7 billion of hotel CMBS loans due to mature this year amid an improving lodging sector, lenders have an opportunity to bring to market the non-performing assets that have been bogging down their balance sheets. So says Mathew Comfort, executive vice president with Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, who expects large portfolio note and REO sales to dominate the select-service hotel market in 2012. Many of the troubled CMBS hotel loans that were originated in 2006 and 2007 have already gone through one round of workouts, and in many instances borrowers received a loan extension of 12 to 24 months. Now, banks and special servicers are “realizing the time is right to divest these assets as the discount to par is not as significant as it’s been over the past 2 years,” said Comfort in a news release highlighting disposition trends in the hotel sector. Large note sale portfolios, those in excess of $150 million or collateralized by multiple select-service hotel properties, will be in greater demand this year as investors look to put capital to work in search of higher returns, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, which operates as a subsidiary of Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle. …

ENGLEWOOD, COLO. — Englewood-based Archstone has closed a $350 million acquisition fund targeting apartment communities in major markets where it has an operating presence. Archstone is sourcing and managing the fund's investments. “We are very excited about closing this fund and expect to make several additional acquisitions in premier locations in the country through it,” said Scot Sellers, Archstone's chief executive officer, in a prepared statement. “We are confident we will invest the capital in highly desirable apartment assets in protected locations, and expect to produce very attractive returns for our partners in this fund,” added Charles E. Mueller, Jr., Archstone's chief operating officer. The fund has already acquired four apartment communities in coastal markets. The communities, which have been renamed, are Archstone Kips Bay in New York; Archstone Boca Town Center in Boca Raton, Fla.; Archstone Kirkland at Carllon Point in Kirkland, Wash.; and Archstone Sunnyvale in Sunnyvale, Calif. M3 Capital Partners served as the exclusive financial advisor to Archstone in the transaction. As of March 31, 2012, Archstone owned 434 communities in the U.S. and Europe, representing 73,135 units, including units under construction. Much of the company's portfolio is concentrated in neighborhoods in and around Washington, D.C., Los …

CHICAGO — Ventas (NYSE: VTR), a Chicago-based healthcare REIT, has agreed to acquire a 100 percent interest in 16 private pay seniors housing communities for $362 million. Ventas is purchasing the properties from a joint venture between Sunrise Senior Living (NYSE: SRZ) and an institutional investor partner. The transaction will be funded through Ventas’ revolving credit facility, and all the properties will be acquired unencumbered. “With the acquisition of these exceedingly high-quality seniors living communities, we continue our enterprise growth while also expanding our private pay revenue source,” said Ventas chairman and CEO Debra Cafaro in a prepared statement. Sunrise will receive approximately $28 million for its 20 percent ownership interest in the portfolio. Sunrise will remain the manager of the communities under the pre-existing terms relating to management fees and contract length, which now range from 18 to 27 years. The acquired assets were developed by Sunrise, have a median age of 4 years and contain 1,274 units. The 16 properties span 12 states coast to coast, according to Lori Wittman, vice president of capital markets with Ventas. The senior living space has been a lucrative venture for Ventas and other REITs because it generates healthy returns. According to …

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — In a massive deal, Sydney-based DEXUS Property Group (ASX:DXS), an Australian listed REIT (A-REIT), has sold its U.S. central portfolio of 65 industrial properties and capital management initiatives to New York City-based Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII for $770 million. The portfolio spans 16.62 million square feet of industrial space and has an average occupancy of 89.6 percent. The sales price is in line with the projected net book value on June 30, 2012. The properties in the central U.S. portfolio consist of industrial facilities in Atlanta; Baltimore, Md.; Charlotte, N.C.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas; Minneapolis; Virginia; Orlando, Fla.; Phoenix; and San Antonio. “This sale is consistent with DEXUS’ strategy to exit non-core U.S. markets,” said Darren Steinburg, CEO of DEXUS, in a prepared statement. “The residual investment is a high-quality portfolio concentrated in the core West Coast markets. We are focused on driving the most effective outcome from this business, both in terms of returns and overall platform efficiency.” The transaction also includes capital management initiatives, which feature an on-market securities buyback, a revised distribution policy effective fiscal year 2013 and a U.S. debt restructure. The securities buyback of up to $200 million will use …

NEW YORK — BGC Partners is rapidly integrating Newmark Knight Frank, one of the largest commercial real estate brokerage firms in the U.S. that it acquired in October 2011, with Grubb & Ellis. The new entity, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, will offer a full-service commercial real estate platform. On Friday, BGC Partners (Nasdaq: BGCP) announced that it had closed on its acquisition of the assets of Grubb & Ellis Co., following the recent approval of the transaction by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. In addition to Grubb & Ellis professionals now joining the combined firm, Newmark Knight Frank has added more than 50 top-producing brokers in offices across the country in the last several months. “With more than 100 offices in North America, 250 million square feet in property and facilities management, and an outstanding national appraisal business, the creation of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank is a game-changing moment in the real estate industry,” said Michael Lehrman, global head of real estate at BGC Partners, in a prepared statement. “Newmark Knight Frank and Grubb & Ellis each have consistently ranked among the leading companies in the real estate industry, and now these two great …

PARSIPANNY, N.J. — Prudential Real Estate Investors (PREI) has closed on its fourth seniors housing fund — the firm's largest ever — raising $568 million in discretionary capital secured from institutional investors. Parsippany-based PREI is a real estate investment management business with offices across the globe, including Chicago, London and Tokyo. Noah Levy, managing director with PREI and portfolio manager of the fund, says PREI will be a co-investor in the fund, as it has for the previous three. “We like this investment niche ourselves,” he says. “Investors are very cognizant of that today.” The closed-end fund will feature a strategy very similar to PREI’s first three funds. It will target investments in seniors housing, including independent living, assisted living and memory care properties, as well as communities that offer a combination of those services. Additionally, the fund will focus on direct and joint venture acquisitions of existing properties, forward commitments on newly constructed properties, mezzanine loans and development. Levy says PREI is targeting returns in the low teens using 50 percent leverage. He admits that it is not the most aggressive strategy, but it is characterized by a lot of income. “As a whole, during the recession we have …

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Mortgage bankers closed more than $184.3 billion in commercial and multifamily mortgage loans in 2011, up 55 percent from the prior year. The findings from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) also indicate that multifamily loans dominated the market in 2011, with new originations in that category reaching $77.4 billion. The office sector was the next highest property segment, accounting for $34.4 billion in originations. Meanwhile, lending for retail properties saw the largest percentage increase among major property types, followed closely by multifamily and industrial properties. Collectively, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) represented the leading investor group for which loans were originated in 2011, accounting for $57.6 billion of the total. Life insurance companies and pension funds saw the second highest volume, $49.3 billion. The MBA states origination volumes for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA each hit new records in 2011. However, faster growth in multifamily lending by other investors led the Fannie and Freddie market share to decline in 2011. The government-related financing giants accounted for 57 percent of loan volume in 2011, down from 63 percent in 2010 and 85 percent in 2009. “Commercial mortgage lending continues to rebound …

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Greenville-based Michelin North America will break ground next week on a new Earthmover tire manufacturing plant in Anderson County, South Carolina, as part of a $750 million investment that will create approximately 500 new jobs. The investment also includes expanding the existing Earthmover tire facility in Lexington, South Carolina. The new plant in Anderson County will be Michelin’s 19th manufacturing facility in North America and its ninth in South Carolina. More than 8,000 of Michelin North America’s 22,300 employees are based in South Carolina. The new plant will be adjacent to Michelin’s existing rubber processing plant in Starr, South Carolina, and will be Michelin’s third plant in Anderson County. Michelin also operates a 2.5 million-square-foot rubber processing plant in Sandy Springs, South Carolina, the largest in the world. The Earthmover tire brand is a specialty tire for earth-moving equipment, such as bulldozers and dump trucks. The high demand has led to a need for Michelin to increase its Earthmover tire production. “There is unprecedented demand for Michelin Earthmover tires throughout the world,” said Pete Selleck, Michelin North America’s chairman and president. “It’s a tribute to the productivity of our employees and the pro-business environment in South Carolina …

DENVER — The TriZetto Group, a healthcare information technology company, has chosen Opus Development Corp. to develop, design and construct the company’s new $110 million, 165,000-square-foot worldwide headquarters in Denver. “I strongly believe our new worldwide headquarters is a win-win for both Colorado and for TriZetto,” said Trace Devanny, chairman and CEO of The TriZetto Group, in a prepared statement. “For TriZetto, it means continued success fueled in part by Colorado’s welcoming business community and impressive workforce. For Colorado, it means more jobs — professional, high-quality, high-tech jobs in the growing healthcare information technology sector.” The four-story building will be located in the Meridian International Business Center in Douglas County, and the project is expected to generate between 400 and 500 construction jobs. Additionally, the new facility will allow TriZetto to add 550 to 750 new jobs during the next 5 years. “We are extremely pleased to be selected as a partner to work with TriZetto, a company that shows a commitment to Colorado and job growth, to design and construct a headquarters facility that suits the company culture and projected growth,” said Marshall Burton, senior vice president and general manager for Minnetonka, Minn.-based Opus Development Corp., in a prepared …

The positive vibe in the U.S. economy stemming from robust job gains in January and February has quickly given way to a more subdued tone — at least temporarily. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 120,000 in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday, falling well short of the 200,000 figure expected by most economists and raising questions about the strength of the recovery. For starters, is this a case of déjà vu or an aberration? “The current situation unfortunately harkens back to last year when the job market was gaining momentum, but thanks to a confluence of idiosyncratic factors that imperiled the economy, the labor market weakened beginning in May,” says Ryan Severino, senior economist with Reis, a New York-based commercial real estate research firm. “The situation in 2012 is similar, and because of this we should remain guarded about the outlook for 2012.” The sovereign debt crisis in Europe coupled with a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating by Standard & Poor’s last summer led to a heightened level of anxiety and uncertainty in 2011, which ultimately blunted the economic momentum. The concern is that rising gas prices resulting in part from escalating tensions in the Middle …