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SAN FRANCISCO — Union Investment has purchased a 556,319-square-foot office tower, located at 555 Mission St. in San Francisco, from Tishman Speyer for $446.5 million. The 33-story building has earned LEED Gold certified. “In addition to the compelling quality of the building itself, 555 Mission St.’s location in one of North America’s strongest economic regions makes it a particularly sustainable investment for us,” says Volker Noack, member of the management team at Hamburg-based Union Investments Real Estate GmbH. The property was purchased on behalf of the open-ended real estate fund Unilmmo: Europa, and is 88 percent leased to 12 tenants including anchor tenant Deloitte, an international consulting firm. Kohn Pederson Fox designed the property. According to Colliers International, Class A buildings in San Francisco experienced positive absorption of 414,373 square feet in the first quarter of 2012. 555 Mission St. sits in the city’s Financial District, which is known to attract companies from the creative and technology industries “The impressively dynamic development of the submarket should see 555 Mission St. benefiting from rising rents,” Noack adds. Overall weighted average rents for the Financial District in the first quarter of 2012 were $49.65 per square foot, up from $43.56 in the …

BETHESDA, MD. — Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD) has agreed to purchase lender CWCapital for $220 million. The combination creates one of the largest commercial real estate lenders in the U.S. with $7.7 billion of loan originations in 2011. The acquisition also makes Walker & Dunlop the second largest multifamily lender nationally. The servicing portfolio of the combined entity exceeds $33.7 billion, according to Walker & Dunlop. The purchase price will include $80 million in cash and about $140 million in Walker & Dunlop stock. The price is subject to potential adjustment based on the company's stock price pending closing. “CWCapital is an exceptional company with an outstanding team and corporate culture very similar to Walker & Dunlop's,” says Willy Walker, chairman, president and CEO of Walker & Dunlop. “CW's people, credit discipline and client focus are highly regarded throughout the industry. It's a wonderful accomplishment to bring these two fantastic companies together and create a true industry force.” Based in Bethesda, Walker & Dunlop originates and sells a range of multifamily and other commercial real estate financing products. After the deal closes CW Financial will become Walker & Dunlop's largest shareholder. Michael Berman, CEO of Needham, Mass.-based CWCapital, will …

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fannie Mae, through its board of directors, has announced the appointment of Timothy J. Mayopoulos, 53, as president and CEO of Fannie Mae, effective June 18, 2012. Mayopoulos currently serves as the agency's executive vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel. Since joining Fannie Mae's executive management team three years ago, Mayopoulos has played a key role in rebuilding the company. His promotion follows an extensive searching involving both internal and external candidates. “Our thorough and thoughtful evaluation of qualified and interested candidates focused on a singular goal — to secure the best leader for Fannie Mae,” says Philip Laskawy, chairman of the board. “We achieved our goal by selecting Tim. He is an experienced and effective leader on a remarkable management team that has stabilized the company and positioned Fannie Mae to return value to taxpayers in the years ahead. Tim delivers a combination of proven leadership and execution focus. His deep understanding of the unique challenges Fannie Mae is facing and his effective working relationships with our regulator, management, the board, and external partners will serve the company and industry well. Tim's appointment enables the company to sustain its rebuilding efforts and to accelerate …

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fannie Mae, through its board of directors, has announced the appointment of Timothy J. Mayopoulos, 53, as president and CEO of Fannie Mae, effective June 18, 2012. Mayopoulos currently serves as the agency's executive vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel. Since joining Fannie Mae's executive management team three years ago, Mayopoulos has played a key role in rebuilding the company. His promotion follows an extensive searching involving both internal and external candidates. “Our thorough and thoughtful evaluation of qualified and interested candidates focused on a singular goal — to secure the best leader for Fannie Mae,” says Philip Laskawy, chairman of the board. “We achieved our goal by selecting Tim. He is an experienced and effective leader on a remarkable management team that has stabilized the company and positioned Fannie Mae to return value to taxpayers in the years ahead. Tim delivers a combination of proven leadership and execution focus. His deep understanding of the unique challenges Fannie Mae is facing and his effective working relationships with our regulator, management, the board, and external partners will serve the company and industry well. Tim's appointment enables the company to sustain its rebuilding efforts and to accelerate …

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Parkway Properties (NYSE: PKY) has closed on the acquisition of the 972,000-square-foot Hearst Tower, an office building located in Charlotte’s CBD. Additionally, the company has received a $200 million equity investment by TPG, a leading global private investment firm. “We are pleased to have completed these important steps in the evolution of Parkway as we continue to position ourselves for long-term growth,” says Jim Heistand, president and CEO of Orlando, Florida-based Parkway. “We remain firmly committed to improving operations and cash flow, and on pursuing new acquisitions to grow the company.” The 46-story office tower is 94 percent leased, and tenants include Bank of America, which signed a new lease for 322,000 square feet in the building. The property is expected to generate cash net operating income of approximately $17.5 million during the first year of the company’s ownership period. “Parkway’s high-quality office portfolio, which is concentrated in attractive Sunbelt markets, provides a unique investment opportunity,” says Avi Banyasz, partner at TPG. “Hearst Tower is a great example of the type of investments Parkway’s talented management team will seek to identify and secure in the future.” The acquisition was financed with the money received from TPG, as …

SAN FRANCISCO — Los Angeles-based Hudson Pacific Properties Inc. (NYSE:HPP) has completed the $90 million acquisition of 901 Market Street, a mixed-use property located at the intersection of San Francisco’s Union Square and South of Market submarkets. The 212,000-square-foot historic building consists of 149,000 square feet of office space and 63,000 square feet of ground floor and lower level retail space. The purchase price comes out to be approximately $425 per square foot. “We are very pleased to close the acquisition of the 901 Market Street property,” said Victor Coleman, chairman and CEO of Hudson Pacific. “901 Market Street is a great complement to our San Francisco portfolio and represents a tremendous opportunity to reposition a property in one of the best locations and best markets in the country.” The property, a former Hale Department Store building, is located adjacent to the Westfield San Francisco Shopping Centre and Union Square BART entrance. It is currently 62 percent leased to a diverse tenant base. The seller was CFRI/Urban 901 Market LLC. The San Francisco market is considered a marquee arena for commercial real estate activity and development. ULI and Pricewaterhouse Coopers named San Francisco the third best market in the U.S. …

SEATTLE — Kilroy Realty Corp. (NYSE: KRC) has acquired two office properties in the Lake Union submarket of Seattle and has entered into an agreement to purchase a Bellevue office tower in the third quarter. Combined, the three separate transactions total $330 million. “Seattle’s Bellevue, Eastside and Lake Union submarkets present a compelling set of characteristics that KRC looks for in its real estate portfolio,” says John Kilroy Jr., president and CEO of KRC. “These include an economically vibrant core, a unique coastal locations, a quality of life valued by fast-growing, knowledge-based businesses and their employees, and a regional approach to development that effectively limits supply.” In Lake Union, the company purchased three-building Fremont Lake Union Center and Fremont Lake View, a 420,000-square-foot office campus, for $145 million. The property is fully leased, and tenants include Adobe Inc., Tableau Software and Ubermind. KRC assumed approximately $34 million of debt as part of the acquisiton. In downtown Bellevue, KRC is in escrow to acquire the 417,000-square-foot Skyline Tower, a Class A office building, for $186 million. The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter. The 42-story tower is certified LEED Silver, and is 92 percent leased. Tenants include Expedia …

The pleasant surprise in an otherwise disappointing U.S. nonfarm payroll report for May was the healthy increase in jobs tied to the industrial sector, says Bob Bach, chief economist for Grubb & Ellis. The manufacturing, wholesale trade, and transportation and warehousing sectors added a combined 63,500 jobs in May compared with just 3,600 in April. “The surprising surge in jobs important to industrial real estate indicates the continued health of the manufacturing sector and the strong volume of goods flowing through corporate supply chains,” says Bach. His analysis is based on the latest employment figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) last Friday, June 1. Overall, the U.S. economy added 82,000 private-sector jobs in May while the government shed 13,000 positions, resulting in a net gain of 69,000 nonfarm payroll jobs, well below economists’ consensus forecast of 150,000. In another setback,the BLS revised the March and April figures lower by a combined 49,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate climbed one-tenth of a percent in May to 8.2 percent. Victor Calanog, director of research for New York-based Reis, says a slowdown in job creation had been expected but not at such a rapid pace. “It is disheartening that almost three …

BETHESDA, MD. — RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE: RLJ) expanded its portfolio of properties with the acquisition of two hotels in New York City and Bethesda for a combined total of $146.5 million. The Bethesda-based company purchased the 226-room Courtyard New York Manhattan Upper East Side in a bankruptcy court sale for $82 million, or approximately $363,000 per room. The purchase price represents a forward capitalization rate of approximately 7.5 percent on the hotel's projected 2013 net operating income. RLJ paid $64.5 million for the second property, the Residence Inn by Marriott Bethesda Hotel Downtown, in an off-market transaction. The hotel is located in the Bethesda central business district. “We were able to leverage our extensive network and strong industry relationships to source and execute accretive transactions in key gateway cities,” said Thomas Baltimore Jr., president and CEO of RLJ Lodging Trust. “We expect these two new additions to yield strong results and strengthen our overall portfolio.” In a statement, the company said the acquisitions were compliant with its overall investment strategy. The hotels are located in key gateway markets and exhibit signs of high growth and high barriers to entry, RLJ stated. RLJ now owns 143 hotels and more than …

NASHVILLE, TENN. — Gaylord Entertainment Co. (NYSE: GET) has entered into an agreement to sell the Gaylord Hotels brand and rights to manage its four hotels to Marriott International (NYSE: MAR) for $210 million. The four hotel properties include the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville; the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas; the Gaylord Palms Resorts and Convention Center in Kissimmee, Florida; and the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Gaylord Hotels will join the Marriott portfolio of brands, and the properties will continue to be managed under their current flags. Marriott’s initial management contract includes a 35-year term with a 2 percent base management fee and an incentive fee linked to improvement in profitability. “We’re delighted to be able to make this announcement today, and look forward to adding the Gaylord brand to our portfolio,” says Arne Sorenson, president and CEO of Marriott International. “Working with the Gaylord brand, the existing four hotels and a Gaylord team that provides outstanding customer service, we are convinced there is tremendous upside potential for growing hotel revenues and profits and developing careers.” Following completion of the all-cash transaction, Gaylord will continue …