Top Stories

Apple, the iconic information technology company whose products include the popular iPad and iPhone, plans to expand its presence in Austin by investing $304 million in a new campus that will create more than 3,600 new jobs over the next decade, Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced Friday. The planned campus will more than double the size of Apple's workforce in Texas during the next decade, supporting the company's growing operations in the Americas with expanded customer support, sales and accounting functions for the region. In exchange for Apple's commitment to create these new jobs in Texas, the state has offered Apple an investment of $21 million over 10 years through the Texas Enterprise Fund. The agreement is contingent upon the finalization of contracts and a local incentive agreement with the City of Austin and Travis County. The city has proposed incentives of up to $8.6 million. “Apple is known for its bold innovation and game-changing designs,” the governor stated in a press release, “and the expansion of its Austin facility adds to the growing list of visionary high-tech companies that have found that Texas' economic climate is a perfect fit for its future.” The state’s relatively low taxes, reasonable and …

WASHINGTON, D.C. — HFF has arranged a $400 million refinancing for a five-property multi-housing portfolio in the Washington, D.C. and New York metropolitan areas. HFF worked on behalf of Brookfield Real Estate Financial Partners to secure the 7-year, floating-rate loan through M&T, a Fannie Mae DUS lender. Senior Managing Directors Bob Donhauser and Bill Asbill led the HFF team representing Brookfield. Donhauser describes the Class B+ apartment properties as well-located. According to reports, the properties include The Avant in Annadale, Va.; The Amberleigh in Fairfax, Va.; The Edgemoore in Alexandria, Va.; Meridian at Bowie in Bowie, Md.; and Grand Adams in Hoboken, N.J. The properties total 2,600 units with an average 98 percent of occupancy overall. Donhauser says Brookfield chose to refinance now to take advantage of an attractive rate environment. “The deal took about six months,” says Donhauser. “It was straightforward and the properties are well managed. There was great sponsorship.” Brookfield is a global alternative asset manager with approximately $150 billion in assets under management. The company has over a 100-year history of owning and operating assets with a focus on property, renewable power, infrastructure and private equity. — Liz Burlingame

MIAMI — Swire Properties has closed on a $140 million credit facility to fund the operations and initial cost of the development of Brickell CitiCentre, a mixed-use project in the heart of the Brickell financial district in downtown Miami. HSBC Bank USA, N.A., provided the loan. “The location of Brickell CitiCentre offers an excellent opportunity to draw market share from local businesses and residents as well as visitors,” said Martin Cubbon, chief executive of Swire Properties, the U.S. subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Swire Properties, Ltd., in a prepared statement. “We’re confident that Brickell CitiCentre will transform the Brickell neighborhood and become a key urban destination.” The first phase contains approximately 4.3 million square feet, which includes 520,000 square feet of retail space, 800 condominium units in two towers, 243 hotel rooms, 93 serviced apartments, and two 110,000 square feet office towers. Completion is slated for late 2015. For the second phase, a 750,000-square-foot office tower is planned. “We are a highly respected developer in Miami with 30 years of operational experience in the city and strong relationships within the community,” said Cubbon. “Miami’s economy is benefitting from investments by its neighbors from South America, and we see strong growth potential …

SAN FRANCISCO —Zynga Inc., a San Francisco-based online gaming company whose products include Words With Friends and FarmVille, has entered into an agreement to buy its corporate headquarters for $228 million. The office building, which is located at 650 Townsend St. in San Francisco, spans approximately 670,000 square feet. Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA) plans to close the transaction in the second quarter. Founded in 2007, the company refers to itself as the world’s leading social game developer with 240 million average monthly users in 175 countries. The seller and current owner of the office property is 650 Townsend Associates, a Delaware-based limited liability company and affiliate of TMG Partners. Zynga will deposit $25 million in escrow in connection with the transaction, which can be retained by the seller if closing conditions are satisfied and Zynga fails to close the transaction. The escrow will be established through Oakland, Calif.-based Chicago Title Co. Zynga currently leases approximately 65 percent of the building. According to the purchase agreement, the office lease with the seller will either terminate or be assigned to an affiliate of Zynga’s at the close of the sale. The seller has retained Jones Lang LaSalle for brokerage services in the transaction, …

NEW YORK CITY — Four banks in the U.S. failed in February, down from seven failures in January, according to New York City-based Trepp LLC. The decrease follows a pattern observed in 2011: a spike in failures in the month immediately following the end of a quarter, then a drop in subsequent months. Three of the failures occurred in Midwestern states, with the fourth bank failure in the South. The largest failure was Home Savings of America, with $434.1 million in total assets, which brings Minnesota’s total failures to 19 since late 2007. Additional failures in the Midwest included Charter National Bank and Trust in Illinois and SCB Bank in Indiana. The second largest failure was the Central Bank of Georgia, with $278.9 million in total assets. Georgia ranks first for failures, with 77 since September 2007. Year-to-date, Georgia has recorded two failures. Similar to last year, commercial real estate loans were the main driver behind problem loans for banks that failed in February. Of the $122.5 million in nonperforming loans at failed banks, commercial real estate loans account for $50.1 million, or 69.8 percent. Of the $50.1 million, commercial mortgages comprised $33.1 million and construction and land loans accounted …

The delinquency rate for U.S. commercial real estate loans in CMBS fell 15 basis points in February to 9.37 percent, the lowest rate since June 2011, according to New York City-based Trepp LLC. But some of the overall improvement in the February delinquency rate can be attributed to a change in status of approximately $900 million of loans. The loans whose status changed are past their balloon date, but are current in interest payments and no longer classified as delinquent, according to Trepp. Had these loans factored into the overall delinquency rate, the rate would have been 10.57 percent, up 22 basis points for the month, concludes Trepp. “The resolution of these performing, but past maturity loans will likely determine whether the delinquency rate rises or falls over the next 12 months,” said Manus Clancy, senior managing director at Trepp, in a summary report. “The rate should remain fairly stable if they are modified or refinanced, but watch out if these loans slide into foreclosure.” This category of loans that are past their balloon date, but are current in interest payments, now accounts for 1.2 percent of loans in Trepp’s database. That figure is up from 83 basis points in …

MENLO PARK, CALIF. — Kilroy Realty Corp. (NYSE: KRC) has acquired the seven-building Menlo Corporate Center, a 374,000-square-foot office campus for $162.2 million. The property, located at 4100-4700 Bohannon Dr. in Menlo Park, is 79 percent leased to 10 tenants that include Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, E*Trade and Allstate Insurance Co. “Menlo Corporate Center, located in one of Silicon Valley’s most desirable and tightly supply-constrained submarkets, provides us with a great opportunity to capture additional value as we re-lease the remainder of the vacant space at rents that are well above the current in-place rates,” said Mike Sanford, senior vice president of Kilroy Realty Corp.’s northern California office, in a prepared statement. “We see strong fundamentals in the Silicon Valley and Peninsula office markets and will continue to pursue opportunities that make strategic and economic sense for the company,” added Sanford. Kilroy Realty Corp., which owns, develops, acquires and manages real estate assets, focuses primarily on Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, greater Seattle and the San Francisco Bay area. Since 2010, Kilroy Realty Corp. has purchased eight office properties that total 2.6 million square feet in the San Francisco Bay area, for an aggregate investment of approximately …

PHILADELPHIA — A partnership between The John Buck Co. and the INDURE Fund, a commingled real estate investment fund managed by National Real Estate Advisors, plans to begin construction today on 2116 Chestnut Street. The $100 million apartment high-rise in Philadelphia’s Center City will contain 316 units. “We are truly excited to be involved in this major apartment development in Philadelphia, a city that we have been interested in for years,” said John Buck, chairman and CEO of the John Buck Co., in a prepared statement. “We hope that 2116 Chestnut Street will mark the beginning of a long-term relationship with Philadelphia for our firm.” In addition to the apartment units, the building will include 9,150 square feet of retail space on Chestnut Street. The John Buck Co. purchased the property in October 2011. Completion is slated for the second quarter of 2013. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, through the support of Gov. Tom Corbett, is providing financial assistance for the project, which is expected to create more than 800 construction jobs. The John Buck Co. has completed more than $10.5 billion in real estate transactions and developed or redeveloped 40.7 million square feet of office, mixed-use, residential and hotel projects. …

NEW YORK CITY — The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has purchased 33 Maiden Lane in New York City for $207.5 million. The New York Fed is the building's major tenant. The bank has occupied about 75 percent of the office space in the 27-story building since 1998, and more than 1,000 Fed employees currently work there. The acquisition was reportedly a cheaper alternative to leasing the space on a long-term basis and will give the bank greater control of its operations. “The purchase is a cost-effective way to meet our business needs and will enable us to more easily ensure appropriate security for our operations,” said William Dudley, president of the New York Fed in a prepared statement. “We are also pleased to contribute, through our investment, to the ongoing revitalization of lower Manhattan.” Both the New York Fed's board of directors and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System approved the acquisition of 33 Maiden Lane. The New York Fed is one of 12 banks in the U.S. Federal Reserve system and is where Washington monetary policy is implemented. The 600,000-square-foot 33 Maiden Lane is near the bank's headquarters, located at 33 Liberty St. Darcy …

NEW YORK CITY — SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) has finalized its previously announced purchase of 10 East 53rd Street, a 388,000-square-foot class A office building located in Manhattan, from Cariplo Pension Fund for $252.5 million. The 37-story building is 91 percent leased, and includes tenants such as Harper Collins. “We believe that the prestige and value of quality properties in the Plaza District of Midtown Manhattan is unparalleled,” said Andrew Mathias, president of SL Green, in a prepared statement. “The chance to add an additional plaza asset to our core portfolio does not come along often and upon being presented with this opportunity, we took it.” The company has entered into a joint venture agreement with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), which will be a 45 percent owner. CPPIB has made an equity investment of $57.4 million. “We are delighted to acquire a significant interest in a high-quality and extremely well-located property that has the potential to be repositioned as a top boutique office property in Midtown Manhattan,” said Peter Ballon, vice president and head of real estate investments for the Americas for CPPIB, in a prepared statement. Ballon continued, “This expands our portfolio in New York …