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NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FLA. — North Miami Beach-based Equity One Inc. (NYSE: EQY) has acquired or is in agreement to acquire four commercial properties in Bethesda, Md., New York City and Norwalk, Conn., for $260 million. The company is under contract to acquire the Westwood Complex, a 22-acre mixed-use development located in Bethesda, for $140 million. The development features 214,767 square feet of retail space, a 211,020-square-foot apartment building and a 62-unit assisted living facility. The transaction is slated to close by the end of 2013. Giant Food has anchored Westwood’s main retail center since the center opened in 1959. The lease expires in 2019 with no term remaining. The assisted living facility is leased to Manor Care Health Services through 2015, also with no term remaining. Westwood’s apartment property is leased to a division of Montgomery County, Md., and it is subject to a purchase right in 2017, which is expected to be exercised. Equity One has also acquired the 78,820-square-foot Clocktower Plaza, a shopping center located in Queens, for $56 million. Pathmark anchors the center, which is fully leased. The property is located on seven acres of land that has opportunities for future development and expansion. The company …

SEATTLE — In a $1.16 billion deal, online retailer Amazon.com Inc. has agreed to acquire 11 buildings totaling 1.8 million square feet in the heart of Seattle’s burgeoning South Lake Union neighborhood from Vulcan Real Estate. Amazon currently leases the buildings, which are part of its corporate headquarters. Vulcan, which constructed the 11 buildings as part of Amazon’s Seattle headquarters, put them on the market in August. The deal is expected to close by the end of this year. The Amazon campus is at the center of a newly revitalized neighborhood at the north end of downtown Seattle. Once better known for warehouses and light industrial operations, the South Lake Union neighborhood is now home to Amazon, global health organizations, multifamily residential communities and a thriving retail and restaurant core. “We are truly excited that Amazon is making this long-term commitment to the South Lake Union community,” says Ada Healey, vice president of real estate for Seattle-based Vulcan Inc. “We know they will be excellent stewards of this property and will continue to play a vital role in revitalizing South Lake Union and creating a thriving urban neighborhood in the heart of Seattle’s urban core.” Vulcan plans to reinvest earnings …

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Joseph Stettinius Jr. has been unanimously elected as Cassidy Turley's new chief executive officer (CEO) by the firm's board of directors, effective immediately. Stettinius is based in Cassidy Turley's Washington, D.C. office, which will become the company's headquarters. The company was previously based in St. Louis, where former CEO Mark Burkhart resided. Burkhart will serve as an ongoing advisor to the company. Stettinius has served as president of Cassidy Turley since the firm's inception in August 2008. From March 2007 to February 2010, he was CEO of predecessor firm Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers. In his new role, Stettinius will oversee all operations of the brokerage giant. Cassidy Turley is a full-service firm serving owners, investors and tenants with a full spectrum of integrated commercial real estate services — including capital markets, tenant representation, project leasing and development services. The company includes more than 3,600 professional in more than 60 offices nationwide. Stettinius' told Southeast Real Estate Business that his main goal for his first year as CEO is to leverage the company's success in its legacy markets and enhance Cassidy Turley's capabilities in some of its less mature markets. He cited markets such as Boston, Atlanta, Houston, …

ATLANTA — Today’s low interest rate environment is inducing many buyers to pay significantly more for properties than they should and poses the single biggest risk to the commercial real estate industry, warns Dean Adler, co-founder and CEO of Philadelphia-based Lubert Adler Partners LP, a real estate equity firm with $16 billion of assets under management. “There are a lot of asset allocators out there that are paying way too much for real estate because of cheap interest rates, and they will get whipsawed,” predicts Adler. “It’s fine to raise money today, but they will get whipsawed in four and five years as interest rates rise. Real estate still has the same amount of [operating] risk and obstacles as it had two, three, four, five, six years ago. I could make an argument that there is greater risk.” The insights from the outspoken Adler came Thursday morning during a commercial real estate finance and investment conference at the Westin Buckhead. The law firm of Morris, Manning & Martin LLP and France Media’s InterFace Conference Group jointly produced the daylong event, titled “What to Expect In 2013?” The event attracted more than 400 leading investors, developers, lenders and financial intermediaries from …

BURLINGTON, MASS. — Nordblom Co. is planning a $215 million recapitalization of Network Drive at Northwest Park, a six-building, 805,000-square-foot office complex in Burlington. Nordblom originally acquired the property in partnership with CarVal and now completed the sale to institutional investors advised by JPMorgan Asset Management. “We are delighted with our new partnership and the fact that they also recognize the tremendous value of this world-class office park located in this dynamic Boston suburb,” says Ogden Hunnewell, executive vice president and partner of Nordblom Co. “Burlington continues to emerge as the ‘Capitol City’ of Route 128 and this property is wonderfully situated to benefit from the vibrancy and growth in this leading market area.” Network Drive includes land sufficient to add approximately 330,000 square feet of space. The property is situated on 158 acres adjacent to Northwest Park, a 140-acre office park that has been master-planned and permitted for up to 3.2 million square feet of mixed-use space. Network Drive is 96 percent leased to a variety of tenants, including Exa Corp., eDialog, Memento, Dyax, Veracode and Avid Technology. The campus is also a regional headquarters for Oracle Corp. James McCaffrey, senior managing director of Eastdil Secured, and director Sarah …

NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. — Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II Inc. has acquired three Los Angeles-area hospitals and three medical office buildings located in Frisco, Texas and Jasper, Georgia for approximately $108.7 million. With the latest acquisitions, the REIT’s portfolio totals 121 buildings valued at approximately $1.1 billion, based onpurchase price, spread across 26 states. The co-sponsors of the non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT) include Newport Beach-based American Healthcare Investors, an investment management specializing in the acquisition and management of healthcare-related real estate, and Los Angeles-based Griffin Capital Corp., a privately owned real estate company. Non-traded REITs are considered public companies, but their shares are not listed on any stock exchange. “Reaching the $1 billion mark in aggregate portfolio value, based on purchase price, is a key milestone for Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II,” says Danny Prosky, a principal of American Healthcare Investors and president and COO of the REIT (pictured at left). “Size and scale can be very important in terms of real estate portfolio operations, efficiency and potential enhanced value of the REIT as a whole,” adds Prosky. “The REIT has now grown to the size where it is one of the largest and most significant owners of healthcare-related real …

NEW YORK CITY — Staten Island's waterfront will be transformed into New York City's first and only outlet center. BFC Partners will construct the 350,000-square-foot center known as Harbor Commons at an estimated cost of $230 million. The development will include approximately 100 designer outlets, a 200-room hotel and a 1,250-space parking garage. Harbor Commons will be located south of the Richmond County Savings Bank Ballpark, just steps away from the St. George Ferry Terminal. “Harbor Commons will be the first outlet center in New York City that offers the retail sector a singular and unique opportunity to expand its brand presence in the most vibrant retail market in the county,” says Donald Capoccia, managing principal and founder of BFC Partners. “We are extremely proud to be leading this development and building what will become one of NYC's most transformative projects.” Casandra Properties, along with EWB Development, will serve as strategic consultants for the project. The two companies will provide competitive positioning, leasing, marketing and management services for Harbor Commons. “Staten Island's waterfront is a treasure. The development of a designer outlet center and hotel will generate nearly 700 permanent jobs and capture a good portion of the $34 billion …

PHOENIX, ARIZ. — Bascom Arizona Ventures has continued its buying spree in Arizona, acquiring its third and fourth multifamily properties in the state in the last two months. The Irvine, Calif.-based company acquired Brookstone at the Foothills Apartments, a 528-unit community near Phoenix for $35.6 million, or $67,367 per unit. Bascom also purchased Madera Point Apartments, a 256-unit community in Mesa, Ariz., for $14.4 million, or $56,000 per unit. The acquisition comes on the heels of the company's two recent deals in the Phoenix metro area. Bascom acquired the Coldwater Spring Apartments for $27.2 million and Estates of Maryland Apartments for $27.9 million. Bascom had previously acquired thousands of units in the Phoenix metropolitan area between 2004 and 2007, but decided to sell a dozen properties in 2007. “We feel now is the best time to get back in the Arizona region,” says Mark Brotherton, asset manager for Bascom Arizona Ventures. He adds that the company is looking to expand even more, and is expecting to close on another property in the next 30 days. “We are continuing to seek and acquire assets that range from 'A' to 'C' quality, preferably with infill location and with a value-added component,” says …

SIOUX FALLS, S.C. — Summit Hotel Properties (NYSE: INN), a real estate investment trust, has entered into three agreements to acquire 10 hotels, including eight properties from Hyatt Hotels Corp., for a total of $114.6 million. Included in the Hyatt portfolio is the 127-room Hyatt Place-Arlington in Arlington, Texas; the 151-room Hyatt Place-Lombard in Lombard, Ill.; the 127-room Hyatt Place-Phoenix in Phoenix; the 127-room Hyatt Place-Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Ariz.; the 123-room Hyatt Place-Owings Mills in Owings Mills, Md.; the 127-room Hyatt Place-Park Meadows in Lone Tree, Colo.; the 126-room Hyatt Place-Denver Tech Center and the 135-room Hyatt House-Denver Tech Center in Englewood, Colo. The sale price of the Hyatt portfolio is $87.4 million. “We continue to see terrific opportunities to grow our portfolio,” says Dan Hansen, president and CEO of Sioux Falls-based Summit Hotel Properties. “This acquisition is a result of our great relationship with Hyatt and we look forward to exploring future opportunities and continuing to grow that relationship.” The company plans to enter into an agreement with Select Hotels Group, a Hyatt affiliate, to operate the hotels. Summit Hotel Properties has also agreed to acquire the 98-room Hilton Garden Inn in Fort Worth, Texas, for $7.2 million, as …