Top Stories

INDIANAPOLIS — Northbrook, Ill.-based Romanek Properties has sold a three-property, 433,972-square-foot office property, located in Intech Park in Indianapolis, to an institutional investor for $85 million. “Overall, the Indianapolis office market has not been robust, but this property has continued to maintain a much higher occupancy than the rest of the market,” said Gary Nussbaum, managing director of Transwestern’s Investment Services Group. “When a tenant leaves, [the property] tends to fill the vacancy pretty quickly. It’s got a track record of staying well-leased.” The U.S. General Services Administration anchors the portfolio, which is approximately 97 percent leased. The GSA leases approximately 56 prcent on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security. The buildings include: – The 140,231-square-foot Intech I, located at 6325 Digital Way. Major tenants include Indiana Wesleyan University, TriMedx and the GSA. – The 141,466-square-foot Intech II, located at 6650 Telecom Drive. The GSA leases 94.6 percent of the building, which is fully leased. – The 152,230-square-foot Intech III, located at 6600 Telecom Drive. The GSA and Blackboard Inc. anchor the building. Nussbaum, along with Tom Gorman of Transwestern’s Investment Services Group’s Chicago office, along with John Robinson of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Indianapolis office, represented the seller in …

CHICAGO — A partnership between DeBartolo Development and Optima Inc. has started construction on the $114 million, 325-unit Optima Center Chicago, a 42-story, Class A apartment high-rise in the Streeterville submarket of Chicago. The property is located at the northeast corner of Illinois and St. Clair streets, one block east of Michigan Avenue. “It’s an incredible piece of real estate,” says Edward Kobel, president and chief operating officer of DeBartolo Development. “Optima Center Chicago is going to be a world-class apartment building.” The building was designed by David Hovey of Optima to achieve LEED certification. Kobel says Hovey is one of the most unique architects and designers in the world today. Optima Center Chicago will feature one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with floor-to-ceiling glass, hardwood floors, wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances and granite/cultured marble counters. The building will also have 11,600 square feet of amenities, including a glass-enclosed fitness center with a weight facility, basketball court, cardio areas, a flex studio, indoor lap pool, hot tub and locker rooms with sauna and private massage rooms. Additionally, there will be a resident’s club, business center, multipurpose room and conference room with a game room, lounge, flat screen television, two catering kitchens, …

SHIPPENSBURG, PA. — A partnership between Shippensburg University Student Services Inc. (SUSSI) and Campus Apartments will break ground today on the $70 million first phase of a student housing project at the Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. The three-phase, $200 million project is the largest in the university’s history. The first phase of the project includes construction of three facilities, which will house 924 students. Two of the buildings will be on the north side of campus, one of which will contain a 13,000-square-foot wellness center. One building will be built on the south side of campus and will be the new location of the University’s Honors Program. Each of the facilities will also include semi-suite and full-suite floor plans, multipurpose programming areas and study/social lounges. SUSSI, an independent non-profit organization that serves as the voice for the student community, owns and is directing the project. A partnership was formed with Campus Apartments to design, develop and finance the development. Campus Apartments then collaborated with RBC Capital to arrange $70 million in bond financing for the first phase. “Through our partnership with Campus Apartments, we were able to secure a highly favorable financing arrangement, which is a testament not only to …

ATLANTA — At the ICSC 2011 Southeast Conference, four retailers discussed their 2012 growth plans and challenges in a panel titled “Growing Pains: A Retailers’ Discussion.” David Kitchens, partner at Atlanta-based Kitchens Kelly Gaines P.C., moderated the discussion between Marianne Creamer McCabe, real estate manager at Chick-Fil-A; Jeff Gray, vice president of real estate at Hibbett Sporting Goods; Carl Jenkins, regional real estate manager at Advance Auto Parts; and Warner Walker, store development manager at Starbucks Coffee Co. All of the panelists said their companies have plans to grow nationwide and more specifically, in the Southeast, during 2012. In the Southeast, Starbucks plans to open 10 stores next year and Chick-Fil-A will add 12 to 15 stores. Hibbett Sporting Goods and Advance Auto Parts both intend to grow their presence in the Southeast as well, although no specific numbers were provided. One of the most extensive topics of discussion was new growth challenges companies are facing. McCabe said that although Chick-Fil-A has kept a consistent growth strategy, it has started to look at more in-town locations as possibilities for growth. The stores are typically about 5,000 square feet and the company prefers for the restaurants to have a drive-through, which …

Appraisals play a critical role in the commercial real estate community. Investors, lenders and special servicers alike look to appraisals for guidance, but how reliable are they in today’s rocky market? Brian Olasov, managing director in the Atlanta and Washington, D.C. offices of law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP, doesn’t mince words. “My research has indicated that they are not reliable at all.” Widely recognized as an expert on commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), troubled mortgages and banking challenges, Olasov believes greater scrutiny of the appraisal process is needed. “When you start talking about global solutions, I think that we need to take a look at the role appraisals are playing in slowing down the real estate recovery,” he says. The provocative comments from Olasov came during a retail panel discussion at the ICSC 2011 Southeast Conference in Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon. The opening day of the two-day conference at Cobb Galleria attracted several hundred industry professionals, including retailers, developers, brokers, lenders and an assortment of exhibitors. Appearing on the panel with Olasov were John Long, senior vice president with the OREO (Other Real Estate Owned) Group for commercial real estate at Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks, and Michael McGregor, vice president …

MIAMI — Resorts World Miami has completed the first stage of the $3.8 billion development by purchasing the Omni Center in Miami. The Omni Center contains a 527-room Hilton Hotel, a 2,500-space car park, 300,000 square feet of office space and 600,00 square feet of decorator ready retail. Additionally, Christian Goode has been selected as president of Resorts World Miami, who will oversee development, construction and operations for the project. He has experience with the Resorts World Group brand, as previously he was the chief financial officer for the $880 million Resorts World New York City. “With over 350 employees, Resorts World Miami is starting to become a reality,” said Goode in a statement. “These employees are the first of the 19,000 employees to be employed if and when the Destination Resort Act is passed and Resorts World Miami secures one of the three destination resort licenses.” A groundbreaking is expected to occur in early 2012, with completion slated for the fall of 2014. Plans for the project, which were announced in September, include four hotels with a total of 5,200 rooms and two residential towers with 1,000 units. Additionally, the towers will sit atop eight stories of commercial uses, …

Fueled by a low interest rate environment and strong investor demand, NorthMarq Capital expects to arrange between $8 billion and $9 billion in commercial real estate financing in 2011, an increase of at least 50 percent from a year earlier. The Bloomington, Minn.-based company arranged approximately $5.2 billion in commercial real estate financing in 2010, according to CEO Edward Padilla, who describes this year’s huge surge as a shocking surprise. “Going back a year, there were some economists talking about a 10-year Treasury yield of about 5 percent, or certainly above 4 percent,” says Padilla. Today, however, the 10-year yield is hovering around 2 percent, near an all-time low. That’s significant because the 10-year yield is a benchmark for long-term financing in commercial real estate. The multifamily sector is a big reason for the boost in volume. When all is said and done, NorthMarq expects to arrange $2.5 billion in multifamily loans through its seller-servicer relationship with Freddie Mac this year, easily beating the company’s previous annual high of $1.5 billion. That’s before factoring its loan origination business through Fannie Mae into the equation. Collectively, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will account for $3.3 billion in multifamily financing for all …

ATLANTA — Jamestown and its subsidiary, Green Street Properties, have started construction on the $180 million, 1 million-square-foot redevelopment of Ponce City Market, located at 675 Pone de Leon Ave. in Atlanta. The 2.1 million-square-foot building is formerly known as City Hall East. “Seven years after the city first attempted to sell the historic building for redevelopment, we’re excited to announce that the largest brick structure in the Southeast is officially under construction,” said Matt Bronfman, managing director of Jamestown in a statement. “Jamestown is fortunate to be able to develop such an exciting project and looks forward to seeing it once again become an important part of the community, driving economic growth and culture in Atlanta.” The redevelopment will open in one phase and is slated for completion in the spring of 2014. Previously, Jamestown had announced it would include approximately 300,000 square feet of retail space, 350,000 to 500,000 square feet of loft office space, and residential units as dictated by the market. Additionally, the property will contain some green elements, including rainwater harvesting and an organic farm on the rooftop. “Historic renovations are always challenging because you discover so much about the building the further you go,” …

MIAMI — Miami-based Newgard Development Group has plans to break ground in the second quarter of 2012 on the $170 million, 374-unit BrickellHouse, a 46-story luxury condo tower located at 1300 Brickell Bay Dr. in Miami. Completion is slated for 2014. According to a June 2011 study by the Miami Downtown Development Authority, only 4,000 of 23,000 condos created during the residential boom between 2003 and 2008 remain unsold, less than 1,500 of which are located in the Brickell Financial District. Layout options at BrickellHouse will include studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, as well as 5,000-square-foot penthouse condos. All units will feature private balconies overlooking Biscayne Bay and the Brickell Financial District, gourmet kitchens and bathrooms with imported European cabinetry and premium appliances and finishes. Prices will begin around $200,000. The building also will have approximately 6,000 square feet of office space, some of which will be occupied by Newgard Group’s new headquarters, as well as 16,000 square feet of retail space. Meat Market Steakhouse has been retained as the first retail tenant. “BrickellHouse is totally new,” says Harvey Hernandez, managing partner and chairman of Newgard Group. “A number of projects have been built in Miami in the last …

NEW YORK CITY — Eleven banks in the United States failed in October, according to Trepp’s October 2011 U.S. Bank Failure Report. In September, six banks failed and seven banks failed in August. This brings to total failures so far for 2011 to 85 banks. The highest number of failed banks occurred in Georgia with three banks: Community Capital Bank, Decatur First Bank and Piedmont Community Bank. Illinois had two bank failures, All American Bank and Country Bank. Colorado, however, had the largest failure with the Community Banks of Colorado, which accounted for nearly 40 percent of total failed bank assets in October. Other states with failed banks include Florida, New Jersey, North Carolina, Missouri and Minnesota. “It is notable that the pace picked up versus the prior two months, but not really a surprise,” says Matthew Anderson, managing director of New York-based Trepp. “During the last couple quarters there appears to be some seasonality to the pace of failures, with the number/pace increasing in the month after quarter-end, then subsiding somewhat in the next two months, before increasing again in the next month after quarter-end.” Anderson continues, “The reason seems to be related to quarterly reporting. All FDIC-insured institutions …