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LAS VEGAS — As co-CEO of Auction.com Commercial, Eric Paulsen has his finger on the pulse of online trends in the sale of real estate properties and loan notes. In 2011, the commercial real estate division of the Irvine, California-based company arranged the sale of 1,169 notes totaling more than $4.6 billion at a recovery rate of 52 percent. The commercial division last year also auctioned off 1,087 real estate owned (REO) properties valued at $1.2 billion with an average recovery price at 103 percent of the reserve price. Prior to 2011, Paulsen served as vice president of acquisitions and dispositions for Miami-based LNR Property Corp. He has more than 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry. REBusinessonline caught up with Paulsen on the show floor at RECon 2012 to discuss the growing popularity of online auctions in the commercial real estate industry and some of the driving factors. REBO: What’s the profile of the online buyer for retail properties in today’s market? Paulsen: We literally have sold everything from the single tenant pad Starbucks to the 800,000-square-foot mall. It’s across the board nationally. It can be any retail product type, any location and in any condition. …

LAS VEGAS — Bill Rose, director of Marcus & Millichap’s National Retail Group, doesn’t hesitate to use the word “awesome” when discussing recent trends in the 10-year Treasury yield, which dropped last Friday to 1.7 percent. It was the lowest closing level ever for the benchmark yield, and the ninth consecutive weekly drop. In contrast, the 10-year yield hovered around 5 percent at the peak of the last real estate cycle in 2007. “This low interest rate has been extraordinarily favorable for commercial real estate,” says Rose. “This is awesome to have sub-2 percent Treasury rates. We’ve never seen that before. How long do we get it?” That is one of the burning questions on the minds of many attendees of RECon 2012 hosted by the International Council of Shopping Centers. The show, which runs through Wednesday, kicked off Sunday afternoon at the Las Vegas Convention Center. More than 30,000 professionals from different disciplines across the retail real estate industry will participate in educational sessions, network and establish deals. Godsend for borrowers The persistently low interest rate environment is enabling property owners with maturing loans to breathe a little easier because their loan constant, or cost of capital, has dropped. …

WEST COVINA, CA. — Phoenix-based Cole Real Estate Investments has acquired Eastland Center, an 805,000-square-foot retail power center in West Covina, for $147 million. The seller is The Westfield Group. Eastland Center was originally built in 1957 and has been redeveloped twice, in both 1979 and 1997. The mall consists of a two-story main building, which houses the majority of tenants, and is accessible from two sides at grade level. The sale also included a grocery-anchored community shopping center and eight additional buildings that house junior anchors, shop tenants and outparcels. The property is fully leased and includes more than 100 stores. Anchor tenants include Target, Burlington Coat Factory, Albertson's, Dick's Sporting Goods and Bed Bath & Beyond. The center also features several specialty retailers and restaurant tenants including Dollar Tree, Starbucks Coffee and BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse. Construction is also under way for another major anchor retailer that has yet to be announced. Last April, property developer Westfield Group announced it would sell eight non-core shopping centers in the U.S. for $1.1 billion, including Eastland Center. Starwood Capital Group took a 90 percent stake in seven centers, while Eastland was to be sold in a separate transaction. Westfield Group …

CHICAGO — Ivanhoé Cambridge and Hines have plans to construct the $300 million River Point, a 900,000-square-foot office building located in downtown Chicago’s West Loop. Construction is slated to begin before the end of the year, and completion is scheduled for early 2016. “The River Point project is truly exceptional, not only for its prime location and architectural quality, but also because it is taking shape at an auspicious moment, with all signs pointing to a substantial increase in demand for new office properties in downtown Chicago in the years to come,” says Bill Tresham, president of global investments for Ivanhoé Cambridge. “This is great news for Ivanhoé Cambridge, for Hines, for the City of Chicago and for the many large-scale corporations seeking prestigious and functional office space.” Chicago’s 136.7 million-square-foot office CBD market reported a 14.9 percent vacancy rate at the end of the first quarter, a welcome decline from the 15.4 percent reported during the fourth quarter of 2011, says Matthew Ward, senior vice president of Skokie, Illinois-based The Alter Group. “Downtown Chicago’s prospects going forward remain strong,” he says. “Strengthening consumer and professional/business services sectors will drive Chicago’s expansion. The local economy is expected to add 35,000 …

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Commercial and multifamily loan originations increased 36 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, according to newly released data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The largest gains in lending activity were in the healthcare, retail and multifamily sectors. Loan originations for healthcare properties spiked 118 percent, retail loans increased by 109 percent and loans for multifamily rose by 45 percent. “Multifamily lending is being buoyed by the overall strength in multifamily markets — with strong fundamentals supporting property incomes and values,” explains Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of commercial real estate research. “Lending on healthcare properties also increased significantly, on a percentage basis, showing a rise from the relatively low volumes at the beginning of last year.” There were also decreases in loan originations in the office, industrial and hotel sectors in the first quarter of 2012 compared with the same period last year. Hotel loans decreased by 7 percent, office loans were down 9 percent and industrial loans slumped by 32 percent. Among investor types, loans from commercial bank portfolios increased by 104 percent and loans from government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) posted a 40 percent increase when compared to the first quarter …

NEW YORK CITY — Property Group Partners has sold a 154,953-square-foot office building, located at 148 Lafayette St. in SoHo, to Epic for $131.7 million. The New York City-based real estate firm paid $850 per square foot for the building, which is more than double the $390 per square foot the seller paid for the building in 2007. “The sale of 148 Lafayette St. validates our original strategy with this building,” said Jeffrey Sussman, founder and president of Property Group Partners. “With our partners, we recognized that a complete renovation and expansion would vastly improve this asset for both tenants and investors.” The 12-story building, which was designed by McKenzie Voorhees and Gmelin Architects in 1913, was originally an industrial building that housed printing presses and clothing manufacturers. In 2007, Property Group Partners retained Cook + Fox Architects for a full renovation and conversion of the property, including a new office lobby, covered entry, addition of new state-of-the-art mechanical, electrical, life safety and security systems, new operable tilt-and-turn windows and new restrooms, elevators and hardwood floors, as well as new retail storefronts. Additionally, a 5,327-square-foot penthouse with an accessible private green terrace was added to the roof, and the limestone …

INDEPENDENCE, MO. — A consent decree from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) — stemming from the merger between CoStar Group and LoopNet — has paved the way for competing firm Xceligent to expand into the nation’s top 65 commercial real esate markets. The expansion plan is made possible by an investment from Stamford, Conn.-based dmg :: information (dmgi), a business-to-business information company. The new funds will enable Xceligent to match CoStar’s nationwide footprint. Xceligent currently employs 210 people and provides real estate information services to 30 markets in the U.S., including second-tier cities such as Milwaukee. Part of the FTC consent decree is for Xceligent to expand to 65 markets within the next 3 years. “For years, those who use commercial real estate information in metro areas like Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C., Miami, Seattle, and other top-tier markets have had to rely for the most part on a single source,” said Doug Curry, Xceligent’s founder and CEO. “Now, they will have a cost-effective, competitive alternative. “Our pricing strategy is based on the idea that with primary research being done in small towns in the Midwest … our cost structures are lower, allowing us to provide a similar level of …

BOSTON — Developers plan to break ground on the first phase of a $250 million redevelopment in Boston's Jackson Square this Saturday. The multi-phase project aims to reshape an entire neighborhood during the next several years. The project at 225 Centre St. calls for a building that will house 103 apartment units, more than 16,000 square feet of retail and an underground parking structure. It is the largest project within a 14-building redevelopment plan to rebuild Jackson Square, says Bart Mitchell, president and CEO of The Community Partners, the project developer. “The community is ready to see beautiful buildings in these vacant lots in the center of the neighborhood,” says Mitchell. Nearly 40 years ago, a failed highway expansion project bulldozed homes and businesses in the area, leaving much of the neighborhood vacant or underutilized. In the mid-1990s a consortium of community groups — including the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp., Urban Edge and the Hyde Square Task Force — worked closely with city officials and developers to begin a comprehensive redevelopment plan, explains Mitchell. “There was an extensive community visioning process that involved hundreds of area residents,” he says. “They said what they would like to see in terms …

UNION, N.J., AND OAKLAND, CALIF. — Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) announced Wednesday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Oakland-based Cost Plus Inc. (NASDAQ: CPWM) in an all-cash transaction for $22 per share, or $495 million. Cost Plus is known for its selection of home décor, furniture and unique food offerings from all over the world. The retailer currently operates 259 stores in 30 states under four names, which include World Market, Cost Plus World Market, Cost Plus Imports and World Market Stores. “The two companies have collaborated during the last 2 years with Bed Bath & Beyond selling Cost Plus World Market products in a few stores,” according to Laura Champine, analyst with Canaccord Genuity. The transaction will expand Bed Bath & Beyond's food offerings into the gourmet food and beverage categories. Additionally, Bed Bath & Beyond will provide greater scale and capital structure to support the 259 stores Cost Plus owns, she adds. “Financially, Cost Plus was performing okay, but not great,” says Jeff Green, a retail consultant and owner of Phoenix-based Jeff Green Partners. “I was a little concerned that they might be closing some stores. They did leave certain markets …

SANTA ROSA, CALIF. — Construction is under way on the 182,300-square-foot Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa (SMCSR), a $284 million replacement hospital located on Chanate Road in Santa Rosa. The hospital will replace the original Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa, which was built in 1938. The new hospital is slated to open in October 2014. HGA Architects and Engineers, working closely with northern California-based Unger Construction and Sutter Health, designed the property using integrated project delivery (IPD) methods, a team-based approach that streamlines the construction process and reduces building costs. “By using IPD methods, we created a platform to ensure that keystone patient experiences — such as lobby spaces and waiting rooms — as well as sustainability components, weren’t sacrificed due to budget constraints,” said Greg Osecheck, principal-in-charge of the project in HGA’s Sacramento office. “With new technology such as 3-D building information modeling (BIM), our team was able to conceptualize together to reduce unknowns, create opportunities for cost savings, and design a facility that will serve the Sutter Health community for years to come.” HGA has designed the new hospital to achieve LEED Silver certification with sustainable features such as a recycling program to reduce construction waste …