NEW YORK CITY — The Westfield Group (ASX: WDC) has agreed in principle with The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on the commercial terms for a joint venture of the retail component at the World Trade Center site. Westfield will invest $612.5 million for a 50 percent share of the joint venture, which is subject to potential increases of up to $37.5 million based on achievement of agreed yield targets. The investment will be funded progressively after the closing throughout the development period. The transaction is subject to completion of legal documentation, due diligence and final Board approvals and is expected to close in fourth quarter 2011. The Port Authority and Westfield will work together to develop the retail facilities, with Westfield assuming responsibility for management and leasing on behalf of the joint venture. Plans for the retail premises currently include approximately 365,000 square feet of leasable space spread across multiple levels including in the new WTC Transportation Hub, with concourses that will connect throughout all portions of the site, as well as at street level and above grade in Three and Four World Trade Center. It is anticipated that an additional 90,000 square feet of retail …
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BOSTON & SAN FRANCISCO — CWCapital, a subsidiary of CW Financial Services and a full-service, national lender to the multifamily real estate industry, has launched of its multifamily life company lending platform to complement CW’s existing offerings through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA. This addition underscores the company’s commitment to providing new, competitive sources of funding for its expanding customer base. CWCapital currently services a portfolio of $13 billion in loans in 48 states. The multifamily life company initiative will be led by Tom MacManus, managing director for CW and president and COO of ARA Finance, the joint venture finance platform of Apartment Realty Advisors and CW. CW also recently hired Mischa Guenther, former director of Wells Fargo’s New York multifamily division, as senior vice president. Guenther will be responsible for managing relationships with and proposals for life companies for CW’s customers. Also hired was Mark Plenge, vice president in the firm’s San Francisco office. Plenge has significant experience in life company financing and recently closed the firm’s first life company deals. Funded by ING, the loans provided $28 million in refinancing for two multifamily property portfolios in the San Francisco Bay Area, which includes the S-101 Management Portfolio …
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Greensboro-based Bell Partners Inc. has sold a 22-property senior living portfolio for more than $300 million to Senior Housing Properties Trust (SNH), a public REIT. This disposition plays a key role in a Bell Partners' strategic shift over the last 18 months, as the company focuses on its position as an apartment ownership and management company. Jefferies, a global securities and investment banking group, represented the Bell Partners ownership entities in the sale process. Steve Bell, Bell Partners CEO, cited factors in the timing of the portfolio sale, including attractive lending interest rates, a strong market for acquisition of senior living assets, and a general backlog of investment cash from prospective buyers, particularly public REITs. “Taking all circumstances into account, Bell Partners had a duty to its investors to investigate a sale,” said Steve Bell. “The timing of the sale appears very good and in the best interest of our clients. In these challenging times, it’s nice to be able to make major cash distributions to our investors.” The sale of these 22 assets comprises nearly all of the company's senior living properties, and the company expects to follow this deal with four more property sales by …
Baltimore — On the heels of closing a $190 million portfolio deal, Jones Lang LaSalle reports excellent conditions in the multifamily markets for the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. regions. Most recently, on behalf of SRH/CMS Berkshire Limited Partnership, the firm’s Capital Markets experts have facilitated the sale of a portfolio of multifamily properties in metropolitan Baltimore. Harbor Group International purchased the six-property, 1,984-unit portfolio for $190.1 million. Leading the Jones Lang LaSalle team on this assignment were Managing Directors Al Cissel and Scott Melnick and Senior Vice President Christine Espenshade. “This portfolio, while all in the same submarket, offers a range of different product types for potential renters making it appealing on numerous levels,” says Cissel. “There was a significant amount of interest in the portfolio due to its size, as we continue to see investors looking for large acquisitions that offer increasing cash flow and economies of scale. This portfolio was attractive to the buyer because of the upside potential as there a number upgraded and achieving higher rents.” The properties included in the portfolio are: Crosswinds at Rolling Road, 808 units at 7500 Hithergreen Drive in Baltimore (pictured below) Diamond Ridge, 92 units at 2 Heatherton Court in …
KANSAS CITY, MO. — Trammell Crow Company and Clarion Partners, the companies forming the joint venture responsible for development of the 800-acre, master-planned KCI Intermodal BusinessCentre, have broken ground on the first building at the property, a 349,440-square-foot distribution center built to suit for Blount International. Blount is relocating its national distribution center for its North American Operations at the property, which is located within LogisticsCentre I, a LEED-Certified, Class A facility situated on 22.54 acres at Kansas City International Airport. Completion is scheduled for January 2012. Blount International’s growth projections suggest the company will soon outgrow its current distribution center located in Executive Park east of downtown Kansas City, and this new efficient facility will help it better serve its worldwide customer base. The transition is projected to generate 89 new jobs for Kansas City, in addition to retaining the 230 jobs Blount currently contributes to the local economy. Blount is a global manufacturer and marketer of replacement parts, equipment and accessories for the forestry, lawn and garden; farm, ranch, and agriculture; and construction markets, and is the market leader in manufacturing saw chain and guide bars for chain saws. Blount sells its products in more than 100 countries …
COSTA MESA, CALIF. — Costa Mesa-based shopping center developer Donahue Schriber has successfully completed the final piece of a $1.2 billion balance sheet recapitalization, which occurred through several transactions. The final deal was a $365 million refinance with a bank syndicate led by Bank of America and also included Wells Fargo Bank, U.S. Bank, PNC Bank, Union Bank and City National Bank. “The recapitalization was the culmination of digging out from the ‘Great Recession,’” says Patrick S. Donahue, president & CEO of Donahue Schriber. “Like many others in the industry we were affected greatly but were able to weather the storm. So after we came through, we made a list of what we needed. We looked at our debt, where our maturities were too short and our covenants too restricted, and we also needed to convert stock and develop growth capital.” The refinance covers a portfolio of 31 of Donahue Schriber Realty Group’s assets. The new financing has a term of five years with a built-in option for a two-year extension, a lower interest rate and eliminates many of those restrictive covenants Donahue refers to. Countryside Marketplace is a 724,000 square-foot Donahue Schriber shopping center in Menifee, CA anchored by …
ATLANTA — Cousins Properties and Gables Residential held an official groundbreaking ceremony to formally recognize the construction start on the three-phased, $250 million Emory Point mixed-used development in Atlanta. This is the first partnership between Cousins and Gables, two Atlanta-based development companies. “We’re very excited about Emory Point and are glad to see a development of this magnitude move forward,” said Larry Gellerstedt, Cousins President and CEO. “This project represents an incredible infill opportunity in a supply constrained submarket with high demand.” Located in the Clifton Corridor, adjacent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and in close proximity to Emory University and Emory Healthcare, Emory Point is a vertically integrated mixed-use development. Phase I will include more than 80,000 square feet of retail space and 443 luxury apartments, and is expected to be complete by Fall 2012. The second and third phases of the project will be developed according to market demand in the area. The project has been in the works for more than 4 years, Gellerstedt says, demonstrating the commitment from both Cousins and its partners. “Emory Point will be a dynamic anchor to the northern part of our campus,” said Mike Mandl, Executive Vice …
NEW YORK CITY — American Realty Capital Healthcare Trust (ARC Healthcare) has entered into a contract to acquire 12 healthcare facilities for $257.5 million. The deal includes three rehabilitation hospitals, two ambulatory surgery center/medical offices, two hospital/medical office buildings, three post-acute care rehabilitation facilities, one long-term acute care hospital, and one medical office building. These 12 assets total 765,038 square feet. “Our latest acquisition is very reflective of the strategy for this REIT, being well diversified within the healthcare field, both from an asset and geographic standpoint,” says Todd Jensen, chief investment officer for ARC Healthcare. “Our investment strategy is focused on newer, high-quality assets, and the average age of these 12 properties is less than two years.” The portfolio is approximately 93 percent leased to 49 tenants. Only about 16 percent of the tenants, based upon occupied square feet, have lease expirations prior to December 31, 2016, and nearly 45 percent of the tenants have lease terms expiring more than ten years from the projected closings. These properties boast predominantly long-term, triple-net leases with contractual annual rent increases across six different types of healthcare assets. National and regional healthcare tenants dominate the rent roll, with more than a third …
ANN ARBOR, MICH. — Borders Group Inc. announced late Monday, July 18, that it would liquidate after failing to receive any offers to keep the business going. The company, which employs nearly 11,000 people, is foregoing today’s scheduled bankruptcy-court auction. Borders said liquidation of its remaining 399 stores could start as soon as Friday, and it is expected to go out of business for good by the end of September, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Journal also reported last week that Borders had a deal with an investor, Jahm Najafi, which unraveled Wednesday after publishers and landlords owed money from the company complained that his bid would allow him to liquidate the bookstore chain after buying the business. Background on Borders’ Bankruptcy Borders originally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 16. At the time, the company planned to continue serving its customers in the normal course, to make employee payroll and continue its benefits programs for its employees, and to reorganize and implement a new business model for Borders to address the changing needs of the American reader. “It has become increasingly clear that in light of the environment of curtailed customer spending, our ongoing discussions with publishers …
CHICAGO — Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H), through one of its wholly owned subsidiaries, has signed an agreement to purchase a portfolio from LodgeWorks, L.P. and its private equity partners. The $802 million, all-cash deal includes 24 hotels and related assets under the Hotel Sierra, AVIA, Hyatt Place and Hyatt Summerfield Suites brands (*see breakdown below), and the agreement encompasses management, franchise and intellectual property rights. The hotels being purchased are key assets in strategic, high barrier to entry markets, and the acquisition will enable the company to introduce Hyatt-branded hotels in nine markets where it currently is not represented at all, and to establish its extended stay presence in 16 new markets. “This is a significant expansion of our presence in the United States and enhances our extended stay representation with a great collection of high quality hotels,” said Mark S. Hoplamazian, president and chief executive officer of Hyatt Hotels Corporation. “We know we must increase the number of markets we serve. This transaction is a noteworthy step in that direction, and will give us an immediate boost in brand awareness among both guests and potential third party developers.” Following the transaction, 16 Hotel Sierra hotels will be branded …