Top Stories

SAYREVILLE, N.J. — O’Neill Properties Group has broken ground and is under development on The Point, an 8 million square-foot mixed-use project in Sayreville. After closing on the 453-acre site in October 2008, the company worked with numerous agencies to gain the necessary environmental approvals in 2009 and 2010, sorting out all the issues on the former brownfield to break ground and start remediation work in February 2011. “The deal for the land went through at more than $100 million at a time when real estate development closings of that magnitude were just not happening,” says Brian O’Neill, Jr., senior project manager for O’Neill Properties Group. “That fact speaks to the fundamental strength this site has — it’s a home run.” Located at 100 Chevalier Ave., approximately 30 miles from Manhattan and minutes from Staten Island, the site stretches three miles of waterfront along the Raritan River. Development plans include retaining 74 acres of protected wetlands, and wind and solar farms are planned on an additional 14 acres. The Point is surrounded by one of the busiest intersections in the United States, just off the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, U.S. Route 9 and NJ Route 35, and close …

CHICAGO — Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds (CJUF) has partnered with McCaffery Interests to acquire and reposition the Roosevelt Collection, a transit-oriented mixed-use project in Chicago’s growing South Loop submarket. “The South Loop has truly come into its own as a prime destination in Chicago, and we are looking forward to revitalizing a property that will bring even more life to the area,” said Canyon Managing Partner Bobby Turner. The Canyon-McCaffery team will work to transform the 12-acre property’s 400,000 square-foot retail component over the next 18 months. Anchored by a 16-screen Kerasotes ShowPlace ICON theater, the leasing team plans to secure a mix of clothing, home furnishings and electronics retailers, along with additional restaurant tenants. The property also features 342 residential units that are currently more than 90 percent occupied, a parking garage, vacant land for a public park and rights to develop additional multifamily units. Plans call for demolition of the center median to create a shopping destination for the community and for a new active public plaza, which will include green landscaped areas, water features, children’s play areas and wider sidewalks for improved pedestrian access. All parties involved in the partnership between CJUF, the joint venture between Canyon Capital …

NEW YORK CITY — Monday Properties and Dallas-based Invesco Real Estate have completed the recapitalization of 230 Park Avenue, one of New York City’s landmark buildings. Known previously as the Helmsley Building, New York General Building and the New York Central Building, the 34-story, 1.4 million-square-foot office property straddles Park Avenue atop the Grand Central Terminal. Monday Properties has managed 230 Park Avenue since 1998 and purchased the building in 2007. The partnership will complete the property’s repositioning, initiated by Monday Properties in 1998. Monday Properties will be the operating partner within the partnership and will continue to be the managing and leasing agent. “The market consistently rewards the property for delivering exceptional service in a unique, landmark environment,” said Anthony Westreich, president and chief executive officer of Monday Properties. “We will continue that focused plan and be an outstanding choice for our tenants and our partner.” The building’s current tenants include national and global firms such as: ING, Tokio Marine Management, Novartis, Simon Property Group, Otterbourg, Steindler, Houston & Rosen P.C. and Lathrop & Gage. The property also is New York City’s first pre-war office building to obtain LEED-EB [Existing Building] Gold. Since 2002, Monday Properties has completed more …

CHICAGO — Village Green, in conjunction with the City of Chicago, has begun the $146.6 million restoration of Randolph Tower, a 45-story historic office building in the central business district of downtown Chicago. Slated to become Randolph Tower City Apartments, a mixed-use residential development, the property is located on the corner of Randolph and Wells at 188 West Randolph. The terra cotta clad building was originally constructed in 1929 in the Gothic Revival style, designed by architect Karl Vitzhum. The building was known as The Steuben Club Building though World War II, but by 1948 it became known as Randolph Tower. It originally housed retail stores, professional offices and recreational and social club space on the upper floors. The restoration project is being built in partnership with the City of Chicago, Former Mayor Richard M. Daley, Alderman Brendan Reilly, Citi Community Capital, US Bank, Bank of America, Freddie Mac, Illinois Housing Development Authority and Key Bank. “In this uniquely difficult financial market, we were able to secure the financing with Village Green’s dedicated supporters and partners,” said Jonathan Holtzman, Village Green CEO. Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture and Linn-Mathes Inc. led a team of consultants to complete the complicated details of this …

PHILADELPHIA — Liberty Property Trust (NYSE:LRY) and Synterra Partners, in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation and the City of Philadelphia, broke ground yesterday on Five Crescent Drive, the newest building in the Navy Yard Corporate Center. The 205,000 square-foot, four-story facility is a corporate office building for GSK, which signed a 15.5-year lease for the building in February. The property will house much of the administrative function for the company’s North American pharmaceutical group. Expected to be complete in 2012, the tenant will fully occupy by April 1, 2013. As an important anchor of the Navy Yard Corporate Center, Five Crescent represents a more than $81 million investment from Liberty. As with each of the properties within the office development, this project will be LEED certified, striving to achieve the LEED Platinum designation. In addition, specifically requested by GSK, the office space itself will be a collaborative workspace, outside the traditional concept of a typical workplace. “In many ways this project will break new ground in terms of the way interior spaces have been designed,” says John Gattuso, regional director and senior vice president for Liberty Property Trust. “It’s a very different building from much of …

REITs are leading the real estate recovery by boldly going into the market looking to acquire, develop and improve assets aggressively. At REIT Week, sponsored by National Association for Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), public companies from around the U.S. gathered to inform investors of their current plans and projects. Because the information they shared is company and market specific, it gives a wide-ranging snapshot of some of commercial real estate’s largest and most active players in every sector. Here’s a short review of several key commercial sectors sector — office, industrial, retail multifamily, and lodging — reported on site at REIT Week by REBusinessOnline. The Macro View: Mergers & Acquisitions A general session panel discussed the macro state of the REIT market, focusing in on mergers and acquisitions, and the trends affecting the public markets. One of the biggest pieces of news coming out on this front was the June 3 closing of the ProLogis and AMB Property Corporation merger. “The stars really have to align to put together a large merger like this. While this is the sixth merger we’ve had at ProLogis since 1998, all of them to this point rolled into our platform, but with AMB …

NEW YORK CITY — Continuing the trend of public money purchasing high-profile hotel assets in major markets, LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE: LHO) has signed a purchase and sale agreement to acquire The Park Central Hotel in New York City for $405.5 million, just over $434,000 per key. The 934-room, urban, full service hotel is located at 870 Seventh Avenue, between West 55th and West 56th Streets, in midtown Manhattan. Originally built in 1928, The Park Central Hotel has undergone more than $33 million of capital improvements since 2004, and LaSalle plans to implement further renovation of the hotel, currently estimated to cost between $30 and $35 million. The updates will include guestrooms and guest bathrooms, corridors and the lobby. The company expects the renovation to begin during 2012. Highgate Holdings, which currently manages the Park Central, will remain in that capacity. The acquisition is subject to completion of due diligence as well as customary closing requirements and conditions, and is expected to close toward the end of the third quarter 2011. LaSalle anticipates funding the majority of the purchase price with net proceeds of approximately $216.6 million from its previously completed sale of common shares on April 26, 2011, and …

NEW YORK CITY — Jones Lang LaSalle's Capital Markets team has closed a $275 million secured credit facility on behalf of Charter Hall Office REIT, which is secured by five office properties across the United States — 745 Atlantic Avenue in Boston; One & Three Christina Center in Delaware; Pasadena Towers in Pasadena; Promenade II in Atlanta; and SunTrust Financial Centre in Tampa. The debt facility includes a $190 million five-year term loan for the assets, as well as an undrawn $85 million revolver facility to fund leasing-related expenditures at those properties. Managing Director Paul House, executive vice president Matt Comfort and senior vice president Reid McGlamery led the Jones Lang LaSalle team on this transaction. “The steady cash flow generated by the portfolio, coupled with exceptional sponsorship, made this an attractive financing opportunity,” said Matt Comfort, executive vice president, Jones Lang LaSalle. “The assets have a diverse, high-quality tenant base and are located in strategic markets that benefit from strong regional economies.” The debt facility allows several advantages for Charter Hall Office’s assets. First, as a direct result, the REIT will be able to refinance the 2011 loan maturities at One & Three Christina Center and 745 Atlantic Avenue, …

NASHVILLE, TENN. — Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE: BKD) has entered into a definitive agreement to add to its portfolio more than 90 senior living communities totaling 16,000 units in 19 states through acquisition of 100 percent equity interest in Horizon Bay Realty, L.L.C. The transaction includes a restructuring of Horizon Bay’s relationship with HCP, Inc. (NYSE: HCP), which affects 33 of the 90 properties included in Horizon Bay’s portfolio. Under the new agreement, Brookdale will own and operate 21 communities through a new joint venture with HCP and triple net lease the remaining 12 properties from HCP. The 21-community portfolio as part of the joint venture totals 5,070 units (approximately 4,252 independent living, 736 assisted living, and 82 Alzheimer's/dementia care), primarily located in Florida, Texas, Illinois and Rhode Island. The 12 leased communities are primarily located in Texas and Rhode Island, totaling 1,547 units (approximately 588 independent living, 578 assisted living, 225 Alzheimer's/dementia care and 156 skilled nursing units). The remaining 57 communities comprise approximately 9,548 units consisting of 5,445 independent living units, 3,011 assisted living units, 567 Alzheimer's/dementia care units and 525 skilled nursing beds in 15 states, to which Horizon Bay provides management services. Horizon Bay's primary …