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HOLLYWOOD, FLA. — CORFAC International announced three major initiatives to expand the organization internationally in order to grow its global affiliations. Though these initiatives had been in development, the immediate move was spurred on by Jones Lang LaSalle’s $319 million pending acquisition of King Sturge, which has had a close relationship with CORFAC since 1995. “Commercial real estate is not a ‘one-size fits all’ industry, and CORFAC International has a unique organizational structure and business culture that merits a prominent place among its peers,” said Charles Sevier, CORFAC International president, who is also a principal with Crump Commercial/CORFAC International in Memphis, Tenn. “The new initiatives are necessary steps to ensure and expand the health, prosperity and competitiveness of our organization in the global marketplace.” Of CORFAC’s new initiatives, first and foremost Susan S. Newman has been hired as the organization’s new executive director, with her term becoming effective January 1, 2012. Newman starts work on a full-time basis in mid-November as part of a transition period with outgoing Executive Director Tom Bennett, who retires at the end of 2011 after 12 years. CORFAC has also taken action to become a principal member in FIABCI, the International Real Estate Federation, which …

ATLANTA — Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman’s Atlanta office has arranged $100 million in acquisition debt financing for 12 Class A industrial assets totaling 4.5 million square feet, located in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Texas and California. A partnership between AREA Property Partners and DW Management acquired the portfolio in an off-market transaction for approximately $170 million, purchased via the $759 million AREA Value Enhancement Fund 7. The loan is secured by ten assets comprising 3.5 million square feet. Pattillo Investment Partners, LLC, sold the properties, which are 87 percent occupied with average remaining lease terms of about 5 years with little near-term rollover. According to Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman, the lease terms allow the buyer both stable cashflow and revenue opportunities. AREA Property Partners is also seeking additional value-add industrial acquisitions. Including this deal, AREA has invested $510 million in various property types. “We’ve been impressed with the depth of the market and strong demand from lenders in the industrial sector,” said Steve Wolf, partner, and head of portfolio management and U.S. Value Enhancement Funds for AREA Property Partners. “The ability to structure a loan with a single lender that allowed for a combination of fixed rate …

NEW YORK CITY — Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE: BXP) is restarting development of at 250 West 55th Street, a 1 million-square-foot, LEED Gold pre-certified office building in Midtown Manhattan. Construction of the 39-story office tower commenced in late 2007 but was suspended in late 2009 after the completion of excavation and foundations and construction of the building to grade level. At the time, Boston Properties had also fabricated all of the structural steel to complete the tower, which was stored along with portions of the curtain wall parts. Enrolled in the New York City Department of Buildings' “Stalled Sites Program,” 250 West 55th Street's full building permit and other approvals remain in effect. Designed by architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, the center core building features a two-story podium with a landscaped “green” roof on the third floor, and floor-to-floor heights of 14 feet. Turner Construction Company was recently selected as the construction manager for the project. The incremental cost to complete the project, excluding capitalized interest, is expected to be approximately $400 million. Including that investment and capitalized interest, the total project cost upon completion is expected to be approximately $1.05 billion. As a result of resuming of …

NEW YORK CITY — In a transaction expected to transform the Lower Manhattan office market, Cushman & Wakefield Vice Chairman Tara Stacom and Executive Director Alan Stein have arranged a 1,046,262-square-foot, 25-year lease for media giant Condé Nast at One World Trade Center, the 3 million-square-foot, $3.1 billion tower under construction in downtown Manhattan. The project is a partnership between The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and The Durst Organization, whom Cushman & Wakefield represented in the lease negotiations. CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Vice Chairmen Mary Ann Tighe and Gregory Tosko led a team that represented Condé Nast. The Condé Nast deal stands as Lower Manhattan's largest, private-sector leasing transaction in 20 years. In addition, it’s the largest relocation ever from Midtown to Downtown, Stacom says. “This is a very visible deal, and it’s not going to go unnoticed,” she adds. “Condé will bring further validity to the building and the site, and this One World Trade will help the entire downtown marketplace attract tenants.” In fact, Stacom says, it already has. She notes that wedding website The Knot signed a 64,000-square-foot lease at 195 Broadway last week, at least partially influenced by the Condé Nast deal, …

NEW YORK CITY — Savanna, a New York-based real estate private equity and asset management firm, has taken title to 100 Wall Street, a 29-story, 504,000-square-foot Class A office building in Manhattan’s Financial District. In March 2011, an affiliate of Prudential had purchased the mezzanine loan — which was in default — and subsequently sold it to Savanna for $7.5 million. After acquiring the mezzanine loan, Savanna initiated a UCC foreclosure, which was completed in May 2011. Savanna then took 100 percent fee ownership and assumed the $117 million first mortgage loan. “In the past 10 months, Savanna has acquired a number of terrific office buildings in Manhattan, including 386 Park Avenue South, 104 West 40th Street, 5 Hanover Square, 1375 Broadway and the debt secured by 80 Broad Street,” says Nicholas Bienstock, a co-managing partner of Savanna, which pursues real estate equity and debt asset invesetments throughout the Northeast, focusing on directly owning and operating properties in New York City and the Washington, D.C. metro area. “Most of these acquisitions involved the purchase of defaulted debt as an initial entry point into the deal, and 100 Wall Street is another example of Savanna stepping into the fee ownership of …

CHICAGO — Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: BEE) has signed a letter agreement to acquire the 49 percent interest in the InterContinental Chicago hotel currently owned by its joint venture partner, an affiliate of The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC). The ownership interest will change hands in exchange for approximately 10.8 million shares of common stock at an agreed upon issuance price of $6.50 per share and $11.8 million of cash consideration plus closing adjustments for working capital. According to the company, the transaction values the hotel at $288.3 million, or $364,000 per key. Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc. CEO Laurence Geller said in a statement that the impetus to acquire this ownership interest is based on upside potential for the property, which is located at 505 N. Michigan Ave. at the heart of the Magnificent Mile. Because of what he called “virtually zero growth among its competitive set,” Geller said the InterContinental Chicago “is poised to meet and possibly surpass previous peak performance levels.” “The InterContinental Chicago is a core asset in our portfolio,” added Gellar. “With this transaction, we are able to preserve our ownership on attractive terms, while singularly benefiting from the tremendous upside inherent …

SANTA ANA, CALIF. — Santa Ana-based Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT II has acquired the Dixie-Lobo Medical Office Building Portfolio from Seavest Inc. for an undisclosed amount. The portfolio comprises eight properties totaling 156,000 square feet. The properties are located on the campuses of hospitals affiliated with Community Health Systems, Christus Spohn Health System and Signature Hospital Corporation. All of the properties are master-leased to the hospitals with terms expiring between November 2015 and August 2017. The leases all have four 5-year renewal options. The eight properties include: • A single-story, 9,000-square-foot building located on the campus of Medical Park Hospital at 302 Bill Clinton Drive in Hope, Ark.; • A single-story, 15,000-square-foot building located on the campus of Women & Children's Hospital at 1920 W. Sale Road in Lake Charles, La.; • A two-story, 24,000-square-foot building located on the campus of Carlsbad Medical Center at 2420 W. Pierre St. in Carlsbad, N.M.; • A single-story, 15,000-square-foot building located on the campus of Lea Regional Medical Center at 5419 N. Lovington Highway in Hobbs, N.M.; • Two single-story buildings totaling 25,000 square feet that are located on the campus of Christus Spohn Hospital Alice at 2420 and 2510 E. Main …

NEW YORK CITY — Equity partners Broadway Partners and Investcorp have recapitalized 280 Park Avenue, a 1.23 million-square-foot, Class A office building located in Midtown Manhattan. The joint venture reached an agreement with the property's mezzanine debt holders, SL Green Realty Corp. and Vornado Realty Trust, that will help fund a $150 million repositioning and re-tenanting program. Prior to the recapitalization, Vornado and SL Green formed a 50/50 joint venture for the lenders' combined $400 million debt position in the property. The venture now owns a majority equity stake in it. Broadway retains an ownership interest in 280 Park Avenue and will remain its co-manager. The repositioning of the office tower will include upgrades to the public areas as well as the installation of state-of-the-art infrastructure. The property currently has a large block of contiguous space that will be marketed for lease. “Many great office properties were impacted adversely by the most recent market downturn but now offer great upside potential to investors who have the resources to take advantage,” said SL Green CEO Marc Holliday in a statement. “We see 280 Park as one of those opportunities and we look forward to working with our partners to realize the …