Top Stories

DORAVILLE, GA. — Following more than 18 months of negotiations, Orlando, Fla.-based New Broad Street Cos. has reached an agreement with General Motors to purchase and redevelop the automaker's former assembly plant located in the Atlanta suburb of Doraville. Terms of the deal are confidential, but it is expected to close in early summer. When production at the plant ceased in September 2008, many developers saw the potential of the 165-acre site. The location is ideal. The auto plant sits adjacent to a major highway, Interstate 285; a major thoroughfare into Atlanta, Peachtree Industrial Boulevard; and a train stop on Atlanta's MARTA public transit system. “This is the best urban infill site in the country for a large transit-oriented development,” said David Pace, president of New Broad Street, in a statement. “It will be clean and green, incorporating environmental remediation of the former industrial site with the best practices for sustainable development.” New Broad Street has a reputation for large-scale, mixed-use redevelopments. Its most notable project is Baldwin Park, a redevelopment of the former Orlando Naval Training Center into an 1,100-acre community containing more than 4,400 residential units, 1 million square feet of commercial space and 200 acres of parks. …

SAGINAW, MICH. — Grubb & Ellis has completed the sale of a 912,820-square-foot manufacturing facility located at 2328 E. Genesee Ave. in Saginaw. Approximately 682,000 square feet of the property is occupied by TRW Integrated Chassis Systems, which took over the space when its parent company, TRW Automotive, acquired the braking unit of the former tenant, Delphi, in 2008. The remainder of the property is vacant. Chris Dowell and Geoff Hill of the Industrial Group of Grubb & Ellis, along with Patrick Shannon of the firm's Investment Group, represented both parties in the deal. The buyer is a California-based private investor that is entering the Michigan market for the first time. No details were made available about the seller. The acquisition price was also not disclosed. Dowell has also been named exclusive leasing agent by the buyer for the remaining approximately 230,000 square feet of space. — Coleman Wood

ST. LOUIS — Effective March 1, eight commercial real estate brokerage firms will rebrand as Cassidy Turley Commercial Real Estate Services. The primary members of the group include five former Colliers firms that first merged in August 2008. They include Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers in Washington, D.C.; Colliers Turley Martin Tucker in the Midwest; Colliers ABR in New York City; and Colliers Pinkard in Baltimore, and Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C. The firms will be joined by three other companies: BT Commercial, a former NAI affiliate based in Northern California; BRE Commercial, a former Grubb & Ellis affiliate in Southern California and Arizona; and Colliers Houston & Co. of New Jersey. The three firms add 24 offices and 500 new brokers to the new company, which has 57 locations. Once the partnership is complete, Cassidy Turley will be one of the largest commercial real estate service firms in the country. “As one of the nation's largest commercial real estate services providers, the Cassidy Turley brand reflects expanding capabilities to service our values clients nationally,” said Mark Berkhart, CEO of Cassidy Turley, in a statement. “By expanding our service offerings, we broaden our business, increase our national geographic footprint and enhance our …

NEW YORK CITY — BlackRock and Tishman Speyer have agreed to hand over control of New York City's Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village to their lenders. The two companies will transfer control via a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure to CWCapital Asset Management, which is currently acting as special servicer for five CMBS trusts that previously held the property's $3 billion loan. The loan was transferred to the special servicer in November after the lenders filed a request for relief. Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village comprise 110 buildings located in Manhattan. The community's 11,000 units make up one of the largest affordable housing properties in the nation. They were built in the 1940s by Metropolitan Life, which sold them to BlackRock and Tishman Speyer in 2006 for $5.4 billion. Tishman and BlackRock planned to convert many of the rent-regulated apartments into luxury units, but the plan ran into a multitude of setbacks even before the recession hit. Fitch Ratings currently values the property at $1.8 billion — approximately 40 percent of the balance of the partnership's loan. In addition to the $3 billion senior loan, the property also has a $1.5 billion mezzanine loan, whose holders could delay or attempt …

NEW YORK CITY — Norfolk, Va.-based Harbor Group International (HGI) has acquired 4 New York Plaza, a 25-story, approximately 1.1 million-square-foot office tower located in downtown Manhattan, New York City. The seller, JPMorgan Chase, also is the primary tenant and leased back 74 percent of the building. HGI plans to embark on a leasing program for the remaining 280,000 square feet of vacant space at the building. A 7,000-square-foot, street-level space is also available for lease. Before selling the building, JPMorgan Chase completed substantial capital improvements to its infrastructure, security and technology systems, and tenant spaces. The tower was constructed in 1968 and also features a 650-seat cafeteria. “4 New York Plaza is a superbly located asset and a great addition to our existing office portfolio,” said Jordan Slone, chairman and CEO of HGI, in a statement. “We are encouraged by the positive signs suggesting that the New York City market has reached a point at which a real estate recovery led by tenant leasing demand can begin.” A representative from JPMorgan Chase did not respond to a request for comment as of press time. — Coleman Wood

BRENTWOOD, TENN. — Brentwood-based Brookdale Senior Living has acquired a three-property senior housing portfolio for approximately $102 million. The three retirement communities are located in suburban Detroit; Austin, Texas; and Pittsburgh. They contain a total of 642 units in a mix of 506 independent living units and 136 assisted living units. As of the third quarter of 2009, average occupancy was 92.1 percent. Their names and addresses could not be disclosed. Brookdale previously owned a minority interest in the properties before purchasing them outright from the undisclosed seller, which was represented by David Rothschild, Matthew Whitlock and Mary Christian of CB Richard Ellis' (CBRE) Senior Housing Services Group. CBRE also arranged $75.4 million in first-mortgage financing to help fund the purchase. Brookdale currently owns and operates 565 senior housing communities in 35 states. Its portfolio contains independent living, assisted living and dementia-care communities. The buyer did not return a request for comment as of press time. — Coleman Wood

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) has sold a 40 percent equity interest in a limited liability company created by the federal agency to hold assets from 22 failed bank receiverships. The LLC controls a portfolio of approximately 1,200 distressed real estate loans with an unpaid principal balance of $1.02 billion. Approximately 75 percent of the properties are located in California, Florida, Georgia and Nevada. All of the loans are from banks that have failed within the past 18 months. The buyer, Los Angeles-based Colony Capital Acquisitions, was selected from a group of 21 qualified bidders. Colony paid approximately $90.5 million in cash for the 40 percent stake, which equates to approximately $448.8 million. Colony will also serve as the managing partner of the LLC and will be responsible for the management, servicing and ultimate disposition of the assets. The FDIC will retain a 60 percent stake in the LLC. It also provided approximately $233 million of corporate guaranteed notes to serve as working capital. Holding a stake in the companies created by bank failures provides a way for the FDIC to find buyers who have the ability to turn around distressed loans, and it provides a …

NEW YORK CITY — SL Green Realty Corp. has closed on a $475 million loan for the refinancing of 1515 Broadway in New York City. SL Green and SITQ, its joint venture partner in the ownership of the iconic Times Square tower, de-leveraged the asset and replaced the previous $625 million mortgage that was due to mature in November 2010 with longer-term financing. The new mortgage carries a 5-year term and a floating interest rate. The lender is a syndicate led by The Bank of China that also included DekaBank and Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg. Rob Martin of CB Richard Ellis joined with Deutsche Bank's Commercial Real Estate Restructuring Advisory practice to advise SL Green in the transaction. “Despite the many difficulties the Manhattan office market has experienced throughout the recent downturn, SL Green has actually strengthened its standing as New York City's leading landlord and has repeatedly demonstrated the value of its highly attractive, well leased and well occupied portfolio by refinancing several of its assets, including 100 Park Avenue, 420 Lexington Avenue, 625 Madison Avenue, 1551-1555 Broadway and now 1515 Broadway,” said Andrew Mathias, president of SL Green, in a statement. SL Green and SITQ acquired the 53-story, 1.9 million-square-foot …

SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF., AND DALLAS — Dallas-based Hillwood Investment Properties has acquired two industrial properties in California and one in Texas totaling approximately 1.6 million square feet of space. In San Bernardino, Hillwood purchased Northgate Building 10 and Building 11, two newly constructed, Class A facilities that combined total more than 1 million square feet of space. The seller in that transaction was BlackRock. Immediate plans for the buildings call for their inclusion within AllianceCalifornia, the former Norton Air Force Base that Hillwood redeveloped into a more than 8.6 million-square-foot business park. In Dallas, Hillwood purchased Frankford Trade Center out of bankruptcy. The 659,340-square-foot, Class A property is located at the interchange of Interstate 35 and the George Bush Turnpike. Constructed in 2000, it is currently being renovated, with completion expected in the next 30 days. All three properties, which were vacant at the time of the purchase, feature tax incentives for potential tenants. Frankford Trade Center is located within a Foreign Trade Zone and benefits from a Triple Freeport Tax Exemption. The two Northgate buildings are part of the San Bernardino Valley Enterprise Zone. Hillwood has selected the Frank Geraci team at CB Richard Ellis' Ontario, Calif., office to …

NAPERVILLE, ILL. — Northbrook, Ill.-based Prime Property Investors has acquired The Arbors of Brookdale, a 281-unit apartment property located in Naperville. The garden-style, luxury community comprises 35 buildings on 26 acres. Amenities include a 5,100-square-foot clubhouse that contains the property's management and leasing office, a great room with a fireplace and bar area, a business center, a fitness center with locker rooms and a sauna, and wireless Internet access. Other amenities include an outdoor pool with a sundeck, a heated indoor pool and hot tub, two tennis courts, a sand volleyball court and two outdoor gazebos. Residents also have access to 138 private parking garages as well as surface parking spaces. “This acquisition provides a significant opportunity to purchase a rarely available, highly stable, quality asset in an excellent community at a price level significantly below replacement cost,” said Barbara Gaffen, co-CEO of Prime Property Investors, in a statement. “The Chicago suburban MSA, and Naperville in particular, provides considerable upside due to a lack of new construction, significant barriers to entry and projected growth in renter demand.” The seller and the acquisition price were not disclosed. — Coleman Wood