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CHICAGO — Chicago-based General Growth Properties (GGP) has reached a preliminary agreement to restructure approximately $9.7 billion in secured mortgage loans related to 92 regional shopping centers that will help the REIT emerge from bankruptcy. Provisions of the agreement include maturity date extensions and a continuation of interest at the current non-default rate. Of the loans covered by this agreement, the average loan maturation date is no sooner than 2016 and the weighted average contract interest rate is 5.35 percent. The all-in interest rate after amortization of fees paid in connection with the loans is 5.54 percent. The agreement is subject to approval by the Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York as well as GGP's creditors. The REIT hopes to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of 2009. In a statement, Thomas Nolan, Jr., president and COO of GGP, said, “We are extremely pleased to reach this consensual agreement with lenders representing more than half of the mortgage debt covered by the bankruptcy proceedings. We believe that these agreements provide a basis for consensually completing a restructuring of the debtors' remaining approximately $6 billion of secured mortgage loans, and we are hopeful that our other secured mortgage …

CHICAGO — This past Friday, a Cook County Circuit Court judge appointed CB Richard Ellis the receiver for Chicago's Block 37 retail project. This comes at the same time that the city issued a partial certificate of occupancy for the project. The project's developer, Joseph Freed & Associates, has been fighting its foreclosure since last month, when lender Bank of America claimed the developer defaulted on $128.5 million in construction loans. In a statement, Larry Freed, president of Joseph Freed & Associates, said,” We strongly disagree with the court's ruling. We are the only developer in two decades to move Block 37 forward. We are very suspicious of [Bank of America's] motives just as Block 37 is opening and beginning to generate revenue. We still own Block 37 and will fight to protect our rights, reputation and investment.” At the beginning of the month, Freed & Associates announced 13 signed leases for the 278,000-square-foot retail component, including PUMA, Zara, Anthropologie and Swarvoski. With the partial certificate of occupancy issued, some retailers already had plans to open over the weekend. Freed & Associates claims the project is currently 70 percent complete. Freed & Associates took over the retail and transit components …

ONTARIO, CALIF. — Denver-based REIT ProLogis has announced plans to develop a new distribution center in Southern California for The Home Depot. The 667,000-square-foot project will be located on 55 acres owned by ProLogis within Crossroads Business Park in Ontario. Construction is expected to begin next month, with completion scheduled for fall 2010. The project will be pursuing LEED certification, but additional details about the building could not be released as of press time. In a statement, Larry Harmsen, president of ProLogis in the United States and Canada, said, “Our project in Ontario is the first project we've started in the United States since the fall of 2008, when we announced a halt on all new construction. We are thrilled to start this project, as it fits in line with our new approach to development, and it enables us to meet our customer's needs.” Harmsen cites an increase in requests for build-to-suit proposals and signs of market stabilization as reasons the REIT is resuming construction projects. ProLogis has created a plan for future develop that allows it to build projects utilizing less capital while helping generate returns from currently unproductive land. So far this year, the REIT has monetized more …

ATLANTA — At Arnall Golden Gregory’s Fall Breakfast Briefing, four office executives reported they felt the market was at or approaching bottom and that they had renewed optimism for activity over the next 18 months. The panelists — Rudy Prio Touzet, CEO of Eola Capital; Casey Wold, senior managing director of Tishman Speyer; Don Miller, CEO and director of Piedmont Office Realty Trust; and Chris Port, senior vice president of CBRE — focused on Atlanta during the 40-minute panel, but gave national perspective as well. When questioned on a national overview by AGG Partner Phil Skinner, Miller said he believed that the office sector in growth markets, like Atlanta and Dallas, is still in somewhat of a downward slide. Touzet believes that there will be continued erosion of net operating income across portfolios, but added he is seeing early signs of debt in the marketplace for office acquisitions and refinance. Wold reported that his team is getting out 2 years ahead of maturation on key loans and renegotiating now, as it takes about 10 months to negotiate with banks. Both Wold and Touzet feel that there will be no big disaster in the commercial real estate sector; they contend that …

ASHLAND, OHIO — Ashland Square, a 213,785-square-foot retail center located in Ashland, has been sold. Situated at 1971-2103 Baney Rd., the center was previously occupied by a Walmart until the mega retailer relocated a couple of years ago to the town's new retail corridor off of Interstate 71. “We see that happen all the time in some older pockets of retail communities,” says Erin Patton, associate director of Marcus & Millichap's National Retail Group and one of the brokers involved in the sale. “People tend to pick up and leave for the newer area of town for retail.” The relocation of Walmart dropped occupancy in the center to approximately 5 percent, which provided the perfect opportunity for a value-added acquisition. The undisclosed buyer of Ashland Square already owns a manufacturing facility in the area and is considering uses for the center that go beyond retail. The leases for the center's current tenants are set to expire in the next couple of years. “[The seller] is a traditional retail property owner. They own a lot of shopping centers, and they know how to do shopping centers better than most people,” Patton says. “For them, I think they looked at Ashland Square …

NEW YORK CITY — Volkswagen Group of America (VW) has purchased the Potamkin General Motors Building and dealership located in Manhattan, New York City, for $84 million. The 265,000-square-foot property is ideally situated at 798-804 11th Avenue along the “auto sales autobahn” of Manhattan's West Side, and the automaker plans to take advantage of this location by using the property as the flagship New York City dealership for its Volkswagen and Audi brands. Once the automaker completes its $41 million renovation of the property, it will join the likes of Mercedes, Lexus, BMW and Toyota on 11th Avenue. “As Volkswagen and Audi move forward on our aggressive plan to increase sales in the United States, there is no better place to demonstrate our commitment than in New York City,” said Stefan Jacoby, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group, in a statement. “New York has always been a leading market for the Volkswagen and Audi brands, and these new store fronts will serve to strengthen our base even more.” VW was represented in the sale by a CB Richard Ellis team that included Jedd Nero and Michael Kadosh of the firm's New York City office; Lauren Scarpace, Paul Beitz and Allen …

NEW YORK CITY — The City of New York announced late last week that it is acquiring a 6.9-acre land parcel located in Brooklyn's Coney Island for $95.6 million. The city's intention is to revitalize and expand the famed Coney Island amusement park district after years of decline. The property was purchased from Thor Equities, itself a stakeholder in the revitalization of the neighborhood, in what has been described as a long and sometimes adversarial negotiation process. The City plans to add the parcel to its existing holdings, which were re-zoned this summer for entertainment and amusement uses, to create a 12.5-acre outdoor amusement park. The park will be situated within a 27-acre entertainment and amusement district that the City one day hopes will contain significant new retail options and approximately 5,000 residential units, including 900 affordable housing units. The City expects the Coney Island revitalization plans to generate more than $14 billion in economic activity for New York City over the next 30 years. At a press conference, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, “[This purchase] marks the beginning of a new era in Coney Island's history. It means that next summer Coney Island will be back in …

FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Texas-based senior housing developer Senior Quality Lifestyles Corp. (SQLC) has secured financing for its latest retirement community. The nonprofit company raised $164.85 million through revenue bonds underwritten by Ziegler Capital Markets to finance the project. Known as The Stayton at Museum Way, the senior housing project will be located on 2.5 acres within Fort Worth's Cultural District at the intersection of Stayton Street and Museum Way. The 11-story building will contain 188 residences in a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging in size from 850 to more than 2,500 square feet. The community will provide assisted living, memory care and private skilled nursing services. Construction is under way for the project, which is scheduled to open in 2011. Currently, more than 75 percent of the residences have been reserved. Andres Construction is serving as the project's general contractor. SQLC is co-developing the project with Irving, Texas-based Greystone Communities. In a statement, Charles Brewer, president and CEO of SQLC, said, “We are pleased to complete the successful financing of The Stayton in the face of what has been not only a very difficult financing period, but one of the most challenging economic periods for our …

NEW YORK CITY — After nearly 6 months of inactivity, Jamestown Properties has restarted the development of be@Schermerhorn, a high-rise condominium tower located in Brooklyn, New York City. The collapse of the credit markets hit many lenders hard, including this project's lender, Wachovia. When Jamestown Properties, the principal equity investor in be@Schermerhorn, was unable to resolve its financial issues with Wachovia regarding the project, construction and pre-sales ceased. Jamestown Properties' solution to this setback was to acquire the mortgage for be@Schermerhorn from the lender. The developer now plans to restart the project immediately and is on track to complete it by early next year. At the time construction halted, the project was approximately 88 percent complete, and approximately 18 percent of the units had been sold, so Jamestown was confident that, even in the current residential market, there was still demand for condo space in this Brooklyn neighborhood. “We found, in terms of pre-sale commitments, that there were buyers who wanted what the project offered,” says Michael Phillips, a spokesman with Jamestown Properties. “I think it is well-positioned, well-designed and incredibly well-built.” In a statement, Matt Bronfman, COO of Jamestown Properties, said, “We believe our ability as a highly liquid …

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte office of CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has brokered the sale of Crosspoint Center, a seven building, approximately 1.08 million-square-foot distribution park located in Charlotte. The sale is being touted as one of the largest industrial investment sales in the city this year, trading at $34.22 million, according to public records. Crosspoint is ideally located near the intersection of Interstates 85 and 77. The buildings range in size from 80,000 to 270,000 square feet, have an average clear height of 24 feet, and feature front and rear loading configurations. Occupancy was 90 percent at the time of closing, and tenants at the center include SYGMA, Medic (a Mecklenburg EMS agency), MeadWestVaco, Pitney Bowes, Brooks Equipment and Accu-Tech. The buyer in the transaction was Boston-based TA Associates Realty, which already has a presence in the city. “From TA's perspective, they are comfortable with Charlotte, they think it has a viable industrial market, and they have had a lot of success in the past,” says Ryan Clutter, executive vice president with CBRE. Clutter, along with CBRE colleagues Anne Johnson, Adam Basch and Patrick Gildea, represented the seller, a group of institutional investors advised by JPMorgan Investment Management. To …