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HOUSTON — Texas Tower Limited (TTL) has acquired downtown Houston's JPMorgan Chase Center. The 1.1 million-square-foot tower, which was constructed in 1982 and designed by I.M. Pei, is located at 601 Travis St. It contains 20 stories, consisting of 12 levels of parking, six floors of office space, and retail and auditorium space on the ground floor. TTL plans to construct a fitness center on the top floor of the building in the near-term. The company also owns the adjacent 75-story JPMorgan Chase Tower. JPMorgan Chase, which was the seller in the transaction, had previously been the primary tenant at the building, using the space for data processing and as an operations center. However, the company plans to consolidate its operations at the Chase Center into two of its other Houston offices at 712 Main St. and 1111 Fannin St., retaining only 26,000 square feet at the building. Once the move happens, 250,000 square feet will be available for lease at the building. Clifford Chance US LLP represented TTL in the purchase. Hines has been brought on to manage the property and lease its vacant space. Mark Russell of Studley represented JPMorgan Chase. The acquisition price was not disclosed. A …

WOODBURY, N.Y. — Arizona Beverage Co. has held the ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new $35 million corporate headquarters located in Woodbury. The 100,000-square-foot building is situated on 6 acres at 60 Crossways Drive. The new facility was designed by local firm Angelo Francis Corva & Associates for sustainability, and it includes energy-efficient HVAC systems and windows as well as a rooftop garden to reduce stormwater runoff and to aid in building cooling. The project was made possible by a public-private partnership between Arizona and the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency (IDA). Arizona was looking to expand from its previous Long Island operations, a 20,000-square-foot leased property in Lake Success, and approached the IDA about financial incentives to keep the company in the area. The IDA found an underutilized industrial site for the company to construct a new headquarters and put together an incentive package that included tax abatements. “They chose to stay here. They chose to expand here…which is ultimately where they grew up,” says Joseph Giono, executive director with the Nassau County IDA. “That sends a message to other businesses to maybe look into Long Island a little more than they had previously.” As part of its relocation and …

NEW YORK CITY AND BEACHWOOD, OHIO — The war of words has begun between New York City-based investment manager Coventry Real Estate Advisors and Beachwood-based REIT Developers Diversified Realty (DDR). In a press release issued Tuesday, Coventry claims that it has filed a $500 million lawsuit against DDR for fraud, malfeasance, mismanagement, violation of fiduciary and contractual obligations, and self-dealing. Coventry says the suit is related to 12 real estate projects across the country in which DDR co-invested and agreed to provide management, leasing and development services. In the statement, Coventry says DDR failed to properly manage the properties, misrepresented assets it sold to Coventry and purposefully inflated fees and escalated costs to justify even greater fees, among other things. “The effect of DDR's purposeful actions have made many of the properties commercially untenable,” Coventry's release reads. The company claims that it has since terminated its leasing and management contracts with DDR. The allegations go even further, claiming DDR “significantly impaired the values of Coventry's investments, while enhancing the value of DDR's stock price, placing itself in a position to acquire at distressed prices some of the same properties DDR recommended that Coventry acquire and which [sic] it promised to …

DALLAS — Addison, Texas-based Silver Tree Partners has acquired a two-building, 360,000-square-foot Dallas office complex out of receivership. Heritage Square at Galleria was constructed between 1978 and 1980. The 12-acre property contains the 11-story Tower I and the 10-story Tower II. Amenities include 24-hour security, a deli and covered parking. The property also features a prime address at 4835 and 5001 LBJ Freeway. “The location is one of the factors that drove us to this acquisition—a location right at the Dallas North Tollway and LBJ Freeway, right across from the Galleria shopping mall,” says Paul Gardner, president of Silver Tree Partners Major tenants at the complex, which was 70 percent occupied at the time of closing, include Pavestone, First Data, CBeyond Communications, Imprimis and Argosy University. Silver Tree plans to complete capital improvements to the property over the next 12 to 18 months in an effort to lease up the remaining space, which was recently vacated. CAPSTAR Commercial Real Estate Services is handling leasing and management for the property. “Unlike many of our competitors, who have unfortunately over-leveraged their previous acquisitions, we did not do as such. So, we're in a position to make acquisitions and to put the dollars …

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), in concert with the other members of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), adopted a policy statement this week that advocates the prudent workout of commercial real estate loans. It is meant to provide guidance to lenders that are working with commercial real estate borrowers that may be struggling through the current recession. The statement stresses several key points. First, performing loans, including those that have already been renewed or restructured, will not be subject to a negative classification simply because the value of the real estate declined—a well-defined weakness must exist that would affect the borrower's ability to repay. Also, loans should not be negatively classified because the borrower is associated with a struggling industry. In uncertain financial times, when a borrower is attempting to obtain short-term financing or refinance existing financing, the borrower's payment history should be taken into account when deciding to restructure or renew the debt. The statement also mentions criteria that should be used to classify debt as well as preferred underwriting standards lenders should use. It goes on to say that financial institutions that implement these prudent loan workout arrangements will not be subject …

TYSONS CORNER, VA. — Washington, D.C.-based Quadrangle Development Corp. has completed the newest addition to its Towers Crescent mixed-use development in the Washington suburb of Tysons Corner. Known as 1850 Towers Crescent Plaza, the project is a 13-story, 295,000-square-foot office building with 14,451 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space. The building was designed by Washington-based SmithGroup and developed by Quadrangle on behalf of the building's owners, a joint venture between affiliates of Quadrangle and Promark Global Advisors. The 1850 Towers Crescent Plaza building will eventually connect directly to the Tysons Corner Center mall when a pedestrian bridge is completed in December. The Route 123 Metrorail station, which is slated to open in 2013, will allow direct access from the office building through the mall to the station. This newest project is the fourth and final office building planned for Towers Crescent. In addition to the office buildings, which total 1 million square feet of space, Towers Crescent contains three residential towers with a total of approximately 900 apartments and 100,000 square feet of retail space. “1850 Towers Crescent Plaza is nothing less than a new landmark for the region and a symbol of the Tysons Corner of tomorrow—the …

MCKINNEY, TEXAS — Fore Property Co. has opened what is being touted as North Texas' first eco-friendly multifamily community. Called Greenhaven, the Class A community, which is located at 8690 Virginia Parkway in McKinney, is applying for a multitude of sustainable certifications, including Green Built Texas, Energy Star and the new LEED for Homes program. Sustainable features of Greenhaven include high-efficiency fixtures and state-of-the-art irrigation systems with self-contained weather stations to keep water use to a minimum. To save on energy costs, units are equipped with Energy Star windows and appliances, high-efficiency HVAC units and compact fluorescent lights throughout the buildings. The community was designed to be up to 20 percent more efficient than multifamily properties built just as recently as 2004. Other green features include low-VOC paints and interior materials as well as a community-wide recycling program. “It is estimated that Greenhaven will reduce our residents' carbon footprint by roughly 280 tons per year,” said Brad Miller, partner at Fore Property Co., in a statement. “That is the equivalent of taking 70 cars [at 30 miles per gallon] off the road each year. The residents will use about 900,000 gallons less water each year and will save $1.6 million …

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The healthcare alliance Premier has signed a lease with The Bissell Companies for 262,500 square feet of space at the Boyle Building, located in Charlotte’s Ballantyne Corporate Park. Premier will move into the building in February 2011 from a 182,000-square-foot facility in the area that has been its home for the past 10 years. The new15-year lease will relocate more than 750 area employees and the firm’s entire San Diego workforce into the office. Premier also plans to add 300 employees during the next 5 years. The healthcare organization conducted a 21-month search in order to find the perfect place to consolidate its operations, viewing a number of Charlotte office buildings in the process. Nearby amenities — banks, daycare centers and a variety of restaurants and hotels — were one reason Ballantyne Corporate Park stood out among the other properties. “A good quality of life is important to [Premier],” said Jeff Harper of Jones Lang LaSalle. Blair Bryan and Eric Parris, both of Jones Lang LaSalle, assisted Harper in representing Premier in the lease. The Bissell Companies represented itself in the transaction. Finding a stable landlord who was doing well enough to be around for a while, …

DURHAM, N.C. — Massachusetts-based EMC Corp. has purchased Essex Center in Durham for $22.6 million. The 450,000-square-foot distribution facility is located within Imperial Center at 4121 Surles Ct. The location is also not far from Research Triangle Park. The seller in the transaction was Irvine, Calif.-based Crown Realty & Development, which purchased Essex Center in December 2007 as part of a 1.5 million-square-foot, Class A portfolio of office, flex and industrial space located within Imperial Center. In September, EMC announced a 5-year, $280 million expansion plan in the Research Triangle. For Essex Center, EMC plans to construct a new data center and research and development laboratory within the building. The company expects to create 112 jobs at the center by 2015. In a statement, Chris Norvell of Colliers Pinkard, one of the brokers involved in the sale, said, “We've seen very few sales this year in the state of North Carolina, but this sale demonstrates that there is still a market for quality properties in prime location.” Norvell and Jackson Rivers, also of Charlotte, N.C.-based Colliers Pinkard, represented Crown Realty & Development in the sale. Ed Hoel and David Streeter of Cresa represented EMC Corp. — Coleman Wood

HORSHAM, PA. — Horsham-based Capmark Financial Group has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company has also filed the customary motions that will allow it to continue normal day-to-day operations. According to the filing, as of October 23, Capmark and its filing subsidiaries had more than $500 million in cash and cash equivalents available to fund its operations. Several Capmark subsidiaries are subject to the filing, including Capmark Finance Inc.; Capmark Capital Inc.; Capmark Equity Investments, Inc.; Mortgage Investments, LLC; Net Lease Acquisition LLC; SJM Cap, LLC; Capmark Affordable Equity Holdings Inc.; Capmark REO Holdings LLC; Summit Crest Ventures, LLC; Capmark Affordable Equity Inc.; and 33 of the company's Low Income Housing Tax Credit entities. Subsidiaries that have not filed for Chapter 11 protection include Capmark Investments LP, Capmark Securities, Inc., and Capmark Bank, which recently received $600 million in new equity from Capmark. In a statement, Jay Levine, president and CEO of Capmark, said, “We view this reorganization process as an unfortunate but necessary response to recent unprecedented conditions in financial and commercial real estate markets, which presented a significant challenge for Capmark and similarly situated finance companies. By constraining the availability of capital, these difficult market conditions …