Top Stories

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 …

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. — A joint venture partnership between Rockefeller Group Development Corp. and MeadWestvaco Corp. will begin construction on a 1.1-million distribution center in the fourth quarter. Completion is slated for late next year. The warehouse will be located in the Rockefeller Group Foreign Trade Zone/Charleston near the interchange of Interstate 26 and Jedburg Road in Berkeley County. The tire company TBC Corp. will base its East Coast wholesale operations at the property. “We are excited about the opportunity to consolidate a portion of our distribution network to a new and larger facility in the Charleston area,” Erik Olsen, president of TBC, said in a press release. “The infrastructure and location of the Port of Charleston complements our growth and will allow us to meet the growing demands of our customers.” Access to the port will give TBC easy access to foreign suppliers, and the firm expects to bring thousands of containers through the port each year. The public/private effort involved participation from a number of government agencies in the Charleston area. Representatives from the state senate, the county government and the South Carolina Department of Commerce all assisted in getting TBC to the county. “From the state level …

CHICAGO — It seems that Chicago's notorious Block 37 project is poised to foil yet another developer, as Bank of America filed to foreclose on the property early last week. The lender claims that the project's developer, Chicago-based Joseph Freed & Associates, has been in default on its construction loan since March 2008 and currently has $128.5 million in outstanding debt. In a statement, Bank of America said, “We always work with our clients to help them resolve their financial issues and have done so in this case. We have been working with the developer for over a year to help them resolved their financial issues.” The lender goes on to suggest that a court-appointed receiver be put into place to manage the property and complete its construction. Joseph Freed & Associates counters that the suit lacks merit and that it intends to fight it. The developer insists that the retail portion of the project on track and has tenants lined up. In a written statement, the company calls the suit “a misguided action that could halt the project” and goes on to claim that “once shuttered, this project will be near-impossible to restart.” Bounded by State, Dearborn, Washington and …

YONKERS, N.Y. — Brooks Shopping Center LLC has secured a $135 million loan to go toward the ongoing redevelopment of Cross County Shopping Center in Yonkers. The first-mortgage financing carries a 5-year term with a fixed interest rate. The lenders are Prudential and New York Life. The 1 million-square-foot Cross County Shopping Center opened in 1954 at the intersection of Cross County Parkway and the New York Thruway. As part of the center's $225 million redevelopment, the mall will be converted into an open-air shopping center. The existing Macy's is being expanded by 93,000 square feet, and new retailers are being added, including Bebe, AX Armani Express, H&M, Forever 21, American Eagle and Victoria's Secret Pink. Upon completion , which is slated for the end of 2010, Cross County Shopping Center will total 1.2 million square feet. “It is a great piece of property and one of the premier retail locations in Westchester County. It is irreplaceable,” says James Stifel, chief investment officer of Benenson Capital Partners and manager of Dollar Land Associates, both stakeholders in Brooks Shopping Center LLC. Other stakeholders in the mall's ownership include Merchants National Properties. Macerich Cos. is managing the redevelopment project. Estreich & Company, …

TAMPA, FLA. — Eola Capital is continuing to take advantage of a buyer's market in commercial real estate with its latest acquisition: International Plaza Four in Tampa. The 247,000-square-foot office building is located at 4301 W. Boy Scout Blvd. in the city's Westshore submarket. It is a Class A building and is also LEED-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. Eola Capital sponsored the joint venture IP4 Owner LLC, the recorded buyer in the transaction. IP4 Owner consists of multiple real estate investors, including Richard Corbett and Jim Heistand. The seller was Crescent Resources and the recorded sale price was $25 million. As part of the transaction, Eola will also take over asset manager duties for the property. This most recent acquisition marks a busy year for Eola. In February, the company acquired another Class A office building in Tampa. The 130,000-square-foot property is located at 500 N. Westshore Blvd. “We want to try to do the smart thing right now: buy an asset that is, long term, going to be a good hold and provide some benefits and synergies with our portfolio,” says Kyle Burd, principal and regional vice president with Eola Capital. “This building certainly does that, as …