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By Matt Valley The second half of May was an especially busy time for DDR Corp., the Beachwood, Ohio-based real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and manages a portfolio of primarily large-format power centers in 39 states and Puerto Rico. DDR hosted more than 1,000 meetings with retail real estate executives and assorted shopping center industry professionals at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas during RECon 2014. The three-day convention, which took place May 19-21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, attracted more than 33,000 attendees from across the globe. “The overriding theme for me coming out of RECon was the continued robust demand [for space] we’re seeing from the best-in-class retailers, specifically in the power center format,” said Paul Freddo, senior executive vice president of leasing and development for DDR Corp. during an investor presentation at REITWeek 2014 in New York City in early June. Added Freddo: “The question we get from these retailers who obviously we are dealing with on a daily basis is, ‘How can you help me grow? How are you going to find me space in your centers, the centers I want to be in, and how do you get creative in doing it?’” …

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WEST HILLS, CALIF. — Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. (ROI Corp.) has entered into an agreement to purchase Fallbrook Center in the West San Fernando Valley of the Los Angeles area for $210 million. The seller is General Growth properties, which has owned the center since 1983. The transaction is expected to close this quarter. Fallbrook Center has approximately 1.1 million square feet of gross leasable area. Tenants of the center include Ralph's, Trader Joe's and Sprouts, as well as Walmart, Home Depot, Target and Kohl's. The center is 98 percent leased, and 87 percent of the tenants are anchors with an average remaining lease term of 12 years. “Fallbrook is one of the strongest shopping centers in the San Fernando Valley and is an excellent strategic fit with our existing portfolio given its location and market position, as well as its diverse mix of tenants, many of which are necessity-based retailers,” says Stuart Tanz, president and CEO of Retail Opportunity Investments (NASDAQ: ROIC). “In addition to the strategic attributes, we expect that the transaction will be immediately accretive and enhance our long-term, stable cash flow.” Fallbrook Center’s trade area demographics include a population of 474,000 and an annual household income …

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CHICAGO AND NEW YORK — Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of American Realty Capital Healthcare Trust Inc. (NASDAQ: HCT) in a stock and cash transaction valued at $2.6 billion. The board of directors for both companies unanimously approved the agreement, which would transfer 143 properties and a pipeline of more than $250 million in potential investments to Ventas. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year. “[This transaction provides our shareholders] the opportunity to participate in the future growth of what will become the largest, and in my view, best managed healthcare REIT and sixth largest overall REIT in the country,” says Nicholas Schorsch, executive chairman of ARC Healthcare, a New York-based REIT focused on acquiring and owning a portfolio of medical office buildings, seniors housing and select hospital and post-acute care properties. ARC Healthcare’s portfolio consists mostly of medical office buildings (MOBs) and seniors housing assets, comprising more than 80 percent of net operating income (NOI) for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2013. The properties are located in attractive markets with home values and senior growth rates higher than the …

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ATLANTA — The U.S. lodging industry is expected to achieve an occupancy level of 63.6 percent in 2014, topping the pre-recession peak of 63.1 percent reported by STR Inc. in 2006. That’s the latest forecast from Atlanta-based PKF Hospitality Research. Given this favorable balance between supply and demand, Mark Woodworth, president of PKF Hospitality Research, predicts that hotel owners and operators will begin to see a real (inflation-adjusted) recovery in average daily rate (ADR) and net operating income (NOI). “The domestic hotel industry is operating at peak performance. We can stop using the term ‘recovery,’” emphasizes Woodworth. “The U.S. lodging industry is at a place in the business cycle where a confluence of market and operational factors will lead to impressive performance on both the top and bottom line. In 2014 and 2015, our firm is forecasting several all-time highs for some of the most important metrics in the hotel business.” By year-end 2015, PKF projects that the U.S. lodging industry will have achieved the following milestones: • A fourth year of accommodated demand in excess of the pre-recession peak of 11.3 million room nights • Six consecutive years of increasing occupancy, the longest such streak since 1988 • An …

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PORTLAND, ORE. AND IRVINE, CALIF. — RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE: RLJ) has acquired two hotels on the West Coast, the 256-room Courtyard Portland City Center in Portland, Ore., and the 293-room Embassy Suites Irvine Orange County in Irvine, Calif., in an off-market transaction for $120 million. The purchase price, which equals approximately $219,000 per key, represents a 7.4 percent cap rate on the hotels’ projected 2015 net operating income. “Both assets benefit from prime central locations, strong brand affiliations and strong operating performance,” says Thomas Baltimore Jr., president and CEO of RLJ Lodging Trust. “With the acquisition of these two hotels, we continue to expand our West Coast presence and upgrade our portfolio’s overall quality.” The custom-designed Courtyard Portland City Center’s location in downtown Portland enables the hotel to benefit from corporate, group and leisure demand throughout the city. According to RLJ, downtown Portland’s relatively high barriers to entry are expected to limit new hotel supply. The all-suite Embassy Suites Irvine Orange County hotel is located less than one mile from the John Wayne Airport. According to RLJ, the hotel is located in the largest office submarket in Orange County, with more than 22 million square feet of office space …

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NEW YORK CITY — Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon has agreed to sell its 1.1 million-square-foot One Wall Street office tower in Manhattan to a joint venture led by Macklowe Properties for $585 million. CBRE is brokering the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter. Completed in 1931, the art deco building stands 50 stories. Investment services provider BNY Mellon has occupied the property since 1989, when The Bank of New York acquired Irving Trust Co. “We’re pleased to have reached this agreement,” says Gerald Hassell, chairman and CEO of BNY Mellon. “Once finalized, it will advance our plan to consolidate office space in New York City, lead to a more functional and efficient work environment for our employees and deliver a solid financial gain to the company.” Hassell adds that BNY Mellon expects to announce a new lease for space elsewhere in the New York region within the next two months. The company’s headquarters moved from 48 Wall Street to One Wall Street in 1998. Irving Trust Co. purchased the original lot in 1927 for $14.5 million. Voorhees, Gmelin and Walker designed the skyscraper, which was constructed with a base of Maine granite and Indiana …

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NEW YORK — American Realty Capital Properties Inc. (NASDAQ: ARCP) intends to sell its multi-tenant shopping center portfolio for approximately $2 billion in cash to affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII. ARCP plans to use the capital from its multi-tenant business to fund the purchase of a previously announced Red Lobster portfolio. ARCP has entered into a letter of intent to sell its multi-tenant shopping center portfolio to Blackstone and expects to finalize definitive documentation with Blackstone with respect to the sale in the next 30 days. The New-York based REIT would then use the proceeds from the sale to fund its Red Lobster sale-leaseback transaction. The properties included in this portfolio are the same properties that ARCP previously announced would be spun off into American Realty Capital Centers Inc. “We continued to look at options to create stockholder value through a disposition of our multi-tenant assets, and we believe that through the sale to Blackstone of the multi-tenant shopping center portfolio, we have accomplished this,” says David Kay, president of ARCP. “This sale will allow us to acquire what in our view are the 500 best Red Lobster stores profitably by selling our multi-tenant portfolio at a cap …

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NEW YORK CITY — American Realty Capital Properties Inc. (NASDAQ: ARCP) has entered into a $1.5 billion sale-leaseback for more than 500 Red Lobster restaurant properties. This deal will be completed in conjunction with Golden Gate Capital’s (GGC) acquisition of Red Lobster from Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI). About 93.5 percent of the portfolio’s leases will be structured with a 25-year initial term. Another 6.5 percent will have a weighted average 18.7-year initial term. The portfolio’s master leases will include 2 percent annual contractual rent escalations. “With strong financial metrics, built-in 2 percent annual rent growth and long-term lease commitments, this acquisition affords shareholders value and supports our future earnings growth,” says David Kay, ARCP’s president. “When consummated, the Red Lobster transaction will allow us to achieve the high end of our acquisition guidance, which we set at $3 billion for 2014.” The deal represents a GAAP cap rate of 9.9 percent and a cash cap rate of 7.9 percent. ”We previously promised acquisitions at cap rates north of 8 percent and have done so this year in small, self-originated transactions,” explains Kay. “Now, we have duplicated that effort on a large scale.” This is ARCP’s fourth transaction with GGC. …

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BETHESDA, MD. — Walker & Dunlop Inc. (NYSE: WD) has arranged a $278 million Fannie Mae credit facility for Milestone Apartments REIT (TSX: MST.UN). The facility, which consists of both fixed and variable rate notes with staggered maturities, is collateralized by 20 Milestone multifamily properties in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas. The Toronto-based REIT holds a total portfolio of 55 properties in the Southwest and Southeast United States. Walker & Dunlop structured the original facility for Milestone in 2005 and added additional assets to the facility in 2008. “We have worked on this portfolio for years and each time have taken steps to ensure that we structure a loan that meets Milestone’s strategic needs,” says Howard Smith, COO of Walker & Dunlop. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with Milestone and providing them with the financing to continue to grow their multifamily portfolio.” Milestone is using approximately $28.1 million of this facility to fund, in part, its two most recent acquisitions: the 316-unit Harbor Creek apartment community in metro Atlanta and the 384-unit Legacy Heights multifamily complex in metro Denver. The REIT purchased the Atlanta asset for a total of $28 million, representing a cap rate of 6.8 …

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NEW YORK — Gramercy Property Trust Inc. (NYSE: GPT) has agreed to buy Garrison Investment Group’s 50 percent interest in a joint venture that owns a portfolio of 67 properties totaling approximately 3.1 million square feet across the United States for $92.2 million in cash. The properties are 96 percent leased to Bank of America. Gramercy currently owns the remaining 50 percent interest of the joint venture. The purchase and sales agreement values the joint venture’s assets at $395 million. At closing, New York-based Gramercy plans to repay the existing $200 million loan encumbering the portfolio with proceeds from a new unsecured credit facility. The acquisition is expected to close sometime during the second quarter. Additionally, Gramercy has also signed a commitment letter with J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Merrill Lynch; Pierce, Fenner & Smith; J.P. Morgan Chase Bank; and Bank of America for a $400 million senior unsecured credit facility, which will consist of a $200 million senior revolving credit facility and an up to $200 million senior term loan. The revolving credit facility has an initial term of four years, with an option for a one-year extension, and will replace Gramercy’s senior secured credit facility. The term facility …

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