The Omaha apartment market remains a strong performer. According to MPF Research, Omaha’s apartment occupancy stood at 95.5 percent at the end of 2012, up a modest 80 basis points from the end of 2011 and in line with Omaha’s average occupancy rate of 95.9 percent since 2000. Coupling the strong occupancy rate with a continued favorable financing environment, it is no surprise that developers are eager to bring new units on line and move quickly to lock in permanent financing. As a result, 2012 saw 1,225 multifamily housing building permits issued, which was very much in line with my predicted total of 1,300 permits for the year, and up 25 percent when compared to 2011. The addition of 1,225 units will increase the apartment housing stock in Omaha by 1.4 percent on an overall inventory of approximately 88,000 units. My expectation is that permit activity will again be around 1,200 units for all of 2013, with a small chance that it could possibly increase to as many as 1,400 units. There are a number of local and regional developers who are actively seeking multifamily land, and the lack of top sites is likely to be the biggest development constraint …
NEW YORK CITY — Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT), with its owner and developer partners, have invested more than $400 million to revitalize its New York City portfolio of hotels. Newly renovated properties include the Sheraton brand’s flagship hotel Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, W New York–Times Square, W New York–Union Square, W New York, The Westin New York at Times Square and The Westin New York Grand Central. Starwood, which has 21 hotels in New York City, has also expanded its New York City portfolio with the addition of three hotels, including The Chatwal hotel, Sheraton Tribeca New York Hotel and W New York–Downtown. “We have not only made a significant investment in our New York City hotels, but have also added even more breadth to our portfolio through strategic conversions in many of the city’s most dynamic neighborhoods,” says Mary Casey, senior vice president of sales, North America, of Starwood Hotels & Resorts. The Sheraton brand’s flagship hotel, Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, completed its top-to-bottom renovation in March. Its fitness center, all 1,781 guestrooms and suites, public areas and meeting facilities have been renovated. The hotel’s 60,000 square feet of fully renovated …
NEW YORK CITY — NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. (NYSE: NRF), a commercial real estate investment and management firm, has originated a $255 million loan secured by a leasehold mortgage in the Milford Plaza hotel. The recently renovated 1,331-room hotel is located in Times Square, within walking distance to the Broadway theater district. NorthStar originated $166 million of the loan, while NorthStar Real Estate Income Trust Inc. (NorthStar Income), one of NorthStar’s sponsored, non-traded REITs, originated the remaining $89 million. The $255 million loan was financed with $130 million from credit facilities with Deutsche Bank AG. As part of the loan agreement, NorthStar and NorthStar Income will hold a 35 percent ownership interest in the hotel and its retail component on a pro-rata basis. NorthStar intends to securitize an interest in the senior portion of the $255 million loan and expects to earn an initial yield of 12.5 percent on its invested equity, which currently totals $81 million. “This transaction exemplifies our ability to offer highly specialized, complete capital solutions on transactions with significant size and complexity by leveraging our relationships, sophisticated investment team and capital markets expertise,” says David Hamamoto, chairman and CEO of NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. “This loan …
ORANGE, N.J. — Beech Street Capital has closed an $8.4 million Fannie Mae conventional loan for the acquisition of South Orange Towers, a 108-unit mid-rise apartment building in Orange, a western suburb of New York City. The fixed-rate loan has a 10-year term, with 2.5 years of interest-only payments, seven-year yield maintenance and a 30-year amortization schedule. South Orange Towers is 99 percent occupied and includes a pool. The borrower plans to make substantial renovations, including replacing windows, renovating kitchens and retiling and refitting baths. Avi Weinstock and Josh Rhine of Meridian Capital Group LLC originated the transaction, which was financed by Beech Street Capital.
What comes to mind when you say the name “Hoboken” today? A thriving downtown area filled with young, hip residents, high-class retail and 24/7 traffic that rivals areas of downtown Brooklyn. However, that wasn’t the case 10 years ago. National and regional tenants seeking space would first — and in most cases only — look to the suburban centers that were the heart of New Jersey life. Downtown retail areas were seen as lunch-driven areas boasting only five-day foot traffic and not enough parking. Now mainstays like Starbucks, Chipotle and Panera Bread have all made a home for themselves in Hoboken. What has brought about this change — which has seen Hoboken thrive but also brought about a new era of downtown retail that can be seen in the emerging neighborhoods of Newark and Jersey City? A prime factor in these areas’ rise to prominence has been the massive swell of development, not only in office towers but in entertainment centers and residential hubs. The opening of the Prudential Center in Newark four years ago revitalized the area with more than 200 events each year, including home games for the New Jersey Devils. The project was truly the first …
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Cousins Properties Inc. (NYSE: CUZ) has acquired 816 Congress Avenue, a 434,000-square-foot, Class A office building located in downtown Austin. The company purchased the office tower for a net purchase price of $102.4 million, which equates to $236 per square foot. The acquisition was funded with cash proceeds from Cousins’ recent follow-on stock offering. “This represents another attractive acquisition for Cousins as we continue to target quality urban office assets in the best Southeastern submarkets at valuations below replacement cost,” says Larry Gellerstedt, president and CEO of Cousins. “We have a long, successful history in Austin and are very excited about the opportunity to create value at 816 Congress Avenue.” Cousins has played a prominent role in the Austin real estate market for more than 20 years, with a list of notable projects including Frost Bank Tower and Palisades West. 816 Congress Avenue is currently 78 percent leased to a diverse tenant base, including Teachers Retirement System of Texas, Lloyd Gosselink and AT&T Services. With overall office occupancy in the Austin CBD submarket at 89 percent, the building is well positioned for future occupancy growth, the company says. Cousins intends to utilize its market expertise and strong …
GREENWICH, CONN. — Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD) and Starwood Capital Group, on behalf of Starwood Distressed Opportunity Fund IX, have finalized their previously announced acquisition of LNR Property LLC. Starwood Property Trust acquired the LNR business segments — the U.S. special servicer, the U.S. investment securities portfolio, Archetype Mortgage Capital, Archetype Financial Institution Services, LNR Europe and 50 percent of LNR’s interest in Auction.com — for an aggregate purchase price of $862 million. Greenwich-based Starwood Capital Group is a private investment firm with a focus on global real estate. Since its inception in 1991, the firm has raised more than $16 billion in equity capital and has invested $13.7 billion representing more than $36 billion in assets. Starwood Property Trust focuses on originating, investing in, financing and managing commercial mortgage loans and other real estate-related debt investments. SPT Management LLC, an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group, externally manages and advises Starwood Property Trust. The company’s stock price closed at $27.16 per share on Friday, up from $18.72 per share one year ago. Citigroup and Credit Suisse served as financial advisors to Starwood in the transaction and Sidley Austin LLP acted as legal counsel. — Brittany Biddy
ORLANDO — Lake Nona has announced plans to build the Lake Nona Gateway Building, a 100,000-square-foot medical office building on the northwest corner of Narcoossee Road and Tavistock Lakes Boulevard in Orlando. Florida Hospital and University of Central Florida's Pegasus Health will become anchor tenants in the new building. Florida Hospital expects to establish a combination of services, including a CentraCare urgent care center, imaging and diagnostics and an outpatient surgery center. UCF's College of Medicine will expand Pegasus Health, the college's primary and multi-specialty practice. The project is expected to break ground in the fall with a projected opening in mid-2014. Lake Nona is a 7,000-acre master planned community within the city limits of Orlando.
SAN FRANCISCO AND NEW YORK CITY — Union Bank, N.A., a San Francisco-based financial holding firm with $97 billion in assets, has reached an agreement with PB Capital Corp. to acquire its commercial real estate lending arm, headquartered in New York City. The arrangement gives Union Bank $3.7 billion in loans outstanding on properties in major U.S. metropolitan areas. The acquisition is subject to closing conditions and is expected close in the second quarter of this year. Approximately 50 percent of the lending portfolio is made up of Northeast properties with the rest in the Western U.S. (21 percent), South (15 percent) or Midwest (13 percent). New York City alone houses 35 percent of the portfolio. By property type, about 53 percent of the lending portfolio includes office followed by multifamily (16 percent), mixed-use (12 percent), hotel (10 percent) or retail (9 percent). Source: Union Bank PB Capital Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB), a global banking and financial services firm based in Germany. Union Bank is a subsidiary of UnionBanCal Corp., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU). According to Union Bank’s investor presentation of the transaction, …
PHOENIX — Cole Credit Property Trust III (CCPT III) has closed on its previously announced acquisition of Cole Holdings Corp., a Phoenix-based real estate investment management firm that manages more than $12 billion in assets. CCPT III, a real estate investment trust focused on net-leased properties, will pursue a listing on the New York Stock Exchange, which is expected to occur in June. Upon a successful listing on the NYSE, CCPT III will be the second largest publicly traded REIT in the net-lease sector. In late March, CCPT III rejected a $5.7 billion buyout offer from American Realty Capital Properties (ARCP). The move would have created the largest publicly traded REIT in the net-lease sector. ARCP originally asked CCPT III to withdraw its proposed acquisition of Cole Holdings and consider its proposal, which the company claimed was superior. Nicholas Schorsch, chairman and chief executive of ARCP, said that if CCPT III goes through with the merger with Cole Holdings, ARCP would have to reconsider its bid and reduce its offer. “We are pleased to complete the acquisition of Cole Holdings, which provides our stockholders with additional growth potential and increased access to capital,” said Leonard Wood, chairman of the special …