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STARWOOD SELLS INTEREST IN $475M FINANCING TO VORNADO FOR NY RETAIL PROJECT

by admin October 24, 2012

NEW YORK CITY — Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD) and Starwood Capital Group have sold a 25 percent interest in the $475 million first mortgage and mezzanine financing on 701 Seventh Avenue, a 10-story retail building located in Times Square, to Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO). The financing will be used for the property’s acquisition and redevelopment, which includes new retail tenants and signage. Starwood Property Trust and Starwood Capital co-originated the financing on behalf of the borrower, a group led by New Valley LLC, which is owned by Vector Group Ltd., The Witkoff Group and Winthrop Realty Trust. Other entities of the borrowing group include Infinity Urban Century and Maefield Development. Howard Lorber, president and CEO of Vector Group, envisions the redeveloped property as more than just a retail destination. “We see many attractive redevelopment opportunities for this site, which will include premium space for retail, entertainment, food and beverage businesses, as well as a site for a potential 30-story hotel,” says Lorber. For the acquisition and redevelopment financing, $375 million was funded at the closing of the acquisition and $100 million will be funded upon reaching certain milestones during the redevelopment. Starwood Property Trust, Starwood Capital and Vornado have …

October 24, 2012

LA apartment sector continues to improve.

by admin October 23, 2012

Resilient apartment demand will continue to insulate the Los Angeles apartment market from the effects of the uneven recovery, though modest downside economic risks will persist. For example, the Eurozone crisis and economic slowdown in China – the Port of Los Angeles’ largest foreign trading partner – will limit imports and exports and moderate overall employment gains. Local manufacturers have already shed 5,000 jobs in 2012, and 2,400 transportation and utility positions were eliminated in the past two months. Nevertheless, metro-wide employment expanded by more than 40,000 jobs in the past six months, a growth of 1.1 percent compared to 0.6 percent nationally. Additionally, gains have been relatively broad-based. The professional and business services, as well as education and health services industries, have added 25,000 jobs since the start of 2012. Resurgent tourism has also boosted leisure and hospitality payrolls by more than 10,000 workers. Rehiring, combined with a still weak demand for single-family homes, has supported apartment leasing. Asking rents have particularly improved. In the first half of 2012, market-wide asking rents appreciated 5 percent to $1,730 per month, compared to a gain of 3 percent for all of last year. Rent increases have been particularly robust in the …

October 23, 2012

Georgia Market Reports Southeast Market Reports

The medical office market should continue on a slow and steady growth path.

by admin October 23, 2012

Using the turtle and the hare metaphor, it is appropriate to associate Atlanta’s medical office market with the turtle and the metro area’s general office market with the hare. With a few exceptions, Atlanta’s medical office market has continued a slow and steady expansion during the last 30 years. While the size of the medical office market is substantially smaller than the general office market, it has not experienced the booms and busts that have plagued general office market over the same 30 year period. On-campus and Class A medical office buildings have consistently enjoyed 85 percent or greater occupancy. The primary difference in the stability of the two segments of office space is that the demand for general office is driven by the state of the overall economy, while demand for medical office is driven more by the health and size of the general population. Metro Atlanta’s population has increased by more than 51 percent since 1990. The last few years have seen slower growth in the medical office market primarily due to the unknowns of the Affordable Care Act law (Obama-care). Initially, there was uncertainty over whether the law would pass or not. After the law passed, then …

October 23, 2012

Top Stories

MACERICH CO. TO ACQUIRE TWO NY MALLS FOR $1.25B

by admin October 23, 2012

NEW YORK CITY — The Macerich Co. (NYSE: MAC) has agreed to purchase two malls in the New York metropolitan area — Kings Plaza in Brooklyn and Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream — for $1.25 billion. “These transactions are consistent with our investment strategy of acquiring assets in the major markets where we have our best assets and selling non-core assets and recycling capital,” says Arthur Coppola, chairman and CEO of Macerich, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based retail REIT Kings Plaza spans 1.2 million square feet and is 95 percent leased to tenants such as Aeropostale, American Eagle, Armani Exchange, Forever 21, H&M, MAC, Pink, Swarovski and Victoria’s Secret. Macy’s, Lowe’s and Sears anchor Kings Plaza, which is the only enclosed super regional mall in Brooklyn. The mall’s annual sales production is $650 per square foot. Macerich is acquiring the mall from a subsidiary of Alexander’s Inc. for approximately $751 million. Macerich plans on placing secured debt on the property at the closing of the transaction, which is slated for late 2012. The balance of the purchase will either be funded from cash on hand or Macerich’s line of credit. The 1.8 million-square-foot Green Acres Mall is located on the …

October 23, 2012

Market Reports North Carolina Southeast Market Reports

Population growth drives strong recovery for Charlotte's apartment sector.

by admin October 12, 2012

The Charlotte multifamily market continues its strong recovery and shows no signs of slowing down. All facets of the multifamily market are improving with tightening apartment fundamentals, increased transactional volume and the announcement of several high-profile development projects. According to RealPage MPF Research, the Charlotte market has experienced 6.8 percent rent growth during the past 12 months, which ranks third in the country behind only San Francisco and San José, California. The market has also absorbed more than 3,300 units in the same time period, lowering the overall market’s vacancy to approximately 6.5 percent — the lowest vacancy figure seen in Charlotte in more than a decade. Transaction volume in the Charlotte metro, while only half of the activity level in the Triangle market, has been relatively strong with approximately $800 million in sales during the past 12 months. Capital sources continue to flock to the highest-grade assets, particularly infill locations, where historically low interest rates boost investor returns. A recent illustration of this trend was Atlanta-based Post Properties’ purchase of the 360-unit Circle at South End from Crescent Resources for $74 million or $205,556 per unit, a record per-unit price for a garden-style community in the Carolinas. On the …

October 12, 2012

Market Reports Texas Texas Market Reports

The San Antonio multifamily market takes the next step.

by admin October 12, 2012

San Antonio’s multifamily market has historically been exempt from the fluctuations typical of other Texas cities. While San Antonio has had its share of new deliveries over the years, the multifamily stock has not increased in step with its Texas contemporaries. The traditional engines of the city– hospitality, health care and the military–provide a rock-solid foundation, but do not offer the types of high-paying wages that drive rent growth and new construction. New construction has also been inhibited by a lack of institutional capital flowing to San Antonio because it was perceived as a “low growth” market. Things, however, are changing. Job growth in industries such as energy, manufacturing, and the financial sector are drawing families to the region like never before, just as long-time San Antonio organizations such as USAA, the Medical Center and the University of Texas—San Antonio (UTSA) continue to expand. As a result of new jobs and a nationwide regression of home ownership rates to more historic levels, San Antonio’s multifamily market is seeing a rapid increase in demand. Developers, both local and national, have begun planning new developments… As of August 2012, San Antonio multifamily properties boast an overall occupancy rate of 92.9 percent. As …

October 12, 2012

Healthcare Southeast

NORTHSIDE CHEROKEE TOWNE LAKE MOB BREAKS GROUND

by admin October 10, 2012

WOODSTOCK, GA. — Northside Cherokee Towne Lake Medical Office Building broke ground recently at 900 Towne Lake Pkwy. in Woodstock, approximately 25 miles north of Atlanta. Northside Hospital will lease the entire four-story, 100,817-square-foot medical office building that will house outpatient healthcare services and physician practices. Indianapolis-based Duke Realty is developing the medical office building as well as a three-story, 350-space parking garage that will complement surface parking spaces. Duke Realty Towne Lake Development LLC, a wholly owned entity of Duke Realty LP, will own the medical office building when completed in August 2013. Lyman Davidson Dooley Inc. is the project architect and Brasfield & Gorrie is the general contractor.

October 10, 2012

Top Stories

EQUITY ONE ACQUIRES FOUR PROPERTIES FOR $260M

by admin October 10, 2012

NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FLA. — North Miami Beach-based Equity One Inc. (NYSE: EQY) has acquired or is in agreement to acquire four commercial properties in Bethesda, Md., New York City and Norwalk, Conn., for $260 million. The company is under contract to acquire the Westwood Complex, a 22-acre mixed-use development located in Bethesda, for $140 million. The development features 214,767 square feet of retail space, a 211,020-square-foot apartment building and a 62-unit assisted living facility. The transaction is slated to close by the end of 2013. Giant Food has anchored Westwood’s main retail center since the center opened in 1959. The lease expires in 2019 with no term remaining. The assisted living facility is leased to Manor Care Health Services through 2015, also with no term remaining. Westwood’s apartment property is leased to a division of Montgomery County, Md., and it is subject to a purchase right in 2017, which is expected to be exercised. Equity One has also acquired the 78,820-square-foot Clocktower Plaza, a shopping center located in Queens, for $56 million. Pathmark anchors the center, which is fully leased. The property is located on seven acres of land that has opportunities for future development and expansion. The company …

October 10, 2012

Top Stories

MANHATTAN AT TIMES SQUARE HOTEL SELLS FOR $275M

by admin October 4, 2012

NEW YORK CITY — Hotel operator Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) has sold the 665-room Manhattan at Times Square Hotel in New York City for $275 million. The buyers — Rockpoint Group, Goldman Sach's Real Estate Principal Investment Area and Highgate Holdings — have decided to operate the hotel as an independent property managed by Highgate. Starwood executives say the sale was in line with an ongoing strategy to make the company more “asset light.” “As we continue our transition to an asset-light model, we continue to look for opportunities to sell our owned hotels at attractive prices to best create value for our shareholders, and this sale of a non-strategic asset is consistent with that strategy,” says Simon Turner, Starwood's president of global development. In 2010, Starwood removed the Sheraton flag from the hotel. With the sale completed, the hotel will no longer be affiliated with Starwood. “With all nine of our brands already well-represented in New York City across approximately 9,000 rooms, we believe this sale presented the best value to our shareholders,” says Turner. The property is located on Seventh Avenue between 51st and 52nd streets. The building is minutes from sites such as Central …

October 4, 2012

Top Stories

GRIFFIN-AMERICAN HEALTHCARE REIT II REACHES $1 BILLION MILESTONE

by admin October 2, 2012

NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. — Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II Inc. has acquired three Los Angeles-area hospitals and three medical office buildings located in Frisco, Texas and Jasper, Georgia for approximately $108.7 million. With the latest acquisitions, the REIT’s portfolio totals 121 buildings valued at approximately $1.1 billion, based onpurchase price, spread across 26 states. The co-sponsors of the non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT) include Newport Beach-based American Healthcare Investors, an investment management specializing in the acquisition and management of healthcare-related real estate, and Los Angeles-based Griffin Capital Corp., a privately owned real estate company. Non-traded REITs are considered public companies, but their shares are not listed on any stock exchange. “Reaching the $1 billion mark in aggregate portfolio value, based on purchase price, is a key milestone for Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II,” says Danny Prosky, a principal of American Healthcare Investors and president and COO of the REIT (pictured at left). “Size and scale can be very important in terms of real estate portfolio operations, efficiency and potential enhanced value of the REIT as a whole,” adds Prosky. “The REIT has now grown to the size where it is one of the largest and most significant owners of healthcare-related real …

October 2, 2012

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