TEXAS — InterContinental Hotels will have opened 13 new Candlewood Suites properties in Texas by the mid-mark of 2010. This will increase the company's Texas holdings to 50 properties. Candlewood Suites locations have already opened in San Antonio, Austin and the Houston metro area. Two more will open in Houston in the coming months, and another San Antonio property is being built. Texas locations are also planned for Abilene, Fort Stockton, Fort Worth and Temple.
CHICAGO Ń The latest turn in the saga of General Growth Properties' (GGP) emergence from bankruptcy surprisingly has nothing to do with Simon Property Group. On Wednesday, GGP agreed in principle with Brookfield Asset Management on a $2.625 billion equity commitment. Under the terms of the agreement, Brookfield would invest $2.5 billion in exchange for new GGP common stock priced at $10 per share. Brookfield would also invest up to $125 million at $5 per share in common stock for General Growth Opportunities, a new company created to hold certain GGP non-core assets, including all of the company's master-planned communities and its landmark developments. In return, Brookfield will own approximately 30 percent of GGP and be able to nominate three of the company's directors. According to a release issued by GGP, the deal is expected to create a floor value for the purpose of raising additional capital for the company. The deal will also provide sufficient liquidity to fund GGP's needs while it emerges from bankruptcy. GGP plans to pursue additional capital-raising alternatives totaling up to $5.8 billion, and Brookfield will assist it in raising the capital. For example, GGP plans to raise $250 million in a stock offering of …
CHICAGO — Chicago-based Testa Produce has broken ground for the development of a state-of-the-art, 91,000-square-foot distribution facility at Stockyards Industrial Park in Chicago. Located at 4555 S. Racine Ave. on a 13-acre site, the property will offer 18,000 square feet of office space and 73,000 square feet of freezer/cooler distribution space. Designed by A. Epstein & Sons, the facility is striving for LEED Platinum certification. Green elements include a wind turbine to co-generate electricity, hot water solar panels, PV solar panels, an extensive green roof, rainwater harvesting and daylight harvesting. Summit Design + Build is managing the project, which is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2011. Wendy Berger Shapiro of WBS Equities represented Testa Produce in the transaction with Back of the Yards Council, the property manager for the business park.
Lately, it has been quite challenging to pick up a newspaper, watch television or even view an online news source and not be inundated by sour economic events occurring throughout the world, as well as in the Greater Cleveland area. As we navigate our way through these uncertain times in the economy, and more specifically in the commercial real estate industry, owners and users of real estate will be faced with challenges as well as opportunities. The Cleveland industrial real estate market, which ranks as the ninth largest industrial market in the United States, remains healthy largely due to its conservative growth during the last decade. The Cleveland economy is comprised of a diverse range of businesses from many different sectors, making it less prone to volatile cycles common in other industrial-based regions. Our local industrial market, which consists of numerous submarkets, had a vacancy rate ranging from 8 to 10 percent throughout 2009. The average lease rate for industrial space was approximately $3.90 per square foot. Both of these indicators compare favorably to the U.S. average, which has slightly higher vacancy and lease rates. A major obstacle weighing on today’s real estate consumer in the Cleveland area is the …
BOSTON — Construction is advancing for Liberty Wharf, a $43 million mixed-use project located on the South Boston Waterfront. The project consists of three buildings totaling approximately 74,000 square feet of space. Tenants already signed on to occupy the restaurant component of the project include Legal Sea Foods and a steakhouse operated by Tavistock Group. The project will also include a 570-foot extension of the HarborWalk and will be LEED certifiable. The project is nearing shell completion, and restaurant build-out will commence in the second quarter. Bill Motley and Katherine Small of Jones Lang LaSalle will be leasing the project on behalf of Cresset Development. Elkus Manfredi Architects is designing it and John Moriarty & Associates is building it.
WOODSTOCK, GA. — McWhirter Realty Partners began construction February 1 on a 33,000-square-foot office building for Pinnacle Orthopaedics. The $7 million property is located on a 4-acre site on Towne Lake Parkway in Woodstock. Building features include an MRI suite, clinic space and an ambulatory surgery center. Delivery is expected this fall.
ARLINGTON, VA. — Hotel Acquisition Company LLC has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Arlington-based Interstate Hotels & Resorts, the nation's largest independent hotel management company. Under the agreement, which is valued at approximately $307 million, Hotel Acquisition Company would purchase all of Interstate Hotels' outstanding common stock and operating partnership units for $2.25 per share in an all-cash transaction. Interstate Hotels' board of directors has unanimously approved the agreement and has recommended approval by the company's shareholders. A special meeting to take the vote will be announced at a later date, but the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2010. “Our priority, as always, is to maximize shareholder value,” said Thomas Hewitt, Interstate Hotels' chairman and CEO, in a statement. “This is a very compelling offer at a significant premium. The hotel industry remains in deep recession, and we believe this transaction offers the highest and best value to our shareholders.” Hotel Acquisition Company is a 50/50 joint venture between two notable hospitality companies. The first party is a subsidiary of Annapolis, Md.-based Thayer Hotel Investors V-A LP, which is an equity fund sponsored by Thayer Lodging Group. The other party is Shanghai Jin Jiang …
INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Prime Outlets for approximately $2.32 billion. Prime Outlets' portfolio includes 22 outlet retail centers totaling approximately 8.21 million square feet. Six of the centers are located throughout Florida, and two are located in Maryland. In addition, one center is located in each of the following states: California, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. The final center is located in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico. As of June 30, the centers had an average occupancy of 92 percent and generated annual sales of approximately $370 per square foot. “Prime Outlets is an excellent opportunity for Simon, as it represents a strong strategic fit for our existing Premium Outlet portfolio and enhances our leadership position in the outlet business,” said David Simon, CEO of Simon Property Group, in a statement. “Following the completion of this transaction, our outlet portfolio will have 63 centers comprising approximately 25 million square feet.” Under the terms of the agreement, Simon will pay approximately $700 million in equity consideration for the owners' interest in Prime Outlets, consisting of 80 percent cash and 20 percent common stock. UBS …
The abundance of completed units delivered to the market has had the biggest effect on the Dallas/Fort Worth multifamily sector. From September 2008 to September 2009, almost 15,000 units were completed in the Metroplex — nearly double the 7,600-unit annual average during the previous 5 years. Occupancy in the Dallas area dropped 0.2 percent to 89.8 percent during the third quarter of 2009, its lowest point since early 2005. However, occupancy for newer product held steady, while occupancy in older product tiers has suffered. The 1990s-era properties were the only product age category to achieve occupancy of more than 90 percent in the quarter, posting 92.4 percent occupancy. During the third quarter, 2000s-era product posted an 89.4 percent occupancy rate, and 1980s-era product posted an 89.8 percent occupancy rate. MPF Research forecasts that occupancy will drop 170 basis points to 88.1 percent in the next 12 months, given the huge stock of new deliveries expected to hit the market. New construction deliveries will also cause rents to drop further while rent concessions are expected to increase. One planned construction project is the redevelopment of the historic Continental Building downtown. The Dallas City Council approved $17 million in tax increment financing …
GALT, CALIF. — NAI BT Commercial has handled the more than $5 million sale of a newly constructed 21,304-square-foot freestanding retail building located at 10520 Twin Cities Rd. in Galt between Sacramento and Stockton. Tractor Supply Company has a 15-year net-lease agreement on the property. NAI’s Andy Bogardus, Douglas Longyear and Chris Sheldon represented the seller, and the brokerage firm’s Jay Hagglund joined Bogardus in representing the buyer.