Clearly, the demand for office space has significantly diminished since the end of last year. Office leasing is directly related to jobs and the expectation of future employment and, therefore, over-reliant on Wall Street. However, it does lag behind the stock market somewhat. Having said that, it is important to look at the Manhattan office space market with a broader perspective. The unique advantages of New York City include the diversity of businesses residing here and the transportation infrastructure that makes it easy for people to get to work. Other cities such as London, Seattle and Silicon Valley, California, are far more reliant on specific industries and their market tends to suffer more dramatically when those industries are in decline. Although the financial services and banking industry represents a large portion of the overall inventory of office space in Manhattan, industries such as healthcare, legal (with strong bankruptcy and litigation departments) and accounting have shown resilience — and in some cases growth — of their businesses. The subleasing of excess office space, although predominantly in the financial services sector, also includes retailers, law firms and pharmaceutical companies. Recent major leases include: Deutsche Bank, which renewed 150,000 square feet at 345 …
Lawrence J. Friedman, Esq. Pick up any newspaper or magazine, navigate to any online news site, or click to any TV news station, and the number one topic is the economy and the nation-wide recession. This recession has hit all sectors, not only in real estate and banking, but now in energy, manufacturing, and high-tech as well. Lenders have become reluctant to lend any money for fear that any existing loans they renew or any new loans they extend will go bad. Therefore, the country has found itself frozen in a state where every existing loan is a distressed loan. WHAT IS A DISTRESSED LOAN? A loan is distressed when a borrower does not have the capacity to pay according to its terms, and when either one or both of the following circumstances are present: the borrower is demonstrating adverse financial and repayment trends; or, the loan is delinquent or past due under the loan contract. Either of these circumstances, together with inadequate collateralization, presents a high probability of loss to the lender. Today, loans are becoming distressed loans in a variety of ways. For example, a loan can become distressed if the lender stops funding the loan proceeds under …
SUSSEX, WIS. — Pete Slezak of Milwaukee-based brokerage firm Colliers Barry has represented owner Jonathan Goodman the sale of the Stock Lumber property located along Highway F in Sussex. Investors Associated purchased the 10.69-acre property, which includes 64,760 square feet of fully leased commercial buildings, for $2.27 million. Bill Minett of The Real Estate Company, Lake and County Inc. represented the buyer.
WOODSTOCK, GA. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered a Boca Raton, Fla.-based private investor’s sale of a 115,396-square-foot BJ’s Wholesale Club to an undisclosed party for $16.05 million. The property is located at 105 Long Dr. in Woodstock, just off I-575. Sonny Molloy of Marcus & Millichap’s Atlanta office represented the seller, and Jason Vitorino and Philip Levy of the firm’s Dallas office represented the buyer.
NEW YORK CITY — Meridian Capital Group has arranged $32 million in first-mortgage financing for a 13-story luxury apartment building located at 222 W. 83rd St. in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. The building comprises 111 apartments and four commercial units. Avi Weinstock of Meridian negotiated the financing on behalf of the undisclosed borrower with a local lender. Terms of the financing include a 5.85 percent fixed interest rate with 5 years of interest-only payments.
By Paul Kiernan, Holland & Knight Being happy may be a little harder than it was 20 years ago when Bobby McFerrin sang that tune. Worrying? It’s back in style. Our current credit/financial/economic/kitchen-sink crisis is so worrisome because no one wants to bet his own dollars on how long the crisis is going to last or who it’s going to whack next. Just like a good horror movie where you hear “The Nameless Beast” and you sense it’s out there in the dark, but you never quite see its exact shape. That’s much scarier than seeing “The Beast” face-to-face. The autumn-into-winter freeze on productive activity is showing up in court. Deals that were a lock are falling apart. Sterling lenders are tarnishing. And household names are being posted on the docket down at the bankruptcy court. Things that pundits said just a year ago “would never happen” seem to happen on a weekly basis. For the commercial and retail landlord, the issue is timing. As you see your tenant’s problems multiplying — or you are worried that the problems may be snowballing — at what point do you think about litigation? The first late check? The first request to offset …
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS — The Dallas office of Omniplan has been selected to design the new $25 million O’Connor Business Building for the Corpus Christi campus of Texas A&M University. The 76,000-square-foot building will be located next to Lee Plaza and will house the university’s College of Business. It will include classrooms, computer labs, executive education facilities, business incubators, and faculty and administrative offices. The building features a two-story lobby with a sculptural staircase, a bridge connecting second-floor spaces, an electronic stock ticker, video monitors tuned to business networks, and a second-level balcony that can accommodate student study space or reception space for the building’s multi-purpose room. The project is applying for LEED-Silver certification. Construction will begin in summer 2009, with completion scheduled for fall 2010.
CALIFORNIA — Newmark has arranged financing totaling $14 million for four properties located in California. The first two loans totaling $10 million were secured for two single-tenant big box retail buildings in Southern California. The third loan totaling $1.32 million was arranged for a 20,000-square-foot office/warehouse facility located in San Francisco. The final loan totaling $2.75 million was secured for a 56,850-square-foot industrial building located in Stockton, Calif. Eric Von Berg of Newmark arranged the financing.
CHICAGO — Summit Design + Build has completed the Halsted Pershing Business Center located on a 6.6-acre site at the corner of Halsted Street and Pershing Road in Chicago’s Stockyard Industrial Park. Dayton Street Partners is the owner and developer of the 104,000-square-foot speculative industrial/manufacturing center. The single-story, steel and pre-cast building, which can house up to six tenants, includes 30-foot clear ceiling heights, four drive-in doors, eight exterior docks and parking for 75 cars. Cornerstone Architects provided design services; Michael Senner of Colliers Bennett & Kahnweiler is the marketing agent for the property. The estimated cost of completion was not disclosed.
CHICAGO — Meridian Design Build has been selected as design/build general contractor for a 37,942-square-foot industrial facility, which will be located within the Stockyards Industrial Park in Chicago. The building, which is scheduled for completion during the second quarter, is being constructed on behalf of Gypsum Supply Co. In addition to warehouse and distribution space, the facility will include 3,000 square feet of offices/employee support areas, as well as a production showroom. Cornerstone Architects is serving as the designer for the project. Adam Goldberg and John Helgesen are handling the project for Meridian Design Build. Jeff Galante of Lee & Associates represented Gypsum Supply Co. in the acquisition of the site. The estimated cost of completing the project was not disclosed.