the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Phoenix Suns Score with New Solar System
EI Solutions has teamed up with Tioga Energy Systems to provide solar power for the Phoenix Suns, it has announced. Plans call for the installing of a 1,125 panel, 194-kilowatt solar system at the team’s home arena, the US Airways Center, owned by the city of Phoenix. The installation will be completed in the spring of 2009.This project is one of a series of efforts by businesses in Arizona to get more of their energy without relying on the power grid. Other sports teams have also begun solar power initiatives. The San Francisco Giants were the first baseball team to…
University of California Tops Garages with Solar-Power Steel ‘Trees’
University of California San Diego, as part of an environment and sustainability initiative that started in 2005, has begun a unique “forestation” program at its La Jolla campus near San Diego. Steel solar trees have been planted on top of two garages, creating a “Solar Grove” to provide shade and clean energy. The creation of the Solar Grove is the brainchild of Envision Solar International’s Robert Noble, a sustainable architect and a disciple of Biomimicry. Biomimicry is a relatively new science that studies models, systems, processes and elements that occur in the natural environment, and then imitates or takes creative…
Central Banks Cut Rates in Defense Against Financial Crisis
In a coordinated counterattack on a looming global financial meltdown, central banks in the U.S. and across the world cut their key lending rates today. The Federal Reserve slashed its rate from 2 percent to 1.5 percent, and the Bank of England similarly cut its rate by 50 basis points, to 4.5 percent. Other institutions cutting their rates included the European Central Bank and the central banks of Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and China. The Fed’s participation suggested urgency, since it was taken in advance of the agency’s next scheduled meeting, on Oct. 28. The Fed had not cut its rate…
Financial Market Update-Wed., Oct. 8
The I.M.F.–that’s the International Monetary Fund, not the Impossible Missions Force–warned today that the governments of the developed world need to act together to stem the financial crisis, or it could become “increasingly disorderly and costly for the real economy.” The warning was included in the organization’s Global Financial Stability Report. Especially vulnerable, according to the I.M.F., are Central and Eastern European countries, which are highly dependent on credit. And poor Iceland. The near-Arctic nation’s banking system is groaning under the weight of debt that’s about 12 times the size of the country’s economy–veritable Third-World territory, even though (for now)…
New Industrial Facility to be Developed for Rip Curl in Southwest France
ProLogis will build a new, 137,000-square-foot industrial warehouse in southwest France for Rip Curl, a global provider of equipment and apparel for the surfing and mountain communities, the developer has reported. The state-of-the-art facility will be developed on land recently acquired by ProLogis in the city of St. Geours de Maremne. Australia-based Rip Curl plans to use the facility to distribute its products to retailers throughout Europe.In keeping with ProLogis’ green initiatives, the facility is set to have a 250 kilowatt solar array installed on the roof. ProLogis plans to sell the power generated by the solar panels, which will…
Too Early to Put Manhattan Office Market in the Tank: CBRE
Manhattan’s office market is coming back down from the stratosphere, but reports of an impending crash are greatly exaggerated, top executives from CB Richard Ellis Inc. argued at a morning briefing today. “Right now, there’s a perception that this market is dead or dying, and that’s not true,” declared Stephen Siegel, chairman of global brokerage for CBRE. Although leasing velocity is undoubtedly slowing, major tenants are signing leases. He cited a 260,000-square-foot renewal and expansion by Macquarie Group, the Australian financial services concern, at 125 West 55th St. in Midtown. Details were confirmed yesterday in a press release issued by…
Financial Markets After the Bell–October 8
Buy! Sell! Buy! Sell! It was another day like that among stock traders, but ultimately the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 189 points, or 2 percent, today after being up as much as 250 points. In the last five days, the Dow has lost about 13 percent of its value. Today the Nasdaq lost 0.8 percent and the Standard & Poor’s 500 was down 1.1 percent. American International Group, lately embarrassed by their exec’s fondness for luxury resorts, is getting another $37.8 billion loan, this time from the New York Federal Reserve. The money comes in addition to the…
Behringer Harvard Expands European Portfolio, Buys 7 Properties
Behringer Harvard continues to expand its presence in Central Europe. The company has acquired seven additional assets–a retail property in Hungary, five retail properties in the Czech Republic and a Czech logistics facility–via Wenceslas Behringer Ltd., a joint venture between Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT I Inc. and St. Wenceslas Property Fund, which was formed in July. Tenants of the acquired properties include Plus Discount, Jysk and Ahold. Plus Discount is the tenant in six of the acquired properties. “We feel that these properties are attractive investments because they have creditworthy tenants and are located in areas where many retailers expect…
Parkbridge Completes $32M Financing, Closes on Seniors Communities
Parkbridge Lifestyle Communities Inc. has announced the completion of a $32 million financing of one of its properties. The financing generated net proceeds of $13.2 million after repayment of a pre-existing first mortgage loan and associated transaction costs. The net proceeds were used to repay a $9 million secured facility and to partially repay amounts drawn under the corporation’s operating lines. In addition, Parkbridge completed the acquisition of two senior communities, Crestwood, a 102-site community in Medicine Hat, Alberta; and Red Oak, a 56-site community near Tillsonburg, Ontario, for an aggregate purchase price of $6.7 million. Both communities are fully…
Hilton Plans 150 Hotels in Caribbean, Latin America
Taking yet another big step toward its goal of increasing its international portfolio by 1,000, Hilton Hotels has revealed that the behemoth Beverly Hills-based hospitality concern will step up its presence in the Caribbean and Latin America. The company will enhance its offerings with the addition of 150 properties over the next five years, thereby multiplying its current group of hotels in the regions by four.In the Caribbean, where there are presently 13 Hilton hotels, the company will debut 17 more lodging facilities carrying flags of the company’s focused-service brands, like Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton Inn. Targeted areas will…