the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Poll Showing Americans Oppose Bailout Alters Debate
As Congress moved into a second day of hearings on the Bush administration’s proposed $700-billion bailout of the mortgage market, a Los Angeles Times-Bloomberg poll seemed to alter the course of the debate as the Congressional hearings began to address the public directly. According to the poll, 55 percent of Americans oppose a government bailout funded by taxpayer dollars regardless of the harm inaction might do the economy. Only 31 percent of Americans favored the bailout, said the poll. In the second day of hearings before the Joint Economic Committee, Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke fielded questions that seemed…
Final Session at DLA Piper Summit Tackles Funding Worries
It was the last session in a long day, but the attendance was understandably strong at “The Outlook for Capital,” the closing session of “What Comes Next: Opportunities, Risks and Rewards,” the 2008 DLA Piper Global Real Estate Summit held Tuesday in Chicago. The panel discussion was dominated, of course, by debate and speculation about the federal government’s $700 billion bailout of the financial markets, also known as TARP, or the troubled assets relief program. Though he referred to “an excessive writedown of assets,” moderator Bruce Cohen, CEO of Chicago-based Wrightwood Capital, expressed a pervasive sentiment when he said that…
Forest City Secures $250M in Financing for 2.5M SF Mixed-Use Project in D.C.
Flying in the face of the debilitating credit crunch, Forest City Enterprises Inc. has managed to close on a $250 million construction financing deal for Waterfront Station, a 2.5 million-square-foot mixed-use project underway in the blossoming southwest area of Washington, D.C. Forest City is developing Waterfront Station as a partner in Waterfront Associates, a joint venture involving affiliates of Forest City Washington Inc., Bresler & Reiner Inc. and Vornado/Charles E. Smith. The non-recourse loan will fund the project’s first phase, which includes two office structures totaling 628,000 square feet with ground-level retail space. The group of lenders that provided the…
Lifetime Brands Latest Retail Casualty; Plans to Close All Stores, Distribution Center
Lifetime Brands Inc., a nationally branded kitchenware, tabletop and home decor products company, is the latest casualty among retailers to announce the closing of stores. The company plans to close all of its remaining 53 outlet retail stores as well as its York, Pa., distribution center in 2009. The stores being closed by Lifetime include 39 Pfaltzgraff factory stores, eight Farberware outlet retail stores and six clearance stores. The company will continue to operate its Internet and mail order catalog businesses. Clearance sales at the stores will start Tuesday and should be completed by Dec. 31. The company has entered…
KOP Takes 50 Percent Stake in Stein Group
KOP Capital Pte Ltd. of Singapore has announced the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in Stein Group International. The investment is thought to be worth $250 million and gives KOP an entry into the global hospitality market. Stein Group International is the parent company of a portfolio of companies in the luxury hospitality sector which currently operates in Europe and North America. With the investment by KOP, Stein Group will expand into the Asian market, targeting Singapore, China, Indonesia and Thailand for developments. Plans call for Stein Groups to begin operations in Asia by 2010. Stein Group International operates…
AMB Sells Site at SoCal Business Park to Credit Union for HQ
AMB Property Corp. is continuing to make deals for parcels in its 120-acre AMB Pacific Coast Business Park in Oceanside, Calif., with the recent sale of a 6.5-acre site to Pacific Marine Credit Union for a new headquarters. PMCU plans to build a two-story, 60,000-square-foot office building on the parcel located at the intersection of Old Grove Road and College Boulevard, according to an AMB Property news release. The ground floor will include a retail credit union branch and ATM locations with general and administrative offices taking up the rest of the space. The 55-year-old credit union, originally known as…
Disney to Build New Vacation Ownership Destinations in Florida
Disney Vacation Club, the Walt Disney Co.’s vacation ownership program, has revealed plans for two new resort developments at Disney’s Contemporary Resort and Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The two projects will add 355 units to the club’s vacation ownership offerings.The new 15-story Bay Lake Tower will sprout up at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, offering a total of 265 units. Sited a short walk from the Magic Kingdom Park, the building will be connected via a covered sky bridge to the existing resort, which provides access to the monorail station. Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga…
From CPN’s Net Lease Summit: Economists Expect Pain Before Gain
Economic conditions are going to be tougher for awhile before they improve, and the nation may even stagnate along the bottom, akin to Japan’s last recession, according to the discussion between two economists that opened CPN’s Net Lease Summit yesterday. But some benefits will come out of it, according to Craig Thomas, vice president and head of research at Citi Property Investors, and David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor’s Corp., during the Economic Face-Off, which was moderated by Matthew Bruck, managing director of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Americas and partner in McDuff Capital. The pain is…
Closing Market Update: Stocks Teetering on Bailout Uncertainty
The market almost liked the prepared testimony from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke (pictured), Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox and OFHEO Director James Lockhart. After rising during morning trading, stocks dipped again in the early afternoon and the Dow Jones index ended the day down 161 points, largely due to lingering questions and concerns about the plan.Will Congress give U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson $700 billion or more to spend to bail out Wall Street, no strings attached — and with no Congressional or judicial oversight? Maybe, but with Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) calling it socialism and Christopher Dodd…
ProLogis to Develop 1.1M SF Facility for Marks & Spencer in England
ProLogis announced that it will develop a new 1.1 million-square-foot distribution facility for Marks & Spencer, a food and home products retailer in the United Kingdom. The facility will be developed at ProLogis Park Bradford, a 90-acre business park located in the county of Yorkshire in northern England. At full build-out, ProLogis Park Bradford will have two buildings comprising up to 1.25 million square feet of space. ProLogis plans to develop additional office and industrial space at the site on a build-to-suit basis, and is currently marketing the park to businesses with local and regional operations.The building will be built…