the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Brookwood Takes Residential Respite from Chaotic Commercial Market
It might appear counterintuitive for a significant private equity player, having chucked most of its commercial real estate at the height of the market, to then take refuge in the seemingly even more troubled residential market, but that’s exactly what Brookwood Financial Partners L.P. has done. About 10 days ago, Brookwood announced that affiliate Brookwood Value Partners L.L.C had made the first purchase under its new strategy of acquiring finished residential lots. The acquisition covered 214 finished lots in The Grove, Lehigh Acres, Fla., from national homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc.; Brookwood has also contracted to buy another 140 lots once…
Cash Flow More Volatile but Still Stable: Fitch CMBS Study
Led by the retail and multi-family sectors, a measure of CMBS investment risk has edged upward for the first time in four years, a study by Fitch Ratings has concluded. The analysis of five major property sectors in 379 markets shows that the average cash-flow volatility of properties nationwide score reached 2.98 in 2007, a slight increase from the 2.94 score tallied in 2008. The 306 secondary markets studied showed more volatility than did the 73 primary markets. According to Fitch, the results jibe with expectations generated by a slowing economy. “I think you’re starting to see the effect of…
Senior Living Facilities Draw More Men
Senior living communities, traditionally home to populations of predominantly female residents, are now experiencing significant growth of their male populace. The trend is particularly prevalent at independent living facilities–be they dedicated independent living properties or housing units within continuing care retirement communities. As per a recent study by Brentwood, Tenn.-headquartered Brookdale Senior Living Inc., the largest owner and operator of senior living communities in the U.S., male move-ins at the company’s independent living facilities across the country have risen by an average 7.5 percent from 2004 to now. At some Brookdale independent living sites, the jump in male residents between…
Liberty Takes Class A Florida Office
Liberty Property Trust is expanding its portfolio in the Sawgrass International Corporate Park in Sunrise, Fla., with the acquisition of a 107,000-square-foot Class A office building. The REIT bought the building at 13621 NW 12th St. from Real Estate Capital Partners, but did not release the purchase price. The building is fully leased by UnitedHealthcare. Liberty officials said they also lease space to UnitedHealthcare at properties it owns in Maryland, Minnesota and North Carolina. The Malverne, Pa.,-based REIT now owns properties totaling more than 200,000 square feet in the South Florida complex. Liberty owns and operates three other buildings at…
Indian Firm Buys Land for $100M HQ in Little Rock
Man Industries, a pipe-manufacturing firm based in Mumbai, India, has made its first venture into the United States with the purchase of 155 acres of land in Little Rock, Ark., with plans to build a $100 million facility to serve as its North and South American headquarters. Construction will begin later this month in an existing industrial area on Greenfields. No targeted completion date was released. “The cost of transporting finished goods from India had risen to a level that it was too expensive and made better sense to have a location in the U.S. to be closer to their…
Deferred Loan Payments Confirm Delay of Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas
Groundbreaking on The Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas–would-be sibling to the landmark Manhattan hotel of the same name–has been put off till next year, in conjunction with an agreement by Goldman Sachs Group and Credit Suisse Group to give the project’s developer an additional six months to repay $625 million in loans. A spokesperson for the project’s developer, Elad IDB Las Vegas L.L.C., told CPN that payment on the loans, used toward the purchase of the 35-acre site of the former New Frontier hotel/casino, will now not be expected till May of next year. The developer is a joint venture…
Report: Fannie, Freddie May Need Government Assist
The U.S. Treasury is likely to have to recapitalize the two sagging government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and may have to accomplish that goal with taxpayer money. According to a report in the August 18th edition of Barron’s, the Treasury Department and the new regulatory body, the Federal Housing Financing Agency, have told the agencies they must raise more equity. If they cannot accomplish that, the Treasury would inject taxpayer money into the agencies, according to the report. The U.S. government’s guarantee to purchase any obligations and other securities issued by Fannie and Freddie was helpful in the…
Northern Virginia County Gets First LEED Gold Spec Office
Construction has wrapped up for the first of two Class A office buildings that will comprise the 230,000-square-foot Atlantic Corporate Park in Sterling, Va., located about 25 miles from Washington, D.C., in Loudoun County. Developer DEXUS Dulles Town Crossing L.L.C.’s completion of the complex’s East Tower marks a milestone for Loudoun County, as it is the municipality’s first spec office project to achieve LEED Gold certification. Situated on a one-acre landscaped park at the corner of Atlantic Blvd. and Woodland Rd., Atlantic Corporate Park provides easy access to major thoroughfares Route 28 and Route 7. The 115,000-square-foot East Tower, carrying…
CPN South Florida Property Opportunities Conference Keynote: Some Doom, Some Gloom, but Plenty of Optimism
South Florida cities rank high in foreclosure volume, commercial deals are hamstrung by the credit crunch, and property values are down 6 percent, said Matt Haggman, a real estate reporter at The Miami Herald, who keynoted Friday morning’s South Florida Property Opportunities Conference, presented by CPN. Nonetheless, Haggman remains optimistic about South Florida’s commercial real estate prospects. Despite Time magazine’s recent headline that asked “Is Florida the Sunset State?” – an in-depth feature article that explored the worst real estate meltdown since the Great Depression – Haggman looks at the Tri-County area through the lens of transition. South Florida, he…
Construction Begins on $24M JV in La Quinta, California
Marinita Development and Regency Centers are breaking ground on Jefferson Square, a commercial development of 90,000 square feet in La Quinta, a city near Palm Springs in the Coachella Valley . The project is being planned in sections. Phase One, a shopping center, is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2009. Current tenants include Fresh & Easy Market, owned by Tesco of Great Britain, and CVS/Pharmacy. Marinita Development is a privately held company, a developer, builder and manager of retail and industrial properties. The general contractor for Phase One is Mercer Construction of Temecula,…