the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
JLL, Staubach Deal Closes
Jones Lang LaSalle announced Friday the completion of the transaction to merge operations with The Staubach Co. Staubach specializes in tenant representation in the United States. The combined firm will operate under the Jones Lang LaSalle name. When the deal was announced last month, CPN cited Peter Roberts, JLL’s CEO of the Americas, saying the complementary cultures of the two firms was a major reason behind the merger. CPN also noted that the transaction does not include Staubach Retail Services or Cypress, Staubach’s investment development business, both of which will continue to operate under license agreements.Under the terms of the…
Momentive to Build $81M of New Facilities in Upstate NY
Momentive Performance Materials Inc., a major producer of silicones, plans to move its headquarters from Wilton, Conn., to Rensselaer County, N.Y., and build a new $65 million technology center and a $16 million headquarters building there. And depending upon actions taken by the state government in Albany, Momentive may undertake a series of major improvements at its manufacturing plant in Waterford, N.Y. While the company continues to review possible sites, officials expect construction on the technology center to begin next year with the headquarters building to follow. Meanwhile, an Albany office building will serve as the firm’s interim headquarters. The…
United Capital Receives Acquisition Proposal
United Capital Corp. announced today that its board of directors received a letter from A.F. Petrocelli, its chairman, president & CEO, proposing to acquire all of the company’s outstanding common stock at a cash purchase price of $23 per share, which represents about a 15 percent premium over the average closing price of the company’s common stock on Friday. The total value of the transaction, including contributions of the existing equity of Petrocelli, his family members, and certain senior executives of the company, is expected to exceed $270 million, including the assumption of the company’s outstanding indebtedness. The company’s hotel…
Observers: Healthy Fannie, Freddie Key to Recovery
The Bush Administration unveiled plans on Sunday to aid Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the U.S.’s two largest mortgage finance companies, as concerns continue to mount about these government-sponsored entities. Shares of the two companies plummeted 50 percent last week on those worries. Together, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac own or guarantee about half of the nation’s $12 trillion mortgage market. A temporary rescue plan has already been put into place, as the Federal Reserve said it would make a short-term lending program available to the two giants. A more comprehensive plan would be attached to a housing bill that…
Houston-Area Master-Planned Community to Include School
With construction slated to start in November on the master-planned 3,000-acre Woodforest Development in the Houston suburb of Conroe, the Conroe Independent School District has purchased 16.16 acres of the project for an elementary school. “It will be very beneficial to have an on-site school within walking distance to neighborhoods. We are thrilled to announce the school site before we even have rooftops,” Kristi Steward, director of marketing for Woodforest, told CPN. Woodforest has been working with CISD for the past 12 months to examine a variety of sites within the development. CISD also reserved the option to purchase an…
CBRE Global Multi-Manager Business Adds 3 Senior Positions
Continuing the expansion of its Global Multi-Manager business, CB Richard Ellis Investors has appointed three new senior managers, two in London and one in Boston. Established in 2006, the GMM manages segregated accounts and three funds of funds investing in unlisted property funds, with $5 billion of assets under management, and a client base that has been predominantly European. A CBRE spokesperson told CPN that all three positions are new ones. In London, Ian Gleeson joins CBRE Investors as chief investment officer, with overall investment responsibility for the GMM investment programs. He has more than 15 years of industry experience…
What’s Next for IndyMac?
Variously called the second- or third-largest bank failure in U.S. history, the implosion of IndyMac over the weekend raises the question of what’s next–next for the bank, and next for other banks that might find themselves in similar difficulties. IndyMac, ultimately a victim of questionable mortgage lending exacerbated by a sudden loss in investor confidence, could well be the first in a line of bank failures tied to the sour real estate lending climate, but at the very least, it’s another problem for federal regulators to deal with in exceedingly uncertain times. Pasadena, Calif.-based IndyMac–a spinoff of Countrywide Financial Corp….
General Growth Closes Part 1 of $1.8B Loan
Chicago-based General Growth Properties Inc. has wrapped up the initial phase of a new secured mortgage loan facility that is expected to total $1.75 billion. The retail REIT pocketed $875 million with the closing of the first segment of the loan. General Growth’s loan facility is for an initial three-year term and allows for two one-year extensions. The funds the company just borrowed carry an annual interest rate of 5.64 percent. With the closing of the first part of the transaction, General Growth repaid all but one of its remaining loans scheduled to mature in the third quarter of this…
Shorenstein JV Takes 404,000SF San Fran Business Park
Oyster Point Business Park and Oyster Cove Marina in South San Francisco have just come under new ownership, courtesy of a deal valued at a reported $85 million. Shorenstein Properties L.L.C. partnered with SKS Investments to acquire the property, which consists of 404,200 square feet of flex/industrial space and a 235-berth marina, from Shelton Corp. Oyster Point sits along 1,650 feet of waterfront on Oyster Point Blvd., just 1.5 miles from San Francisco International Airport. The marina was developed in 1982, the same year that the two-year construction period kicked off for the business park’s six buildings. Presently 88 percent…
Hospitality Q&A: Holland & Knight’s Sentman on Sustainability
As the seventh attorney in the U.S. to earn the LEED Accredited Professional designation, Shannon Sentman, real estate attorney at Holland & Knight L.L.P., leads a legal practice focused on the interconnectedness of all aspects of sustainability, and also specializes in the hospitality, resort, and timeshare segments. Sentman talked recently about the state of green hotel development. CPN Hospitality: Are you seeing more interest from hotel developers and owners to go green?Sentman: We’re seeing a lot of push from the big hotel companies, such as Marriott and Hyatt. It’s more on their agenda. State legislatures have also gotten involved. Florida…