the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
California Launches First State Green Database in Country
The California Department of General Services has created and launched the first statewide green online database in the country, to catalog the greening of public buildings in the state. The database will make such information available to the public. Ken Hunt of California’s Department of General Services told CPN that the database which is 95 percent completed now, will further goals of California to make government open and accessible. “The goal for the database,” Hunt said, “is to provide an easy-to-use gateway to show the public, and the world… our portfolio of state owned facilities that are working to achieve…
D.C. Condo Project Wins $60M Construction Loan
A 200-unit condo project in Washington, D.C., has landed a $60 million construction loan. The new-development project, known as Velocity, will be at 1025 First St. SE, in the Near Southeast neighborhood of the District. The loan comes at a time of widespread doldrums in the condo market, both in terms of development and sales–but with certain exceptions, such as parts of Metro D.C., which has maintained the population and job growth necessary to support new development. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, some 3,400 new jobs were created in the D.C. area, mostly in the District and…
Apollo Closes $758M Fund
Apollo Real Estate Advisors, an international real estate investor and fund manager, has closed a $758 million value-added fund, Apollo Value Enhancement Fund VII L.P. Since 1993, Apollo’s Value Enhancement Funds have focused on investing in existing, income-producing U.S. assets which present chances to increase value. Value Enhancement Fund I through VI have invested in more than 140 transactions with an aggregate value of $5.9 billion. The newly closed fund will continue the firm’s value-added strategy of investing in real estate property mainly located in major markets across the United States. One of the fund investments includes 500 1st Street…
Pair of Canadian REITs Ink $80M Deal
Toronto-based Whiterock REIT and Leben REIT of Calgary have agreed that Leben will sell to Whiterock a portfolio consisting of eight of Leben’s nine properties for approximately $80 million. The properties, in Calgary and Edmonton, total about 341,000 square feet, of which about half is office, nearly a third is industrial and one-sixth is retail. The properties are currently 99 percent leased with a 5.7-year average remaining lease term, and the current leases average 20 percent below market rates. Excluding closing and transaction costs, the purchase price represents a going-in cap rate of about 7.0 percent, according to a prepared…
Suburban Hartford M-F Trades for $43M
Waterford Commons, a 303-unit multi-family community in Manchester, Conn., has sold in a transaction valued at nearly $42.8 million. The Class A property last changed hands in 2003 for $35.6 million. Occupying a 34-acre parcel, Waterford Commons sits about 10 miles from Downtown Harford and encompasses 13, two- and three-story structures. Development of the 316,400-square-foot luxury apartment and townhome complex reached completion in 1999 at the hands of Waterford Development Corp., which spent $28.7 million to realize the project. Today the property is held up as one of the best examples of Class A-quality apartment properties in Connecticut, according to…
Q2 Office Demand a Mixed Bag for D.C. Area
One of the strongest office markets in the country for the last few years, Metropolitan Washington, D.C., is holding its own, but there are some signs of trouble, according to a second quarter report by real estate services firm CB Richard Ellis Inc. While demand indicators are positive in the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia, vacancies are on the upswing in Suburban Maryland. The numbers in the District of Columbia continue to reaffirm the strength of the city’s office market. The average vacancy rate in the second quarter decreased from a first quarter figure of 6.79 percent to 6.6…
LA Developer Partners with Vegas Officials for Museum, Hotel Redevelopment
Less than a year after entering the Las Vegas market with the acquisition of the Lady Luck Hotel and Casino, Los Angeles-based CIM Group won a deal with the city to develop land adjacent to the planned Mob Museum in the city’s historic Post Office Block.Financials on the private-public partnership were not disclosed. The Las Vegas City Council approved an agreement with CIM Group to develop the land adjacent to the museum planned for the historic Post Office Building on Stewart Avenue in the downtown district. Under the agreement, the city remains responsible for the museum, with CIM Group providing…
World’s Tallest Timeshare Tops Off in Vegas
The $1.2 billion PH Towers by Westgate in Las Vegas has reached a pivotal point in development with the attainment of the highest point of vertical construction. Located at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, the upscale 52-story PH Towers (pictured) will be the tallest timeshare building in the world. A Westgate Resorts project, the 3.2 million-square-foot PH Towers will also hold the distinction of being the first vacation ownership resort to be fully integrated with a major resort and casino complex. The 2,500-guestroom Planet Hollywood Resort debuted last year, having been reinvented from the former Aladdin Resort & Casino…
H&R Sells 11 in Canada
H&R Real Estate Investment Trust has announced the completion of the sale of eleven retail properties. The firm netted approximately $72 million from the transaction. The company expects approximately a $9 million return on sale. The buildings are in the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. They total 1.1 million square feet of leasable retail space. The individual buildings range in size from 5,000 square feet to the 284,000 square feet. H&R expects to use the revenue generated from the sale of the buildings to help fund the $330 million investment that the company has committed to three…
Colonial Properties Trust Sells 5 Apartment Communities for $82M
Colonial Properties Trust, a multi-family-focused REIT, is continuing its plan to dispose of older assets by selling five apartment communities in two transactions for a total of $81.8 million. The buyer or buyers were not identified.The wholly-owned properties, which have a total of 1,250 units, are Cottonwood Crossing, Colonial Village at Bedford and Colonial Village at Bear Creek, all in Fort Worth, Texas; Colonial Village at Pear Ridge in Dallas and Colonial Grand at Shelby Farms I and II in Memphis, Tenn. The average age of the Texas properties was 23 years and the average age of the Shelby Farms…