the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Grubb & Ellis Buys Two Apartment Complexes in Metro Atlanta
Grubb & Ellis Apartment REIT Inc. has acquired two Class A apartment communities totaling nearly 500 units in the metro Atlanta area. Grubb purchased the 216-unit AMLI at Kedron Village multi-family community in Peachtree City from AMLI Residential and Prudential Real Estate Investors, and the 280-unit Creekside Crossing in Lithonia from Harbor Group International, Norfolk, Va. In the Kedron Village transaction, the seller was represented by Engler Financial Group L.L.C., and financing through Freddie Mac was arranged by Capmark Finance. According to the 8-K filed with the SEC, The pricetag for Creekside was $25.4 million. It was financed with a…
$8.9B Penn Gaming Merger Crumbles
After spending the last few months attaining all the requisite approvals from various gaming commissions and boards, Penn National Gaming has put the kibosh on its proposed $8.9 billion merger with PNG Acquisition Company Inc., an entity involving funds managed by Fortress Investment Group L.L.C. and Centerbridge Partners L.P. affiliates. News of the deal’s demise comes just one month after Wyomissing, Pa.-based Penn National announced the extension of the merger agreement’s end date from June 15 to October 15 of this year. As per terms of the agreement, PNG would have shelled out $67 per Penn National share for a…
Wells REIT II Snags Another AT&T Building in Atlanta
Wells Real Estate Investment Trust II has acquired Lindbergh Center, a groundbreaking, transit-oriented development in Atlanta’s Buckhead area, in a sale-leaseback from AT&T. Terms of the acquisition were not announced. The deal is Wells REIT II’s second acquisition from AT&T in Buckhead in as many months. This spring the REIT acquired five buildings at nearby Lenox Park from the telecommunications giant. Lindbergh Center (pictured) includes twin 14-story, Class-A office buildings connected by a four-story atrium, totaling 955,000 square feet. It is located at Piedmont Rd. and Lindbergh Dr., adjacent to the Lindbergh station, a transfer point and the second-busiest station…
COPT Wraps Acquisition of 3 Offices
In a $40.5 million transaction, Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) has acquired three office buildings, one in Colorado Springs, Colo., and two in San Antonio, Texas. COPT has been an active buyer for much of its history. The company acquired $165 million worth of properties in 2003, $264 million in 2004, $364 million in 2005, $180 million in 2006 and $378.6 million last year. These acquisitions–the company’s first of 2008–may mark a return to growth through acquisitions that characterized the firm from 2003 through 2007. The 3-story, class A building in Colorado Springs cost $23.2 million. Northrop Grumman Corp. occupies…
CBRE Wins Leasing Role For Polish Shopping Center
CB Richard Ellis Inc. has won the role of sole leasing agent for the Galeria Victoria shopping center in Walbrzych, Poland, its developer, Keen Property Partners, has reported. The center will be the first modern retail, entertainment, residential and hotel complex in Walbrzych and the surrounding region. The planned hotel and residential elements of the project will cost approximately 20 million euros. It will bring the first multiplex cinema, restaurants and cafés and both Polish and international retail brands to the city.The Walbrzych project is designed by award-winning architects Chapman Taylor, who designed Baneasa Business and Technology Park in Bucharest,…
Fox Interactive Signs $350M Lease for New LA-Area HQ
Fox Interactive Media has completed a lease agreement with Lincoln Property Co. and ASB Real Estate Investments to lease 421,000 square feet of office space at the Horizon at Playa Vista project near Los Angeles.The signed lease is for a period of 12 years and has been priced in the range of $350 million, according to sources with Lincoln Property. “Fox Interactive is not just another tenant,” said Playa Vista chairman Steve Soboroff. “They are an economic driver for the entire region. We might even have to change our name from Playa Vista to Silicon Valley South.” News Corporation’s interactive…
Starbucks to Close 600 U.S. Stores
As part of its transformation strategy, Starbucks Corp. has revealed plans to close 600 stores in the United States. Starbucks, which previously announced plans to close 100 U.S. stores, announced the closings after an internal review identified potential stores for closure. The stores were chosen based on poor location that impacted a store’s profitability and poor revenue projections. All impacted stores are scheduled to close by the first half of fiscal 2009. With the closings of the stores, the company will be eliminating part-time and full-time jobs at the retail level. The timeline for the closings of the individual stores…
Carlyle, Crown Take Controlling Stake in 666 Fifth Ave. Retail for $525M
Kushner Cos. has sold a controlling interest in the 90,000 square feet of retail space at 666 Fifth Ave. in Manhattan to The Carlyle Group and Crown Acquisitions for $525 million, the companies announced today. The sale will reportedly help Kushner pay off short-term debt incurred by the then-record $1.8 billion purchase in January 2007 of the trophy building. Citing a Bloomberg report, an April 25 CPN story said the deal with Carlyle and Kushner was in the works. The deal calls for Carlyle and Crown Acquisitions to own a 49 percent stake in the ground-floor retail at the prestigious…
Lightstone Acquires Interests in 20 Outlet Centers in $456M Deal
Lightstone Value Plus REIT will soon have a stake in 20 factory outlet centers, now that it has signed on purchase from 22.54 to 25 percent interests in the properties from affiliates of Arbor Mortgage REIT. The transaction, which involves assets with an aggregate 7.3 million square feet of space, is valued at $456 million. Lightstone REIT will acquire 25 percent of Arbor’s Prime Outlets Acquisition Co., which owns 18 factory outlet centers in 15 states including: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. The transaction also includes the REIT’s…
Pair of Senior Housing Deals Total $122M
Senior citizens naturally tend to slow down, but two new deals are further evidence that the senior housing sector is as active as ever. In one transaction, Care Investment Trust Inc. has made a $100.8 million purchase of a portfolio of 12 Midwestern seniors facilities. In the other, Five Star Quality Care Inc. has purchased three assisted-living facilities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for $21.4 million and will take over operation of seven others.In the first deal, Care, which is externally managed and advised by CIT Healthcare L.L.C., a subsidiary of CIT Group Inc., has acquired the 12 senior housing…