the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Santora to Lead Cushman’s Americas Region
Cushman & Wakefield Inc. has named John Santora CEO of Americas, the company’s largest operating region. Santora, a 30-year veteran at Cushman and Wakefield, was promoted from his current post of Global COO, where he oversaw global business strategy and the integration of its regional operations. During his tenure as COO, Santora coordinated acquisitions of properties in Mexico, South America and Australia, among other regions. Santora has had a variety of management positions in the company in asset services and also serves on the board of directors. In his new role, Santora will be responsible for C&W’s business in the…
NYC West Side Railyards Deal Takes Next Step
The massive West Side railyards project (pictured) in New York City got the green light from the Metropolitan Transit Authority today to move full-steam ahead on the Related Cos., Goldman Sachs development deal. “The MTA board met today is special session to consider the new agreement and voted unanimously” in special session for staff to proceed, an MTA spokesperson told CPN. Overall the bid has not changed substantially from the one originally submitted by the development duo during the original round of proposals, the source added, except that they have lost their original tenant, Rupert Murdoch’s Newscorp. The go-ahead caps…
Boston Properties, Goldman Sachs Partnership Eyes NYC’s GM Building
An investment group including Boston Properties Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and two Middle Eastern investors is in negotiations to buy Manhattan’s 1.8 million-square-foot General Motors building at 767 Fifth Ave.–along with other properties–from embattled New York developer Harry Macklowe for between $3.6 million to $3.9 billion, according to reports.The pending deal–first reported by the Wall Street Journal today–values the GM Building (pictured) at approximately $2.75 billion, giving Macklowe up to $1.8 billion to pay off debt and taxes, according to Lois Weiss of the New York Post, who cited the other four properties in the deal as Two Grand…
HFF to Market Pair of Houston Properties
The Houston office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. has been named to market One BriarLake Plaza, a Class A office tower in West Houston and Post Oak Central, a 1.3-million-square-foot office and retail complex in Houston’s Galleria area. Both properties are being sold by Crescent Real Estate Equities L.P., an affiliate of Morgan Stanley Real Estate. Both are being offered without a formal asking price. HFF declined to discuss pricing with CPN. Completed in 2000, One BriarLake Plaza includes a 502,400-square-foot, 20-story tower and a connected 2,068-space parking garage. The 94.7 percent-leased property is located on a 9.4-acre site along…
Two New Office Towers to Rise in South Korea’s $30B Songdo District
Two new office towers are set to rise in the $30 billion Songdo International Business District near Incheon, South Korea. The buildings, provisionally known as the Songdo LIG Towers, will cost between $300 million and $500 million to build and will break ground next year for a 2012 completion. The towers comprise the F2 block of the commercial and business district of Songdo IBD (pictured) and will rise 30 and 22 stories, with retail on the bottom floors. The buildings are a joint development between LIG Consortium, which includes a leading Korean insurer as well as engineering, construction and management…
Sunrise Acquires Lake County Site for Seniors Housing Project
Sunrise Senior Living has acquired a 7.7-acre parcel of land in Mundelein, Ill., for the future development of a senior housing project. The land traded for about $4.5 million. Sunrise currently operates 441 senior living communities in various parts of the world, largely assisted living with dementia care but also independent living and continuing care retirement centers. As of the end of the first quarter of 2008, the company had 40 properties under construction–about $1 billion worth–with capacity for an additional 5,300 residents. According to Sunrise, it expects to begin construction on about another 3,200 to 3,400 units in North…
IHOP Flips Applebee’s Assets for $347M
Restaurant firm IHOP Corp., through its Applebee’s division, has entered into a sale-leaseback deal in which it will dispose of 187 Applebee’s restaurant real estate parcels for an estimated $347 million. The buyer is a newly formed partnership involving Drawbridge Special Opportunities Fund L.P., Drawbridge Real Assets Fund L.P., and various affiliates. As per the terms of the agreement, the price tag on the transaction may change based upon adjustment of restaurant sales for the 12-month period concluding on April 30. Additionally, the Drawbridge team will have the option to forego the purchase of as much as 15 percent of…
Five Upper Manhattan Properties Hit Market
Five buildings in New York’s Washington Heights and Fort George neighborhoods will be put up for sale through realtor Eastern Consolidated. The five pre-war buildings in northern Manhattan are on the market for a total of $48 million. Two properties located a block from Columbia Presbyterian Hospital combine apartments with ground level retail space and are priced together at $22.5 million. The two Fort George buildings offer 76 apartments and nine stores, with an asking price of $18 million. Lastly, a 49-unit art deco apartment building located in Washington Heights is on the market for $7 million. The buildings are…
Movement to License, Regulate Mortgage Brokers Gathers Steam
The Senate Banking Committee yesterday passed The Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008, one provision of which would set up “a licensing system for all loan originators to help standardize requirements for mortgage brokers and ensure that they meet minimum educational and performance standards,” according to a summary from the committee. If enacted into law, the bill would, according to a Reuters report, require mortgage brokers to be licensed by state regulators and fingerprinted by the FBI. In addition, the bill endorses the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System, a program by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors that would…
Well-Traveled Pennsylvania Distribution Corridor to Get 3MSF Industrial Park
The pool of industrial real estate offerings in the market along I-81 in Cumberland County, part of the heaviest traveled distribution route in the State of Pennsylvania, is about to get much bigger now that Lauth has revealed plans for a 3.1 million-square-foot bulk distribution center in Penn Township. Development of Key Logistics Park will kick off with the building of a nearly 1.2 million-square-foot facility. Key Logistics Park will occupy 206 acres about 20 miles outside of Harrisburg in a corridor that provides distribution access to 40 million within a 4½-hour drive. Construction of the complex’s first structure, Building…