New York City-based iStar Financial Inc. has taken a single-source $960 million loan against a portfolio of 34 triple-net-leased single-tenant properties. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. (HFF) arranged the adjustable-rate, interest-only loan through GE Real Estate.   “Normally a publicly traded, investment grade REIT such as iStar would just borrow unsecured,” Janet Krolman (pictured), an HFF director, told CPN today. “But that market is pretty tough right now, and the most cost-effective way to raise capital is by doing a secured financing such as this.” The portfolio loan has been cross-collateralized and cross-defaulted. “A cross collateralized pool gives the lender more security…

As the Energy Corridor of Houston moves outward toward the suburb of Katy, Houston-based KBR plans to ink a deal for almost 1 million square feet of office space in a long-term lease in a campus off Grand Parkway and Interstate 10. Financials of the deal were not disclosed.KBR signed an earnest money agreement with plans to enter into a long-term lease for the new facility. The new facility is expected to be more than 910,000 square feet. Despite the new facility, KBR plans to maintain its downtown Houston location for a corporate and operations presence. No contract has been…

Plans for the Dacono Gateway Centre between Denver and Boulder, Colo., have come closer to fruition with the selection of a firm to design the project’s master plan. Denver-based Norris Design got the nod recently from the developer, Orlando-based Jupiter USA. The project will encompass more than 500,000 square feet of retail, hotel, restaurant and office space on 132 acres, according to Jupiter USA. The site is at the southeast corner of the junction of I-25 and Colorado 52 about 10 miles east of Boulder, in the town of Dacono, population 4,200. I-25 is a major artery running through both…

Construction management company Hill International and the Talaat Moustafa Group Holding Co. (TMG), one of Egypt’s leading residential and hotel developers, have agreed to form a joint venture “that will provide project and construction management services exclusively on TMG projects throughout Egypt and elsewhere in the world,” according to a prepared statement.  Engineering News-Record magazine recently ranked Hill as the 10th-largest construction management firm in the United States.  Each partner will own 50 percent of the Cairo-based JV, which is expected to immediately begin managing the construction of several of TMG’s largest developments. These projects include the Four Seasons Hotel…

Phil Cordell, senior vice president of Hampton brand management, Hilton Hotels Corp. spoke recently with CPNHospitality about the brands repositioning and expansion plans.CPNHospitality: Please talk about how many Hampton Inns will open this year, and what is your development pipeline?Cordell: We have 1,530 Hampton Inns and Hampton Inn & Suites open now, and we have 450 in the construction pipeline, which means either under construction or in design. We will open 150 hotels this year. We are in the midscale without food and beverage segment. We introduced the “Make it Hampton” initiative about four years ago, which introduced improved shower…

Two weeks after announcing its plan to acquire seven office buildings in Southern California and Arizona, Pacific Office Properties Trust has closed on the purchase of four properties in San Diego and Phoenix. The REIT bought the assets, which total 275,000 square feet, from The Shidler Group.The San Diego Portfolio, located in the submarkets of Carlsbad and Torrey Hills, consists of an aggregate 54,000 square feet in three structures of Class A and Class B+ status. Pacific Office has a 32 percent ownership interest in the properties, leaving its institutional co-investment partner with the remaining stake. Pacific Office also snapped…

This is the third and final piece in this series on naming. The first column dealt with how to select a naming firm, the second one addressed the components that go into creating a great corporate name, and this final piece will deal with other venues within the naming field. A lot of focus and attention is brought to bear on the topic of corporate naming as this is the most visible high impact area of naming. However naming applies to products, services, projects, reports, books and publications, newsletters, microsites, blogs, intellectual property, business practices and a long list of…

As many investors hesitate to buy assets, even in New York City, Madison Capital and Prudential Investors have their eyes on the prize. The firms are joining forces to acquire up to $1 billion in retail and mixed-use properties, the partners disclosed earlier this week. Arranged by Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman, the joint venture will target primarily smaller and medium-size properties in the $5 million to $100 million range. New York City is likely to be an initial focus of the joint venture, since the bulk of Madison Capital’s assets are currently located in the city. But the partners…

Houston-based Hines REIT has acquired the 1.5 million-square-foot, 64-story Williams Tower–a property Hines originally developed and sold–for $271.5 million. The acquisition includes an undivided interest in the adjacent 2.8-acre Waterwall Park and a 2.3-acre undeveloped land parcel across the street from Williams Tower.  Williams Tower, which was completed in 1982, was developed by Hines, and has been managed and leased by the firm since then. At completion, the tower was known as Transco Tower for its major tenant, Transco Energy Corp. In 1995, Transco was purchased by Williams Field Services Co., and the building was renamed in 1999. Williams Tower…