the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Fed’s Latest Rate Cut May Be Last for a While
The Federal Reserve’s decision yesterday to cut a key interest rate by a quarter of a point may be the final rate decrease for the time being, bringing an end to a series of cuts since September. The latest cut brought the federal funds rate to 2 percent. The Fed began lowering rates in September in an effort to aid the sputtering economy. While concerns about slowing economic growth and a possible recession remain, the Fed signaled that fears of inflation and devaluation of the dollar may necessitate a pause in the cutting. The quarter-point rate decrease was more modest…
Melco Developing Ski Resorts, Homes In China
Capitalizing on China’s growing ski culture, Melco China Resorts, an associate of Melco International Development Ltd., has announced the launch of China’s first ski and leisure resort, the redevelopment of other ski areas and the groundbreaking of a luxury mountain home project. The company recently topped out two hotels in the Yabuli Sun Mountain resort, which is the core focus of MCR’s immediate development plan. The resort will include three premium hotels in total, including a luxury 24-suite boutique mountaintop hotel. The location is China’s most recognized ski resort area, and will host the World Winter University games in early…
Marcus & Millichap Capital Arranges $30M Loan for Denver Apartment Complex
A $30.6 million non-recourse loan arranged by Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. helped Security Properties Inc. of Seattle re-enter the Denver market with the $37 million purchase of The Aventine, a 336-unit apartment complex.Jake Roberts and Anita Paryani, senior directors in Marcus & Millichap Capital’s West Los Angeles office, arranged the financing package for The Aventine, located at 3257 S. Parker Road in Aurora, Colo.“The lender provided a commitment to the borrower within two weeks of receiving the signed application for the non-recourse loan,” Roberts said in a company release.Financing was provided by an unidentified bridge lender at a floating…
Shorenstein Acquires Second Houston High-Rise in 7 Months
In its second major purchase in the Galleria submarket of Houston since October, San Francisco-based Shorenstein Properties L.L.C. acquired the Class A office tower 5 Post Oak Park for an undisclosed amount. The seller was a partnership between GE Asset Management Inc. and Fort Worth-based Crescent Real Estate Equities L.P. The seller was represented by the Houston office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP. The 28-story, 567,400-square-foot building (pictured) is located at 4400 Post Oak Parkway and is 93 percent leased with three tenants–Amegy Bank, UBS and Willbros USA–accounting for 50 percent of the building s leasable area. The purchase includes…
Brookfield Shows Interest in Maguire, Too
The saga of Maguire Properties Inc. continued to unfold today with word that Brookfield Properties Corp. is interesting in buying, along with other partners, Maguire’s interests in Downtown Los Angeles office properties for about $750 million.The Wall Street Journal reported the offer, citing a letter from Brookfield to Maguire that the newspaper had seen.”It’s hard to know how Maquire’s board is going to respond to Brookfield,” David AuBuchon, an analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co., told CPN this morning. “It seems like an adequate, though not stellar, offer. There’s really only one other current office trade in the same…
$60B Community Breaks Ground in Ajman, UAE
Following the lead taken by some of its larger neighbors, Ajman, the smallest in size of the seven federated states making up the United Arab Emirates, has broken ground on Al Zorah, a $59 billion master-planned “sustainable residential, business and leisure community,” according to a Reuters news report. Al Zorah’s developer is Al Zorah Development Co., a JV between the Ajman government and Beirut-based Solidere International Ltd. Solidere, Lebanon’s largest publicly traded company, is widely credited as a major force behind war-torn Beirut’s gradual re-emergence as a cultural and commercial center, It was founded as a public-private partnership in 1994…
450,000SF Office Pre-Lease in Place at Boston’s $500M Russia Wharf Project
Boston Properties, developer of the 815,000-square-foot mixed-use Russia Wharf in Boston, has snagged an anchor tenant for the 552,000-square-foot office segment of the $500 million project. Asset management firm and investment advisor Wellington Management Co. will occupy 450,000 square feet under a 15-year lease agreement.”You don’t find a whole lot of deals like that in the Boston market,” Stephen Brodsky, senior vice president & managing director with real estate services firm Grubb & Ellis Co., told CPN today; the firm was not involved in the transaction. News of the lease was disclosed in Boston Properties’ first quarter 2008 earnings statement…
Mayfield Gentry Nabs D.C. Office
Mayfield Gentry Realty Advisors has agreed to purchase an 82,000-square-foot office building on K Street in Washington, D.C.The 11-story building currently is 89 percent leased and has 30 tenants. It generally caters to a clientele that includes non-profit organizations and trade associations. Current tenants include Atelier Artchitects, the National Sleep Foundation and R.E. Bushnell & Law Firm. The Class B office building is located at 1522 K Street NW, three blocks from the White House.Chauncey Mayfield, CEO of Mayfield Gentry Realty Advisors, commented that the building, the firm’s first in Washington, D.C., was attractive due to its location and the…
GMH Military Housing Division Bought by Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty Group has completed acquisition of the military housing division of GMH Communities Trust for $350 million, it has reported. The student division of GMH Communities is in negotiations to be acquired by American Campus Communities. The military division has been renamed Balfour Beatty Communities. This deal allows Balfour Beatty to expand its already extensive presence in the multi-family housing, especially in the United States defense industry. The new entity, Balfour Beatty Communities, based in Newtown, Penn., now provides, jointly with the U.S. Department of Defense, approximately 25,700 military housing units for families on 12 military housing projects in…
Judge’s Ruling Clears Hurdle for $1B Mixed-Use Project in San Diego
The development of the 3 million-square-foot Navy Broadway Complex in San Diego will not be stopped by the California Coastal Commission now that a U.S. District Court has ruled that the state entity does not have the standing to require developer Manchester Pacific Gateway L.L.C. to secure a Coastal Development Permit for the $1 billion project.The ruling comes nearly one full year after Manchester filed a suit against the Commission following its claim of jurisdiction over the development, which will be constructed in a public-private partnership on property owned by the U.S. Navy. It was Manchester’s assertion that because the…