the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Green Is Good , but Needs Marketing Push: JLL Shopper Study
As sustainability continues to expand throughout the retail sector, a new study of shopper attitudes suggests that that going green can be both good citizenship and a potent marketing tool. However, the survey also indicates that retailers, owners and operators have a lot of customer education on sustainability ahead. “It’s going to be a big push on our part and on our retailers’ part,” said Carol Sullivan, vice president of marketing for Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.’s West Coast operations. The firm commissioned the e-mail survey study by Alexander Babbage Inc. in order to guide retailer and owner strategies at the…
A&B Takes Savannah Logistics Center
Alexander & Baldwin Inc. has closed on the acquisition of the Savannah Logistics Center, a one million-square-foot industrial park. The seller was Oakmont Industrial Group. The company has also leased the majority of the facility, through its Matson Global Distribution Services subsidiary to a toy manufacturer for its southeast U.S. logistics operations. The deal extends the firm’s geographic reach to one of the busiest and fastest growing ports in the country, A&B Chairman & CEO Allen Doane said in a statement. It is the first real estate investment for Alexander & Baldwin east of the Mississippi and was completed using…
$82M Restoration of Historic Mississippi Hotel Underway
Work has commenced on the comprehensive renovation of Jackson, Miss.’s landmark King Edward Hotel. The $82 million conversion of the lodging facility into a Hilton Garden Inn hotel with residential units is being spearheaded by a joint venture consisting of Watkins Partners, HRI Properties and New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister. Vacant for the last four decades, the 85-year-old King Edward (pictured) is located in the city’s historic downtown area, which has been tapped for revitalization. When the redevelopment of the property is completed, it will feature 186 guestrooms, 64 apartments, 5,000 square feet of meeting space and a…
Russia Hotel to Be Rezidor’s 30th in Region
The Rezidor Hotel Group has announced the development of what will be its 30th property in Russian and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The new project, Park Inn Kazan, will include 174 rooms, and is set to open in Kazan, Russia, in the second quarter of 2011. A pioneer in the Russian lodging market, Rezidor was one of the first international hotel firms to establish full development and operations offices there. The company currently has a number of projects under development in the region, including three new Radisson hotels in Moscow, as well as planned developments in Georgia, Kazakhstan and…
Demolition Moves $189M Mixed-Use Project Forward in Virginia
The Aquia Towne Center in Stafford County, Va., is about to be reduced to rubble in order to pave the way for the continued redevelopment of the shopping center into a 725,000-square-foot mixed-use destination. Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust will spend $189 million on the redevelopment effort.Located about 25 miles from Washington, D.C., and five miles from the Marine Corps Base at Quantico, Aquia will feature 350,000 square feet of premier office space, 250,000 square feet of retail space, 125,000 square feet of entertainment offerings and 287 residential units. The architectural firm of Brown/Craig/Turner is overseeing the design of the new live-work-play…
Cousins Begins Exit from Industrial Real Estate
Cousins Properties Inc. is de-emphasizing the industrial property side of its business with the sale of several parcels of land in business parks in metro Atlanta, and with the resignation of two of the Atlanta-based REIT’s industrial division’s executives, who will not be replaced.According to the company, the land sale means that it will not pursue new speculative industrial development in the Atlanta market.”It’s the beginning of a process to exit industrial real estate,” a spokesman for Cousins told CPN this morning. “We’ve had successes along the way with our industrial properties, but they aren’t part of our core. To…
Lauth Moves on Diverse Projects in Indy, Charleston
Indianapolis-based developer and contractor Lauth Group is expanding its Intech Park on the northwest side of Indianapolis and is also about to begin construction on the first of two bulk distribution buildings at the North Pointe Industrial Park in Charleston, S.C. The additions at Intech Park, Indiana’s largest office park, comprise a new office building, a new hotel and a new office tenant. A Lauth spokesperson declined to name any dollar amounts. Construction on Intech Four, a 150,000-square-foot spec Class A office building, will begin this fall, with completion scheduled for the third quarter of 2009. Once completed, a Lauth…
Dutch Companies Form $1B U.S. Retail Fund
At a time when many U.S. banks and investors are shying away from investing in new projects, United Investment Co. and SNS Property Finance International–both of the Netherlands–have formed a joint venture to establish a $1 billion real estate investment and development fund dedicated to the U.S. retail real estate market. The fund will operate under the direction and management of United Investment’s U.S. holding company, UDC Global and its development arm, N3 Real Estate of Fort Worth, Texas, which will act as the exclusive developer for the fund. The fund will focus on credit tenant net lease retail transactions….
Venture to Invest Up to $700M in U.S. Hotels
LaSalle Hotel Properties and LaSalle Investment Management have announced the creation of a joint venture in order to invest in U.S. urban and resort hotel properties. The venture will have up to $250 million in capitalization which, with potential leverage, could result in a total investment approaching $700 million.The venture will last up to seven years, with an anticipated acquisition period of three years. Real estate investment management firm LaSalle Investment Management, a member of the Jones Lang LaSalle Group, will own 85 percent of the venture, with LaSalle Hotel Properties owning the remaining 15 percent. LaSalle Hotel Properties will…
Reaping Rewards
When a corporation moving into a new market contributes to that locale’s “image,” it can create value that boomerangs back to the company. The Tampa region, which has been working hard to attract life sciences and biotechnology firms, scored a coup with pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., which teamed with the city’s H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute to develop cancer research project M2Gen last year. “We look for organizations that will grow jobs and the industry,” said Stuart Rogel, president & CEO of the Tampa Bay Partnership. M2Gen committed to establishing 165 jobs at an average yearly…