the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
As Macau Gaming Market Sours, Sands Looks to Offload Signature Property
In yet another indication of just how global the hospitality market slump has become, Las Vegas Sands is reportedly looking to cash out on one of its casinos in Macau under a sale- leaseback deal. The firm is looking to put the Sands Macau up for sale with a price tag of $1.3 billion after failing to sell off the retail portions of two of its other properties there.According to a report in the South China Morning Post, Las Vegas Sands is looking to sell the 229,000-square-foot gaming resort–the firm’s signature Macau property–and continue to run gaming operations there under…
Relative Stability of Seniors Sector Helps Borrower Bring in $90M in Loans
As is the case with the multi-family industry, seniors housing is faring better than such real estate sectors as office and retail, and can still rely on the government for financing assistance in the midst of the credit crunch. In both cases, it is market fundamentals that are buoying the sectors. A case in point is Cambridge Realty Capital Cos.’ recent closing of $90.6 million of HUD-insured Section 232 loans on behalf of an Illinois-based borrower for the refinancing of a group of 10 skilled nursing facilities, referred to as the Granite Portfolio. “Right now, taking out a HUD-insured loan…
Economic Update – Corporate RE Plays New Role in Tough Times
It’s a whole new world for corporate real estate owners, according to the 2009 State of the Industry Report by CoreNet Global, which was released Monday. The report distilled the views and opinions of more than 60 corporate real estate executives from around the world, along with information gleaned from various corporate real estate case studies. In some ways, the report noted, the economic squeeze has caused companies to turn to corporate real estate departments and third-party real estate service providers even more than previously to help contain costs. For example, companies are still interested in greening their real estate…
Regency Latest Firm to Seek Cash Through Stock Offering, Closing $310M
Joining the brigade of real estate companies that are relying on the sale of shares to pay off debt during the lending market’s deep freeze, shopping center REIT Regency Centers has closed its offering of 10 million shares of common stock for net proceeds totaling approximately $310.5 million.Regency priced the shares in the public offering at $32.50. The company originally planned to sell 7.7 million shares of common stock with an option for underwriters to acquire an additional 1.55 million, but ultimately offered 8.7 million, plus 1.3 million for optional purchase by underwriters. Regency plans to use the funds from…
Fontainebleau Las Vegas Takes TARP-Receiving Lenders to Court Over Canceled Loan
The credit crunch continues to squeeze the life out of big construction projects across the country, but Fontainebleau Las Vegas L.L.C. doesn’t plan on becoming a victim. One month after MGM Mirage was sued by its CityCenter project partner, the developer of the in-progress Fontainebleau Las Vegas casino-resort has filed a $3 billion lawsuit against a group of lenders that recently decided to back out of $800 million in prearranged financing–despite having received over $77 billion in federal assistance, including funds through the Troubled Asset Repurchase Program. Filed in the District Court of Clark County, Nevada, the lawsuit names a…
Study: Energy, Infrastructure Shape Global Industrial Supply Chain
Mexico and inland ports in the United States will be among the chief beneficiaries of increased global trade and infrastructure, according to a new study by Cushman & Wakefield Inc. and commissioned by the NAIOP Research Foundation. At the heart of the changes in the supply chain is the cost of transportation. Despite the recent leveling off of energy prices, transportation costs are expected to continue their long-term rise, the report states. In a bid to offset the growing of shipping goods from Asia, many U.S. businesses are looking for alternative manufacturing locations closer to home. Energy and transportation considerations…
Economic Update – Hospitality Industry Has the Jitters
The specter of a swine flu pandemic excited the news media over the weekend, based on outbreaks in Mexico and a handful of cases in the United States. Few industries are likely more worried about such a prospect than the travel business, including hotel owners and operators. As a hint of what might happen if the disease spreads, tour operators in Japan have reportedly canceled a number of organized tours to Mexico that were to have taken place during Japan’s string of spring holidays known as Golden Week–a prime season for travel by Japanese, which begins on April 29. The…
Boston-Area Biotech Firms Seek Cheaper Space in Suburbs
Drug maker Alkermes Inc. last week became the latest in what has become a growing line of biotech firms leaving Cambridge, Mass., in search of less expensive office and laboratory space in the suburbs. The company plans to relocate to a 100,000-square-foot facility in Waltham early next year, a move that Alkermes says will eventually save some $750,000 a year.“By taking advantage of the current real estate market conditions, we are able to improve our business operations by moving to a central location in a brand new facility,” noted Alkermes CFO Jim Frates. “This relocation to Waltham offers economic advantages…
Economic Update – Bear Stearns’ Bum Real Estate, Revealed
Bear Sterns Cos. was in the news again Thursday, in case anyone remembers back far enough to recall the last time it was big news–a time when the disappearance of that company into JPMorgan Chase seemed unfortunate, but not necessarily a harbinger of vast financial problems ahead. Which, in fact, it turned out to be. Now the Federal Reserve has released something of an autopsy for the company, detailing the kinds of assets it accepted from Bear Stearns (the ones JPMorgan didn’t want) and which of them caused losses for the Fed since then. The biggest losses in the former…
Green Milestone for Data Centers as Citi Scores Sector’s First LEED Platinum
As the business world continues to realize the benefits of integrating green building practices, Citi’s newly completed data center in Frankfurt, Germany, has earned a LEED Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, marking the first time a data center property has received the Council’s highest rating.“We’re seeing very large increases year to year of projects seeking LEED ratings,” Marc Heisterkamp, director of commercial real estate for the Green Building Council, told CPN. “The bigger picture is companies like Citi, which is a great example, integrating green building into all their real estate platforms. On Earth Day they announced…