the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Intuit Launches IMPACT 2.0
Cleveland-based Intuit Real Estate Solutions has announced the availability of a second version of IMPACT, V2.0. The software is geared towards corporate real estate managers and the global property management industry. V2.0 IMPACT is the second version of software originally launched a year ago, a solution that was based on a demand from real estate managers for ways to model, evaluate, and project multiple scenarios based on key performance indicators. IMPACT lets portfolio managers more easily make decisions about buy, hold and sell choices, debt levels, and capital deployment investments. It features a client-customized dashboard views for comparison. The new…
Chicago’s Merchandise Mart Using TAC to Help Become Greener
Merchandise Mart, the 4.2 million-square-foot, 24-story historic landmark in downtown Chicago will use TAC developers to help it be part of the Clinton Climate Initiative, it has reported. Dallas-based TAC develops building automated solutions for IT–providing technology for indoor climate, security and energy use. “They are also targeting transportation and other entities, but the biggest impact is definitely from pollution in buildings. It’s pretty innovative for a commercial office property to have as its primary focus to address climate change,” Shon Anderson, vice president at TAC told CPN. What will stand out for this project is that the mart will…
Kimpton Fund Plans to Invest $800M Over Next 3 Years
Kimpton Group Holding L.L.C., which raised $246 million in an institutional real estate fund, plans to acquire more than $800 million worth of hotels over the next three years.The parent company of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Kimpton Group Holding said the KHP Fund II L.P., raised 50 percent more than the first KHP Fund. The KHP Fund I closed three years ago and now owns interests in 13 Kimpton properties. Kimpton’s first institutional fund was called the Kimpton Opportunity Fund. That $122 million fund acquired nine properties, seven of which have been sold. KHP Fund II will be used to…
Landmark Chicago Building to Be Sold, Leased Back
Bank of America Corp. is reportedly putting the 135 S. LaSalle St. building in Downtown Chicago on the block. If all goes according to plan, the bank will then lease back the space it occupies in the building–most of its total of 1.25 million square feet.The building, one of the last built in Chicago before the Great Depression put a halt to commercial development in the city for many years, had previously been owned by ABN AMRO, former parent of Chicago-based LaSalle Bank. When the consortium of Fortis N.V., The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc and Banco Santander Central…
Work Begins on 700,000SF Houston Office Project
Construction of Eldridge Oaks, a 700,000-square-foot office development in Houston’s thriving Energy Corridor, has just gotten underway. Developer Transwestern plans to complete the first phase of the environmentally-friendly Class A project in September of next year.Eldridge Oaks (pictured) sits on a 21-acre site on Eldridge Parkway, just one mile from I-10. The initial phase of the project involves a 14-story tower featuring 350,000 square feet. Phase II, for which no construction start date has yet been set, will also consist of 350,000 square feet of space for multiple tenants or for build-to-suit use. Additionally, both buildings will be designed to…
Macfarlan’s $180M Purchase of 5 Resorts Shows Confidence in Second-Home Market
Fears of a recession and rising energy prices weren’t enough to deter Macfarlan Capital Partners L.P. from putting approximately $180 million on the table in its purchase of five upscale resorts and second home communities in Texas, New Hampshire and North Carolina. The Dallas-based private real estate investor made the acquisition from Centex Destination Properties, a division of Centex Homes. “The economic contraction and high gas prices have an impact,” company CEO Dean Macfarlan told CPN. “That being said, Boomers have capital for recreation, and they are historically purposeful travelers who place a high priority on leisure and ‘getting away.’…
$185M in Financing Closes for Upscale Charlotte Hotel
The Westin Charlotte in Charlotte, N.C., gets refinanced, courtesy of a $185 million loan. Jones Lang LaSalle’s Real Estate Investment Banking practice orchestrated the financing deal for Portman Holdings L.P., the owner of the 700-room hotel.Carrying the address of 601 S. College Street, the Westin Charlotte sits within the blossoming business and entertainment district. With 44,000 square feet of convention space and the city’s largest ballroom, the five-year-old hotel is one of Charlotte’s most prominent lodging facilities, serving as a great magnet for meetings and conventions.In its pursuit of financing for the hotel, JLL managed to skirt the credit crunch…
Pair of Non-Premier Office Properties in Bustling D.C. Command $62.5M
The office buildings at 1000 and 1010 Vermont Ave. in Downtown Washington, D.C., rating Class B and Class C, have just come under new ownership. Pembroke Real Estate Inc. acquired the properties, totaling 141,800 square feet, from Guardian Realty Investors L.L.C.Consisting of nearly 78,400 square feet, the structure at 1000 Vermont was developed in 1950 and submitted to a comprehensive renovation in 1985. Its sister building at 1010 Vermont features approximately 63,400 square feet of space. Originally constructed in 1921, 1010 Vermont was most recently upgraded in 2001. Together the buildings have an average leasing level of 96 percent. Occupying…
C&W’s Cushman Returns to U.S., Promoted to Executive Managing Director
After almost five years in the firm’s London office, Cushman & Wakefield Inc. executive Jeff Cushman has relocated to the New York world headquarters and has been promoted to executive managing director, CPN learned exclusively today. Cushman will be responsible for cross-border client development strategies, as well as initiatives for current and prospective global clients across the firm’s service lines. He reports directly to global COO John Santora. As Cushman (pictured) returns home, he brings both a global perspective and external and internal relationships created while overseas, all made with knowledge that he would eventually bring them back to the…
Hilton-DFL JV Announces 7 New Hotels In India
DLF Group and Hilton Hotels Corp. have announced that they have signed a management agreement involving seven new hotel developments in India. This marks the second stage in the joint venture’s overall strategic development plans to build and develop 75 hotels, totaling 25,000 rooms, in India over the next five to seven years.The new projects will bring the total number of new hotels under the joint venture to 16, comprising of 3,500 rooms. All of the projects are in various stages of development and construction. The seven new hotels include: the 300-room Hilton Dwarka New Delhi; the 400-room Hilton Garden…