Follow through…It seems like a pretty basic concept. When I was just starting out in business one of my original mentors told me “to just do what you say you’re going to do, and that, in and of itself, will place you in a very select group within the business world.” When I was younger it seemed impossible to me that doing something so basic could lead to great success. Well, now that I’m older and more experienced all I can say is “how right he was!” It never ceases to amaze me at the number of people that fail…

At a reported price of nearly $700 million, 650 Madison Ave. in Midtown Manhattan may turn out to be a bargain for Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., according to local deal-watchers. Led by investor Ben Ashkenazy, the Manhattan-based private firm was reported by RealEstate Weekly’s Dan Geiger to have submitted the winning bid for the 600,000-square-foot office tower owed by Hiro Real Estate Co. “I think (Ashkenazy) got a great deal,” Dan Fasulo, director of market analysis for Real Capital Analytics Inc., told CPN this morning. “This asset easily would have traded for 10 percent higher earlier in 2007.” Representatives of Ashkenazy…

Washington, D.C.’s bid to revitalize a neglected area along the Anacostia River takes a giant leap forward as city officials choose Clark Realty Capital’s proposal for a $2.5 billion mixed-use project. Clark Realty will take on the task of converting a 110-acre site along the east side of the river into a veritable city within a city. The proposal encompasses a residential element–30 percent of which must be reserved as affordable housing to accommodate the various income levels within that designation–,retail, a school and, as mandated by the land transfer agreement between the federal government and the city, a 70-acre…

Long Island, N.Y., is not known for dense development, but a proposal is afoot for a $145 million mixed-use redevelopment in Suffolk County.TRITEC Development Group, an affiliate of TRITEC Real Estate Co., wants to build a nine-story development in Patchogue, a village located about 50 miles east of Manhattan on the island’s southern shore. The firm is in the midst of assembling four parcels plus a village-owned parking lot encompassing approximately 2.5 acres in Patchogue’s shopping district, Rob Loscalzo, chief operating officer of TRITEC Real Estate, told CPN this afternoon. One parcel is the former site of Swezey’s department store,…

A fourth quarter 2007 report from the National Association of Realtors has some bright spots for multi-family developers, as well as some news that is not so good.The NAR report looked at 59 metro areas in its survey of condo and cooperative prices. The good news is that 33 metro areas showed annual increases in prices, including four locations that had double-digit increases. The bad news is that 26 areas had price declines, including four places that saw double-digit price drops. The national median existing condominium price was $221,000 in the fourth quarter of 2007, nearly the same as $221,200…

According to a statement filed with the Australian Securities Exchange by Centro Properties Group, the company now has more time to deal with its roughly $3.5 billion debt problems. About a dozen Centro creditors, including major Australian banks and Bank of America, JP Morgan and Wachovia, agreed to the deal just ahead of the expiration of the previous extension, slated for today. Part of the debt, about $2 billion, has been extended until the end of April. Much of the rest, especially that associated with the company’s foray into the United States, has been extended to Sept. 30. The debt…

Despite the volatility in the U.S. capital markets, neighboring Canada’ s fundamentals and investment activity remain strong, DTZ Barnicke has found in its annual Global Views report. Last year was a strong year for investment activity, as both foreign and domestic investors continues to eye Canada’s attractiveness. Despite any impact on the global capital markets in 2008, Canada will continue to see positive investment activity, the report noted. Overall, rising prices for energy resources and lower interest rates are fueling economic growth that is driving down vacancies and spurring new development, noted Christopher Ridabock, DTZ Barnicke’s CEO (pictured). The country…

IDI, an industrial real estate company based in Atlanta, has announced plans for a 1.3 million-square-foot business park to be built on 129 acres the firm bought in Fort Pierce, Fla., for $17 million.The park will offer a mix of Class A warehouse and distribution space in buildings ranging from 140,000 square feet to more than 400,000 square feet. Construction on the first building will begin in the summer. Larry Dinner, vice president of leasing for IDI in Florida, said the first offering would be a 150,000-square-foot speculative building that could be used for warehouse, distribution or light manufacturing. “We…