the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
EXCLUSIVE: Arden Realty to Sell 5 MSF of SoCal Office Space
Robert Peddicord (pictured), COO of Arden Realty, Inc., said in an exclusive interview on Wednesday that the firm intends to sell approximately 5 million square feet of its Southern California office portfolio. Target date for the completion of the transactions will be by the end of the first quarter of this year. Of the approximately 5 million square feet of office space, 3.7 million square feet is in Los Angeles County and the immediate vicinity; 235,000 square feet is in Orange County; and approximately 1 million square feet is in San Diego County.“From day one when GE acquired us, we…
Banco Santander in Sale-Leaseback Deal for HQ with Propinvest
Banco Santander announced on January 25th that it made a deal with the consortium led by the U.K. property investor Propinvest for the sale of the Grupo Santander City and its simultaneous lease-back for a period of 40 years. The deal includes a purchase option for the Bank at the end of the lease. Plans call for the deal to be done by the end of March.Selling the city is part of the bank’s plan to sell and lease-back a portfolio of properties owned by it in Spain, of which this is the last part. The price for the deal…
Special Report: MBA Finds Decreased Originations, Predicts Future Changes
Commercial/multi-family mortgage originations ended last year down, thanks largely to the credit crunch, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced on Monday at the annual Commercial Real Estate Finance/Multi-family Housing Convention & Expo. And while solid fundamentals provide promise for the future, when the economy does return, certain aspects of the real estate financing business will be different, according to a presentation by MBA senior vice president & chief economist for research and business development Douglas Duncan (pictured) and senior director of commercial/multi-family research Jamie Woodwell. “Location, location, location (will be) mattering again,” noted Woodwell, while Duncan said the major issue to…
Special Report: Fannie Mae Cites Record Volume, Expects Repeat Multi-Family Performance
With fundamentals steady and lenders now pricing risk adequately, Fannie Mae expects further strong multi-family performance following its record volume last year of $60 billion. “If you look at all the metrics for the multi-family business, they’re positive,” remarked Phil Weber, senior vice president of the multi-family division, during a press conference Monday at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Commercial Real Estate Finance/Multi-family Housing Convention & Expo. Fannie Mae saw increases across most of its lending categories, according to Heidi McKibben, vice president of multi-family. That news is particularly good in the current uncertain market because 88 percent of multi-family units…
Net Lease Q&A: NNN’s Chief on Leaving Grubb & Ellis
At the end of this week, Tony Thompson, chairman of real estate giant Grubb & Ellis Co., will step down from that position. He will not, however, be any less of a pioneer in the net lease, 1031 exchange and TIC industries. In 1998 Thompson formed Triple Net Properties L.L.C. He oversaw the company’s growth over the next decade, culminating in the 2006 reorganization of Triple Net and NNN Capital Corp. to form NNN Realty Advisors Inc., which merged with Grubb & Ellis late last year. Thompson took the Grubb & Ellis helm at that time. Thompson remains a major…
Special Report: Prudence Returns to Multi-Family, Commercial Markets, Says MBA
“Prudence Took a Vacation, and Then She Came Back” is what moderator Shekar Narasimhan, managing partner of Beekman Advisors Inc., nicknamed the multi-family session “The Music Stopped: Who Has a Chair?” at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Commercial Real Estate Finance/Multi-family Housing Convention & Expo, and it was a fitting title. Generally, the speakers agreed that while the commercial and multi-family markets can expect some pain, especially given a number of unknowns to come, the credit crunch and single-family fallout have proven to be more of a much-needed wakeup call than anything else. That’s not to say there won’t be some…
NAI Outlook: Global Commercial Real Estate Holds Strong
The global commercial real estate market is on a roll, while the U.S. holds with bated breath and New York City takes a pause, noted experts at NAI Global’s Global Market Outlook 2008, held this morning at the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan. Jeffrey Finn, president & CEO of NAI Global (pictured), began the presentation, noting the unusual dichotomy the market is experiencing with solid fundamentals, high construction and land costs, and the credit market’s impacting the financial markets and trading. Although cap rates have increased 50 basis points across in all categories, the strong fundamentals should continue throughout…
CBRE Realty Finance Accepts Arbor Slate for Stockholders Meeting
According to CBRE Realty Finance Inc., a slate of candidates for its board of directors proposed by stockholder Arbor Realty Trust Inc. will stand for election at the company’s as-yet unscheduled 2008 annual stockholders meeting. Previously there was some question as to whether Arbor had filed the slate in time, with Arbor eventually filing suit about the matter. Hartford, Conn.-based CBRE Realty Finance has apparently decided that the matter isn’t worth going to court over. In a statement released late yesterday afternoon, company president and CEO Kenneth J. Witkin, noted, “Our board of directors decided we have better things to…
Portfolio of 4 Myrtle Beach Resorts Snapped Up
Rawcliffe Resorts Inc. adds four Myrtle Beach, S.C. resort properties to its holdings with its purchase of Sands Resorts Holdings L.L.C. The oceanfront destinations account for a total of over 1,600 guest rooms and suites. The assets involved in the deal include the 400-room Ocean Dunes Resort & Villas, the 400-room Sand Dunes Resort Hotel, the 157-room Ocean Forest Villas and the 127-room Ocean Forest Plaza. Together, the properties feature an total of 25,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.All four will undergo substantial renovations in an effort to compete with the onslaught of new resorts that have sprung…
Kimco, Australia’s Valad Announce Alliance
Valad Property Group of Australia is expected to expand its investments into North America following the announcement of a strategic alliance with Kimco Realty Group, one of the United States’ largest shopping center owners and operators.The alliance will be focused on creating funds management and joint venture opportunities. As a sign of its commitment to the new relationship, Kimco bought $182 million, or A$200 million, in a convertible note issued by a subsidiary of Valad.Kimco said the convertible note had a coupon rate of 9.5 percent payable semi-annually and an option to convert the note at any time into Valad…