the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Forest City Ratner Wins Court Victory in Atlantic Yards Battle
A federal court ruling on eminent domain handed a major victory today to the controversial $4 billion Atlantic Yards project, Forest City Ratner Co.’s master-planned development in Downtown Brooklyn. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a lower-court decision that Atlantic Yards does not violate the public use clause of the Fifth Amendment. A group of fourteen homeowners, business owners and tenants had challenged the legality of New York State’s efforts to take their property under eminent domain. The case is one of the biggest tests yet of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo decision, which broadened…
Las Colinas DARTs Ahead
Much of the new development in Las Colinas, Texas, hinges on the DART rail line expansion. That’s why alarms sounded in December, when transit officials said a budget shortfall could delay the line’s scheduled startup in Las Colinas. But DART president Gary Thomas told the Irving City Council on December 13 that the line’s expansion will proceed as planned, saying he will recommend a public-private partnership to get the project completed, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Home Shopper Fizzle
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in November 2007, was 87.6, down 19.2 percent below the November 2006 level of 108.4. The PHSI numbers also shows that, from a year earlier, home sales are down:* 19.8 percent in the South * 18.6 percent in the Midwest* 19.1 percent in the NortheastMeanwhile, the housing market drop-off has hit home furnishing retailers particularly hard. Consider:* Jennifer Convertibles reported same store sales dropped 2.6 percent for the fiscal quarter ended Nov. 24 compared to the same quarter in 2006* Havertys reported November same sales for the first…
Nashville Entertainment, Business Meld Together
Ranked in 2006 as the No. 1 Smart Place to Live according to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Nashville also pulls tourists in through its vibrant music and business environment. “In the last 20 years … (the) entertainment and the business communities have molded together,” noted Terry Smith, principal & CEO of Nashville Commercial Real Estate Services. “The city sees the music industry, the entertainment industry and the tourism as a unique element to its fiber. It’s an acceptance of a value sets that the entertainment business brings to Nashville that are key elements to our growth patterns.”
Seismic Waves
On the eve of this year’s Mortgage Bankers Association Commercial Real Estate Finance conference, mortgage bankers and others involved in real estate finance are grappling with significant challenges. Yet they remain largely optimistic both that the end of the tunnel will appear around midyear—along with a return of the CMBS market—and that the industry is undergoing some necessary adjustments in the meantime.While these expectations for recovery may indeed be optimistic—other prognostications postpone the market’s return until 2009—at least bankers are taking a more cautious stance now with their lending criteria, as we discuss in our mortgage banking feature, “Aftershocks” (see…
What’s the Rent?
Don’t let the term “ground lease” fool you. Negotiations for this kind of contract necessitate a different approach than does a lease for regular space, requiring crucial considerations. Otherwise, the parties involved could find themselves involved in unnecessary litigation.By Lawrence Teplin & Heather SternWhen it comes to typical leases for space, landlords and tenants can generally draw on predictions of fundamentals in order to develop reasonable terms. A similar approach to ground leases, however, would require predicting rents decades in advance. Thus, parties to a long-term ground lease must take a different route.That path usually begins with an agreement to…
Making the Most of a Changing Market
The investment scene has taken on a very different look in the Orange County industrial market of late, says Rob Neal, managing partner of Hager Pacific Properties, an investment firm that owns approximately 1.5 million square feet of Orange County industrial space. Indeed, it has essentially become a waiting game, as many sellers still want to sell their properties at pre-credit crunch prices, while buyers are thinking they can swing a better deal.“It’s like an eighth grade dance,” Neal said. “Everyone’s sitting on opposite sides of the room.”Neal is seeing more industrial deals come a cropper. “We’ve been getting calls, where…
CPN Q&A: Anthony Thompson on Grubb & Ellis, the State of Real Estate…and Golf
CPN spoke this morning with Anthony Thompson (pictured), retiring chairman of Grubb & Ellis Co. and architect of the recent megamerger between Grubb & Ellis and NNN Realty Advisors Inc.CPN:What’s next for Tony Thompson? Thompson: The last ten years or so have been tremendous, but also a lot of hard work, especially with the merger, so I’m going to take a little while off to smell the roses and take some trips with my wife. But this is a very interesting time in real estate. Even considering the state of the economy, there will still be various opportunities ahead to…
Port of Houston Plans $74M Terminal Wharf
With the expansion of the Bayport Container Terminal in the Port of Houston, the region’s industrial construction activity spiked in the past year to record levels. Now, the Port Commission of The Port of Houston Authority (PHA) has approved the addition of a new wharf at a cost of up to $74 million. Last week, the commission authorized advertising and receipt of competitive sealed proposals for Bayport Terminal Complex Phase 1 Wharf for up to $74 million. Plans and specifications for the construction of about 1,330 feet of additional wharf, including associated dredging and material disposal on site, have been…
NYLO Expansion to Target Smaller Markets
NYLO Hotels, a hotel brand that saw its initial hotel opening recently in Plano, Texas, will focus its growth ambitions on secondary and tertiary markets. Expanding into major, gateway cities is just “too expensive,” John Russell, CEO of NYLO Hotels, told CPN at the Americas Lodging and Investment Summit held Wednesday in Los Angeles. “We want to establish the brand first.” The company announced on Tuesday that they would franchise the NYLO brand, and also debuted a new, select service brand, XP. For every three NYLOs that are built, Russell said seven XPS should be constructed. Average development costs for…