the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Kushner Plunks Down $200M in Cash to Repay Loan
Premier New York City real estate concern Kushner Cos. has reached into its pocket for $200 million in cash to pay off a loan, according to a report by Reuters yesterday. Kushner spent a whopping $1.8 billion in January 2007 to acquire the 1.5 million-square-foot office building at 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, relying on a $1 billon loan for the purchase. Kevin Swill, president of Kushner, shared his thoughts on the current refinancing market with Reuters, calling it, “disturbing.” It is unclear if Kushner relied on cash reserves or if the company sold properties specifically to pay the loan….
ARA Forms New Private Clients Group in Florida
Multi-family advisory and brokerage firm Apartment Realty Advisors has announced the formation of a private clients group to serve high-end private investors in Florida multi-family markets. The new group will advise clients who typically invest in communities of 150 units or fewer. ARA said it will expand the private clients group across key Florida markets, with the South Florida division being headed up by Brandon Rex, who will join ARA as a vice president, after serving as a senior investment associate with Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co. Over the course of his nine-year career in the commercial…
Makar to Open First Pacific Beachfront W Hotel
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. plans to open a new W Hotel on the beach in Huntington Beach, Calif. Scheduled to open in 2010, W Huntington Beach and The Residences at W Huntington Beach will be owned by an affiliate of Makar Properties L.L.C.. The luxury hotel development will feature approximately 250 guest rooms and 92 private residences, a high-end restaurant, bar, and destination spa. W Huntington Beach will anchor Makar’s Pacific City, a retail village set on 30 acres of oceanfront property. Slated to open in late 2009, Pacific City will have 161,000 square feet of retail stores…
Aldar, IHG Agree to Abu Dhabi Hotel Development Deal
Major Abu Dhabi real estate developer Aldar Properties has signed an agreement with Intercontinental Hotels Group to build hotels in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Aldar Properties will build a 430-room Crowne Plaza, and a 165-suite Staybridge Suites Hotel. Both are scheduled to begin construction shortly and to be completed by 2009. Aldar has also agreed to build an Intercontinental Hotel, scheduled for a 2011 opening. “Abu Dhabi offers huge growth potential for IHG,” said John Bamsey, (pictured), COO, Middle East and Africa, for IHG. “Abu Dhabi is investing $136 billion in developing business and tourism assets, and…
Rubbermaid to Build 800,000SF Distribution Center in Atlanta
International consumer and commercial products marketer Newell Rubbermaid Inc. has just revealed that it will develop a new distribution facility in the Atlanta area, where it has maintained its headquarters for the last five years. Development of the 800,000-square-foot center is part of the company’s global strategy for consolidating operations and reducing its portfolio of properties. The new distribution center will sit in Union City, about 15 miles from Downtown Atlanta. With the completion of construction, Rubbermaid will be able to distribute more than one product brand from a single location. The project dovetails with the company’s goal of moving…
Retail, Residential Most Likely Development Prospects for Jersey City Site
Retail and residential are the two property types most likely to be developed on a 100-acre brownfield site on the west side of Jersey City, N.J., according to one prominent New Jersey real estate executive. The parcel, which is chromium contaminated, will be developed as the result of an agreement reached earlier this month between Jersey City and Honeywell International.The city sued Honeywell in 2005, and the court ruled that Honeywell must clean up the site, according to the Jersey Journal. Over the next five years, residential and retail development are the most likely property types to be developed in…
UCLA’s Gabriel on the B of A-Countrywide Deal
With the inking of a single deal late last week, Bank of America became the nation’s leading mortgage lender and loan servicer when it bought the troubled Countrywide Finance Corp. for $4 billion in stock. But what is Bank of America getting for that princely sum?This morning, CPN spoke about the acquisition, and its wider implications, with Stuart Gabriel, UCLA professor of finance and holder of the Arden Realty Chair, and director of the Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate.Until 2007, Gabriel (pictured) held the Lusk Chair at the University of Southern California and directed the Lusk Center for…
$2B Mixed-Use Redevelopment Planned in Los Angeles
While policy-makers and elected officials ponder how to provide affordable housing to the booming population of Californians–expected to grow by six million residents between now and 2030 in Southern California alone–Fifteen Group Land & Development L.L.C. plans to redevelop a 1930s era apartment complex into a $2 billion mixed-use community that will increase the availability of apartments, homes and retail space. Located in Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles, the project is planned for the current Wyvernwood Garden Apartments. The firm purchased the land in 1998 and acquired an adjacent complex in 2006 for a total of 70 acres. Plans…
$185M Loan Closes for Refinancing, Expansion of Seattle-Area Hyatt
Bellevue Place L.P., owner of the Hyatt Regency Bellevue, has gotten its hands on $185 million in financing for the upscale 382-room hotel. The combination permanent debt and construction loan allows for both the refinancing and expansion of the property, which sits about 10 miles outside of Seattle in Bellevue. Bellevue Place relied on the assistance of real state services firm CB Richard Ellis Inc.’s capital markets group to orchestrate the financing. Pacific Life Insurance Co. provided the 13-year loan. CBRE’s timing on the pursuit of funding was just right. “We went under application in April of 2007 so we…
$500M JV Formed for Development of Major Retail Properties in West
Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust Inc. and Juliet Cos. have just joined forces to execute the development of retail properties in leading metropolitan markets of the western states. The partnership will dole out $500 million on multi-tenant projects. As per the terms of the strategic joint venture, Inland Western will invest 90 percent of the equity, or as much as $112.5 million. Additionally, the company will take in profits for providing development, property management and leasing services for the projects. As for particular areas of interest, the joint venture, an Inland Western spokesperson told CPN today, “is targeting primarily…