Macerich Co., in partnership with the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. (APFC), has acquired one of the more prominent retail properties on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, the 680,000-square foot Shops at North Bridge, for $515 million. The deal represents Santa Monica, Calif.-based Macerich’s first move into the Chicago market.”We look for best-in-market properties, and when the opportunity arises, we jump on an acquisition like this,” Chris Facas, vice president of asset management for Macerich, told CPN this morning. “Chicago has been a vacancy in our portfolio for a long time.”The seller was a partnership comprised of the John Buck Co., the…

It’s unclear what will happen to Countrywide Financial Corp.’s real estate properties around the United States now that Bank of America has agreed to buy the troubled company for $4 billion in stock. What is clear is that the deal announced this morning catapults Bank of America into the top spot as America’s leading mortgage lender and loan servicer.“Countrywide presents a rare opportunity for Bank of America to add what we believe is the best domestic mortgage platform at an attractive price and to affirm our position as the nation’s premier lender to consumers,” Bank of American chairman & CEO…

The reports of retail real estate’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. That was the consensus of a panel of major retail property owners at the Deutsche Bank 2008 Real Estate Outlook Conference this afternoon, moderated by Louis Taylor, a managing director of the bank.Taylor kicked the panel off by describing the reports of gloom he¹s seen in recent weeks regarding retailers and the real estate industry that they support, because of a consumer-led recession on the horizon. “One research firm said recently that retail is going to get killed,” he said. “We’re here today for the views of the people…

Have you ever finished listening to an explanation from a purported subject matter expert only to wonder what it was they just said? It has been my experience that the more vague, general, or ambiguous an explanation, the less command of the subject matter the person doing the explaining likely possesses. It is one thing to toss around the latest buzz-words, but it is quite another thing to actually know what they mean and have the ability to correctly apply them. In today’s column I’m going to reveal the tricks of those who practice what I call “the black art…

Houston’s Energy Corridor office market is among the dominant areas of the region for new office construction and Dow Chemical Company plans to move its Houston Dow Center and Memorial Plaza operations into one of the larger new projects in the works. Financials were not disclosed. The company is expected to move into the new building – the Plaza at Enclave, a six-story, 344,053-square-foot building at 1254 Enclave Parkway – in September. The Plaza at Enclave is among some of the largest new office construction projects in the growing Energy Corridor of Houston, according to a Grubb & Ellis Office…

FirstCal 3, a joint venture between First Industrial Realty Trust’s Strategic Land and Development and the California State Teachers’ Retirement Pension Fund, CalSTRS, has acquired a 261-acre site near DuPont, Wash. The deal is the third major acquisition announced by the pair this year. The site is located near I-5, which serves all the major cities in the area including Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, and Portland. The development, First Park Northwest Landing, is now in its initial stages for entitlements. The motivations for the project stem from the projected growth, both of population and port activity in the region, according to…

Just a few days after bringing former Amgen executive Richard Nanula onboard as a principal, Los Angeles-based private investment firm Colony Capital L.L.C., according to reports by various New Jersey media outlets, has offered to acquire Atlantic City’s Tropicana Casino & Resort for $850 million. The bid is one of many that have come to the fore within the last month. Nanula brings to the table six years of experience as a leader at Amgen, where he held the roles of executive vice president & CFO, and took the lead on financing, corporate strategy and mergers and acquisitions activities. He…

Las Vegas-based gaming and entertainment company MGM Mirage and U.A.E. investment holding firm Dubai World, which owns approximately 19.5 million shares of MGM Mirage common stock, have revealed pans to join forces in a cash Dutch auction tender offering of as many as 10 million shares of MGM Mirage common stock. The stock will carry a price between $75 and $80 per share.  At last count two days ago, there were about 293.8 million shares of issued and outstanding MGM Mirage stock. While MGM Mirage and Dubai World are putting a portion of their stock holdings up for grabs, majority…

The planned World Jewelry Center in Las Vegas has moved a substantial step forward with the completion of all local approvals. The Las Vegas City Council has approved the Disposition and Development Agreement, Owner Participation Agreement and related documents, allowing the Jewelry Center to proceed as part of the master-planned 61-acre Union Park redevelopment in Downtown Las Vegas, between The Strip and I-15. The multifaceted project will include 800,000 square feet of Class A office condo space, gem-grading labs, educational facilities, and meeting and exhibition space. In addition, the tower’s top seven floors will feature 20 to 25 luxury residential…