the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Charleston Industrial Market Gets Boost with 1.1MSF BTS Deal
Given that the U.S. recession has left the retail market in shambles and the global financial meltdown has hindered trade activity, demand for distribution and warehouse facilities has taken a major hit, so the big news out of Charleston’s industrial market is something that is heard of quite infrequently these days. Rockefeller Group Development Corp. and MeadWestvaco Corp., developers of the 400-acre Rockefeller Group Foreign Trade Zone/Charleston industrial park in Berkeley County, S.C., have just landed a 1.1 million square-foot build-to-suit deal with automotive replacement tires marketer TBC Corp.
Investors Prepare to Increase Activity in MF Market in 2010
The multifamily market has not escaped the ravages of the economic downturn, but investors are bullish on the commercial real estate sector for 2010. According to Jones Lang LaSalle’s 2010 Multifamily Forecast Survey, 90 percent of the 200 owners and operators surveyed plan to boost their activity in the sector next year, compared to the 68 percent of respondents who had such plans last year.
Economy Watch: Fannie, Freddie Still Vexed by Mortgage Defaults
Federal Housing Finance Agency acting director Edward J. DeMarco told Congress on Thursday that it ain’t over till it’s over when it comes to the problems caused by U.S. housing mortgage delinquencies. And for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae especially, it’s not nearly over.
Economy Watch: Blackstone Takes Amusement Parks
It seemed like an announcement from the good old days (2006, say): Blackstone Group L.P. is buying a sizable chunk of real estate. But it was in fact on Wednesday when the buyout giant told the world that it was going to spent some $2.7 billion to buy Anheuser-Busch InBev NV’s amusement parks.
Economy Watch: MGM Cuts Condo Prices
In an effort to keep buyers from wriggling out of their deals, and as a simple acknowledgment that the luxury condo market just isn’t what it used to be, MGM Mirage and its partner Dubai World are slashing prices for condos at their City Center development in Las Vegas by 30 percent.
Northstar Makes 370,000SF Distressed Play Near Houston
Northstar Commercial Partners has acquired a 370,000-square-foot distribution center in Sugar Land, Texas, near Houston.
Russian Equity Partner Comes Aboard on $4B Atlantic Yards Project
The $4 billion Atlantic Yards mixed-use development–the centerpiece of which will be the Barclays Center sports and entertainment arena, future home base of the NBA’s Nets team–has new financial backing. Developer Forest City Ratner Cos. Inc. and Nets Sports and Entertainment have just signed a letter of intent to form a strategic partnership with an affiliate of Moscow-based international private investment fund Onexim Group for the development of the 22-acre project. The multi-faceted deal calls for Onexim to invest $200 million.
ProLogis Signs ITS to 176,000SF Reno Lease Renewal
Global industrial property REIT ProLogis has signed a lease renewal for 176,000 square feet of distribution space in Reno, Nev., with ITS Logistics, a third-party logistics provider.
Anticipating Demand for Mixed-Use, DC Selects Team for 510,000SF School Redevelopment Project
The real estate sector in Washington, D.C., has suffered blows from the economic downturn and credit crunch just as other major cities have, but that is not preventing District officials from making plans to capitalize on widely anticipated demand down the road. The city has just chosen a team involving Stanton Development Corp. and EastBanc Inc. to spearhead the redevelopment of the former Hine Junior High School in the Capitol Hill Historic District into a 510,000-square-foot mixed-use destination.
Ventas Wins Lawsuit Against HCP; Awarded $101M in Damages
Healthcare REIT Ventas Inc. has prevailed in its lawsuit brought against healthcare REIT HCP Inc. regarding Ventas’ $2 billion acquisition of Toronto, Ont.-based Sunrise Senior Living REIT in April 2007.