the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Cabot Takes Industrial Portfolio from TIAA-CREF
Cabot Properties has purchased a 788,000-square-foot industrial portfolio, comprising assets in Chicago and Baltimore, from TIAA-CREF. The portfolio consists of one 111,191-square-foot property in Baltimore and eleven properties in Chicago totaling 676,898 square feet. TIAA-CREF was represented by CB Richard Ellis Inc. “Contrary to popular opinion, the capital markets are open for business,” CBRE vice chairman Jack Fraker, one of those representing TIAA-CREF, said in a prepared statement. “We had strong interest in this deal, represented by over 10 competitive offers in the first round. Both buyer and seller should be commended for staying the course during due diligence when…
Commercial Mortgage Delinquencies Inch Up
Commercial mortgage delinquencies are up, but still historically low, according to the latest numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The 30-plus day delinquency rate on loans held in commercial mortgage-backed securities rose 10 basis points, to 0.63 percent, in 3Q08, compared with the previous quarter, notes the organization’s third-quarter Commercial/Multifamily National Delinquency Report. Over the past 10 years, year-end CMBS delinquency rates have averaged 0.97 percent. The 60-plus day delinquency rate on loans held in life insurance company portfolios increased to 0.06 percent, or three basis points, and the 60-plus day delinquency rate on multi-family loans held or insured by…
Duke Sells D.C.-Area Parcel to Army for $105M
Duke Realty Corp. has completed the sale of a 16-acre parcel in its Mark Center business park in Alexandria, Va., to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which will develop the land as a two-building office complex that will house 6,400 Department of Defense employees. The sale price was $105 million. The project (pictured) arises out of Recommendation 133 issued by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission ; the recommendation involves relocating various DoD personnel from leased space in Northern Virginia. The 1.7 million-square-foot BRAC 133 project will comprise two office towers, of 15 and 17 stories, that…
ProLogis Leases 300,000 SF to Daimler Trucks in Memphis
ProLogis has leased 300,000 square feet of distribution space in Memphis, Tenn., to Daimler Trucks North America, the company announced. Daimler Trucks will use the space at Delp Distribution Center for distribution of its auto parts and components. “ProLogis is proud to extend its business relationship with DTNA,” Alex Vulic, vice president & market officer at ProLogis, said in a release. “The company now occupies approximately 809,000 square feet with ProLogis in various locations across North America and Europe.”Delp Distribution Center is located near the intersection of Lamar Avenue and Shelby Drive, less than a mile from the Memphis International…
Infrastructure Shares Jump on Obama’s Building Promises
Investors see light at the end of the tunnel as infrastructure-related shares surged Monday, leading a broad market advance that lifted key indexes to their best levels in a month after President-elect Barack Obama’s pledge to spend heavily on the nation’s infrastructure, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 298.76 points and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 33.63 points. The Associated Press reported that world markets were also slightly higher today. In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was 44.78 points, while Germany’s DAX was up 22.03 points and The CAC-40…
Sale-Leasebacks Still Attract Attention Worldwide
The credit freeze has slowed direct investment in commercial real estate everywhere in the world, but in some places sale-leaseback activity is picking up some of the slack.That’s one of Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.’s conclusions in its “H12008 Global Real Estate Capital Report.” The latest trend in sale-leasebacks comes in the wake of rapid growth in that form of corporate finance worldwide in the past few years. In the first six months of 2005, sale-leasebacks formed $10.4 billion of the total investment transaction volume internationally. That figure rose to $20.7 billion in the first half of 2006 and to $30.7…
The Expert: Bearish Consequences
Although the holiday shopping season started strong—2008 Black Friday sales increased 3 percent from 2007 figures, according to preliminary results released by ShopperTrak RCT Corp.—such sales activity is not expected to continue throughout December. The mania on the Friday following Thanksgiving is created by the promotion of extreme sales on a few select items that inspire the shopping pilgrimage, but this year’s jump-start to the holiday season will not be enough, and retailers face one of the worst seasons on record. A November same-store-sales drop of 2.7 percent, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, is playing this out…
The News: Pause May Refresh Green Movement
As in many commercial property sectors, the green movement enjoyed a watershed year among retailers in 2007, noted Marc Heisterkamp, director of commercial real estate for the U.S. Green Building Council. But last year is now ancient history.As many retailers and owners fight to survive, will retail sustainability just stall, or will it take a step backward?It is a question Heisterkamp must ponder these days as the U.S. Green Building Council puts the finishing touches on its new rating system for retail properties. Scheduled to formally take effect next month, the ratings offer specific guidelines for categories within the diverse…
The Trends: Retail Markets Form Barbell
New York City remains the world’s priciest retail destination as rental rates hit $2,200 per square foot per year, according to CB Richard Ellis Inc.’s latest “Global Retail Rents Survey.” Hong Kong bumped its ranking from third in the first quarter to second, but its $1,236 rental rate still falls significantly behind New York’s. Moscow fell from second to third with $1,047. London, up from sixth to fourth with $824, and Tokyo, down from fourth to fifth with $829, round out the top five.Other expensive North American cities are Los Angeles (No. 10), Chicago (No. 12), San Francisco (No. 19),…
The Expert: Investor Sentiment Sinks
Deteriorating economic fundamentals and liquidity restrictions have caused investor sentiment to plummet. There does not seem to be a single hotel market that is sheltered from today’s dour economic realities. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels recently conducted its biannual Hotel Investor Sentiment Survey, which highlights decreased trading performance expectations and cautious investment intentions across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific area.The survey reaffirms that the alignment of operating and transaction cycles witnessed over the past few years, as well as the globalization of capital flows, has magnified the impact of the current crisis. The importance of geographic…