the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
$334M in Commercial Mortgages are Likely to Default, Bank of America Buys Stake in China Construction
While Wall Street rebounded Tuesday in another turbulent session as investors rushed back into the market after the Standard & Poor’s 500 index tested a 2003 low, the market for debt used to finance hotels, offices and shopping malls tumbled Tuesday on worries that the long-feared rise in defaults for commercial mortgage-backed securities had begun, possibly ushering in the next phase of the financial crisis, according to the Wall Street Journal. Analysts at Credit Suisse said two big commercial mortgages that had been packaged into securities in the past year were likely to default. The rapid deterioration of these loans…
Financial Market Update-Big 3 Continue to Angle for Aid
The bosses of the Big Three automakers, who are facing the prospect of being bosses of the Not-So-Big-Three anymore, came before Congress today to beg, “Please, sir, can I have some more?” As in more loans to stay afloat, besides the $25 billion already committed to retool to build fuel-efficient cars. Congress wasn’t particularly sympathetic. It wants to keep the auto jobs and the industries that depend on the automakers afloat, but isn’t too keen on helping the actual car companies themselves. Whether these conflicting impulses can be reconciled isn’t clear yet.”Their discomfort in coming to the Congress with hat…
Guardian to Buy 4,000 Apartment Units from Atherton-Newport
Guardian Management L.L.C. has agreed in principle to acquire a 4,000-unit multi-family portfolio from Atherton-Newport Investments (ANI), a firm that filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in January. Guardian will carry out the acquisition through one of its investment funds. While terms for the transaction were not disclosed, the Irvine, Calif.-based ANI acquired the apartment developments since its founding in 2001 for some $390 million total. The properties are located in Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix and Seattle. “They’re all in troubled markets,” Tom Brenneke (pictured), president of Guardian, told CPN. “Some of the properties are working; some are not. This is…
FDIC to Open Temp Office to Handle Resolutions, Receivership Operations
The Federal Deposit Insurance Co. is temporarily taking 200,000 square feet of office space at 40 Pacifica Place in Irvine, Calif., to manage receiverships and to liquidate assets from failed financial institutions, mostly in the Western United States. The government entity, which insures deposits at nearly 8,500 banks and savings associations across the country, will hire non-permanent employees and contractors to staff the office. While financial terms of the agreement were not revealed, the lease is for three years with two one-year options. The FDIC plans to begin moving into the space at the end of year. “The location and…
Redevelopment Authority Approves 4 Boston Projects
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino announced that four projects totaling more than $75 million in private investment have received approvals from the Boston redevelopment authority’s board of directors. The first project approved is a residential building within the proposed Seaport Square project on the South Boston Waterfront. Known as Parcel A, it is one of 20 parcels that comprises the Seaport Square Project. The project will include 34 residential units occupying 54,400 square feet of residential space in a six-story building with ground-floor retail space. Construction is anticipated to begin in the second quarter of 2009 with an estimated completion date…
$2B Deal for Pair of NYC Offices Reportedly Falls Through
Two New York City office properties are back on the market, as a deal under which George Comfort & Sons would have acquired the assets–1540 Broadway and Worldwide Plaza–for some $2 billion has fallen through. The sale agreement was originally reached in mid-September, and at the time, was partially contingent on NBC leasing a large portion of Worldwide Plaza, which is located at 825 Eight Avenue. That lease never happened, and the deal has been nixed, according to Crain’s New York.With the original deal now dead, the buildings have begun to be remarketed. Crain’s cited experts who pegged the likely…
City Commission OKs Zoning for 25-Acre Miami Worldcenter
The Miami City commission has approved special district zoning for Miami Worldcenter (pictured), a nine-block mixed-use development situated north of the city’s Central Business District. Additionally, the commission also approved a development agreement ensuring the developer’s commitment to deliver open public space. Located on 25 acres, the project has more than 12 million square feet of buildable area and will be comprised of retail, residential, office and institutional uses. It sits within an intermodal transit hub accessible by air, rail, sea and road. Surrounding amenities include the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Bicentennial Park and the American Airlines…
Target Reduces Capital Spending by $1B, Cuts Back on New Store Openings
Just when it seems the latest financial news has hit rock bottom and things surely have to be looking up, another round of bad news sends the market spiraling downward again. News of trendy bargain retailer, Target, stemming new store openings won’t make the commercial property world happy either. Forbes.com reported that Target announced Monday that it would temporarily halt its share repurchase program and reduce its capital spending by $1 billion – including cutting new locations – to conserve capital. The company’s third-quarter earnings fell 23.6 percent after hearing the news, Forbes reported. Citigroup’s CEO said Monday that around…
Financial Market Update-Bair, Paulson Quarrel in Burning House
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair is on the warpath for more aggressive government intervention in the foreclosure crisis, saying today before the House Financial Services Committee that the government is “clearly falling behind the curve” on the issue. Last week, Bair suggested using $24 billion to guarantee millions of modified mortgages, but the Bush administration rebuffed the idea. This week, she brought up the idea again while testifying before the committee. Various key members of Congress also piped up in favor of some form of the idea, such as Rep. Barney Frank (D.-Mass.), chairman of the committee. U.S….
JV Planning $4.2B Resort in Vietnam
Historically, hard times signal an increase in gambling, so perhaps the joint venture of MGM Mirage and Asian Coast Development Ltd has eyed and will seize the prize, with the planned $4.2 billion MGM Grand Ho Tram, a multi-property complex that will be located along the shores of the South China Sea, some 80 miles from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.Plans for the Ho Tram strip are to eventually encompass 2.2 kilometers of white sandy beaches, to include five 5-star hotels and to become the largest resort complex in the country. Asian Coast Development Ltd. will supply the financing and…