the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Market Tumbles Again as Troubling Data Continues
Here we go again. After a down session yesterday, the markets experienced another drubbing today in the wake jobless numbers that were worse than expected. By the end of the day, the Dow Jones index had lost 443.48 points, or about 4.85 percent, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were also down, 5.03 percent and 4.34 percent, respectively. As expected, the Bank of England cut its key rate by 150 basis points to 3 percent, the lowest since the last year Winston Churchill was prime minister, 1955. The European Central Bank lowered its rate by 50 basis points to 3.25…
REBNY Report: No Crisis Thus Far for NYC Retail
Despite the economic downturn, Manhattan’s retail market is showing surprising strength, as least as evidenced by current asking rents, according to a survey released by the Real Estate Board of New York. Although the retail market has been slowing over the past several months, overall asking rents for Manhattan retail space as of Sept. 30 were down only 3 percent from a year ago. In addition, asking rents in some corridors and submarkets were up dramatically. On the East Side, for example, the overall average asking rent for retail was up 11 percent from a year ago, to $190 per…
NY State Approves $66M to Build, Renovate Affordable Housing
More than 1,000 affordable housing units will be created or renovated across New York State from Manhattan to Monroe County as well as in Brooklyn and 10 other counties thanks to $66.8 million in financing approved this week by the boards of the New York State Housing Finance Agency and the New York State Affordable Housing Corp. The sale of private activity tax-exempt bonds will finance $45.1 million in first mortgages for multi-family housing developers, including construction of new affordable housing in Manhattan and Syracuse and major repairs and renovations made at Section 8 multi-family rental developments in Nassau and…
Cormac Nets $145M Loan for Kansas Retail Project
The Chicago office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. has arranged a total of $145.3 million in construction financing and joint venture equity for Corbin Park, a regional, open-air retail village being developed in Overland Park, Kan., by Cormac Co. The co-lead providers of the funding were Bank of America and US Bank. INVESCO Real Estate provided joint venture equity on behalf of an unnamed institutional client. Under construction on a 96-acre site at the southeast corner of 135th St. and Metcalf Ave. near State Route 69 in Overland Park, the 1.1 million-square-foot Corbin Park will be anchored by Von Maur,…
Interstate to Manage Hotel at Moscow Resort
Interstate Hotels & Resorts has signed a contract to manage the hotel component of a 3 million-square-foot indoor resort to be built outside Moscow.The mixed-used retail and entertainment complex to be named Freestyle Park will feature an indoor ski slope, apartments, bars, restaurants, movie theaters, an aqua park, a science museum and a shopping center. The project is being developed by MT Development, with the hotel portion expected to open Spring 2011. It is Interstate’s tenth hotel management contract in Europe, eight of which are open and operating.“The scale of this exciting new project surpasses anything being developed in Russia…
Union Bank Signs 345,000-SF Lease Extension in Los Angeles
The Los Angeles office of Hines announced that Union Bank of California has signed a lease extension for approximately 345,000 square feet of office and retail branch space in Union Bank Plaza. The 39-story, 627,000-square-foot office tower has served as the bank’s Los Angeles headquarters since the building was constructed in 1967. The long-term lease includes a two-floor expansion of the firm’s existing premises and represents the largest office lease transaction in Downtown Los Angeles since 1989. Union Bank Plaza is located at 445 South Figueroa St. The 3.5-acre site is situated along the 110 Freeway between 4th and 5th…
Obama Win Gets Mixed Reviews from World Markets
Stocks gained before the election, but the market advances following the presidential victory of Sen. Barack Obama may be short-lived, according to the Wall Street Journal.European stocks snapped their winning streak Wednesday morning as investors judged recent market gains as overdone. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index was 2.9 percent lower at 226.79. In terms of national markets, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index lost 2.6 percent to 4517.15, while France’s CAC-40 Index shed 2.9 percent to 3581.90. Germany’s DAX Index declined 2 percent to 5173.30. Asian markets racked up sizable gains on news of the results, with Japan’s Nikkei 225…
Juster Nabs Tarrytown Office for $48M
Juster Development has acquired 100 and 120 White Plains Road in Tarrytown, N.Y., from SL Green in a $48 million deal.120 White Plains Road, also known as the Christiana Building, is a six-story Class A office containing 205,000 square feet. 100 White Plains Road contains 6,000 square feet on four stories. Both buildings are within easy access to Interstate 287, Downtown White Plains, the Metro North Railroad, hotels and local amenities.The Christiana Building was built in 1984 and is nearly 100 percent occupied. The property contains a 5,000-square-foot dining facility and includes an enclosed parking garage.100 White Plains Road is…
After Election, Market Slips, CRE Industry Looks Ahead
After a fine optimistic day ahead of the presidential election yesterday, Wall Street wasn’t feeling as peppy today. In fact, the Dow Jones index took a considerable thumping, ending down 486 points, or a shade over 5 percent. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq similarly slid–5.27 percent and 5.53 percent, respectively. An election is one thing, but a bleeding services sector may be on investors’ minds more today: the U.S. private sector lost 157,000 jobs in October, according to ADP payroll data. The government’s numbers, which probably won’t be any better, are due Friday. The nation is now entering what may…
URDANG, Onyx Sell White Plains Office for $81M
A joint venture between URDANG and Onyx Equities L.L.C. has sold the 320,000-square-foot Parker Corporate Center in White Plains, N.Y., for $81.8 million, a gain of nearly 20 percent over the November 2006 purchase price of $68.5 million. The fully leased, multi-tenant building was part of the URDANG Value-Added Fund L.P. portfolio. During the two years that the fund owned the property, Plymouth Meeting, Pa.-based URDANG and Woodbridge, N.J.-based Onyx Equities upgraded the landscaping and signage, while overhauling the leasing strategy. Current tenants include Acadia Realty and OrthoNet. While the national office market has struggled this year, tenants in Westchester…