the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
$40M Waco Medical Office Project Under Way
As part of a new $184 million hospital campus in Waco, Texas, Seavest Inc., a White Plains, N.Y.–based investment management firm focused primarily on healthcare real estate assets, recently broke ground on two medical offices (pictured) totaling 166,000 square feet and together valued at $40 million.In addition to office space, the two office buildings will house the Hillcrest Breast Screening Center, an outpatient surgery center and outpatient imaging centers. The 74-acre campus at I-35 and Highway 6 will include two new hospitals, Hillcrest Community Hospital and Hillcrest Women’s & Children’s Hospital, and will partially replace the current facility on Herring…
ProLogis Signs 7 Lease Agreements in New Jersey
ProLogis has signed seven new lease agreements in New Jersey representing a total of approximately 490,600 square feet during the third quarter of 2008.“New Jersey remains a prominent distribution location for companies looking to support regional or national supply chain networks,” Paul Loosmann, senior vice president and northeast regional director for ProLogis, said in a release. “The region offers exceptional highway access and proximity to a number of population centers in the northeast, which is key in attracting and retaining customers.” The third quarter transactions include leases with: Packaging and Distribution Resources, a third-party packaging and distribution provider, which leased…
BPG Purchases Atlanta M-F Site for $53M
Continuing its search for high-quality multi-family properties despite the tanking economy, private equity real estate fund manager BPG Properties Ltd. acquired a suburban Atlanta multi-family community for $52.8 million from Atlanta-based Post Apartment Homes, L.P.Post Woods is a 494-unit Class B+ multi-family community located in suburban Atlanta. The community will be managed by BPG’s multi-family operating arm, Madison Apartment Group, L.P. The purchase was made on behalf of BPG Investment Partnership VIII & VIIIA, L.P., a fully discretionary private equity fund with total equity commitments of $850 million. “The location of this property is very appealing,” Steve Pogarsky, vice president…
Circuit City, International Hedge Fund Among Latest Economy Victims
In spite of the hype surrounding the presidential elections today and what the outcome will mean for the nation – and the world – in respect to business, the news of the continuing credit crisis still dominates business reports. Circuit City Stores Inc. announced that “due in part to its deteriorating liquidity position and the continued weak macroeconomic environment, the company has decided to take certain restructuring actions immediately, including closing 155 domestic segment stores, reducing future store openings and aggressively renegotiating certain leases.”In a letter to its investors, Blue Mountain Capital Management L.L.C. temporarily halted redemptions at its largest…
Market Advances as Nation Eyes Election
At long last, election day is upon us. Or rather, it’s the last day people in many states can vote, since so many have done so already. What will it bring to the financial markets? If nothing else, an end to some bedeviling uncertainty about who will occupy the White House come January, and whether the Democratic Party will actually have a filibuster-proof majority in the U.S. Senate. The Financial News interviewed a number of economists this morning to see what the impact of a change in presidents might be on the economy. One of them, Keith Hembre, chief economist…
Simon FFO Up, But Outlook Cautious
Simon Property Group said that funds from operations (FFO) for the first three quarters of 2008 increased 10.8 percent to $1.312 billion from $1.184 billion in the same period of 2007. In a conference call relatively upbeat about 2008 but cautious about 2009, David Simon, firm chairman & CEO, said that while the weak economy has already begun to affect mall sales, the company has performed well so far this year. Simon even nudged the 2008 guidance for the year up into the range of $6.40 to $6.45 per share. “Our initial guidance for the year (2008) was $6.25 to…
Balfour Beatty Moving Forward with $168M Military Housing Project
Financing has been secured for the $168 million military family housing project at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., where Balfour Beatty Communities will be providing 850 homes, including 610 new units. The financing will be used for the design, development and construction and renovation of military housing at the base. At the end of the five-year development plan, Balfour Beatty will have built 610 new units, renovated or converted 119 and made capital improvements to another 121. The units are a mix of townhomes and single-family residences. As reported Aug. 8 by CPN, Balfour Beatty has a property management agreement…
Executive Q&A: Riverstone Residential CEO Talks Shop
Dallas-based Riverstone Residential Group, already one of the nation’s largest privately owned third-party residential real estate management companies, is getting even larger, growing by leaps and bounds with such moves as its April acquisition of Seattle-based HSC Real Estate Inc. And as Riverstone CEO Christy Freeland (pictured) told CPN, size really does matter. CPN: While the housing crisis has been sustaining the multi-family market, no sector of real estate is fully escaping the economic downturn and the financial crisis. How have these issues impacted the business of property management? Freeland: Property owners want to keep revenue up as the economy slows…
Latest Rate Cut Only Partial Answer, But Every Little Bit Helps: Marcus & Millichap’s Hughes
Last week’s move by the Federal Reserve to trim a benchmark interest rate may have only a modest impact on its own. But any steps that can ease the credit squeeze or stabilize investor confidence can only help in the long run, says William Hughes, senior vice president & managing director of Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp., the capital markets affiliate of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services Inc. “I think the Fed is trying to play every card it possibly can,” Hughes told CPN. Lowering the federal funds rate from 1.5 percent to 1 percent is partly intended…
Lease Renewals Strong in Otherwise Uncertain New Jersey Office Sector
The Northern/Central New Jersey office market experienced strong lease renewal activity during this year’s third quarter as tenants opt to stay in place in the midst of turbulent economic times, according to a report by CB Richard Ellis Inc. But questions hover over New Jersey office market in general, the major one being the effect of the Wall Street meltdown on office leasing in the Northern and Central parts of the state. It was thought that the market would benefit from corporate tenants seeing Northern and Central New Jersey as a relative bargain, compared to the rising rent and lower…