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Forest City, Madison International Join Forces

As the $851.5 million partnership was struck, the company had another announcement: president & chief operating officer Joanne Minieri will resign her position to form her own consulting firm. However, she will not entirely separate from her longtime employer, but rather take on the role of consultant on major Forest City projects.

Economy Watch: More Jobs, Fewer Homes

The unofficial jobs report duo of Challenger, Gray & Christmas and ADP (a duo only in timing, since the two companies aren’t affiliated) came out with their numbers, as usual ahead of the official jobs report. On the whole, the two reports were generally positive, with some exceptions.

First Potomac Snaps Up D.C. Office Building

The firm picked up 840 First St., a 248,600-square-foot fully occupied property, from the Stephen A. Goldberg Co. for $90 million.

$65M Refinance for Miracle Mile Office Building

The 452,800-square-foot property at 5900 Wilshire Blvd. is widely known as the Variety Building for its lead tenant, entertainment publication Variety.

Economy Watch: Home Prices, Confidence Sink

Housing prices continued their downward trend, according to the latest Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index for 20 major U.S. metro areas. Single-family prices were down 1 percent in the 20 markets from December to January, and 3.1 percent year-over-year, the index noted.

Morgan Stanley Picks Up 1 MSF Portfolio

Exit 8A Industrial Portfolio, developed by Matrix Development Group over a four-year period that concluded in 1989, takes its name from its location; the assets sit in the New Jersey Turnpike Exit 8A submarket.

Economy Watch: Spending, Home Sales Up

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. personal income was up 0.3 percent in February, and personal expenditures rose 0.7 percent. However, most of that increase was because of the cut in the payroll tax enacted late last year.

Chinese Eco-City Features Bio-Diverse Tower

The 90,000-square-foot, 665-foot-tall Tian Fang Tower is projected to generate as much as 20 percent of its clean energy with the help of a combination of fuel cells, solar panels and wind turbines. Billed as one of China’s most advanced sustainable commercial buildings, it is located in the Tianjin Eco-City development.

World’s Largest Data Center Encompasses 830,000 SF

The Edison, N.J. property was originally developed as a nearly 1.4 million-square-foot complex for The New York Times in 1992.

Cole Grabs University of Phoenix Complex

In a $170 million sale-leaseback deal, Cole Real Estate Investments snapped up the 600,000-square-foot Phoenix property from Apollo Group Inc.