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Rayonier and Cousins Properties Inc. have joined forces to create a master plan and secure entitlement for a site spanning 6,300 acres in Flagler County, Fla., about 30 miles north of Daytona Beach.The sprawling chunk of what is currently timberland is located within close proximity to Palm Coast, and is owned by Rayonier subsidiary TerraPointe L.L.C. “We chose to ally with Cousins to help us master plan and come up with the best project for the community,” a Rayonier spokesperson told CPN today. While the planning is in the very earliest of stages, the fact that Flagler County is experiencing…

The U.S. warehouse market weakened considerably during the first three months of 2008, posting only a modest rise in occupied space and a further increase in vacancy vs. a 2007 forth quarter, according to Colliers International’s latest report. Weak demand and rising completions pushed the first quarter vacancy rate up 23 basis points to 8.13 percent. New construction saw 46.1 million square feet completed during the period–down from the 55.5 million square feet from the previous quarter. Year-ago first quarter completions came in at 36.8 million square feet. Industrial developments int he pipeline also fell hard–thanks to a combinations of…

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. has announced it will exclusively market RREEF’s eight-building, fully leased Centreport/Valwood industrial portfolio in the Greater Dallas/Fort Worth area. The portfolio is made up of 1.34 million square feet located in two state-of-the-art industrial parks.The Jones Lang LaSalle team is helmed by Cary Krier along with Jack Crews, Evan Stone and Seth Bame. The sale is due to RREEF’s interest in “rebalancing” its portfolio, according to Krier.Five buildings totaling 887,703 square feet are strategically located within the Centreport industrial development, adjacent to south entrance of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The remaining three buildings are within…

CBL & Associates Properties Inc. has announced the completion of $383.3 million of financing in four separate transactions. CBL completed $343.7 million of new financing and extended the maturity of one $39.6 million existing loan.CBL has entered into a new, unsecured term facility for up to $228 million. The three-year term on the loan has two one-year extensions and has interest in the range of 150 to 180 basis points over LIBOR. Wells Fargo Bank was lead arranger; Aareal Capital Corp., Regions Bank, US Bank, Fifth Third Bank and Raymond James Bank also took part.CBL also announced that the 50-50…

Schafer Development has sold the development rights to its New Berlin Commerce Park in Jacksonville, Fla., to Oakmont Real Estate. Oakmont, based in Georgia, plans to construct a 386,000-square-foot LEED approved facility, scheduled for completion in 2008, on the 75-acre parcel. The New Berlin Commerce Park parcel was assembled by Schafer Development and will provide an additional 1 million square feet of industrial office space to meet increasing demand in the region. Schafer acquired four separate tracts of land and spearheaded rezoning for each parcel from residential to industrial. New Berlin marks Schafer’s second large-scale industrial development in Florida, having already completed…

The São Paulo office of Hines has announced the start of a Brazilian investment program to acquire or develop strategically located logistics parks on major highway intersections in various cities to serve the needs of logistics and transportation clients. Currently, the firm has five logistics parks underway or completed in Louveira, Araucaria, Rio, Embu and Manaus. Hines plans to develop an additional 14 parks over the course of the next three years. Hines has just has broken ground on two: Louveira Swans Industrial Park and Cajamar Distribution Park, two speculative modular warehousing projects in Louveira, a suburb of São Paulo.The…

Medical Properties Trust Inc. has just taken another step in its multi-phase acquisition of a 21-property healthcare center portfolio from HCP Inc. with the closing of the purchase of 10 facilities for $168 million.The group of assets Medical Properties has just claimed as its own consists of Wesley Rehabilitation Hospital in Wichita, Kans.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.’s Sunrise Rehabilitation Hospital; Pioneer Valley Hospital in West Valley City, Utah; Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Mo.; as well as six wellness centers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.Completion of the transaction comes on the heels of the closing of Medical…

ProLogis has signed two new build-to-suit agreements in South Korea with Logen Express, a national parcel delivery provider, and Wonjin Logistics, a third-party logistics provider, it reported today. These are the first build-to-suit transactions in South Korea for the industrial property giant, according to Thomas Nam, senior vice president and head of Korean business for ProLogis.The first build-to-suit will be developed for Logen Express as a 46,700-square-foot facility near Daejeon City in Okcheon County. The park will provide easy access to the nation’s busiest highway, the Seoul-Busan Expressway. “Supply chain dynamics are strengthening in Okcheon,” Nam added in a statement….

Fendi Casa and Elad Properties have announced their first Los Angeles development, The Carlyle Residences. The Carlyle will be the last permitted high-rise in the Wilshire Corridor’s “Golden Mile,” according to the firms. The development is a 24-story crescent-shaped building with 78 private residences ranging in size from 2,700 square feet to 5,000 square feet. Each will have its own private elevator entrance. The building is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2009.Elad Properties has made a serious commitment on the West Coast, including the relocation of COO Thomas Elliot to Los Angeles to oversee all of the…

Capitalizing on India’s booming business and leisure markets, Hilton Hotels has agreed to join forces with Marigold Hospitality Ltd. to develop 16 Hampton by Hilton hotels. Marigold, which will invest $200 to $250 million in the endeavor, will be responsible for acquiring the sites and developing the properties. For Hilton, the agreement paves the way for the company’s Hampton brand to make its entrée into India. Marigold, a joint venture involving Palm Holdings and Trikona Capital formed for the purpose of investing in hotels in India, will complete the acquisition of sites for the first hotels by the close of…