News
Kimpton Closes Fund with $500M in Buying Power
Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group has been snapping up hotel properties left and right over the last year and the shopping spree will continue now that its parent company, Kimpton Group Holding, has closed KHP Fund III, with $203 million in committed equity capital.
Cassidy Turley Secures $150M in Acquisition Financing for DC-Area Office Complex
Cassidy Turley secured the financing, in the form of a $150 million loan from a commercial bank, for the recent sale of the three-building, 689,000-square-foot Air Rights Center in downtown Bethesda, Md.
Marriott’s Courtyard Salt Lake City Airport Wraps Makeover Aimed at Business Travelers
Located at 4843 Douglas Corrigan Way, the 154-key Courtyard Salt Lake City Airport now features the brand’s established Refreshing Business lobby concept, as well as a brand new design for its suites. RLJ Lodging Trust has introduced a number of modern amenities in the package made available to the hotel’s guests: the lobby now includes media pods, Wi-Fi access, as well as a new layout that allows for social gatherings as well as pop-up meetings to be held conveniently. New plush bedding, a functional work space, improved bathrooms, separated seating areas and high-speed internet connections complete the in-room amenity package made available to the hotel’s patrons.
Economy Watch: Pending Home Sales Up; Banks Doing Better; Durable Goods Orders Up, Except Airplanes
The NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index increased 4.5 percent month to month, showing more evidence that the housing market found its legs. Net income for U.S. banks was up by more than a third year over year between fourth quarter 2011 and a year later. And minus a drop in airplane orders, durable goods orders were sharply up by 6.3 percent month over month.
Welsh Buys 2 Warehouses in Groveport, Obetz as Part of $100M, 2.7 MSF Deal
Minnesota-based Welsh Property Trust has purchased two industrial properties in central Ohio. They are both part of the Core Midwest Distribution Portfolio, a five-building portfolio acquired by Welsh Property Trust for $99.5 million. The other buildings are located in Chicago, Indianapolis and Cincinnati.
Fascitelli Resigns on His Own as Vornado CEO
In a surprising move yesterday morning, Vornado Realty Trust announced that Michael Fascitelli was resigning effective April 15 as president & CEO of the REIT and Steven Roth, the company’s chairman, was taking the CEO spot.
Midtown Manhattan Readies for 470 KSF Cutting-Edge Office Tower
The future is coming to Midtown Manhattan. A partnership comprising real estate company Hines, investment entity Pacolet Milliken Enterprises and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management have broken ground on 7 Bryant Park, a premier office tower that will deliver 470,000 square feet of state-of-the-art office accommodations in the Bryant Park area.
MIG Acquires 304-Unit Apartment Property in Scottsdale
Newport Beach, Calif.-based real estate investment company MIG has acquired Acacia Creek, a 304-unit apartment community in Scottsdale, from Equity Residential.
Essex Buys Fox Plaza in SF for $135M
Last year, Essex Property Trust made more than $800 million in M-F acquisitions in California and the Seattle area. The REIT is continuing its spending this year, picking up Fox Plaza, a 444-unit property in San Francisco’s Mid-Market district, for $135 million from Archstone.
Economy Watch: Housing Market Gets Some Legs; New Home Sales Up; Fed Chairman Talks of Sequester
According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, all three headline composites ended 2012 with strong gains. New home sales in January were up 15.6 percent month over month. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Congress about the sequester during his Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the legislative body.