News
Le Meridien San Francisco Fetches $143M
Chesapeake Lodging Trust is on its way to becoming the new owner of the 360-room hotel, signing a deal to acquire it from HEI Hospitality L.L.C.
Economy Watch: Underwater Mortgages Reportedly Down
As of the end of the third quarter, CoreLogic calculates that there are 10.8 million U.S. mortgages underwater, down from 11.3 million at the beginning of the year. Would that those numbers meant rising home prices, but no. Most of the missing underwater mortgages were extinguished by foreclosure.
IHOP Expanding, 120,000 New SF in Works
In New York, new pancake houses will sprout up in Manhattan and Queens, including a flagship locale in Times Square. In New Jersey, IHOPs will be erected in Bergen, Essex, Morris and Union counties, and the city of Fairfield, Conn., will get new restaurants as well. The development of these traditional-style IHOP family restaurant sites is part of the company’s strategy to expand its presence to accommodate existing customers and lure new ones.
Economy Watch Weekly: Top News of the Week
Economy Watch reporter Dees Stribling offers insights into the top economic news of the week ending Dec. 10 and what to watch out for in the coming week in this newly launched weekly feature on CPE Radio and MHN Radio.
Economy Watch: Consumers More Chipper Ahead of the Holidays
Why are consumers seemingly more peppy toward the end of 2010, a miserable year for consumer sentiment for the most part? November’s employment numbers weren’t very good, but except for that hiring has been trending upward lately. Also, wages have been going up for the employed, though that too leveled off in the most recent reports. Or maybe it’s just Christmas cheer.
USAA Buys Land for 167,200-SF Project
Known as 1900 Wilson, the development comprises 191 Class A multi-family units totaling 149,915 square feet as well as 17,317 square feet of street-level retail.
SoCal Industrial Property Acquired
This year’s largest industrial sale per square foot in Huntington Beach, Calif., is now complete. Teacher Created Materials, a local company, purchased the 38,149-square-foot building at 5482 Argosy Ave.
Piedmont Sells N.J. Office Building
Piedmont had owned the 410,000-square-foot 111 Sylvan Ave., which sits in Bergen County just off Palisades Interstate Parkway and near Interstate 95 in Englewood Cliffs, since acquiring it in 2003 under the company’s previous incarnation, Wells Real Estate Investment Trust Inc., for approximately $70.5 million.
Nutter McClennen & Fish Signs 130,000-SF Lease Renewal in Boston
The law firm, which has been in continuous practice for 131 years, has renewed its commitment to Boston’s Seaport District.
Colliers: Global Markets to Fuel NYC Recovery
According to Colliers Tri-State chief economist Peter Kozel, New York continues to function as a major growth engine, with the local economy a significant beneficiary of capital markets activity. Kozel said no other U.S. city will profit as much from the global economic rebound.