News

The Allen Group has announced the sale of 198 acres of land in the Dallas Logistics Hub to BNSF Railway Co., with the additional option agreement giving BNSF the right to purchase an additional 164 acres. The property is located in the cities of Lancaster and Dallas, and provides more than 9,000 feet of rail frontage, representing a portion of the 2.5 miles of BNSF track frontage within the project. No further details of the transaction were available. “There is definitely a lot of momentum with this deal, and it will be one of many we hope to announce over…

The former Prime Outlets Orlando will emerge from its $300 million makeover as the 778,000-square-foot Prime Outlets International Orlando next week. Owner Prime Retail upgraded and expanded the property, which now holds the distinction of being the largest outlet center in the southern region and the biggest in the nation.Prime Outlets International Orlando sits in a coveted and well-traveled spot surrounded by the major tourist attractions such as Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. Prime Retail came into possession of the property in 2006 when it acquired the 700,000-square-foot Belz Factory Outlet World and the 200,000-square-foot Belz Designer Outlet Centre…

R.D. Olson Development has sold two hotels in Southern California to Apple REIT 8 for a combined $80 million. R.D. Olson purchased the hotel sites, Marriott Residence Inns located in Burbank and Oceanside, in 2005 and 2006, respectively, and completed development last year. Since their opening, they have experience consistently high occupancy rates. The five-story Burbank property has 166 suites, while the Oceanside property has 150 suites. R.D. Olson currently is developing seven other projects, mainly in Southern California, an area considered a very attractive market for hotel development because of its myriad tourism interests.The $2.5 billion JW Marriott Hotel…

A new private equity fund, CDC Real Estate Opportunity Fund I, has been established to capitalize on certain advantageous circumstances that may arise in the market as a result of the credit crunch. Formed by the head of Vienna, Va.-based Clemente Development Co. and Clemente L.L.C., the fund has commitments totaling $200 million with the potential to leverage as much as $2 billion. Timing was behind the creation of the office property-focused CDC Fund I, according to C. Daniel Clemente, chairman & CEO of Clemente Development. He predicts that underwriting requirements will further tighten and real estate asset values will…

A 50-acre site in St. Charles, Ill., has been designated for the development of what will ultimately be a mixed-use business complex less than an hour outside of Chicago. JCF Real Estate is behind the the Corporate Reserve of St. Charles, and expects to invest $100 million to realize the project, which has been designed to offer an aggregate 600,000 square feet of Class A office space. JCF recently wrapped up the acquisition of the land that will become home to the Corporate Reserve, having paid seller Cardinal Industries just under $12 million for the property, which sits in a…

Beleaguered Centro Properties Group, the Australian property group that just recently won a $6.2 billion debt extension, faces new troubles.  A lawsuit filed on May 9 alleges that Centro and its Centro Retail Group breached their obligations to keep investors fully informed between Aug. 9, 2007 and Feb. 15, 2008, according to report today from Bloomberg. The suit was filed May 9 in Australia’s Federal Court, and was announced by IMF Australia, a fund that invests in lawsuits. As reported by CPN on Feb. 29, Centro announced a record loss in the six months ending Dec. 31, 2007 of $1…

Dallas’s massive CBD mixed-use project, Victory, will include more office space and less condominiums and hotel rooms, said Hillwood’s Development Co.’s chairman, Ross Perot, Jr. According to a report in Friday’s Dallas Morning News, Perot told a meeting of the National Association of Real Estate Editors that “what’s working in Victory today is office.” A 43-story skyscraper, to include a Mandarin Oriental hotel, luxury condominiums, office space and retail, has been postponed. Hillwood and Hines are co-developing One Victory Park, a 20-story office tower at Victory. According to a report on the Dallas-Fort Worth office market from CB Richard Ellis…

Ahead of releasing its first quarter 2008 financial results after the market closes tomorrow, Downtown Los Angeles landlord Meruelo Maddux Properties Inc. has been taking steps to battle debt woes and a depressed stock price.Since the company’s IPO in early 2007, its stock price has lost about 80 percent of its initial value, though it did see an uptick to above $2 a share in trading this morning.In a filing with regulators early this month, the company said that it plans to sell as much as $300 million worth of stock, debt securities and warrants in one or more separate…

The launch party will be held Friday and five of 46 condo units are presold, with three more under contract. Not earth-shattering, perhaps, but further evidence that the real estate slowdown is an inconsistent beast.  The first of two towers at Grupo GVA’s $40 million-plus Dos Marias condo project just outside Puerto Vallarta, on Mexico’s Pacific coast, broke ground about two months ago. The 18-story south tower will include 29 two-bedroom homes of nearly 2,000 square feet each, 13 three-bedroom homes of 2,400 to 2,500 square feet all at the building’s corners. In addition, there will be four penthouses: a…

A joint venture involving New York City-based George Comfort & Sons Inc. and Morgan Stanley Real Estate’s Prime Property Fund, have secured $188 million in refinancing for an existing office structure and construction funding for the development of a new office and retail building in Beverly Hills. The new structure, which will become the headquarters of the William Morris Agency, and the existing building will total 376,500 square feet.JP Morgan Chase, originator and administrative agent of the loan, partnered with Wells Fargo to lead the financing endeavor that involved three additional banks. The new building (pictured) will sit on the…