News

Waterfront Toronto, a entity set up by the Canadian federal government and the governments of Ontario and Toronto, has selected development partners for the first phase of West Don Lands, a mixed-use project that is in turn part of a much larger, decades-long redevelopment of 2,000 industrial or formerly industrial acres along Lake Ontario near Downtown Toronto.The chosen partners are Toronto-based Urban Capital Group and Redquartz Development, an Irish developer.Remediation work has already begun on the site of the West Don Lands first phase, which will be known as River Square Neighbourhood. The first phase will ultimately include 850 market-rate…

Wells REIT II has acquired a five-building, 1 million-square-foot office campus in the Buckhead submarket of Atlanta, through a long-term sale-leaseback with AT&T. The campus will headquarter AT&T Wireless’ operations in the city. The transaction’s terms were not disclosed. The property is located in the Lenox Park office park (pictured) on Lenox Park Boulevard, between Peachtree Road and Interstate 85. AT&T Services Inc. and its subsidiaries will occupy all five of the buildings under new leases running from 10 to 15 years. The buildings were constructed between 1992 and 2002 and range from four to 12 floors. “It’s a credit…

A once-promising proposal to transform landfills in Northern New Jersey into an 800-acre master-planned community now appears headed for a long legal battle.  After years of delays and environmental problems, the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission decided on Wednesday to sever ties with EnCap Golf Holdings, which had proposed a $1 billion project spanning three counties west of New York City. EnCap, controlled by Cherokee Investment Partners, wanted to build more than 2,000 homes and two golf courses.  According to published reports, the commission cited EnCap’s inability to secure the financing needed to finish the environmental remediation at the site. Following…

DCT Industrial Trust Inc., a Denver-based industrial REIT, has signed more than 770,000 square feet of leases in Memphis, including two companies that expanded and a new client.With these leases, DCT Industrial’s operating portfolio in Memphis is 96.9 percent leased. The REIT owns or manages 5.4 million square feet in 11 buildings in Memphis and has one 885,000-square-foot building under development.DCT Industrial’s new customer is Quebecor World Logistics, a distributor of catalogs, publications and newspaper inserts, which leased a 149,000-square-foot bulk distribution facility for 39 months.Mallory Alexander International Logistics, a third-party logistics company which has its corporate headquarters in Memphis,…

In a new survey just released by Digital Realty Trust Inc., 86 percent of respondents, more than 300 senior IT decision-makers at Fortune 2000 companies, said their organizations will “definitely or probably” expand their datacenters in the coming 12 months.  Of specific interest to the commercial real estate industry are the survey’s findings that:*  Among the companies that plan to expand their datacenters, 83 percent expect to expand the physical space.*  Forty-five percent of respondents plan to expand in three or more locations.*  The projected size of an average expansion is 15,000 square feet, a figure that’s up 50 percent…

In an effort to fulfill its need for a large block of industrial space in the St. Louis area, Procter & Gamble has signed a lease that will expand an existing 580,000-square-foot distribution center into a 1.2 million -square-foot facility. Known as Westway III, the existing structure that will be doubled in size for P&G’s use was developed last July by Trammell Crow Co. and Kennedy Associates/MEPT/NewTower within Edwardsville, Ill.’s 2,300-acre Gateway Commerce Center park. Westway III is part of the partners’ development project that will ultimately offer up to 14 million square feet on 1,200 acres within GCC. Until its…

Oscar De La Hoya, owner of real estate development company Golden Boy Partners, has entered into an agreement to sell shares in his Los Angeles-based boxing promotions firm Golden Boy Promotions to sports and entertainment venue developer and presenter AEG. As per terms of the deal, De La Hoya will remain majority shareholder in Golden Boy Promotions, and AEG will own the second largest interest in the company. By bringing AEG aboard, Golden Boy will be able to have a celebrated industry player as a partner in the global promotion of events in AEG’s arenas, as well as in the exploration…

Sares Regis Group of Northern California has purchased Pinole Point Business Park in Richmond, Calif. The 475,000-square-foot property currently consists of three warehouse buildings spread over 30 acres. Sares Regis paid just over $50 million in the deal, which also includes 43 additional acres of surrounding vacant land along San Pablo Bay. Sares Regis plans to develop the vacant land by constructing four new warehouses and light industrial buildings, which will add an additional 580,000 square foot to the complex, bringing the total square footage to more than 1 million square feet. The new construction on the vacant land will…

After years of legal battles and negotiations, several major environmental groups and the Tejon Ranch Co. today announced they have reached an agreement that would preserve 90 percent of the 270,000-acre Tejon Ranch in California and enable development of a master-planned community, resort and industrial complex to continue.Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other state officials were scheduled to join Tejon Ranch Co. executives today for a press conference detailing the deal covering the largest contiguous mass of land under single ownership in the state of California. Located about 60 miles north of Los Angeles and 30 miles south of Bakersfield, Calif.,…

Development of Phillips Research Park, a 344-residence apartment project in Durham, N.C., edges closer toward realization with Phillips Development & Realty L.L.C.’s completion of the acquisition of 44 acres of land. The parcel sits just north of the renowned 7,000-acre Research Triangle Park, the largest research park in the United States. PDR shelled out $3.8 million for the land the$30 million project will occupy, snapping up 42 acres from Len Shaffer and Bill Anderson of the Joven Group, and the remaining two from Wood Partners. Phillips Research Park will sit just across from the main entrance of the 1.6 million-square-foot…