News

In an effort to accommodate the demand for more stem cell research in California, a group of organizations has committed an aggregate $831 million for the construction of facilities to be designed specifically for stem cell research activities. The funding will allow for a total of $1.1 billion for the projects, which will be located across the state.A sum of $271 million from the state stem cell agency, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, will be divided among 12 institutions that submitted proposals to CIRM’s Major Facilities Grant program. Those institutions will also contribute to the cause, promising funds totaling…

N3 Real Estate has announced its entry into the big box development field. On the heels of its announcement of a $1 billion development fund, N3 is poised to expand upon its current small pad retail development services. The firm has named Jim Shindler, formerly of Hunt Properties, development partner for big box development. Shindler has previously worked with companies such as Target, Home Depot and Safeway on earlier retail development projects. “Jim Shindler is highly regarded by many of the big box tenants,” N3 CEO William McGuire told CPN. “Jim brings long-standing relationships in the big box tenant arena.”N3…

The last piece of the financial puzzle for constructing the FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Mich., has been put in place with the FireKeepers Development Authority’s closing on $375 million in financing. With a $340 million Senior Secured Note and a $35 million F&E facility in place, work can commence on FireKeepers Casino. Located about an hour from Lansing and two hours from Detroit, the property will initially feature a 230,000-square-foot casino, restaurants, as well as a covered parking facility to accommodate 2,000 vehicles. The FireKeepers Authority has charged Gaming Entertainment Michigan L.L.C., a joint venture of which Las Vegas-based…

Development of the W Hotel & Residences in Austin gets a boost now that construction financing has been put in place. CJUF Stratus Block 21 L.L.C. is behind the project, and just managed to get its hands on a $165 million loan. Corus Bank facilitated the loan for CJUF Stratus, an affiliate of Austin-based Stratus Properties Inc. and Beverly Hills-based Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund II L.P. The W Hotel development will sit downtown at 308 W. Second St. and will feature 252 guestrooms and 198 condominium units, as well as a fitness center, a 7,000-square-foot spa, a restaurant and meeting space….

A joint venture consisting of Square Mile Capital Management L.L.C. and Davidson Hotel Co. has acquired the 259-room Sheraton Suites Tampa Airport/Westshore. Host Realty Partnership L.P. sold the Tampa, Fla.-property just two years after having acquired it as part of a $4 billion, 35-hotel portfolio acquisition from Starwood Hotels and Resorts in April 2005.Carrying the address of 4400 W. Cypress St., Sheraton Tampa sits within close proximity to Tampa International Airport, as well as such area destinations as Busch Gardens and Raymond James Stadium. In addition to its luxury suites, features 8,100 square feet of office space, a restaurant, a…

OliverMcMillan, a privately held San Diego–based developer, has purchased a mostly vacant 140-acre site from the City of Everett, Wash., for redevelopment as a mixed-use project. The price for the land alone was $8 million, according to a spokesperson for the city. Pre-development costs are estimated at $50 million, and an additional $400 million in development costs is projected. The project, called The Riverfront District, will include between 500,000 and 800,000 square feet of retail, 150,000 of it for small shop space, and between 800 and 1,000 residential units or hotel rooms, as well as office space. In addition, Cinetopia,…

Linens ‘n Things today became the latest retailer to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as the faltering economy begins to take its toll on consumer spending. The bedding and home furnishing company’s announcement came the same day the Walt Disney Co. said it planned to retake control of the Disney Store chain in North America and close about 100 stores.Both announcements came one day after Home Depot said it was closing 15 U.S. stores and scaling back expansion plans.Linens ‘n Things recently reported a fiscal 2007 loss of $242.1 million.  The Clifton, N.J., company said in its bankruptcy filing…

NTS Realty Holdings L.P. has announced the sale of several of its commercial office buildings in Louisville, Ky.The firm sold its membership interests in a subsidiary which owned Atrium Center, Blankenbaker Business Centers I and II, 1901 Campus Place (the former Anthem Office Center), Plainview Center, as well as Plainview Point I, II, and III.The purchaser, Ascent Properties L.L.C., agreed to a price of $56.5 million. Ascent also has the option to purchase NTS Center at a price of $10 million within 90 days of the transaction.NTS will use the proceeds from the sale to pay down debts to National…

The office market in Downtown Chicago experienced an uptick in vacancies, and a chunk of negative absorption in the first quarter of 2008, according to a report released this week by locally based MB Real Estate (the report also covered suburban Chicago).  The Downtown section of the report noted that the quarter’s results come in the wake a year—2007–that was one of the healthiest ones in recent memory for the market. “The market was in balance and the expansion allowed commercial real estate to rebound from the negative absorption numbers experienced from 2001-2005,” the report noted. “In 2006, the Chicago…

The Bank of Baroda has signed a 20-year, 10,500-square-foot lease renewal for its U.S. headquarters at 1 Park Ave. in Manhattan, a CB Richard Ellis Inc. source told CPN exclusively today. The firm assisted the bank in the deal.  Murray Hill Properties, the landlord, set the asking rent at $60 per square foot.  Bank of Baroda, India’s third largest, is also renovating the space.“We were able to renew Bank of Baroda’s lease a year early and achieve an excellent deal for them,” said Roshan Shah, senior associate, CB Richard Ellis, who represented the tenant, along with Sinclair Li, vice president….