News

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. has closed on the acquisition of the Savannah Logistics Center, a one million-square-foot industrial park. The seller was Oakmont Industrial Group. The company has also leased the majority of the facility, through its Matson Global Distribution Services subsidiary to a toy manufacturer for its southeast U.S. logistics operations. The deal extends the firm’s geographic reach to one of the busiest and fastest growing ports in the country, A&B Chairman & CEO Allen Doane said in a statement. It is the first real estate investment for Alexander & Baldwin east of the Mississippi and was completed using…

The Aquia Towne Center in Stafford County, Va., is about to be reduced to rubble in order to pave the way for the continued redevelopment of the shopping center into a 725,000-square-foot mixed-use destination. Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust will spend $189 million on the redevelopment effort.Located about 25 miles from Washington, D.C., and five miles from the Marine Corps Base at Quantico, Aquia will feature 350,000 square feet of premier office space, 250,000 square feet of retail space, 125,000 square feet of entertainment offerings and 287 residential units. The architectural firm of Brown/Craig/Turner is overseeing the design of the new live-work-play…

The Trump Organization has inked a deal with Turkey’s prominent Dogan Family to build an office, residential and shopping complex in Istanbul. As reported by Reuters, the complex will consist of an office tower, a residential tower and a shopping mall. The 247,600-square-foot project is scheduled for a 2010 completion. Turkish company Tasyapi will handle construction, while Brigitte Weber Architects is designing the project, according to the report. No further details about the development were available, and the Trump Organization was unable to comment by deadline. All three sectors in Trump’s newest project are performing strongly in Istanbul, according to…

The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors has completed an agreement with Catellus Development Group to serve as master developer of a new mixed-use complex in Stockton, Calif. The project, Airport East Business Park, will encompass over 6 million square feet of commercial offerings and open space.Located about 80 miles outside San Francisco along bustling Highway 99, Airport East will sit within close proximity of the Stockton Metropolitan Airport on a 550-acre parcel that has been designated for development for about a decade. Outlined in the plans for the sprawling development are as much as 2.5 million square feet of…

The Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds has just completed Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund III with equity commitments totaling $1 billion. The vehicle will make $4 billion accessible for real estate projects in underserved urban areas across the country.CJUF III marks Canyon-Johnson’s largest fund ever, as the previous two accounted for a total of $900 million. Investors included a range of pension funds, endowments, foundations and other entities from across the country. Interest in the fund was very high. “I cut it off at $1 billion because I don’t like to raise too much money,” Bobby Turner, the fund’s managing partner, told CPN today,…

Real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield has initiated a more aggressive campaign to further penetrate the Latin American market with the appointment of industry expert Miles Glascock to the role of senior managing director for Strategic Planning and Business Development for Latin America. Glascock spoke to CPN about the firm’s goals in the region: CPN: What areas of Latin America are the hottest for real estate development right now and why? Glascock: Brazil and Mexico. Brazil has the largest GDP in the region with $1.3 trillion, and Mexico has a GDP of $800 billion. Everything else is dwarfed by…

By Eugene Gilligan Steve Pumper is hoping to witness a large, market-changing deal. “I’m looking for a major player to execute a major transaction,” said the executive managing director of investment services for Transwestern. Such a deal could signal that property values have hit bottom and that the buyer is betting that values are trending back upward. For Pumper, that could bring much-needed clarity to the investment sales market. A worsening economy, a derailed CMBS market and more-conservative lending have all contributed to an investment sales environment that will likely see a steep falloff from 2007’s $435 billion worth of…

ProLogis has announced it has signed two new build-to-suit agreements with Crate and Barrel for two distribution centers. These will be in Tracy, Calif., approximately 54 miles east of Oakland, Calif. The first, which will be approximately 827,000 square feet, will be used by Crate and Barrel to store its furniture products. The second, with more than 398,000 square feet, will be used as a distribution center for its housewares products. The pair of buildings are being developed both to accommodate growth and to improve efficiencies. The retailer is consolidating three Northern California distribution facilities that it has outgrown. According…

The office building at 2099 Pennsylvania Ave. NW in Washington, D.C., has come under new ownership, courtesy of a transaction valued at $172.5 million. Dublin-headquartered Vico Capital snapped up the 206,000-square-foot Class A property from Germany’s Wealth Capital Investments, in what is being touted as the largest office transaction in D.C. this year.Developed by the Kaempfer Co. seven years ago, 2099 Pennsylvania sits on a corner lot about four blocks from the White House, and features 12 above grade floors atop one level of finished below grade space and a three-level parking facility. Wealth Capital subsidiary Blue Capital had acquired…

The newest phase of The Westin St. John Resort & Villas has opened, according to a report from owner Starwood Vacation Ownership Inc., the fractional and vacation ownership division of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. The Bay Vista phase overlooks Great Cruz Bay on the island of St. John. This phase will contain 54 new units: 22 two-bedroom, eight two-bedroom lofts, and 24 three-bedrooms. The resort features a spa facility, market and tennis facilities. “The resort is one of the most popular mixed-use resorts in the region, according to Sergio Rivera, president, real estate development, Starwood Hotels & Resorts…