News

Flying in the face of a tight new credit environment, Cleveland-based Developers Diversified Realty has in recent weeks secured a little more than $500 million in new loans and lender commitments. The total comes from various sources, including insurance companies and commercial banks.“It isn’t news that a number of financing avenues have shut down, but other options are still available at decent rates for borrowers with strong credit profiles,” a spokesperson for DDR told CPN this morning. DDR is taking advantage of its own strong credit profile, the spokesperson added, to take care of short-term debt that’s maturing this year,…

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. and Sorouh Real Estate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, have entered into a strategic alliance to “explore the development of entertainment opportunities within Sorouh’s real estate portfolio,” according to a prepared statement.  The partnership’s first project will reportedly be “a large-scale entertainment destination.” A third partner, Rubicon Inc., is a Jordanian company that produces interactive multimedia e-education and 3D animation/CGI.  An MGM spokesperson told CPN that the project to be developed with Sorouh and Rubicon is only in the very earliest conceptual stages, but that it “will not be a theme park.” Both Warner Brothers and…

Healthcare REIT HCP Inc. has announced that it will sell 4.5 million shares of common stock to Goldman Sachs & Co. for $149.9 million in an offering it just priced at $33.32 per share and, in a separate move, will offer 12.5 million shares of common stock to the public. HCP plans to use the proceeds from the sale of stock to Goldman Sachs and the issuance of additional stock to repay part of a $1 billion debt under the company’s revolving credit facility which, when entered into on Aug. 1, 2007, had an initial capacity of $1.5 billion. Additionally,…

Glimcher Ventures Southwest L.L.C. plans to develop a $100 million 15-acre mixed-use development in Roseville, Calif., directly adjacent to the city’s largest mall, The Westfield Galleria at Roseville. Dubbed Highland Village, the 225,000-square-foot development will combine retail shops, restaurants and two Hyatt-affiliated hotels–a Hyatt Summerfield Suites and a 151-room Hyatt Place–which will serve as the anchor tenant of the project. “This is a AAA+ location next to the number one mall in Sacramento,” David Glimcher, president of Glimcher Ventures Southwest, told CPN. “The Westfield Mall is being expanded and this is the heart of Roseville, which … has a huge…

Stirling Capital Investments has completed work on Global Access Business Centre, two multi-tenant industrial buildings totaling about 223,700 square feet at the Southern California Logistics Centre in Victorville, Calif. Thus far the Global Access Business Centre is about 22 percent leased. About 49,000 square feet in the property was leased in deals inked just prior completion. These tenants include Sequoia Lighting, a manufacturer of commercial lighting fixtures (18,500 square feet); Prego Inc., an apparel import-export company (13,000 square feet); as well as smaller leases by an electrical contracting company, and industrial welding supply business and a machine shop. The development…

Capella Education Co., parent of major online education player Capella University, has expanded its lease at 225 South Sixth in Minneapolis from 203,000 square feet to what will eventually be approximately 400,000 square feet.  In recognition of the lease, which will involve Capella moving employees who are currently officed at the Campbell Mithun Tower in Downtown Minneapolis, the building will be known as Capella Tower. Lease terms were not immediately available.  More than 1,150 Twin Cities–area Capella employees are slated to occupy 225 South Sixth, Minneapolis’ largest office building, by early 2009. Capella has leased space there since 2004.  Tom…

The Walt Disney Co. revealed today that it is currently in advanced discussions with The Children’s Place Retail Stores Inc. regarding a deal that would allow Disney to acquire approximately two thirds of the 335-store Disney Store North America chain from the Children’s Place. Disney had sold the licensed merchandise chain to Children’s Place in 2004.When the Children’s Place took over the Disney Store chain four years ago, it agreed to invest as much as $100 million into remodeling what was then a portfolio of 313 properties. Today, the enhanced portfolio covers nearly 1.5 million square feet of leased retail…

Developers and building owners are continually challenged by cost overruns on their projects due to continuing and deep-seated problems in the U.S. construction industry, according to construction attorney Barry LePatner. LePatner, speaking in Manhattan at a forum recently, which was sponsored by the Real Estate Board of New York, called the $1.2 trillion construction industry “dysfunctional.” He said problems are caused by the fragmented nature of the industry that lacks a firm with a truly national presence. Construction firms typically are plagued by limited cash flow, minimal capitalization, and reluctance on the part of the industry to accept risk. Construction…

GE Real Estate has established a new investment business and now the firm has selected one of its own to head up the new endeavor. Joe Parsons, formerly president of GE Real Estate’s North America equity division, will serve as president & CEO of the company’s new global investment management division. As per a report today by the Wall Street Journal, the global investment management division will be the vehicle for GE Real Estate’s first foray into the world of investing in properties with money from outside entities. The company plans to obtain from $1 billion to $3 billion from…

This past week the global sales campaign for the Chicago Spire, a 2,000-foot condominium now under construction on the Lake Michigan shore, continued into Asia, beginning a five-city tour with a presentation in Singapore. The campaign, which began in Dublin in January, was slated to swing through Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Kuala Lumpur before moving on to cities in Europe and South Africa. Designed by celebrity architect Santiago Calatrava, the Chicago Spire will feature 1,194 residences–no two alike. The project is slated for completion in late 2011. The residences will range from gallerie and suites to one- to four-bedroom…