Regions

The first three months of 2009 saw the first quarterly negative growth in Houston’s industrial market since 2003. The market posted a half-million square feet of negative net absorption in the first quarter, according to a report by Grubb & Ellis Co. The pullback comes on the heels of more than 7.5 million square feet of positive absorption recorded in 2008. The quarterly space loss was attributed to warehouse/distribution properties registering 397,900 square feet of negative absorption, while standard industrial type properties recorded 212,800 square feet of red ink, the Grubb & Ellis report stated. With leasing velocity coming to…

The Washington, D.C., office market, has taken its blows like every other city, but with the federal government’s consistent need to house employees, office buildings that are fully leased by the feds are hot property. With solid demographics in play, a slew of hopeful buyers came out to look at the 228,000-square-foot One Choke Cherry office property (pictured) in Rockville, Md., and The JBG Cos. came through with the winning bid of $43.5 million.For JBG, the transaction marks a return to familiar ground, as the Chevy Chase, Md.-based company, which also owns Five Choke Cherry, previously owned One Choke Cherry…

“We’re seeing things loosen up a bit, but lending by Illinois banks isn’t where we’d like it to be,” said Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias Tuesday morning at the monthly breakfast meeting of the Chicago Chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, held in Rosemont, Ill., and attended by CPN.Early in the financial crisis last fall, Giannoulias, himself a former community banker who was elected state treasurer in 2006, oversaw the injection of about $1 billion in public money into Illinois banks and other financial institutions, ahead of the federal government’s much larger efforts. Since then, he stressed,…

In yet another indication of just how global the hospitality market slump has become, Las Vegas Sands is reportedly looking to cash out on one of its casinos in Macau under a sale- leaseback deal. The firm is looking to put the Sands Macau up for sale with a price tag of $1.3 billion after failing to sell off the retail portions of two of its other properties there.According to a report in the South China Morning Post, Las Vegas Sands is looking to sell the 229,000-square-foot gaming resort–the firm’s signature Macau property–and continue to run gaming operations there under…

The credit crunch continues to squeeze the life out of big construction projects across the country, but Fontainebleau Las Vegas L.L.C. doesn’t plan on becoming a victim. One month after MGM Mirage was sued by its CityCenter project partner, the developer of the in-progress Fontainebleau Las Vegas casino-resort has filed a $3 billion lawsuit against a group of lenders that recently decided to back out of $800 million in prearranged financing–despite having received over $77 billion in federal assistance, including funds through the Troubled Asset Repurchase Program. Filed in the District Court of Clark County, Nevada, the lawsuit names a…

Mexico and inland ports in the United States will be among the chief beneficiaries of increased global trade and infrastructure, according to a new study by Cushman & Wakefield Inc. and commissioned by the NAIOP Research Foundation. At the heart of the changes in the supply chain is the cost of transportation. Despite the recent leveling off of energy prices, transportation costs are expected to continue their long-term rise, the report states. In a bid to offset the growing of shipping goods from Asia, many U.S. businesses are looking for alternative manufacturing locations closer to home. Energy and transportation considerations…

Drug maker Alkermes Inc. last week became the latest in what has become a growing line of biotech firms leaving Cambridge, Mass., in search of less expensive office and laboratory space in the suburbs. The company plans to relocate to a 100,000-square-foot facility in Waltham early next year, a move that Alkermes says will eventually save some $750,000 a year.“By taking advantage of the current real estate market conditions, we are able to improve our business operations by moving to a central location in a brand new facility,” noted Alkermes CFO Jim Frates. “This relocation to Waltham offers economic advantages…

As the business world continues to realize the benefits of integrating green building practices, Citi’s newly completed data center in Frankfurt, Germany, has earned a LEED Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, marking the first time a data center property has received the Council’s highest rating.“We’re seeing very large increases year to year of projects seeking LEED ratings,” Marc Heisterkamp, director of commercial real estate for the Green Building Council, told CPN. “The bigger picture is companies like Citi, which is a great example, integrating green building into all their real estate platforms. On Earth Day they announced…

W Hotels Worldwide, the lifestyle brand from Starwood Hotels and Resorts, is continuing its ambitious expansion plan despite the rocky economy. The firm just opened a new hotel in Hoboken, N.J., the latest step in the brand’s global growth efforts. The W Hoboken hotel and The Residences at W Hoboken, located on the Hudson River across from Manhattan, contains 225 guest rooms, including 23 suites, and 40 W branded residences. The hotel contains The Chandelier Room, a lounge and bar with views of Manhattan; Zylo, a Tuscan steakhouse; Bliss spa; and W Hotels The Store. The new hotel is owned…

Macklowe Properties’ financial troubles continue to chip away at the firm’s New York City office portfolio. A month after having to sell off a major Manhattan tower, the company has just lost the 525,000-square-foot office building at 1330 Avenue of the Americas in a foreclosure auction. Montreal-based mortgage lender Otera Capital, which held a $130 million mezzanine loan on the property, placed a $100,000 bid and walked away from the auction as the new owner. Macklowe had defaulted on its $130 million loan with Otera, as well as its $240 million mezzanine debt with another lender, which Otera has now…