Regions

The court handling the bankruptcy of Las Vegas Joint Venture L.L.C., the master developer of the Lake Las Vegas Resort, has approved a $127 million debtor-in-possession financing agreement with a group of lenders led by Credit Suisse as agent. The consensual agreement was reached with various creditors and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors. A Lake Las Vegas spokesperson characterized the credit facility as “cash to run the operation.” CPN reported two weeks ago that the project (pictured), a 3,600-acre master-planned residential and resort community next to Lake Mead National Recreational Area and 20 miles east of Downtown Las Vegas,…

Zurich Financial Services Group has picked CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. as a provider of a variety of real estate services for the company in Europe, including transaction management and strategic consulting. The deal represents the first time that Zurich has hired a single service provider for Europe. The agreement covers a 6 million-square-foot portfolio encompassing 520 offices in nine countries–Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The contract reflects a further expansion of CBRE;s Global Corporate Services business, which added 16 new corporate accounts during the first half of 2008. Zurich Financial is a…

The Praedium Group and Audubon Communities Management have teamed up to buy a seven-property multi-family portfolio in the Atlanta metro region for approximately $45 million. The seller was not identified. It is the third joint venture acquisition made by Praedium, a New York City-based national real estate investment firm, and Audubon, an owner and operator of multi-family assets in the Northeast and Gulf South regions of the United States. Information on the other JVs was not available. The 938-unit portfolio comprises 156 buildings constructed between 1972 and 1999 located in Fulton, Henry, DeKalb, Rockdale, Gwinnett and Hall counties. The portfolio…

Despite economic woes that have caused delays or outright cancellation of many projects, Newcastle Partners Inc., and RREEF Alternative Investments have purchased 54.5 acres at the former Boeing aircraft manufacturing site in Long Beach, Calif., with plans for a 4 million-square-foot mixed-use business park with an estimated value of $350 million at build out. The project, named Douglas Park, will consist of 261 acres upon completion. The first two phases of development will be on the 54.5 acres recently acquired. The Boeing site is the largest piece of developable land in Long Beach. Plans for the project include 4 million…

Unlike a bevy of construction projects across the country, development of the upscale 214-residence apartment high-rise at 717 W. Ninth St. in Los Angeles will not fall victim to the credit crunch, as Meruelo Maddux Properties Inc. has just closed on an $84 million construction loan. The 35-story structure, located across from the Staples Center sports arena and the $2.5 billion L.A. Live mixed-use project, is part of a long list of developments that are contributing to the multi-billion remake of downtown Los Angeles. Meruelo Maddux was able to secure financing for 717 W. Ninth from an affiliate of Los…

Interstate Hotels & Resorts has formed a joint venture with an affiliate of Madison W Properties L.L.C. to recapitalize the existing ownership of the former Radisson Plaza Hotel Lexington in Lexington, Ky., and an adjacent 234,000-square-foot Class A office building. The 367-room hotel is to undergo a $13 million renovation, after which it will be reflagged as a Hilton. Until then, it will be operated as an independent, the Lexington Downtown Hotel & Conference Center. The hotel is currently managed by Interstate, which also managed it for the previous owner, an affiliate of Blackstone Group L.P., Interstate senior vice president…

IBM will expand its presence in Research Triangle Park, N.C., with the development of a $360 million data center on its campus. The green facility will offer cloud computing capabilities and will bring the company’s portfolio of cloud computing centers up to nine. The new state-of-the-art center will emerge from an existing building that will be redeveloped. In its first phase, the data center will yield 60,000 square feet of raised floor space. The building will be constructed as part of IBM’s Project Big Green initiative, a $1 billion program designed to increase energy efficiency at its data centers. In…

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. has staked a claim to a total of 500,000 square feet of office space in two structures at the 21-acre Fan Pier mixed-use development (pictured) in Boston. According to the Boston Business Journal, Cambridge, Mass.-headquartered Vertex signed a letter of intent to lease the space with project developer The Fallon Co. last week.Among other offerings, the waterfront project (pictured) will feature three Class A office buildings, which will ultimately account for an aggregate 1.5 million square feet of space. If all goes as planned, Vertex will eventually be part of a 3 million-square-foot enclave that is presently…

Plans for the development of 9900 Wilshire, an über-upscale condominium project in Beverly Hills, are moving forward now that developer Project Lotus L.L.C. has awarded Rudolph and Sletten Inc. the preconstruction services contract for the long-awaited endeavor. Project Lotus, a joint venture involving CPC Group and Kaupthing HF, will build the 235-unit green residential project on an eight-acre parcel that the team snapped up for $500 million in 2007. Among Rudolph & Sletten’s initial activities at 9900 Wilshire (pictured) will be the removal and replacement of a water pipe that serves the beach city of Santa Monica, located west of…

High Street Equity Advisors has invested $70.5 million in acquisitions in Pennsylvania. The Boston-based firm purchased 18 light industrial and R&D Flex buildings in two Pennsylvania portfolios, Lehigh Valley and Bucks County. The combined square footage of the properties is about 963,000 square feet, and brings High Street’s Pennsylvania holdings to 26 properties totaling approximately 1.4 million square feet. High Street had previously owned properties in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Valley Forge, Pittson and Bethlehem. The Bucks County portfolio is comprised of 12 Class B+ light industrial and R&D Flex buildings, and cost $50.4 million in total. The buildings are currently 93…