Regions

Like the office sectors elsewhere, San Francisco’s market has seen damage to commercial real estate investment from the credit crunch. While owners of top office properties may have sold their assets last year to take advantage of low cap rates, lower prices are deterring them from taking the same action now, according to Chris Economou, investment associate for Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services Inc. “If you have a quality asset that is 100 percent leased, you’re not necessarily dipping your toe in the water today,” he said.Indeed, for those properties that do trade, buyers are receiving discounts of…

The board of governors of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey voted late last week to give Silverstein Properties Inc. additional time to complete World Trade Center Towers 3 and 4. The extension will allow SPI to continue to pursue Merrill Lynch as the sole tenant of Tower 3; Merrill Lynch’s specific needs (such as large trading floors) would require some redesign of Tower 3, including its foundation and that of Tower 4. CPN reported last week that Merrill Lynch, which is currently headquartered in the World Financial Center, across West Street from the WTC site, had…

When a corporation moving into a new market contributes to that locale’s “image,” it can create value that boomerangs back to the company. The Tampa region, which has been working hard to attract life sciences and biotechnology firms, scored a coup with pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., which teamed with the city’s H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute to develop cancer research project M2Gen last year. “We look for organizations that will grow jobs and the industry,” said Stuart Rogel, president & CEO of the Tampa Bay Partnership. M2Gen committed to establishing 165 jobs at an average yearly…

Will Beijing experience the “Barcelona Effect,” like the Spanish city that had costs overruns after 1992 Olympic Games, but recovered quickly through increased tourism and investment? Or will it experience the “Montreal Effect,” like the Canadian city that had cost overruns after the 1976 Olympic Games and took 30 years to pay off the debt? “We see neither effect in Beijing,” said Michael Thompson, CEO of Cushman & Wakefield Asia Pacific, noting that although the $36 billion price tag of the Beijing Games are more expensive compared to previous games, much of the money is going to infrastructure needed for Beijing’s…

Even in an uncertain economic climate and a housing crisis, the Phoenix residential market is making new retail construction possible, noted Don Sheckell, managing principal for De Rito Partners Inc. Analysts predict 25,000 to 30,000 new housing starts in the market during 2008, about half the amount in 2004. But that is still a “huge amount of growth,” said David Glimcher, president & CEO of Glimcher Ventures Southwest L.L.C., noting that Phoenix is still seeing greeting 100,000 new residents a year.    In fact, Maricopa County, which encompasses the Phoenix area, is the fastest growing county in the United States, Sheckell…

Several Greater Phoenix mixed-use projects targeting upscale-retail shoppers have come online recently or are under construction. Some of the higher-profile developments:ProjectSizeDeveloperLocationDeliverySanTan Village1.2 MSFWestcorGilbertOctober 2007Promenade Casa Grande1 MSFWestcor, WDP Partners & The Pederson GroupPinal CountyPhase 1, November 2007; Buildout: spring 2008CityScape2.5 MSFWachovia Corp. & Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group L.L.C.DowntownPhase 1: late 2009; Phase 3: 2011Downtown Ocotillo/100,000 SFLawrence & Geyser Development Corp., Statesman Group of Cos. & Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.ChandlerPhase 1: summer 2008Scottsdale Quarter1.2 MSFThe Wolff Co. & Vanguard City HomeScottsdalePhase 1: fall 2008For more on the Phoenix retail market, see the March 16 print edition of CPN.

After teaming up seven years ago and specializing in capital placement across the country, Michael Hanrahan and Paul Hilton established themselves as leading investment brokers who have made a major impact on St. Louis and other cities in the central United States.In the past 18 months, the senior vice presidents & principals for Colliers Turley Martin Tucker’s investment services group closed 30 deals totaling $1 billion. Their clients included The Procter & Gamble Co. and Duke Realty Corp. In their biggest deal of 2007, the duo represented FULCRUM Asset Advisors L.L.C. and Angelo, Gordon & Co. in the $90 million…

Much of the new development in Las Colinas, Texas, hinges on the DART rail line expansion. That’s why alarms sounded in December, when transit officials said a budget shortfall could delay the line’s scheduled startup in Las Colinas. But DART president Gary Thomas told the Irving City Council on December 13 that the line’s expansion will proceed as planned, saying he will recommend a public-private partnership to get the project completed, according to the Dallas Morning News.

With the expansion of the Bayport Container Terminal in the Port of Houston, the region’s industrial construction activity spiked in the past year to record levels. Now, the Port Commission of The Port of Houston Authority (PHA) has approved the addition of a new wharf at a cost of up to $74 million. Last week, the commission authorized advertising and receipt of competitive sealed proposals for Bayport Terminal Complex Phase 1 Wharf for up to $74 million. Plans and specifications for the construction of about 1,330 feet of additional wharf, including associated dredging and material disposal on site, have been…