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London-based luxury hotel group Dorchester Collection, owner of such iconic properties as the Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris, has brought two additional legendary assets under its umbrella with the attainment of contracts to manage New York City’s renowned New York Palace Hotel and the tony Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles. The properties’ change in management is due to a change in ownership as, in November 2007, the Court of Appeal of Brunei Darussalam’s Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ruled that the hotels’ owner, embattled Prince Jefri of Bolkiah, must honor a previous agreement to transfer…

Over the course of a couple of days, the Houston office of real estate services firm CB Richard Ellis Inc. represented several clients in long-term leases in the city for a total of more than 60,000 square feet.The deals are representative of the city’s continued growth in a nation troubled by a shaky economy. But, for Houston, it’s all in a day’s work.“This is the normal course of business,” said John Pruitt, senior vice president with CB Richard Ellis in Houston. “We still have a growing economy even though job growth slowed from 100,000 new jobs a year to 40,000…

Dozens of Hyatt Regency properties in key business, convention and resort locations in North America are undergoing renovation or being opened as part of a $1.3 billion dollar investment. Seventeen such properties have been renovated or opened in the past three years and 31 additional hotels are scheduled to be revamped or to open by the end of 2010. The renovations entail remaking dining and public spaces, upgrading technology, adding distinctive amenities and updating design. Major completed projects include the first phase of a $60 million transformation of Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Chicago and a $20 million makeover of Hyatt…

The Bascom Group has acquired Gleneagles Apartments, a 562-unit property in Northglenn, Colo., a northern suburb of Denver, for $60.8 million. The seller was Principal Life Insurance Co. Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services’ most recent report on the Denver multi-family market posited that the area will remain relatively healthy through 2008, with vacancies forecast to trend about to 6.9 percent by the end of the year, or about 60 basis points higher than the beginning of the year. New construction will add to the market’s supply, and single-family houses and vacant condo units being rented will take some…

The U.S. industrial property market is sagging somewhat along with the national economy, but certain segments of the business are doing fairly well despite macroeconomic conditions, according to a new report on the national industrial market by brokerage giant Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services. As with most downturns, newer, more efficient properties are the winners, while older properties aren’t doing as well.”Elevated fuel prices and rising production costs have made it increasingly important for companies to create logistics efficiencies,” the company’s 2008 National Industrial Report says. “As a result, newer industrial properties that offer the most modern features,…

International distribution facility giant ProLogis has leased 277,000 square feet near the Port of Le Havre, France’s largest container port by volume, to Cedilec, a French provider of third-party logistics services for the food retail industry. Cedilec has leased 100 percent of the space in a recently completed facility (pictured) at ProLogis Park du Hode, a 1.6 million-square foot rail-served distribution park being developed along France’s A13/131 highways, which connect Le Havre to Paris, seven kilometers from the Le Havre port terminal. Cedilec will operate the space as a break-bulk facility, distributing product on behalf of Leclerc Supermarkets Group to…

Ceres, a national network of investors, environmental organizations and other public-interest groups that works with companies and investors to address sustainability challenges, has announced that Jones Lang LaSalle is its first member company from the commercial real estate industry. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Boston, Ceres has about 80 corporate members that have committed to disclosing their environmental and social commitments and results, and to engaging with Ceres’ coalition of investors and environmental and social organizations on corporate responsibility. Companies that join Ceres can get expert advice on sustainability reporting, enter industry dialogues on sustainability issues and access the…

Arciterra Group L.L.C. has acquired a lifestyle shopping center in Olathe, Kan., for $29.3 million from Maefield Development Corp. The 289,400-square-foot property, Olathe Pointe, opened in 2006, but is not completely built out. “There’s still a great deal of buyer interest in Class A retail properties in good locations, and this property was no exception,” John Riser, a vice president of investments & senior director of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services’ national retail group in Indianapolis, told CPN this morning. “In fact, there was widespread investor interest in it, including REITs and local shopping center owners.” Marcus &…

Despite a local office market pushing 19 percent vacancy, the newly-constructed Avnet Building in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler was sold to FORT Properties Inc. for $35.2 million. Phoenix-based Ryan Cos. US completed the build-to-suit facility (pictured) in April. Located within the Chandler Freeways Business Park at 6700 W. Morelos Place at the junction of Interstate 10 and the San Tan (Loop 202) Freeway, the site is within the growing hub of Chandler’s industrial sector. The building has approximately 230,000 square feet of space and is fully occupied by Phoenix-based Fortune 500 firm Avnet Inc. which provides supply-chain, logistics, product…

Having cleared Congress with the Senate’s passage over the weekend, and anticipated to be signed by President Bush without delay, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 will provide assistance to thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure, but it will also provide a boost for the affordable housing industry, which has also fallen prey to the credit crunch. The legislation includes alterations of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and changes for mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that are designed to ease the process of developing affordable housing. The bill calls for the modernization of the LIHTC in an…