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The souring economy hasn’t altogether dampened development activity. In the Washington, D.C., suburb of Arlington, Va., news has emerged about three new office and mixed-use projects that will bring a total of 1.7 million square feet to an area just minutes from the District. The Arlington County Board has been doing its part to facilitate development in the area, having worked late into the night yesterday to complete the approval of a Phased Development Site Plan for Pentagon Centre (pictured), a mixed-use development that will sit in the Pentagon City submarket. Kimco Realty Corp. is behind the project, the first…

Despite his objections over a $3.9 billion provision that would assist communities devastated by foreclosures, President George W. Bush has dropped his opposition to housing rescue legislation. He was previously threatening to veto the legislation. The housing rescue package, which the House of Representatives passed late July 23, 2008, outlines approximately 20 various provisions, including establishing a new regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, creating a program within the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) to refinance distressed loans and providing $3.9 billion in funding to stabilize communities devastated by the mortgage crisis. Bush’s veto threat regarded the $3.9 billion emergency…

The Capitol Lounge building located at 229 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., has been sold by the NorthMarq investment sales team of Jim Karnack, Jerry Burg and Matt Clinebell, the company said today. The building (pictured) contains 8,780 square feet of space on three floors and a lower level. Two office tenants occupy the upstairs portion of the property.The NorthMarq team worked on the deal with Roy Hill of Marcus & Millichap, who was marketing the building for sale. The Washington, D.C., office of NorthMarq sourced the buyer and structured the complex transaction, which included a sale-leaseback, master lease and…

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has submitted a report to the House Budget Committee on the Bush Administration’s proposal to provide temporary authority to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (pictured) to purchase any amount of obligations and other securities issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. Under current law, the Secretary has permanent authority to purchase debt securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac up to a total of $2.25 billion from each. Reached this morning, a CBO spokesperson could not speak to whether that option has been exercised to date. The CBO report explains…

Prospect Mortgage has decided to proceed with its acquisition of most of IndyMac’s retail mortgage branches in a deal scheduled to close early next month. All together, Northbrook, Ill.-based Prospect will buy about 80 Indymac loan offices nationwide. The deal is going to proceed as scheduled, and under the original terms, according to Prospect, despite the seizure of Indymac by the Office of Thrift Supervision earlier this month and the current conservatorship of Indymac by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. John Johnston and Ron Bergum of Indymac will remain leaders of the retail branch group following the closing, and some…

The 274,000-square-foot office building at 180 Madison Ave. in Manhattan has officially come under new ownership, courtesy of a transaction between two New York City-based real estate companies. The Clarett Group, acting in a joint venture with Parsippany, N.J.-based Prudential Real Estate Investors, purchased the 274,000-square-foot building from Sitt Management for $146 million. With the closing of the acquisition of the Midtown South property, Clarett has made its first move in the Manhattan office market game. Rising 23 stories above the intersection of Madison Ave. and 34th St., 180 Madison last changed hands in 2005 when Sitt bought the building…

The City of Los Angeles has joined forces with Enterprise Community Partners to establish the $100 million New Generation Fund, the city’s first multi-million-dollar financing tool for the development and preservation of affordable housing. The New Generation Fund is owned by Enterprise and is being backed financially by a consortium–consisting of Citi, Wachovia, Enterprise Community Loan Fund, Merrill Lynch, MetLife and HSBC–that has endowed the fund with $100 million. Additionally, the City, the Ahmanson Foundation, the California Community Foundation and the Weingarten Foundation are supplying a total of approximately $14 million in credit enhancements. The pre-development and acquisition fund is…

W. P. Carey & Co. has reported that CPA(R):16 – Global, its publicly held non-traded REIT affiliate, has provided approximately 19 million euro of sale-leaseback financing to Schoeller Arca Systems through the acquisition of two manufacturing facilities located in Monheim, Germany and Nurieux, France. SAS designs, develops and manufactures reusable containers, boxes and pallets that are manufactured to endure multiple trips. “The sale-leaseback of our facilities is enabling us to recapitalize our balance sheet,” SAS CFO Hubert van Iwaarden said in a statement. Together with its new owners, One Equity Partners, the new financing will enable the company to grow,…

Giuliani Partners, headed by former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and commercial real estate owner Berman Enterprises are launching a real estate investment fund of between $500 million and $750 million focused on commercial and residential opportunities. The fit with Giuliani’s firm is a good one for Berman Enterprises, said Jeffrey Berman, (pictured), a partner in the firm. “Rudy is the former mayor of New York, and he’s a deal maker whose experience is unparalleled,” Berman said. He said that experience is particularly valuable to Berman, which has not invested in New York. The new fund is targeting a limited…

Liquid Realty Partners, a specialist in acquiring real estate funds, partnerships and other interests, has invested about $60 million (£30 million) to acquire an indirect interest in a U.K. real estate fund. The fund, which is unlisted, invested in office properties in the West End of London. San Francisco-based Liquid Realty’s niche is giving limited partners in such funds a way to cash out of their investments early. The company has committed over $1 billion in equity capital to indirect real estate investments since 2006, ranging from small, single-fund interests, to large multi-fund portfolios, and including both domestic and overseas…