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How well do you really know your customer? Let me put this as simply as I can. If you want to succeed in business you must be in touch with the demands of the marketplace. While many businesses think they understand their customers, few of them really do. What most companies view as an understanding of their customer’s wants, needs, and desires more often reflects their own internal biases, perceptions, and judgments. In this week’s column I’ll share a few tips that will help your business succeed by achieving a better understanding of your customer’s needs. If you desire to…

The controversial sale of the nation’s biggest federally subsidized housing complex is moving forward under an unusual number of watchful eyes. This week, approximately eight entities submitted bids for Spring Creek Towers, a nearly 6,000-unit complex on Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn, N.Y., that is almost universally known by its original name, Starrett City. The scale of the property (pictured), which has 46 residential towers, a 124,000-square-foot retail center, schools and even its own power plant, will probably make Starrett City the subject of one of the nation’s biggest multi-family sales of the year. Despite the size of the project, however,…

Development of Eighth Avenue Place, a 2 million-square-foot office and retail property in Calgary, AB, takes a big step forward as Supermétal Structures Inc. comes on board to install the 11,000 tons of structural steel that will serve as the skeleton for the 50-story high-rise involved in the two-tower project. Matco Investments is behind the $1 billion project (pictured). Supermétal was chosen for the job by EllisDon Construction, the contractor for Eighth Avenue Place–more familiarly known as Penny Lane Towers–on behalf of Matco. Situated downtown in the heart of the city’s Financial District on a parcel that had been home…

Today’s departure of Scott Peters as CEO of Grubb & Ellis Co. may be the most dramatic change at the top since the firm’s merger with NNN Realty Advisors last December, and industry insiders say that more changes may be in store. “It’s going through the trials and tribulations of acquisition,” an executive with knowledge of the recent dynamics at Grubb & Ellis told CPN today, speaking on condition of anonymity. Grubb & Ellis disclosed Peters’ move this morning in a statement, saying only that he had left to pursue other interests and that the resignation is effective immediately. Gary…

Flagler Development Group of Coral Gables, Fla., has made more than $200 million in office and industrial space acquisitions recently, including the purchase of two Orlando office properties for a total of $92.5 million. The Miami office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. announced that it had represented Flagler in the acquisition of Reserve at Maitland, three buildings which sold for $39.56 million, and Maitland Promenade, a five-story , Class A office building with about 230,000 square feet which sold for $52.94 million. Reserve at Maitland is located at 30, 65 and 70 South Keller Road and has a total of…

China will command the world spotlight next month when it hosts the 2008 Olympics, but retailers and developers will continue to look toward the world’s largest nation as a growth market long after the last gold medal is awarded. During the next three to five years, upwards of 300 new malls will come on line in China, estimates Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak RCT, a retail traffic consultant. The staggering statistic comes as no surprise; a study published this year by CB Richard Ellis Inc. found that 40 percent of the top 226 international retailers already operate stores in China—the…

Dallas-based Riverstone Residential Group has been awarded the management of 2,372 units in eight states. Riverstone added 14 apartment communities to its management portfolio for a new total of 192,000 apartment units under its umbrella. The properties are located in California, Connecticut, Idaho, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. “Being a national company, we have 37 offices in 30 states and we’re always looking for opportunities for what we consider to be organic growth. It happens in a number of ways. It may be a new management company or we may have an asset and see an under-developed property…

P & H Associates has sold The Wimbledon luxury apartment building in Manhattan to JP Morgan Investment Management in a $150 million deal. The 230-unit Wimbledon (pictured) is located at 200 East 82nd Street, near Central Park, in the heart of luxury hotels, multi-million dollar residences, four-star restaurants and high-end retail. The apartment complex encompasses 28 stories, and includes 6,000 square feet of street-level retail that is leased and occupied by Citibank. The building has been renovated since it was first opened in 1980, having seen upgrades for the roof, kitchens, elevators, hallways and windows. The deal was handled by…

Manhattan’s Lipstick Building, the distinctive elliptical high-rise at 885 Third Avenue, has undergone a successful restructuring of its financing with Goldman Sachs. In addition to restructuring the preferred-equity portion of the building’s financing, owners Metropolitan Real Estate Investors L.L.C. have increased their stake in the property (pictured). “The restructuring of the Lipstick Building’s financing reflects the enduring value of prime commercial real estate in the heart of Manhattan,” Metropolitan chairman Haim Revah said in a prepared statement. The Wall Street Journal has reported that a $60 million preferred-equity loan to Metropolitan and its partners from Goldman Sachs was due today…

Seeking capital to pursue healthcare real estate opportunities, NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. said today its healthcare real estate venture, Wakefield Capital L.L.C., sold $100 million in convertible preferred equity interest to Inland American Real Estate Trust Inc. New York City-based NorthStar will receive about $90 million of the net proceeds in the deal, the REIT announced today. Inland American, an affiliate of The Inland Real Estate Group of Companies Inc., headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., could convert the preferred equity into a 42 percent ownership stake. It will yield a dividend of 10.5 percent prior to conversion, according to a…