Uncategorized

Is the other shoe in the ongoing financial crisis the failing solvency of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Statements yesterday by long-standing Fannie Mae critic William Poole, former St. Louis Federal Reserve president, questioned the two companies’ solvency, and sent their share prices on a roller coaster ride. According to Poole, who is now a fellow at the Cato Institute, Freddie Mac owed $5.2 billion more than its assets were worth in the first quarter of 2008, thus making it insolvent under fair value accounting rules. Moreover, the fair value of its assets fell 66 percent to $12.2 billion during…

Miami-based Distribution Management Services Inc. will soon commence the construction of 174 deluxe affordable homes in Poinciana, Fla., but the residential project won’t be your typical single-family home development. Now that DMGS has signed a letter of intent with Miami-headquartered ConeXa Products, the housing enclave, located about 30 miles south of Orlando, will become the first in the State of Florida to be powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology. Can the widespread application of this technology at commercial properties be too far behind? ConeXa, a distributor for Beaverton, Ore.-based Hydra Fuel Cell Corp., will provide HydraStax hydrogen fuel cells for…

Located in the heart of Soho, surrounded by cast-iron buildings and a cutting edge neighborhood, 350 West Broadway (pictured), between Grand and Broome Streets, is set to house eight full-floor residences. The two- and three-bedroom units, which will be ready occupancy in September 2009, will range in size from 2,875 square feet to 3,539 square feet. Prices start at $9,575,000. The building is being developed by Aby Rosen of RFR Holding LLC, which also owns the Lever House and the Seagram Building. In a statement, Rosen said, “With 350 West Broadway, we worked to create an exclusive address that represented…

Gerald Wolkoff, principal of Heartland Development, and his son, David, have devised a phased plan to complete a 9,300-unit project on the 462-acres of the former Pilgrim State Psychiatric Hospital in Brentwood, N.Y., on Long Island.In a recent meeting with the Long Island Regional Board, the father and son pair proposed that they intend to build the mixed-use development in a series of three phases. This phased idea is an updated version of a plan that Gerald Wolkoff initially revealed in 2003, two years after he purchased the Pilgrim site from the state for $21 million. The initial phase of…

Another iconic New York skyscraper has been snapped up by a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund. The Chrysler building was acquired by the Abu Dhabi Investment Council for an undisclosed price yesterday, only one month after Dubai-based Meraas Capital L.L.C. acquired the General Motors Building for $2.8 billion in a joint venture with Boston Properties Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group. Abu Dhabi Investment Council was set to pay $800 million for the 1.2 million-square-foot building at 405 Lexington Ave., a source told Bloomberg News, which broke the story. The New York Post also reported that the fund would take a…

First Industrial Realty Trust has increased its European footprint, opening new offices in Paris, France and Düsseldorf, Germany, the company announced today. The company plans to invest in these countries’ properties through its balance sheet and its $475 million FirstCal Industrial Europe joint venture with the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), the second largest U.S. public pension fund. First Industrial is focusing on value-add acquisitions, developments and redevelopments through its balance sheet and joint venture, and will also focus on The Netherlands and Belgium, as well. The company opened offices in those countries last year. “These are both large…

In the wake of the acquisition of retail property in Denver, real estate investment advisory firm ING Clarion Partners L.L.C. has purchased more property in Denver–an office complex–as well as another office property in Santa Clara, Calif. All three of the acquisitions, which the company characterizes as value-add plays, were completed with separate joint venture partners. In Denver, ING Clarion partnered with Schnitzer West, a Seattle-based operating company, in the purchase of two office buildings totaling about 262,000 square feet. Currently known as 44 Cook and 55 Madison, the JV plans to renovate the two adjacent Cherry Creek-area buildings. The…

While deals may be slowing down, Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. has arranged two deals–one for $85 million for the Boston Harbor Garage in Boston and one for $90 million refinancing for 401 West 14th St., a 62,000-square-foot retail and office building in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. The Boston office of HFF handled the Boston Harbor deal. The 1,380-space parking garage with 30,000 square feet of street-level retail is located at 70 East India Road in downtown Boston, adjacent to the New England Aquarium and along the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a recently created boulevard with a series of parks linking several urban…

The Green Building Alliance in Pittsburgh has announced the second round of recipients for product innovation grants. The three are a partnership of Energy Wall L.L.C. and Pennsylvania State University, Drexel University, and Temple University. Aurora Sharrard, GBA’s research manager told CPN, “For the first round of grants that we awarded in December of 2007, we gave away $448,000 to a total of seven recipients. But this round was more competitive than the first. It is a peer review process, so to get through to the end is really an achievement.” The three received a total of $140,000.The Green Building…

Northwind’s Maestro software, which offers to the hospitality industry an online condo and timeshare owner management system as part of the company’s web connection package, now provides text messaging, so timeshare and condominium owners can use an cellphone to check what is going on with their property, and even to make adjust or cancel a reservation. It permits users to access information via a browser, to view performance and check the availability of their unit, reserve the unit, and to view their owner statements online. It can be used with Windows, UNIX, Linux,Terminal Services, ASP and Web platforms. Recent new…