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Even in the fast-growing Las Vegas market, the capital crunch continues to catch up with some developers. The entity building City Crossing, a 125-acre, $2 billion mixed-use project two miles south of Las Vegas in Henderson, Nev., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this month. The move is intended to buy time for Plise Development & Construction, the project’s developer, to refinance $180 million in debt, according to a report by Tony Illia this week in the Las Vegas Business Press. Plise COO Mitchell Stipp told the Business Press that the firm has been unable to reach terms with Community…

A Los Angeles–area developer is in a bind. He’s redeveloping a retail/restaurant strip mall and is well along with entitlement, but now he can’t get additional funding to finish that process, jeopardizing the entire project, even though the deal is sound and the property continues to generate rents. Enter a $600,000 bridge loan/second mortgage from a new commercial real estate mortgage pool fund by Wilshire Finance Partners, Los Angeles. The Wilshire Income Fund, recently launched by this start-up company, is targeted at opportunities like this, where a swing or bridge loan can save the day for a good project, Wilshire…

So, do appearances really matter? They shouldn’t, but the reality is that they most certainly do. As the old saying goes, “you only get one chance to make a first impression,” and often times it is that initial perception that determines whether or not you are even afforded the opportunity to get up to bat. In this week’s column I’ll examine how managing appearances can have a substantial impact on your personal brand and your success. In a perfect world professionals would only be judged solely on their character, skill sets, competencies and performance, but alas, we do not live…

Freddie Mac has announced the purchase of a $140 million pool of mortgages from Capmark Finance Inc.Prudential Real Estate Investors also invested in the deal with Freddie Mac. The mortgages are secured by seven senior housing properties, which include 880 rooms in two assisted living facilities and five independent living centers located in Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Virginia. The purchase has allowed the Shelter Group, a Baltimore property management firm, to refinance and recapitalize these properties.The properties involved in the deal have all been built within the last thirty years. Details of the transaction include a ten year plus…

MGM Mirage Hospitality and Diaoyutai State Guesthouse have created a joint venture to develop and manage a mixed-use project in Tianjin, China, including the opening of a MGM Grand Tianjin luxury hotel. No financials of the plan were disclosed.The joint venture signed a definitive agreement with Sinosteel International Plaza Co. to provide development and management services for Sinosteel International Plaza, which will be built in two phases and will consist of two towers, including the luxury hotel, residential, conference and office components. The MGM Grand Tianjin (pictured) will be an 88-story tower with a 350-key luxury hotel with 50 suites…

ProLogis and Browning Investments Inc. have announced that their joint venture has signed a build-to-suit lease agreement with LaCrosse Footwear Inc. The joint venture will develop a 380,000-square-foot distribution center for LaCrosse just outside of Indianapolis in Whitestown, Ind. The footwear company will relocate two existing distribution centers to the new facility, which will serve as a national distribution center. Sustainability will be a hallmark of the facility’s construction, which will incorporate local materials and an energy-efficient lighting system. Whitestown lured the company to develop there with economic incentives including tax breaks in anticipation of job creation, while the Indiana…

The National Association of Realtors has released preliminary information from its upcoming report on the state of the commercial real estate industry that asserts that times are tough, but not as tough as during the recession of the early 2000s. Its essential findings are that commercial real estate vacancies are trending up modestly, while investment has dropped sharply in the wake of the credit crunch. In the office market, the NAR report projects that office vacancy rates will increase to 13.7 percent nationally in the fourth quarter of this year, compared with 12.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007,…

Mark Rose will officially be filling the newly created position of CEO at Avison Young, the firm has just announced. Rose has also been named the CFO of the Canadian-based real estate firm. “Any time you have a vision and are given an opportunity that matches that vision, any great leader would jump on it,” Rose (pictured) said. “I’ve been given that opportunity here.” After a six-month hiatus, Rose will be bringing his real estate management experience from Grubb & Ellis Co. and Jones Lang LaSalle north of the American border. Rose most recently acted as CEO of Grubb &…

Laying the groundwork for a new continuing care retirement community in Matthews, N.C., ACTS Retirement-Life Communities has entered into a purchase agreement with a local family to acquire a 48-acre parcel less than 15 miles from Charlotte. The project, Plantation Village, could cost in excess of $150 million. Situated just across from its existing Plantation Estates CCRC, the parcel for Plantation Village will cost ACTS nearly $10 million. Tentative plans for the new project encompass 350 independent living apartments and single-family homes, as well as assisted living units and skilled care suites. Amenities will include an upscale clubhouse, a fitness…

The Austin City Council late yesterday selected a joint venture consisting of Trammell Crow Co., USAA Real Estate and Constructive Ventures Inc. to redevelop a five-block city-owned downtown site. The redevelopment (pictured), Downtown Austin’s largest to date, will consist of up to 2.6 million square feet of space, including office, retail, for-sale residential, for-rent residential, a boutique hotel, assisted living, parking and public spaces, such as five public plazas. On full build-out, the project is expected to be valued at about $750 million. The site is actually two nearly adjacent sites, one currently occupied by a water treatment plant, the…