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The rate of U.S. travel by foreign consumers has increased steadily during the past six years but remains below pre-Sept. 11, 2001, levels, noted Bjorn Hanson (pictured), partner in the hospitality and leisure practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P., during CPN’s sixth annual Hotel Leaders Roundtable. The conversation among eight leading hotel sector executives, which took place this morning while executives were in New York City for New York University’s International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, focused on challenges and opportunities in the current economy but spanned an array of areas of the business. While inbound overseas travelers provided 12.8 percent of revenues…

Beijing Vantone Real Estate Co. has reportedly signed a nonbinding deal to lease space in the Freedom Tower, making it the first private firm to agree to occupy the 102-story skyscraper now under construction at the former World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan.According to a New York Times report, the space will be used to build the China Center, a combination chamber of commerce and cultural center, on floors 64 through 69 of the Freedom Tower, at the southeast corner of West and Vesey Streets. Vantone has been close to deals at two other sites Downtown–7 World Trade Center…

The Rezidor Hotel Group is expanding its presence in Dubai with the development of two hotels with a total of 450 rooms set to open in the United Arab Emirates city by late 2011. The company will build the Radisson DMCC Business Park Hotel, a 32-story complex with 150 rooms, and a second hotel with 300 rooms in cooperation with DMCC Business Park in the DMCC Freezone. The Radisson will feature three restaurants, a bar, a pub, ballroom, executive lounge, meeting rooms and fitness center. The second hotel, which has not been branded, will have its own restaurant and lobby…

Avanath Capital Partners and MacFarlane Costa Housing Partners have acquired Simpson Housing Solutions and its portfolio of 273 properties as part of the initial capital deployment for Avanath Capital Partners’ first fund offering in a development arm to be spun off to MacFarlane Costa Housing Partners. The portfolio–which sold for an undisclosed amount–totals 26,000 affordable rental apartments in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. “We knew this company very well and I had a longstanding relationship with it and I knew it was a very well ran company. The asset quality of the portfolio was very high….

A little more than two years after acquiring the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel (pictured) for approximately $400,000 per room, Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. has sold the property for $366.5 million–or approximately $505,000 per room–to Next Century Associates L.L.C. Sunstone acquired the hotel in October 2005 and implemented a $36 million improvement program that included conducting a major renovation, installing Hyatt as the new manager and positioning the hotel to maximize its appeal to both group and business travelers. As a result of the improvements made to the spaces and the additions of services including a health club and lounge,…

ProLogis has signed new lease agreements totaling 910,000 square feet at two major distribution parks in Europe with Kuehne + Nagel, a global logistics provider. The first lease, totaling 540,000 square feet, is for space at ProLogis Park Wellingborough, a 1.15 million-square-foot distribution park located in England’s East Midlands area. Kuehne + Nagel plans to operate the facility on behalf of several clients including Whitbread Plc, the United Kingdom’s largest hotel and restaurant company. The second lease, totaling 370,000 square feet is at ProLogis Park Isle d’ Abeau (pictured), a 4.5 million-square-foot distribution park located in the city of Lyon,…

In the aftermath of the tower crane collapse in New York City last Friday that killed two construction workers and seriously injured a third, the office of the Manhattan district attorney has opened a criminal investigation into the accident. That collapse also caused severe damage when it crashed into a 23-story apartment building across the street, at 354 E. 91st St., damaging 45 of 169 apartments units there. The specific allegation, according to a report in the New York Times, is that part of the Kodiak crane used at the site, on East 91st Street, had been damaged at another…

Triple Net Properties L.L.C. has been spared by the Securities and Exchange Commission in its investigation of the real estate company, which came under the ownership of Grubb & Ellis Co. last December in a reverse merger with Triple Net’s affiliated holding company, NNN Realty Advisors. The SEC concluded the investigation with a recommendation of no enforcement action. The SEC initiated “In the matter of Triple Net Properties L.L.C. in 2004, requesting information from the company regarding its disclosure in public and private securities offerings related to the offering of the sale of units from July 11, 2003 through October…

Centro Properties, which has struggled with debt since the early days of the credit crunch, has managed to keep the wolf at the door at bay a little longer, negotiating a new deadline of December 15 to deal with some its debt. About $2.7 billion in debt–mostly owed to Australian creditors–is affected by the new deadline. Another part of Centro’s overall debt, about $450 million owed to U.S. creditors, has also been extended to September 30, as a result of the aforementioned agreement with the company’s other creditors on the December deadline. “The extensions provide us with breathing space,” a…

When Blue Sea Development completed the South Bronx’s 64-unit Morrisania Homes community in August 2007, it marked the first affordable housing development in New York state to receive the LEED for Homes designation. Financed by the New York State Affordable Housing Corp., the project, which features two- and three-family homes, met U.S. Green Building Council standards for water efficiency, sustainable site planning, energy materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality and design process. Morrisania Homes’ achievement represents the push to develop housing that is affordable yet environmentally sustainable.    Also taking part in the movement is Capitol Hill Housing, which utilized…