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Brocade Communications, a Silicon Valley network communications manufacturer, has bought three parcels of land in San Jose, Calif., where it plans to build a new headquarters in a sale and development deal worth at least $223 million. The San Jose-based company paid MFP/Hunter @First Office Partners L.L.C. $50.9 million for the unimproved building parcels, according to a filing the Securities and Exchange Commission. As part of the transaction, Brocade hired MFP/Hunter@First Development Partners L.L.C.–a subsidiary of the seller–to develop 562,000 square feet of office space in the three buildings and a parking garage. The filing states Brocade will pay the…

Kimpton Hospitality Partners II, which recently closed a $246 million equity fund, is investing in the development of a new property in Chicago, the Hotel Palomar. Scheduled to open in the fall of 2009, the 35-story, mixed-use tower will be located at 505 North State St., two blocks west of the North Michigan Ave. retail district. Plans for the hotel portion of the development call for 261 rooms, including 20 suites, with one large presidential suite, and a street-level restaurant and bar at the corner of State and Illinois streets. Above the hotel will be about 121 corporate housing units…

GE Real Estate Europe has jumped aboard the Capital France Hotel fund, joining BNP Paribas Assurance as a founding limited partner. The two companies intend to grow CFH’s assets under management to $1.5 billion by the end of 2010 by investing in hotels across the Euro zone, Scandinavia and Central and Eastern Europe. Capital France Hotel is managed by Algonquin Asset Management France. It currently owns and manages a portfolio of nine three- and four-start hotels in urban locations under Rezidor brands The fund plans to focus on mature markets, especially Germany, France and Space, but will also keep a…

Coastal Marina, an affiliate company of privately-held Coastal Development, announced that it has come to an agreement with Trump Entertainment Resorts and will purchase the 14-acre Trump Marina Hotel Casino property for $316 million. This agreement includes a reportedly non-returnable deposit of $15 million on the part of the buyer, a large incentive to complete the deal. Coastal Development has plans, after the closing is final, to retrofit the entire resort and rebrand it as Margaritaville. The Trump Marina Hotel Casino property now includes a 27-story hotel building with some 700 guest rooms, about 58,000 square feet of convention, ballroom…

Ownership of an historic office building and a new office project in Washington, D.C., has officially changed hands, with Dweck Properties’ acquisition of the two assets from The JBG Cos. A $241.1 million financing package paved the way for Dweck’s reported $375 million purchase of the properties, which will account for a total of approximately 461,000 square feet of premier office space. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. played a significant role in the trade. The real estate services firm orchestrated the disposition of JBG’s properties at 51 Louisiana Ave. and 300 New Jersey Ave. on Capitol Hill, and arranged for Dweck…

Hiroki Saito, who played a key role in establishing Japan’s first REIT as an executive with Mitsui Fudosan Co., has been named CEO of Mitsui Fudosan America as the subsidiary continues with its expansion efforts in the United States. Saito, with more than 20 years of commercial real estate leasing and investment experience, takes over from Kosei Murakamo, who has been promoted to head of international operations at corporate headquarters in Japan. Saito (pictured) relocates from Tokyo to the company’s U.S. headquarters at 1251 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan. His most recent position with the company was serving as…

On the heels of a major office building acquisition yesterday in Honolulu, as reported by CPN, Pacific Office Properties Trust Inc. has bought the 370,400-square-foot U.S. Bank Center complex in Phoenix. The 31-story office structure is the second-tallest building in Arizona, after the Chase Tower, and the deal also includes a separate seven-level structure with additional parking and ground-floor retail space. Besides the bank of the same name, U.S. Bank Center’s major tenants include Jacobs Engineering Group, a major architectural and engineering firm, and Valley Metro Rail, which is overseeing the city’s new light rail transit project. Consistent with its…

Plans for one of the residential centerpieces of BLVD Place, a 21-acre mixed-use project being developed by Wulfe & Co. in Houston’s Uptown area, move forward with the purchase of a nearly 1.5-acre parcel at the site by Hanover Co. and MetLife Inc. Hanover and MetLife plan to build an upscale, 236-unit apartment building (pictured) on the land just acquired from Wulfe. The architectural firm of Solomom Cordwell and Buenz designed what will be a 37-story tower that will also feature a screening room, library and fitness facility. The building will be surrounded by the mixed-use development’s vast offerings, which…

The Department of Justice and the National Association of Realtors have reached a settlement on an anti-trust suit regarding the listing of internet-based real estate brokers. NAR will now be required to allow internet-based brokers to compete with traditional real estate brokers. The DOJ brought suit against NAR, the industry’s trade organization, in order to level the playing field for the internet outfits and increase consumers’ choice and competition in the real estate industry. NAR has agreed to a 10-year agreement to abide by the terms of the settlement. DOJ initially filed suit against NAR in 2005, charging that its…

Adding to its Honolulu office presence and increasing its status as Hawaii’s largest office building owner, Pacific Office Properties Trust Inc., the West Coast office building REIT, acquired the Kalakaua Business Center in Waikiki district for an undisclosed amount. The Class A office building is located at the entrance to one of the world’s leading visitor destinations. The Kalakaua Business Center has approximately 152,000 leasable square feet on nine floors and includes 29,000 square feet of ground floor retail space. Its location on the corner of Kalakaua Avenue and Beach Walk is immediately adjacent to the new Waikiki Beach Walk…