Uncategorized

Brown Shoe Co. has decided to bring its operations in Madison, Wis., to its current headquarters location in suburban St. Louis in a move that will pave the way for the development of a new $568 million mixed-use project at the 12-acre home base.Located in the City of Clayton about 10 miles west of St. Louis, the Brown Shoe headquarters site will leave the existing 600 headquarters employees under one roof with 270 Madison staff members, and ultimately, as many as 700 more employees that will fill jobs that will be created over the next several years. In addition to…

The New York City Economic Development Corp. announced that it has selected the Related Cos. to redevelop the 575,000-square-foot Kingsbridge Armory in the Kingsbridge Heights section of the Bronx. The armory, which occupies a full city block, was built between 1912 and 1917, and features Romanesque arches, vaulted ceilings, decorative brick and terra cotta, and large battlement towers. Related’s plans for the structure, The Shops at the Armory, includes destination anchor retail development, coupled with specialty and local retail, restaurants, a cinema and community space. Other proposed features include a recreational facility, catering and banquet space, outdoor open space with…

The 147,900-square-foot office property at 333 Miami Ave. in Miami has been snapped up by Eaton Vance Corp.’s Eaton Vance Management on behalf of an investment fund under its management. The building is valued at approximately $50 million.The seller of the four-year-old property, also known as One Riverview Square, was Rubicon America, which came into possession of the building through a $560 million 14-property office portfolio purchase in July 2006. Sited downtown within view of the Miami River, the property is home to two federal government agencies that occupy the building under long-term leases; an office of the Department of…

The lodging industry will see a record year of capital investment in 2008, according to the latest forecast from PricewaterhouseCoopers.The industry will spend approximately $5.85 billion on capital expenditures in this year, a 6.4 increase over 2007, PricewaterhouseCoopers said. This record level of investment follows a recent trend, as the lodging industry set records in both 2006 and 2007 for capital spending.Setting a record for capital expenditures may seen counterintuitive, as the industry is likely to see weaker RevPar figures this year, as the economy softens. But the new expenditures are a result of some heady years in the hotel…

The disciplines of branding and corporate identity have long been personal passions of mine, and nothing within this genre holds greater fascination for me than the practice of corporate naming. This column is the first in a three part series and will discuss whether corporate naming should be handled as an internal initiative, or whether it should be outsourced to a professional naming firm. Done well, corporate naming can be one of the most powerful assets in a company’s branding arsenal. A great company name can support, energize, and leverage your brand. The right name will also create strong competitive…

The soon-to-be-named new head of New York and New Jersey’s port agency will be charged with guiding the World Trade Center redevelopment and other high-profile projects that will shape the region’s real estate market for years to come. Next week, Gov. David Paterson (pictured) is expected to appoint a successor to Anthony Shorris, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. On Thursday Shorris confirmed rumors that his departure is imminent. He will be the latest top executive Paterson has replaced since taking over for Elliott Spitzer, who quit last month in the wake of a…

The disclosure that the Linens ‘n Things home products chain is looking for strategic alternatives is the latest sign of trouble in the home-related retail sector. Yesterday the 589-store chain said in a statement that it has asked the investment banking firm Financo Inc. to evaluate strategies. The move indicates that the chain has staved off an imminent bankruptcy filing that was widely rumored last week. But the news strongly suggests that Linens ‘n Things’ management is considering putting the struggling chain up for sale. As such, the firm joins a growing roster of retailers hit hard by slowing consumer…

Grubb & Ellis Co.’s first quarter survey shows that office markets seem to have been affected by the deteriorating economy, as the overall vacancy rate rose to 13.6 percent. This is a sharp increase of 60 basis points from the 13.0 percent rate that had held steady in the prior three quarters. Of the 57 markets tracked by Grubb & Ellis, first quarter vacancy rose in 42 markets and fell in 15.Net absorption totaled 1.8 million square feet, the lowest since the second quarter of 2003. 15.1 million square feet of new space was completed during the quarter.Grubb & Ellis,…

Anthony Thompson, architect of the megamerger of NNN Realty Advisors Inc. and Grubb & Ellis Co. last year, has started a new company. His new venture, the Irvine, Calif.-based Thompson National Properties L.L.C., will focus on value-added real estate investments.Thompson has had a long history in placing investor funds during a variety of economic climates including, as he pointed out, during “four recessions.” He posited in a recent interview with CPN that even the current downturn offers opportunities to invest in real estate companies or portfolios offering competitive returns.In 1998, Thompson formed Triple Net Properties L.L.C. He oversaw the company’s…

South Korea’s National Pension Service, the world’s fifth-largest pension fund, will allocate more than $800 million to acquire overseas real estate this year, and will increase the proportion of its real estate investments that are in the United States, according to Reuters. This amount will approximately double the fund’s 2007 investments in overseas real estate; NPS only began investing in foreign real estate in 2006.  Three weeks ago, the Financial Times reported that NPS had decided to no longer buy U.S. Treasuries, because of low yields. The newspaper quoted NPS head of global investments Kwag Dae-hwan as saying, “It is…