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While projects across the country move to the back burner while waiting for the economy to turn around, in Las Vegas development continues to move forward.  The December opening of the eco-friendly Palazzo Las Vegas yielded the project (pictured) a Silver LEED certification on the heels of the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s story that the Palazzo’s developer, Las Vegas Sands Corp., plans to replace its existing convention center with a $680 million facility. With an economic downturn making headlines nationally, how can Sands afford to move forward? Because Las Vegas has one of the most robust economic foundations in the nation,…

Merrill Lynch has announced that it will target the Pacific Rim in a new fund that will be valued at an estimated $2.5 billion to $3 billion. According to an April 13 article by Reuters, the investment banking concern plans to target a range of commercial real estate properties in Australia, India, Japan and other areas with the fund.  Damian Chunilal, head of Pacific Rim origination for Merrill Lynch, revealed the plans for raising multi-billion fund to Reuters at the Boao Forum for Asia that was held in the Chinese province of Hanian two days ago. Given the current state of…

In response to last week’s announcement by Blue Capital that it had increased its ownership stake in French retailing giant Carrefour, the retailer has stated that its strategic plans are unchanged, according to a Reuters report.   Blue Capital, a holding company jointly owned by the holding company of French billionaire Bernard Arnault and U.S. property group Colony Capital, had raised its stake in Carrefour from 9.1 percent to 10.7 percent. Blue Capital is now the single largest shareholder in Carrefour, even though it first started buying into the retailer only a year ago, according to Reuters. Based on revenue, Carrefour…

Retailer bankruptcies have been rife in recent months, with a variety of chains filing for bankruptcy protection in the wake of debts that are hard to refinance, slumping sales or both. Furniture stores Levitz and Wickes, the upscale electronics chain Shaper Image, housewares seller Fortunoff, and the catalog retailer Lillian Vernon are among the recentwave of belly-up retailers–and they won’t be the last, say observers, as the economy remains sluggish.The last time there was such a high number of retailer bankruptcies in such a short period was during the recession of the early 1990s, when such major names as Allied…

Industrial property giant ProLogis has released its second “Sustainability Report,” describing the company’s environmental and social initiatives to promote sustainable practices in both its properties and the countries in which it operates.  The report is an example of the growing trend of public corporations not only reporting their financials–which is a legal obligation–but also their green efforts, which is voluntary.  The report outlines several sustainability projects and initiatives undertaken by the company since it published a similar report last year. For example, ProLogis has decided to develop all new warehouses to national green building standards in the United States and…

Construction has begun on the first phase of Patrick Square, a 415-home development in Clemson, S.C. Phase I encompasses 65 single-family and paired homes along with a community center.The developer, Patrick Square L.L.C., which is owned by Michael Cheezem, who also owns JMC Communities in St. Petersburg, Fla., are pursuing EarthCraft Community certification for sustainable residential development.Phase II plans include a Town Center with roughly 180,000 square feet of retail and office space, as well as an open Town Square. The Town Center will also be the site of the Charles K. Cheezem Education Center for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute…

Banyan Tree Group has announced that it will open the Banyan Tree Residences Mayakoba in early 2009, located on the southeast shore of Mexico’s Riviera Maya,  ten minutes from Playa del Carmen. The resort will be developed by OHL, based in Madrid.Banyan Tree Residences Mayakoba (pictured) will contain 50 ownership villas, as well as the 132-villa Banyan Tree Mayakoba Hotel and Resort. The one,- two-, and three bedroom ownership villas be between 4,000 to 6,000 square feet each, and will be offered for sale at prices ranging from $1 million to $6 million. Owners will also have access to hotel…

How to make the most of your real estate brand was spotlighted yesterday in a panel titled “Achieving Peak Occupancy with Effective Branding,” one of nine sessions during the inaugural session at Multi-Housing Forum (pictured), held in Chicago. This one-day program, sponsored by Multi-Housing News, attracted about 160 attendees to the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place where they heard updates on a wide variety of topics from financing issues to green buildings and transit-oriented developments (TODs).Nancy Walker, president of Walker Brands, a Tampa, Fla.-based firm that just opened new corporate headquarters built with LEED certification in mind, outlined the comprehensive process…

In the first quarter of 2008, developers delivered about 3.2 million square feet of office space in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region but managed to lease only 1.3 million square feet.  Most of the absorption was the result of pre-leasing activity that occurred several years ago, according to Rob Hartley, CB Richard Ellis’ research manager for the Washington-Baltimore market and the author of a CB Richard Ellis report, released today, on the Greater Washington Office Markets. “Looking back to 2005, the absorption rates were double and that’s when developers were breaking ground on those buildings,” Hartley (pictured) told CPN today….

Miami-based Omega Commercial Finance Corp. has executed a letter of intent to merge with a top California-based real state owner and developer. The assets involved in the deal are valued at an estimated total of $1 billion.”Part of our strategy is to acquire properties and initiate loans on properties to increase shareholder value,” Jon Cummings IV, Omega president & CEO, told CPN today. “We will do mid-range lending. A lot of lenders are strapped because of the current situation in the industry. This merger gives us the opportunity to take advantage of that with major developers who are stagnant.”The main…