Uncategorized

Washington, D.C.’s bid to revitalize a neglected area along the Anacostia River takes a giant leap forward as city officials choose Clark Realty Capital’s proposal for a $2.5 billion mixed-use project. Clark Realty will take on the task of converting a 110-acre site along the east side of the river into a veritable city within a city. The proposal encompasses a residential element–30 percent of which must be reserved as affordable housing to accommodate the various income levels within that designation–,retail, a school and, as mandated by the land transfer agreement between the federal government and the city, a 70-acre…

Long Island, N.Y., is not known for dense development, but a proposal is afoot for a $145 million mixed-use redevelopment in Suffolk County.TRITEC Development Group, an affiliate of TRITEC Real Estate Co., wants to build a nine-story development in Patchogue, a village located about 50 miles east of Manhattan on the island’s southern shore. The firm is in the midst of assembling four parcels plus a village-owned parking lot encompassing approximately 2.5 acres in Patchogue’s shopping district, Rob Loscalzo, chief operating officer of TRITEC Real Estate, told CPN this afternoon. One parcel is the former site of Swezey’s department store,…

A fourth quarter 2007 report from the National Association of Realtors has some bright spots for multi-family developers, as well as some news that is not so good.The NAR report looked at 59 metro areas in its survey of condo and cooperative prices. The good news is that 33 metro areas showed annual increases in prices, including four locations that had double-digit increases. The bad news is that 26 areas had price declines, including four places that saw double-digit price drops. The national median existing condominium price was $221,000 in the fourth quarter of 2007, nearly the same as $221,200…

According to a statement filed with the Australian Securities Exchange by Centro Properties Group, the company now has more time to deal with its roughly $3.5 billion debt problems. About a dozen Centro creditors, including major Australian banks and Bank of America, JP Morgan and Wachovia, agreed to the deal just ahead of the expiration of the previous extension, slated for today. Part of the debt, about $2 billion, has been extended until the end of April. Much of the rest, especially that associated with the company’s foray into the United States, has been extended to Sept. 30. The debt…

Despite the volatility in the U.S. capital markets, neighboring Canada’ s fundamentals and investment activity remain strong, DTZ Barnicke has found in its annual Global Views report. Last year was a strong year for investment activity, as both foreign and domestic investors continues to eye Canada’s attractiveness. Despite any impact on the global capital markets in 2008, Canada will continue to see positive investment activity, the report noted. Overall, rising prices for energy resources and lower interest rates are fueling economic growth that is driving down vacancies and spurring new development, noted Christopher Ridabock, DTZ Barnicke’s CEO (pictured). The country…

IDI, an industrial real estate company based in Atlanta, has announced plans for a 1.3 million-square-foot business park to be built on 129 acres the firm bought in Fort Pierce, Fla., for $17 million.The park will offer a mix of Class A warehouse and distribution space in buildings ranging from 140,000 square feet to more than 400,000 square feet. Construction on the first building will begin in the summer. Larry Dinner, vice president of leasing for IDI in Florida, said the first offering would be a 150,000-square-foot speculative building that could be used for warehouse, distribution or light manufacturing. “We…

ProLogis Inc. will develop 262,000 square feet of warehouse space in the United Kingdom for Teva, a pharmaceutical supplier, it has announced. The new building is located at ProLogis at Glasshoughton, being developed near Leeds, England. Building is slated to begin this month, and it is scheduled to be ready for occupation in the fall. The new site will serve as the company’s primary U.K. logistics center and corporate headquarters. Teva, the largest supplier for U.K.’s public funded National Health Service, currently employs about 1000 people in the region, and will be moving from a smaller facility to the new…

Inland American Lodging Corp. has completed the acquisition of a 22-hotel portfolio on behalf of Inland American Real Estate Trust Inc., including both upscale and upper upscale properties.All together, Inland American paid about $900 million for the 4,061-room portfolio to seller RLJ Urban Lodging Fund, an affiliate of RLJ Development L.L.C., a privately held hotel owner controlled by Robert Johnson, billionaire founder of Black Entertainment Television.According to Inland American Lodging, the properties are in markets with strong barriers to entry and which are less sensitive to the slings and arrows of economic misfortune, including Boston, Baltimore, Chicago and Washington, D.C….

In a long and bumpy attempt to alleviate a $7 billion debt on a portfolio of premier Manhattan office buildings, Macklowe Properties faces yet another obstacle as Leslie Dick Worldwide Ltd. appeals a judge’s ruling in favor of Macklowe regarding its plan to generate funds through the disposition of the 1.8 million-square-foot General Motors Building. Macklowe has put the trophy property on the market in an effort to repay one particular loan that was part of its debt financing package for the acquisition of the portfolio from Equity Office Properties last year.Originally developed in 1968, the 50-story GM Building sits…

As retailers nationwide feel the financial pinch, Westcor, the largest owner-manager of commercial properties in Arizona, has delayed the opening of its Phoenix-area Estrella Falls regional mall from 2009 to 2010. The 2-million-square-foot Estrella Falls open-air regional shopping center (pictured) will include a combination of department stores, lifestyle shopping, dining, entertainment and a streetscape with 30 acres of open space. The project was originally scheduled to open in fall 2009. Now, it has been pushed back to fall 2010. Tenants already in place, including Dillard’s and Harkins Theaters, remain committed to the development, according to Westcor information. “We made the…