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Commercial Real Estate Executives & Tenant End-Users to Convene for Sale Leaseback Summit: High-Level Information and Networking, October 25, Yale Club of New York
NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2012 -- /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- 250+ senior-level commercial real estate executives and leading tenants who have monetized real estate assets, or considering innovative capital-raising solutions, will gather for the inaugural Sale Leaseback Summit on October 25
Local
PS Business Parks Makes $37M Purchase
KENT VALLEY, WA- Those who follow @GlobeStcom on Twitter and @GlobeStLIVE may have seen a post teasing the announcement earlier this week, but GlobeSt.com has learned that PS Business Parks Inc. has acquired 212th Business Park, a 958,000-square-foot industrial park situated on 52 acres for $37.6 million from CBRE Global Investors.
REIT Nabs 46-Acre Office Park For $78M
BELLEVUE, WA-KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT, an affiliate of KBS Capital Advisors, has acquired QBE Corporate Campus, a sprawling, 46-acre office park here, for $78.7 million from QBE North America, a part of QBE Insurance Group Limited. The buyer will immediately rebrand the property, previously called Unigard Park, as Bellevue Technology Center, located 11 miles west of downtown Seattle and a half-mile south of Microsoft headquarters.
Portland commercial real estate climate improves
PORTLAND -- It wasn't so long ago, a drive by any block in downtown and the most visible signage was "For Lease" signs.
Those signs are still around, just not as many
Ezralow Seeks Approval for Madison of Bellevue Apartments
BELLEVUE, WA-A real estate developer from California is planning to construct a new apartment complex in Bellevue's Crossroads area. Calabasas, California-based The Ezralow Co. is seeking design review approval from Bellevue city planners for its proposed 106-unit Madison of Bellevue apartment complex.
Watumull Properties buys Portland office buildings
Hawaii-based Watumull Properties Corp. has added to its Pacific Northwest commercial real estate holdings with the purchase of three office and technology buildings in Portland, Ore.
Westlake/Terry Buildings Could Fetch $200M
SEATTLE-While the sellers could not reveal the anticipated price and no list price has been given, some industry sources unrelated to the asset speculate that the Westlake/Terry office property in the South Lake Union submarket of downtown could fetch near $200 million. Jointly owned by Vulcan Real Estate and Group Health Cooperative, the property that was recently put on the sale block consists of two adjacent buildings on a full block in the heart of the booming neighborhood, with Group Health as the anchor tenant containing 700 employees on site.
BofA Foreclosure Unit Must Heed Rules to Return: State AG
Bank of America Corp. (BAC)’s ReconTrust Co. unit, sued by Washington state for failing to comply with laws on foreclosure trustees, can’t do business there until it meets state criteria, Attorney General Rob McKenna said…….
Vulcan, Group Health seek buyer for Westlake project
Co-owners Vulcan Real Estate and Group Health are putting the full-block Westlake/Terry complex in South Lake Union up for sale.
What are those new Seattle Amazon towers going to look like?
If you're interested in what Amazon.com Inc.'s three new office towers planned for Seattle's Denny Triangle neighborhood are going to look like, the city of Seattle and architect NBBJ offer a peek.
Emerald Bay sells third Seattle apartment project to RREEF
Emerald Bay Equities has sold a third mixed-use luxury apartment project on top of Seattle's Queen Anne Hill to RREEF, a Deutsche Bank subsidiary that makes real estate investments on behalf of institutional investors.
Kemper moves ahead on $850M Lincoln Square expansion in Bellevue
Kemper Development Co. has applied for a building permit to begin work on the long-planned expansion of Lincoln Square in Bellevue.
Bothell, McMenamins forge $7M redevelopment deal
The City of Bothell has closed a roughly $7 million deal with Portland-based brewpub operator McMenamins to renovate an Art Deco school campus in downtown Bothell into a 70-room hotel, spa, pub, restaurant and cinema.
Vacant lot next to Macy's garage in Seattle sold for $22M
The long-vacant lot next to the Macy’s parking garage in downtown Seattle has been sold to a national apartment developer.
City Center Bellevue under contract for $229M sale
The 27-story City Center Bellevue building in downtown Bellevue is under contract for sale to San Diego-based American Assets Trust for approximately $229 million, the company said in a release.
National
A Texas-Size Housing Fight
GALVESTON, Texas—Four years ago, Hurricane Ike swept through this island town on the Gulf of Mexico, flooding homes, destroying property and wreaking havoc on the economy.
Now, Galveston has become the center of a different type of tempest, as local officials battle the Obama administration over plans to replace 569 public-housing units ruined by the storm.
Dawn of the Dead Mall
Officials in Charlotte, N.C., are looking to an unlikely source for help with a dead mall on the city's low-income east side: Hollywood.
After years of puzzling over what to do with Eastland Mall, Charlotte's City Council voted last week to buy the development, which consists of 1.1 million square feet of empty retail space on an 81-acre parcel, for $13.2 million.
A Chicago Exit Strategy?
Last week's news that Vornado Realty Trust VNO -2.30%landed Google Inc. GOOG -0.11%as a tenant for the Chicago Merchandise Mart, one of the city's largest office buildings, was viewed by many as a big win for downtown Chicago. But to real-estate industry executives, the deal is also a coup that may help Vornado speed up its exit from the furniture-mart business.
Cushman & Wakefield Commerce Reports Optimistic Upturn for Utah Commercial Real Estate Market in Q2
SALT LAKE CITY, UT -- (Marketwire) -- 08/07/12 -- Commerce Real Estate Solutions, an independently owned and operated member of the Cushman & Wakefield Alliance (www.comre.com), released its Marketbeat Snapshot reports detailing the second quarter status of the commercial real estate market in Utah.
Commercial Real Estate Executives & Tenant End-Users to Convene for Sale Leaseback Summit: High-Level Information and Networking, October 25, Yale Club of New York
NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2012 -- /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- 250+ senior-level commercial real estate executives and leading tenants who have monetized real estate assets, or considering innovative capital-raising solutions, will gather for the inaugural Sale Leaseback Summit on October 25
Lehman to Take Archstone Public
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed plans to take apartment giant Archstone Inc. public in a major step toward unwinding its largest real-estate investment, which helped undo the investment bank in 2008.
International
In Shanghai, High Prices Keep Lid on Real-Estate Stimulus
SHANGHAI—A visit to Niu Huiju's tiny downtown apartment offers a glimpse of why the Chinese government is resisting calls to spark the real-estate market these days.
European Mall Giant Shrugs Off the Crisis
Amid the worst financial crisis in decades, some European property companies are doing significantly better than others.
While many of its rivals are struggling with falling property values, tenant defaults and lack of financing, shopping-mall giant Unibail-Rodamco, Europe's largest listed owner of real estate with some 27.5 billion of buildings under management, last week reported 4.2% growth in earnings per share in the first half of the year.
Battle Brews Over Bund Building in Shanghai
SHANGHAI—A rare and unusually public legal battle between two of China's most prominent property developers is raising eyebrows in the industry, as well as questions about the solidity of legal agreements there.
A Big Bet on Warehouses in China
With demand from Chinese consumers ballooning for clothes, appliances, furniture and thousands of other items, Jeffrey Schwartz is making big bets on the warehouses needed to store and distribute all those goods.
U.S. investors target European commercial property: report
(Reuters) - U.S. investors became major buyers of European commercial real estate in the first half of 2012, after years of being crowded out of that market, Real Capital Analytics reported on Wednesday
MultiFamily
JPMorgan Sells 576-Unit Andante
PHOENIX-Ina move considered part of a marketplace trend, Waterton Associates LLC acquired the 576-unit Andante from JPMorgan Real Estate (operating under the entity name Andante Acquisition Corp.) for $61.3 million. The commercial real estate transaction is a value-add play, with the Chicago buyer planning upgrades to the multifamily property.
Universal Studios Gives Up Housing Plan
A $1.6 billion plan to expand the Universal Studios movie-production facility and theme park in Los Angeles is drawing closer to final government approval, but only after its backers jettisoned a part of the plan to develop housing on the property.
Advocates Take Aim at Equity Residential
When Equity Residential EQR -0.95%purchased a large number of apartment units in East Palo Alto, Calif., last year, some local leaders and housing advocates feared the multifamily giant would try to boost revenue by pushing out regulated residents.
REIT BEAT
REIT Nabs 46-Acre Office Park For $78M
BELLEVUE, WA-KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT, an affiliate of KBS Capital Advisors, has acquired QBE Corporate Campus, a sprawling, 46-acre office park here, for $78.7 million from QBE North America, a part of QBE Insurance Group Limited. The buyer will immediately rebrand the property, previously called Unigard Park, as Bellevue Technology Center, located 11 miles west of downtown Seattle and a half-mile south of Microsoft headquarters.
Firms Restructure as REITs
Faced with limited investment opportunities as the global economy slows, a growing number of companies are weighing changing their entire corporate structure to become real-estate investment trusts.
KBS Acquires QBE/Unigard Campus for $78.7M
KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT, a public non-traded real estate investment trust and affiliate of Newport Beach, CA-based KBS Capital Advisors, has acquired the QBE Corporate Campus, formerly Unigard Park - a nine-building, 46-acre office park located in Bellevue, WA, for $78.7 million, or about $238 per square foot, from QBE North America, part of Unigard Insurance Group.
Distressed
HOPE NOW Reports 385K Loan Mods in First Half of 2012
The first half of 2012 saw more than 385,000 permanent loan modifications for struggling homeowners, HOPE NOW reported Tuesday.
RE Trends
Mortgage Demand Increases, Banks Say
WASHINGTON—Nearly three in five U.S. banks surveyed by the Federal Reserve this summer said demand for loans to buy homes is growing as the housing market stabilizes and mortgage rates were falling to new lows.
Is the Real-Estate Rebound for Real?
For investors, "home" is no longer a four-letter word.
The real-estate sector, for the first time in years, is serving as a beacon of relative strength in an otherwise weak economy. Standard & Poor's on Tuesday reported that home prices in its S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index rose 0.9% in May from the prior month, after adjusting for seasonal trends, and have risen 2.6% since bottoming in January.
Commercial Property Investors Concerned
Cushman & Wakefield reports that investment in commercial real estate fell off in the second quarter of 2012. Interest in secondary assts in primary markets and dependable cash flow in secondary markets has driven sales up to 2004 and 2005 levels, but growth has slowed due to increased worry about the economy and the Eurozone debt crisis.
Western Wash. home prices up 7% from a year ago
The upward trend in home prices in Western Washington continued in July, with prices rising more than 7 percent from a year ago, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
In The Pipeline: CoStar Development & Construction News for Aug. 5-11
A sharp spike in demand for industrial facilities so far this year, along with ongoing demand for hotels and retail projects, has prompted the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to raise its outlook for construction spending growth in 2012.
RE Webcasts
2012 Emerging Trends From PwC and ULI on the Commercial Real Estate Show
The show presents an inside look at the U.S. commercial real estate market and the status / outlook for Real Estate Investment Trusts.
