Southern Commercial Completes 15,414 SF Lease Renewal

ORLANDO, FL.(Aug. 25, 2010) Principals Tom McFadden, SIOR and William “Bo” Bradford, CCIM, SIOR of Southern Commercial Real Estate Advisors completed a 15,414 square foot lease renewal at 4214 Metric Drive, Winter Park, Florida.

McFadden and Bradford represented the Landlord, DA Metric LLC. The Tenant is the United States Postal Service.

Media Contact: Celeste MacKenzie, 321-281-8503 cmackenzie@southerncommercialre.com

Chatham Lodging Trust Completes Acquisition of Two Hotels in Pennsylvania

PALM BEACH, FL /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE:CLDT), a hotel real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on upscale extended-stay hotels and premium-branded select-service hotels,  has completed the acquisition of two hotels as part of a previously announced four-hotel package.

 The hotels are the 86-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott® (top left photo)  in Washington, Pa. and the 105-room Courtyard by Marriott® (middle right photo) in Altoona, Pa.

 The hotels will continue to be managed by Concord Hospitality Enterprises.

The company now has closed on three of the hotels in a previously announced four-hotel portfolio. The fourth hotel, a Residence Inn by Marriott® in White Plains, N.Y., remains subject to completion of due diligence and other closing conditions as previously reported.

Chatham Lodging Trust is a self-advised real estate investment trust that was organized to invest in upscale extended-stay hotels and premium-branded select-service hotels.

The company currently owns 10 hotels with an aggregate of 1,248 rooms/suites and has three additional hotels under contract to purchase. Additional information about Chatham may be found at www.chathamlodgingtrust.com.

Contact:
Jerry Daly, Carol McCune, Daly Gray Public Relations(Media), (703) 435-6293, 
jerry@dalygray.com
 Peter Willis, Chief Investment Officer (Acquisitions),  (561) 227-1387,
pwillis@cl-trust.com

NAI Realvest negotiates renewal lease agreement for 3,395 SF at Hanging Moss CommerCenter in Orlando

MAITLAND, FL. – NAI Realvest recently negotiated a renewal agreement for the lease of 3,395 square feet of office-warehouse space at Hanging Moss CommerCenter  (top left photo)in Orlando.

Michael Heidrich, (bottom right   photo)  a principal at NAI Realvest, negotiated the agreement on behalf of the landlord COP-Hanging Moss, LLC of Maitland and the Jacksonville-based tenant, Fastenal, Inc., a worldwide distributor of fastenings and associated products, tools and equipment.

Fastenal renewed the lease of suites 140-150 at 6148 Hanging Moss Rd.

For more information contact:
Michael Heidrich, Principal, NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989 mheidrich@realvest.com
Patrick Mahoney, President, NAI Realvest 407-875-9989 pmahoney@realvest.com
Beth Payan or Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142 Lvershelco@aol.com

CORE Construction Florida Awarded Contract to Build 80,000-SF Pine Berry Adult Living Facility in Clearwater, FL

SARASOTA, FL --- CORE Construction Services of Florida, LLC was recently awarded a contract to build the Pine Berry adult congregate living facility located on S. Highland Avenue in Clearwater.

John Wiseman, (top right photo) president of CORE Construction Services of Florida, LLC said construction of the 80,000 square foot facility recently started.

The contract was awarded by Pine Berry LLC, developer of the facility which will cost approximately $8.6 million to build.

Wiseman said Pine Berry will accommodate 92 apartment residences with a group dining room and activity rooms when it opens next spring.

CORE Construction Group has been in business since 1937 and ranks as one of the nation’s largest commercial contracting companies.

CORE Construction Group is also active in Illinois, Nevada, Arizona and Texas. CORE Construction Services of Florida has offices in Sarasota.
For more information, contact
John P. Wiseman, President CORE Construction Services of Florida LLC, 6320 Tower Lane, Sarasota, FL 34240 941-552-0240.
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142

DESTIN, FL, Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Uptown Corners has been acquired by local real estate investor, Ryan D. Jumonville (bottom left  photo) , for $1.725 million.

Uptown Corners (top left photo)  is an outdoor shopping mall located in Fort Walton Beach.

This is the third commercial property purchase by Jumonville in the area this year. He previously purchased the outdoor shopping mall City Market and the Beach Community Bank Building (middle right photo)  in Destin.

Uptown Corners is currently home to Lenny's Sub Shop, Citi Financial, Dennis & Company, Queens Nails, Sprint, and Club Sun Tanning Salon.

This deal also includes an option to purchase the building next to Uptown Corners that is the current home to GulfSouth Private Bank.

"Uptown Corners is completely leased, and there is also a waiting list of tenants who are interested in this prime location," according to John Paul Somers of Destiny Realty.

"Mr. Jumonville continues to buy prime commercial property in the Northwest Florida area because he believes in the long term value of this region," said Brandon Knox, Destin Real Estate Group of NWF. Jumonville has allocated more than $20 million to invest in area.

Contact: 

 Brandon Knox of Destin Real Estate Group of NWF, +1-850-855-6030; or

John Paul Somers, Broker, EcoBroker, Green, GRI of Destiny Realty, +1-850-259-9732; or

 Brad Barousse, Chief Financial Officer/Director of Forty-Four Investments, 1-800-726-4232

Old Florida National Bank and Mercantile Capital Corp. Announce Merger Agreement

ORLANDO, FL. --- Old Florida National Bank and Mercantile Capital Corporation have entered into a merger agreement.

Old Florida National Bank (Old Florida), (middle right photo) headquartered in downtown Orlando, expects the merger to be finalized in the late fourth quarter or early first quarter of 2011.

Randy Burden, chairman of Old Florida, and Geof Longstaff, (top right photo)  chairman of Mercantile, jointly announced the merger.

(Randy Burden and son John, top left photo)

Old Florida National Bank, formed in 1982, currently operates eight full-service retail banking facilities throughout Central Florida and Inverness, Fla. and boasts over $375 million in assets

Mercantile, the seven-year-old Altamonte Springs firm that specializes in U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 loans for owners of small to mid-sized businesses who want to acquire or develop their own facilities, has provided commercial loans in 30 states and Puerto Rico for more than $513 million in total project costs since it opened as Mercantile Commercial Capital, LLC in late 2002.

“The merger substantially extends Old Florida’s capacity to engage in commercial lending,”  Randy Burden said.

“Mercantile ranks as one of the largest and best known providers of SBA-504 lending in the nation,” Burden said.

 “They have succeeded in developing a well-known and well-respected brand with a solid reputation in the small business community,” Burden added.

Longstaff, who has served as president of three banks in the area over the past three decades, said the merger brings substantial resources to bear on Mercantile’s effort to serve small business owners nationwide.

John Burden, president of Old Florida, said “the merger creates a strong, cohesive banking organization squarely focused on serving consumers, professionals and the small business sector.”

“Old Florida National Bank is a hometown bank well known for personal service to our customers and a smart, reliable approach to banking,” John Burden said.

“We are very pleased to offer Mercantile’s services to our customers and to further our service to Central Florida’s small business community,” he said.

Christopher G. Hurn, chief executive officer of Mercantile Capital Corporation, said “the merger enables Mercantile to expand its services and to help more small business owners nationally.”

“Our merger substantially expands the capital resources we can bring to the small business sector of the U.S. economy,” said Hurn.

Mercantile Capital Corporation will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Old Florida National Bank. The combined entities are estimated to have nearly $400 million in total assets upon completion of their merger, making Old Florida one of the largest Orlando-based community banks.

For more information, contact John Burden, President Old Florida National Bank, 407-388-6136

Arbor Closes $13.6M Fannie Mae DUS® Loan for Fairways Apartments in Fitchburg, WI

Uniondale, NY (Aug. 24, 2010) - Arbor Commercial Funding, LLC (“Arbor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arbor Commercial Mortgage, LLC, announced the recent funding of a $13,600,000 loan under the Fannie Mae DUS® product line for the 369-unit complex known as Fairways Apartments (top left photo)  in Fitchburg, WI.

The 10-year loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule and carries a note rate of 5.96 percent.

The loan was originated by Patrick McNulty, (lower right photo)  Director, in Arbor’s full-service Chicago, IL, lending office.

 “The borrower recently renovated the property and repositioned the asset,” McNulty said. “Following the property’s lease-up back to a stabilized level, Arbor was able to refinance the borrower’s existing debt at an attractive rate while offering pre-pay flexibility.”

Contact:  Christopher Ostrowski, costrowski@arbor.com

Marcus & Millichap Sells $53M Grocery-Anchored Community Center in Reading, PA

READING, PA– Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has brokered the sale of Exeter Commons (top left photo) , a grocery-anchored community center located at 4301 Perkiomen Ave. in Reading.

The sales price of $53 million represents approximately $149 per square foot, or a cap rate of 7.75 percent. The asset includes 356,000 rentable square feet.

Brad Nathanson, (lower right photo) a vice president of investments and senior director of the firm’s National Retail Group in Philadelphia, represented the seller, Exeter JV Associates LP. Nathanson also represented the buyer, Cedar-Exeter Commons LLC.

“Exeter Commons is one of the only premier destination shopping centers that has been developed in the past 24 months in the Philadelphia MSA,” says Nathanson.

Anchored by Giant, Lowe’s and Target, the shopping center represents the best-in-class with a stellar lineup of national tenants.

“At a time when the market has been in transition and supply constrained, demand has been on the rise for quality Class A product, among both investors and lenders,” he adds.

“We received multiple offers on this asset after taking it to market because its rent roll consists of nearly 70 percent credit tenants.

" In addition, it is anchored by the dominant credit grocer within the submarket, Giant. Consequently, this asset traded at an aggressive cap rate, given the lack of quality assets that have come to market in the past 12 to 18 months."

Press Contact: Stacey Corso, Communications Department, (925) 953-1716

CBRE Orlando: Sold Over $40M in three weeks (July 31 – Aug. 18, 2010)

ORLANDO, FL--CB Richard Ellis is pleased to announce the sale of two more multi-housing communities in Orlando over the last two weeks – their 10th and 11th apartment closings locally in 2010.

 The two most recent sales, Esplanade and Heathbrook, occurred in separate transactions to different buyers and sold for more than $40 million.

Shelton Granade (top right photo)  and Luke Wickham (top left photo)  of CBRE’s Central Florida Multi-Housing Group exclusively represented the sellers on both assignments.

Buyer interest in multi-housing assets in Central Florida has increased significantly over the last few months. CBRE currently has several other properties under contract, and is generating more than 40 offers on some widely marketed offerings.

 For further information, please contact the Central Florida Multi-Housing Group of CB Richard Ellis.

 Contacts:

Shelton Granade, Senior Vice President, Central Florida Multi-Housing Group,
 T 407 839 3103,  F 407 404 5001, mailto:shelton.granade@cbre.com
Luke Wickham, Director of Operations, Central Florida Multi-Housing Group,
T 407.839.3130, luke.wickham@cbre.com

Hunter Realty Announces Opening of Miami Office

Stephen Taylor Joins Firm as Vice President to Head Up New Office

ATLANTA, August 25, 2010—Hunter Realty, a leading national hotel investment advisory services firm, today announced the opening of a new office in Miami, Florida that will focus primarily on the Florida and Caribbean markets. Stephen Taylor (top right photo)  joins the company as vice president and will lead hotel brokerage services in Miami.

“As our hotel investment advisory services continue to grow, we seek the best talent to expand and complement our extensive expertise obtained over the past 30-plus years," said Teague Hunter, (top left photo) President of Hunter Realty.

" With the opening of this office, our seventh nationwide, and with the addition of top talent like Steve, we are well positioned to assist buyers and sellers as the hotel real estate market recovers.

“We believe Florida and especially Miami, Orlando and Tampa will be hotbeds of activity over the next 24 to 36 months as the economy recovers and the debt issues facing hundreds of hotel owners finally get resolved.

“We were especially attracted by Steve’s more than 30 years of specialized hotel/real estate experience as a broker, operator, developer and consultant. He brings unparalleled experience and expertise in Florida hotel real estate and adds significant depth to our national network with his strong, local, first-hand knowledge of multiple markets.”

Previously, Taylor served as managing director of the Miami office of a national hotel brokerage and consulting services firm.
Additional information, including current listings, is available at the company’s website http://www.hunterhotels.net/ or contacting the company’s Atlanta office at 770-916-0300.

Contact:  Patrick Daly, media, (703) 435-6293, patrick@dalygray.com