Grubb & Ellis Commercial Florida Negotiates Sublease for 4,000 SF of Downtown Tampa Office Space at 100 N. Tampa St.

TAMPA - Grubb & Ellis Commercial Florida, associated with 130 offices worldwide, recently negotiated a sublease agreement for 4,000 square feet of class A office space in the 100 N. Tampa Street building in downtown Tampa.

Richard Andretta (top right photo), SIOR, vice president in the firm’s Office Group and associate Rob Turner (lower left photo) negotiated the sublease representing the new subtenant Grubb & Ellis Company, who will occupy suite 2450 in the building for a new southeast regional office headed by senior vice president Tim Rivers and executive managing director Randy Buddemeyer.

The sublandlord is HKS Architects, Inc., a Texas corporation.

Contacts:
Richard Andretta SIOR 813-639-1111 Ext 255;
Jeffrey Sweeney SIOR President 407-481-5387;
Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142

Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. Arranges $6.7M in Refinancing Loans

ENCINO, CA– Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation (MMCC) has arranged $6,775,000 in loans to refinance two multifamily assets. The properties and loan amounts are:

A 44-unit apartment complex in Canoga Park, Calif., $3,000,000
A 132-unit multifamily property in Hurst, Texas, $3,775,000

Sharone Sabar (top left photo), a director in the firm’s Encino office, arranged the loans.

“The Canoga Park property was stabilized but the lender was concerned that the trailing 12-month operating statement did not underwrite to the borrower’s loan request,” says Sabar.

 “I was able to mitigate the property’s poor operating history with the borrower’s financial strength and the strong rental market in Canoga Park.

"Through negotiation, the lender agreed to use a trailing three-month income history rather than a trailing 12-month,” adds Sabar.  “This enabled us to underwrite to the borrower’s loan request.”

The Canoga Park apartment loan has a 5.05 percent interest rate, fixed for seven years with a 30-year amortization. The loan to value is 72 percent.

“The Hurst property is located in a tertiary Texas market and was challenging to place,” continues Sabar.

 “The property had not been performing well due to poor third-party management and the borrower needed long-term nonrecourse debt and a quick close.

"MMCC was able to close the deal within 45 days, two days prior to the maturity date of the borrower’s previous loan,” concludes Sabar.

The Hurst multifamily property loan has a 5.27 percent interest rate, fixed for 10 years with a 30-year amortization. The loan to value is 65 percent.

Contact: Stacey Corso, Public Relations Manager, (925) 953-1716

Marcus & Millichap Sells 38-Unit Apartment Building in Tampa, FL

TAMPA, FL, Aug. 27, 2010 – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has announced the sale of Holiday Oaks,(lower left photo)  a 38 unit Apartments property located in Tampa, FL, according to Bryn D. Merrey, Regional Manager of the firm’s Tampa office.

 The asset commanded a sales price of $1,025,000.

Michael P. Regan, (top right photo)  a senior investment specialist in Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a limited liability company.

 The buyer, a nonprofit organization that utilized the City of Tampa’s neighborhood stabilization program, was also secured by Michael P. Regan.

Holiday Oaks is located at 5126 North Habana Avenue. The property was built in 1981 and is comprised of 38 units.

 It is well situated with frontage on Habana Avenue and situated just south of Hillsborough Avenue, a main, east-west thoroughfare of Tampa.

Just west of the property is Dale Mabry Highway, the main north-south thoroughfare of Tampa.

Press Contact: Bryn D. Merrey, Regional Manager, Tampa, (813) 387-4700

Brad Brown Joins Cortland Partners as Chief Acquisitions Officer

Atlanta, GA (Aug. 27, 2010) – Brad Brown (top right photo) has joined Atlanta-based multifamily real estate firm Cortland Partners as Chief Acquisitions Officer.

“Brad has more than 20 years direct experience in multifamily acquisitions and dispositions, handling more than $1.2 billion worth of transactions involving more than 200 rental communities,” said Cortland Partners president Steven DeFrancis. “He has the skills we need as we aggressively pursue new deals.”

Brown has in-depth knowledge of several key markets throughout the Southeast; Washington, D.C. metro area; Texas and Colorado.

Before joining Cortland Partners, he headed the real estate investment division of Southeast Capital, where he was a senior partner.

He previously spent ten years as principal and executive vice president – acquisitions and disposition at Miles Properties, where he was instrumental in the company’s expansion into 22 cities in 11 states.

 A licensed real estate broker, he earned his business degree from the University of Kentucky, Lexington. His first day at the firm was August 9.

Cortland Partners also recently announced that it acquired and is renovating two apartment communities in metro Atlanta - Avalon on Montreal (middle left and right photos) apartments in DeKalb County, and Northchase Apartments in Dunwoody. Plus, the $25 million first phase of construction is underway on West M Apartments in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Cortland Partners is an innovative, progressive, full service multifamily real estate acquisition and development firm specializing in unique, financially successful, intown developments.

Cortland views opportunities from a different perspective, and takes an investment-management approach to its projects.

This helps the firm build thoughtful and interesting homes in unique locations that are site-specific, culturally relevant to their neighborhoods, profitable for investors and partners, and perfectly suited to residents.

For more information, visit http://www.cortlandpartners.com/

Contact: Terri Thornton, 404-687-8760 404-932-4347 (Cell), http://www.territhornton.com/

Expedia Shares Perspective on New Orleans' Resurgence as Travel Destination

As city marks fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, online travel leader looks back at New Orleans’ road to recovery

BELLEVUE, WA.– Aug.t 27, 2010 – Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE), parent company to online travel sites Expedia.com® and Hotels.com®, in cooperation with the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau, is recognizing the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina this week.

Members of the Expedia® market management team in New Orleans are looking back over the past five years and offering perspective on the immediate impact the disaster had on New Orleans’ tourism industry, and honoring the city’s resilience and dedication to rebuilding one of the nation’s most popular tourist destinations.

Data on hotel bookings to New Orleans made on Expedia and Hotels.com-branded sites worldwide shows the dramatic decline in hotel bookings by nearly 70 percent year over year for the three-months before Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005 vs. the same three-month period one year later.

Since then, hotel bookings on Expedia and Hotels.com sites have steadily increased.

The data is consistent with a recent business and economic report by the University of New Orleans (UNO), showing that the city’s tourism industry was the hardest-hit during the first two years after Hurricane Katrina.

Expedia has conducted a number of initiatives over the last five years in an effort to support New Orleans’ recovery.

Expedia market managers in New Orleans, who are part of the company’s global team of hotel revenue and marketing experts located in cities worldwide, have worked closely with local hotels to create marketing and distribution strategies that matched the capacity and demand of the local tourism market.

“No other city in the nation can match the level of spirit and energy of New Orleans,” said Seth Bertenthal, who was recently appointed Expedia market manager for New Orleans.

 “In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, hotels opened their doors to displaced residents and those searching for missing family members.

 The dedication local hotels showed to those in need is a testament to the level of strength and stability they bring to the city of New Orleans, and is a perfect example of the positive impact they have had on the city’s ability to recover.”

The partnership between the New Orleans tourism community and Expedia continues today.

New Orleans recently took advantage of Expedia Media’s recent $3 to $1 matching program to fund advertising campaigns for markets impacted by the recent Gulf oil spill.

The funds were used to spotlight the city in an Expedia.com homepage takeover earlier this month, with initial results of that promotion showing a nearly 60% average increase in online travel bookings to New Orleans during the campaign.

In addition, the Greater New Orleans Foundation is participating in Expedia Affiliate Network’s TravelRelief.org program, which pays a share of hotel bookings made on the site to a participating charitable organization of the customer’s choice
.

“We are committed to our partners in the destinations we serve,” said Vishal Singh, Director of Market Management for Expedia Partner Services Group.

 “2010 itself has seen many ups and downs for New Orleans, from the Saints’ Super Bowl victory, and the oil spill tragedy. Through it all, we are working closely with our hotel partners in New Orleans to ensure the strength of the local tourism industry.”

Expedia, Inc. is the largest online travel company in the world, with an extensive brand portfolio that includes more than 90 localized Expedia.com®- and Hotels.com®-branded sites; leading U.S. discount travel site Hotwire®; leading agency hotel

 company Venere.com™; Egencia™, the world's fifth largest corporate travel management company; the world's largest travel community TripAdvisor® Media Network; destination activities provider ExpediaLocalExpert®; luxury travel specialist Classic Vacations®; and China's second largest booking site eLong™.

For more information, media only: Katie Deines, Expedia, +1 425 679-7991
press@expedia.com

Chris Daly, Senior Vice President, Daly Gray Public Relations, ph: 703-435-6293
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/dalygray

HFF arranges $32.75M permanent financing for The Berkeley in Fort Worth, TX

DALLAS, TX – The Dallas office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) announced today that it has arranged a $32.75 million permanent financing for The Berkeley (top left photo), a 406-unit, Class A multi-housing community in Fort Worth, Texas.

HFF executive managing director Jody Thornton (top right photo)  and associate director John Ahmed worked exclusively on behalf of the borrower, owned by Lincoln Property Company and a multifamily development fund operated by Sarofim Realty Advisors, to secure the 35-year, fixed-rate FHA 223(f) loan through MAP lender, Metropolitan Funding Corporation.

 Proceeds will be used to retire the existing construction loan and recapitalize the asset with assumable, long-term, non-recourse financing.

The Berkeley is located at 2001 Park Hill Drive in the Berkeley neighborhood of Fort Worth, close to downtown, the hospital district and Texas Christian University.

Completed in 2008, the property features a clubhouse, fitness center, pool and spa, and conference room.

Sarofim Realty Advisors is a registered investment advisor with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company manages real estate investments on behalf of institutional investors and has investments located throughout the United States. Sarofim Realty Advisors delivers investments that optimize the balance of risk and return.

Lincoln Property Company is one of the oldest and largest comprehensive, vertically integrated real estate firms in the United States. Founded by Mack Pogue (lower leftt photo) in 1965, Lincoln has grown to nearly 5,000 employees in more than 30 states and 200 cities.

Lincoln is currently ranked, in terms of size, as the fifth largest residential property manager in the United States, with more than 130,000 apartment units currently under management.

Over 65% of Lincoln’s apartment management portfolio is comprised of fee management accounts for third party investors. Lincoln manages conventional, military and affordable communities across the country.

Contacts:
John Ahmed, HFF Associate Director,(214) 265-0880 jahmed@hfflp.com
Kristen Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, (713) 852-3500 krmurphy@hfflp.com

HFF retained by Wells Fargo & Co.  to market for sale 42-acre development site in Dallas, TX

DALLAS, TX – The Dallas office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) announced today that it has been retained by Wells Fargo & Company to market for sale Walnut Park, a 42.14 -acre development site in Dallas, Texas.

HFF senior managing directors Doug Hazelbaker (middle right photo)  and Bill Miller (middle left photo)  and managing director Ryan Shore will market the site on a fee-simple basis.

Walnut Park is located on the northwest corner of North Central Expressway (US-75) and Walnut Hill Lane adjacent to the Preston Hollow neighborhood.

“The property represents a rare opportunity to own one of the largest infill tracts of land in the southwest,” said Hazelbaker.

Contacts:

T. Douglas Hazelbaker,HFF Senior Managing Director (214) 265-0880
dhazelbaker@hfflp.com
William D. Miller,HFF Senior Managing Director (214) 265-0880 bmiller@hfflp.com
Kristen M. Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing (713) 852-3500 krmurphy@hfflp.com