ARA Brokers Sale of 168-Unit, Value-Add Opportunity in Winter Park, FL

WINER PARK, FL (Sept. 13, 2010) — Atlanta-headquartered ARA, the largest privately held, full-service investment advisory brokerage firm in the nation focusing exclusively on the multihousing industry, brokered the sale of Woodbridge Apartments (top left photo); a 168-unit multifamily community located in Winter Park, Florida, just west of Orlando.

ARA Orlando-based principal, Kevin Judd (top right photo), Tampa-based vice president, Patrick Dufour (middle left photo) and Boca Raton-based principal, Marc deBaptiste, (lower right photo)  represented an undisclosed loan servicer in the sale of the property which was 91.7% occupied at the time of the sale. The property was sold out of receivership.

Selling for $7,780,000, “This sale represents significant upside potential, from both property performance improvements and value-add physical enhancements.,” noted Judd of ARA Florida’s Central and North Florida Team.

“The location in one of Orlando’s most desirable core submarkets enabled ARA to secure nearly 30 written offers.”

The distressed, garden-style apartment community is located in the City of Winter Park, one of the most affluent areas within the Orlando MSA. Completed in 1986, Woodbridge offers an excellent opportunity for an investor to generate significant long-term returns in a core Orlando MSA location.

Woodbridge Apartments community amenities include clubhouse, fitness center, swimming pool and tennis court. Interior features include washer/dryer, ceiling fans, vaulted ceilings and garden tubs.

“Woodbridge offers an excellent site plan and unit designs,” said Judd. “This, plus its location within walking distance from Full Sail University, will ensure a strong tenant base for years to come. Expected improvements to the property will further enhance its desirability,” Judd added.

Woodbridge’s infill location in upscale Winter Park is proximate to one of the largest concentrations of employment in the Orlando region.

The property is situated five miles from the University of Central Florida, Central Florida Research Park, and Rollins College.

The property is only 15 minutes from downtown Orlando and just one mile from Full Sail University, one of the world’s educational leaders for degrees in the entertainment industry.

Local Contact: Marti Zenor, (561) 988-8800, mzenor@arausa.com

National Contacts: Amy Holland or Lisa Robinson, (404) 495-7300 aholland@ARAusa.com,   lrobinson@ARAusa.com
http://www.arausa.com/

Grubb & Ellis Promotes Kay Davis to Executive Vice President, Tenant Advisory Group

ATLANTA, GA (Sept. 13, 2010) – Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, today announced that Kay Davis (top right photo) has been promoted to executive vice president, Tenant Advisory Group, effective immediately.

Davis, who is the first woman in Grubb & Ellis’ transaction services business to achieve the title, specializes in tenant representation of major national law firms, professional service firms and Fortune 500 companies.

 Brokerage professionals attain the title of executive vice president based on rigorous production level requirements.

“Kay’s ability to assess her clients’ needs and apply the right solution for them, not just what’s most profitable for her, is what makes her such a valued professional,” said Brett Hunsaker.

“As a result of this dedication to client service, she has been able to grow a number of client relationships from a single assignment into national, multi-service line accounts.”

Davis, who began her commercial real estate brokerage career in Grubb & Ellis’ Atlanta office in 1996, returned to the company as a senior vice president in 2006.

Grubb & Ellis Company Represents TIAA-CREF in 167,424-SF Lease to Net-A-Porter LLC in Mahwah, NJ

FAIRFIELD, N.J. (Sept. 13, 2010) – Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, today announced that John Beers and Craig Fitzpatrick, senior vice presidents of the company’s Office Group, represented TIAA-CREF in leasing 725 Darlington Ave., a 167,424 -square-foot industrial flex building in Mahwah, to Net-A-Porter LLC.

The building will serve as the online luxury fashion retailer’s North American headquarters for internet sales as well as a warehouse and distribution facility. The company signed a long-term lease and will take occupancy in November.

“During the transaction, Net-A-Porter was attracted to this building because of its excellent design, corporate neighbors and the strength of its institutional ownership,” said Beers. “All together, these aspects reflect the fashion company’s corporate image as a world-class provider of quality products and service, which was a top priority when searching for their headquarters space.”

Jason Goldman, Andrew Siemsen, Frank Caccavo and Owen Hane of Cushman & Wakefield represented Net-A-Porter in the transaction.

Contact: Erin Mays, Phone: 312.698.6735, Email: erin.mays@grubb-ellis.com

Largest Industrial Transaction This Year Sets Record Low Cap Rate With Sale of

MIAMI, FL– Trading last week at Florida’s lowest-recorded cap rate for a major industrial asset since the market downturn in 2007, Cushman & Wakefield successfully negotiated the sale of the Palmetto Distribution Center (top left photo) for $66.5 million.

That equates to a 5.9% cap rate on year 1 income. Indicative of the torrid interest for core industrial real estate, C&W received 27 offers from a variety of buyers, including pension funds, life insurance companies, REITs, private investors and foreign investors.

Palmetto Distribution Center, which has been renamed as AMB Miami International Business Park, is centrally located at the interchange of the Palmetto Expressway (SR-826) and US Highway 27 in Medley, Florida. The Property consists of five Class A distribution buildings totaling 880,543 square feet and was 95% occupied at the time of sale.

Mike Davis, Executive Director of C&W’s Southeast Capital Markets Group, was quoted as saying, “With so many qualified purchasers, buyer selection was difficult. Ultimately, we selected AMB Property Corporation based upon purchase price and their closing track record.”

 Davis, along with Brian Smith, Executive Director – Industrial Brokerage, and Wayne Ramoski, (middle right photo) Executive Director – Industrial Brokerage, negotiated the sale on behalf of the seller.

Contact: Marcianne Foster, 813-204-5345, Marcianne.Foster@cushwake.com

Core investment market remains hot as Cushman & Wakefield negotiates sale of the Suntrust building in Downtown Orlando for $23.5M

ORLANDO, FL – Sept. 10, 2010 – Cushman & Wakefield has successfully negotiated the sale of the SunTrust Building, (top left photo)  situated within the prestigious SunTrust Center Complex, which is located in the center of Orlando’s Central Business District at the intersection of Orange Avenue and Church Street.

The SunTrust Building is a Class A, 128,296 square foot, 10-story office building that is currently 100% occupied by SunTrust Bank.

Originally built in 1959, the Property was fully renovated in 1988.

Mike Davis, (lower right photo) Executive Director of C&W’s Southeast Capital Markets Group, was quoted as saying, “The capital markets view Orlando positively from a long-term investment perspective. Accordingly, well-positioned core assets are in high demand.”

 Davis and Rick Brugge, CCIM, Associate Director of C&W’s Southeast Capital Markets Group negotiated the sale on behalf of the seller, KanAm Grund America. The buyer is Wells Real Estate Funds.

Contact: Marcianne Foster, 813-204-5345, Marcianne.Foster@cushwake.com

More Lenders Returning to Realty Capital Markets, Notes RECI

CHICAGO, IL, Sept. 13, 2010 - The summer season ended with Treasury yields declining, but returning to levels of the previous month.

Yet, more lenders returned to the market and the Agencies marched forward by offering even lower spreads by 20 basis points or more.

Borrowers with high-quality, institutional projects are the winners within today's debt markets.

However, a substantial disconnect exists for older projects in secondary markets as borrowers must accept higher pricing, less leverage and recourse.

Observations for the month include:

* Capitalization rates sliding downward in tandem with lower mortgage rates and increased availability of leverage - up to 75% for many institutional-grade office, retail, industrial and apartment properties.

* Overall capitalization rates for multi-tenant, commercial properties (e.g., office and industrial), are about 50 to 150 basis points lower than the beginning of the year - starting as low as 7.5%. On the other hand, credit-tenant commercial properties with longer-term leases can trade below 7%.

* Multifamily cap rates often are bid down below 7% for core-plus assets and can dip well below 6% for prime-quality properties in major markets.

* Investors bid up sub-performing properties and economic recovery looms on the horizon - particularly true for lodging properties.

* As has been the case for most of this quarter, rates are at their lowest levels since the 1960s.

* More banks and life companies re-enter funding landscape as balance sheets are being cleaned up. Expect greater bidding on the "right" quality assets.

* As seen from the select bank-note purchase activity, distressed real estate on a stand-alone basis or as part of an overall bank portfolio is transacting at about 30% of the unpaid balances. Distressed real estate in marginal locations in great need of completion is trading at even lower percentages.

According to Jim Postweiler (top right photo), Advisory Board Member of the Real Estate Capital Institute, "The capital markets have started a strong recovery and are active once again. We need leasing fundamentals to follow suit in order to sustain the current positive trend."

He notes, "Funding sources are still selective, but will provide very attractive terms if conservative leverage is sought."


Contact: Jeanne Peck, Executive Director, Toll Free 800-994-RECI (7324)
director@reci.com
 http://www.reci.com/