Class A office development in Woodbridge, NJ receives $20.4 million in construction financing arranged by HFF

FLORHAM PARK, NJ – The New Jersey office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) announced today that it has arranged a $20.4 million construction loan for Centra at Metropark (top left rendering), a to-be-built, 105,000-square-foot Class A office building in Woodbridge, New Jersey.

HFF senior managing director Jon Mikula (middle right photo) and director Michael Klein (lower left photo) worked exclusively on behalf of The Hampshire Companies to secure the three-year construction loan through US Bank.

 Due for completion in mid-2011, the four-story LEED certified property will feature a café, fitness center, conference center and common area lounge. 

The building was designed by the renowned architectural firm Kohn Pederson Fox.  Centra at Metropark is the first phase of a four-phase development that upon build-out will include four Class A office buildings plus two parking garages. 

The property is located at 186 Wood Avenue, across the street from the Woodbridge Hilton within the MetroPark office complex close to the Garden State Parkway in Woodbridge. 

“Centra at Metropark has an excellent location close to numerous highways and is situated in one of only three markets in New Jersey that offers mass transportation within walking distance,” said Mikula.

The Hampshire Companies is a full-service, private real estate firm with equity in assets valued at more than $2 billion, based in Morristown, New Jersey.

The Hampshire Companies is a vibrant, dynamic organization that combines creative vision and superior execution, thereby enabling it to create and enhance value in real estate investments

Contacts:                    

Jon Mikula, HFF Senior Managing Director, (973) 549-2000, jmikula@hfflp.com

Kristen Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, (713) 852-3500

krmurphy@hfflp.com

http://www.hampshireco.com/

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Eight-property Walgreens portfolio in Louisiana receives $27.16 million in financing arranged by HFF

 DALLAS, TX – The Dallas office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) has arranged $27.16 million in financing for a portfolio of eight Walgreens drugstores in Louisiana.

Working on behalf of Stirling Properties, Inc., HFF managing director Kevin MacKenzie (middle right photo) placed the 4.92% fixed-rate securitized loan with Goldman Sachs Commercial Mortgage Capital, LP.  Loan proceeds will be used to retire the existing construction loans on the properties.

Completed between 2007 and 2010, the Walgreens properties total 116,070 square feet; an average of 14,509 square feet per store.  The properties are located in Lafayette, Denham, Ruston, Abita, Dutchtown, Gonzales, Broussard and Meraux.

“There was significant interest in this transaction due to the credit quality of the tenant, and the strength of the sponsorship.  While there were a wide variety of options for the financing, ultimately Goldman provided competitive terms and ran an extremely smooth closing process,” said MacKenzie.

Founded in 1975, Stirling Properties has more than 35 years of real estate experience in the Gulf South region. 

Headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, the firm employs more than 350 people in 16 offices throughout Louisiana and Mississippi in its acquisitions, asset management, commercial brokerage, development/redevelopment, property and facility management and residential brokerage operations.

Contacts:                          

Kevin C. Mackenzie, HFF Managing Director,  (214) 265-0880,  kmackenzie@hfflp.com

Kristen M. Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, (713) 852-3500,

krmurphy@hfflp.com

Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty Forms Alliance with CLEAR Secure Identification Program

ORLANDO, FL --- Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty has formed an alliance with CLEAR (www.clearme.com), the secure identification program that helps card-holding members bypass airline security waits at Orlando International Airport.

 Roger Soderstrom, founder and owner of Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty, said Stirling Sotheby’s World Marketing Center at 121 S. Orange Ave. in downtown Orlando and Stirling Sotheby’s Lake Mary/Heathrow office at 115 International Parkway will serve as CLEAR membership enrollment centers Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 “CLEAR is the only biometric-based secure ID program for airport security.  Orlando is the first market for CLEAR re-launch and Denver International Airport is next with many airports to follow,” Soderstrom said.

“Many of out clients are frequent airline travelers who will find this service very convenient,” Soderstrom explained.

 For more information about this press release,  contact:

Roger Soderstrom, Founder/Owner Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty 407-581-7890  

Gareth Edmondson-Jones, CLEAR 212 223-5030 HYPERLINK mailto:gareth@clearme.com;

 Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142. 

Grubb & Ellis|Commercial Florida negotiates new long-term lease agreement with engineering firm at Wittner Centre in St. Petersburg, FL

Contacts:

http://www.commercialfl.com/
Paula Buffa, CCIM, RPA 813-830-7887
Patrick Kelly, Mng. Director 813-830-7539
Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142

Two Brokers at NAIRealvest Orlando Awarded Prestigious CCIM Designation

MAITLAND, FL -- Two broker associates at NAI Realvest were awarded the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation by the CCIM Institute, one of the nation’s leading commercial real estate associations.

Patrick Mahoney (top right photo), president and chief executive officer at NAI Realvest, said Drew Saphos (middle left photo) and Jim Murr (lower right photo)  earned the prestigious designation by passing the Institute’s Comprehensive Examination, the final element in the designation process.

Saphos has been with NAI Realvest six years and has eight years of experience in commercial real estate.  He specializes in office, industrial and buyer/tenant representation.

Murr, who joined NAI Realvest in 2007, has more than four years of and specializes in investment, industrial and buyer/tenant representation. 

The CCIM designation is awarded to real estate professionals upon successful completion of a graduate-level education curriculum and presentation of a portfolio of qualifying industry experience. 

The curriculum addresses: financial analysis, market analysis, user decision analysis and investment analysis – the cornerstones of commercial investment real estate.  CCIMs are recognized experts in commercial real estate brokerage, leasing, asset management, valuation, and investment analysis. 

For more information, contact:

Patrick Mahoney, President, NAI Realvest 407-875-9989 pmahoney@realvest.com;
Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142, lvershelco@aol.com

  

St. Petersburg Consultant Focuses Management Techniques Honed at Motorola, Toyota

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. --- Sophisticated management techniques perfected at Google, Toyota, Ford and Motorola are helping Florida real estate developers cut costs, improve their delivery schedule and develop higher quality facilities for corporate and retail clients.

Rachel Elias Wein AIA (top right photo), who heads WeinPlus Real Estate Advisory Services in St. Petersburg, said she focuses techniques that power the world’s most successful corporations on real estate development processes with overwhelming results: a return on investment (ROI) that is more than 10 times its initial cost.

“Development is a very complex process and most developers are goal-oriented, not process-oriented,” Wein explained. “The application of some best practices developed by corporations such as Toyota and Motorola can result in dramatic cost reductions and tremendous efficiencies,” she said.

Wein is currently implementing a custom management program for one major Florida developer that adapts Lean Methodology techniques perfected by Toyota.

“Lean Methodology is a process that targets all expenditures and establishes whether or not they are essential to the company’s goal,” Wein explained.

“Elements which do not directly add value to the process are deemed waste and targeted for minimization or elimination,” she said.

Concurrently, Wein is implementing the Theory of Constraints developed by Israeli physicist Eliyahu Goldratt, now widely hailed as a corporate management guru.

“The Theory of Constraints focuses on improving business processes by targeting constraints---bottlenecks---and improving their capacity to produce,” Wein said.

Wein, a former development manager with the Sembler Company in St. Petersburg and senior associate with Ernst & Young’s Construction and Real Estate Advisory Services in Philadelphia, earned Bachelor of Design, Master of Architecture, and Master of Science in Real Estate Degrees from the University of Florida.

Wein estimates she has saved client companies---Forge Capital Partners in Tampa, Pinellas County Schools and The Sembler Company to name a few---more than $3 million over the past 18 months with a variety of solutions that range from construction cost control and dispute resolution to process improvement.

For more information, contact

Rachel Elias Wein, AIA, Founder / Principal, WeinPlus, 727-403-1595, http://www.weinplusassociates.com/;

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142, lvershelco@aol.com

Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty, Canin Associates unveil 2015 New Home Series at Bella Collina in Lake County, FL

ORLANDO - Stirling Sotheby's International Realty and Canin Associates, the Orlando based architectural design and land planning firm, recently unveiled plans for the 2015 New Home Series of smaller, smarter luxury homes at Bella Collina, (top left photo) the unique Lake County luxury development that overlooks Lake Apopka near Montverde.

Roger Soderstrom, founder and owner of Stirling Sotheby's International Realty, said the one and two story 2015 New Home Series of designs complement the Italianesque architectural theme at Bella Collina on 40 and 50 foot home sites.

The 2015 New Homes Series focuses on stone façades, rotunda foyers and two and three car garages.  Three new floor plans range in size from 2,196 square feet of air-conditioned living space of 3,400 square feet with generous outdoor living spaces, including balconies, lanais and private swimming pools.

“The 2015 New Homes Series of floor plans we have developed are designed for today’s consumer-centric lifestyles,” Soderstrom said.

“We’ve incorporated the most compelling trends in new home design, including outdoor living amenities, superb kitchens and an economy of space that emphasizes luxury detail and features, convenience, utility, economy and lifestyle over opulence,” he said.

“Continental Homes & Interiors, one of Bella Collina’s featured custom builders is the first to offer such forward thinking home plans,” Soderstrom said, “and the 2015 New Home Series will serve as a benchmark for new luxury homes in Central Florida,” he added.

The 2015 New Home Series designs are the result of the marketing alliance of Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty and Canin Associates. 

The Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty onsite Welcome and Marketing Center, staffed with six luxury home sales specialists, is open seven days a week at Bella Collina.

For more information, contact:  

Roger Soderstrom, Founder/Owner Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty 407-581-7890 rsoderstrom@stirlingSIR.com;

Tony Weremeichik, Principal Canin and Associates, 407-422-4040 x209 tweremeichik@canin.com;  

Bill Cook, Continental Homes and Interiors, 407-644-5129, bill@continentalhomesandinteriors.com;

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142