Daymark Realty Advisors Secures 215,000-SF Renewal and Expansion with Peabody Energy at Gateway One in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS, MO (Mar. 02, 2011) – Daymark Realty Advisors, Inc., one of the country’s leading providers of strategic asset management and structured finance services to owners of commercial real estate, today announced that it has secured a 15-year lease renewal and expansion with Peabody Energy for a total of 215,362 square feet of office space at Gateway One (top left photo).

Daymark Realty Advisors manages Gateway One, a 15-story, Class A office building located at 701 Market St. in St. Louis’ central business district, on behalf of multiple investment programs and individual owners.

 One of the world’s largest private-sector coal companies and a global leader in clean coal solutions, Peabody Energy utilizes the space at Gateway One as its corporate headquarters. 

The Fortune 500 company produced nearly $7 billion in revenue during 2010 and increased its St. Louis workforce by 12 percent, bringing the total number of employees located at the corporate headquarters to more than 500 spread throughout seven floors.

  Peabody Energy will take occupancy of an additional two floors totaling 56,174 square feet of space in July, increasing the building’s occupancy rate to 96 percent.  The company has been a tenant of the property since 1991 and acquired naming rights, which have yet to be announced, as part of the new lease agreement. 

 “With this expansion, Peabody Energy will occupy more than 50 percent of Gateway One,” said Robert Assoian, (middle right photo) executive vice president, asset management, Midwest.  “The company has been a local economic anchor and civic leader in St. Louis for more than 50 years and we are thrilled to have them stay and expand within this trophy property.”

Offering 409,920 square feet of space, Gateway One is located on the Gateway Mall, providing spectacular unobstructed views of the Gateway Arch and the Mississippi River from all floors.

The property is within walking distance of the Thomas F. Eagleton Federal Courthouse (lower right photo) and the St. Louis Cardinals ballpark, Busch Stadium.  It is also within close proximity to the CBD’s premier hotels, retail establishments and Interstates 64 and 70. 

 The Building Owners and Managers Association has recognized Gateway One as one of the premier and best managed properties in the market, awarding it the Midwest Northern Regional TOBY (“The Office Building of the Year”) in 2008 and the St. Louis TOBY from 2008 to 2010 for properties offering between 250,000 and 499,999 square feet of space. 

Other tenants of Gateway One include Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Marsh Mercer, and Gray Ritter & Graham P.C.

 Rena Boyer, (middle left  photo) CPM, vice president, Colliers | St. Louis, serves as the on-site property manager of Gateway One.  Tony Kennedy, senior vice president, Colliers International, serves as the leasing agent.

Daymark Realty Advisors, Inc. is one of the country’s leading providers of strategic asset management and structured finance services to private and institutional owners of commercial real estate. 

 Daymark provides a fully integrated platform of services that focus on maximizing property value and performance, and offers proven expertise in the repositioning of distressed assets, debt restructuring and property recapitalizations.

  From six offices throughout the country, Daymark manages a nationwide portfolio of commercial real estate properties totaling approximately 33.3 million square feet, including more than 8,700 multifamily units, valued at $4.9 billion. 

For more information regarding Daymark, please visit http://www.daymarkrealtyadvisors.com/

Contact:  Damon Elder, (714) 975-2659, delder@DaymarkRA.com

HFF arranges refinancing for Magnolia Hotel in Dallas

DALLAS, TX – HFF announced today that it has arranged a refinancing for the Magnolia Hotel (top left photo), a 29-story, 329-room hotel in Dallas’ central business district.

HFF worked exclusively on behalf of the borrower, Magnolia Hotels, to secure the 10-year fixed-rate loan through JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.   

Originally built in 1921, the property served as the headquarters for Mobil Oil’s predecessor, Magnolia Petroleum Company, until 1997 when it was renovated into the Magnolia Hotel. 

The property is located at 1401 Commerce Street across from AT&T’s world headquarters and within close proximity to the Dallas Convention Center, the American Airlines Center, the Dallas Museum of Art and the flagship Neiman Marcus department store.

 Along with the 329 guest rooms and suites, the Magnolia Hotel features 9,500 square feet of meeting space, a fitness center, business center and the Magnolia Club restaurant and lounge.

“The refinancing was made possible by the strong performance of the Magnolia Hotel Dallas coupled with the outstanding efforts by JP Morgan and HFF,” said Chris Scheer, CFO for Magnolia Hotels.

The HFF team representing the borrower included senior managing director Dan Peek (middle right photo) and directors Travis Anderson and John Bourret.

Magnolia Hotels is a privately-held hotel management and development company headquartered in Denver, Colorado.  The current portfolio of Magnolia Hotels is comprised of four-star, award-winning independent boutique hotels, all situated in historic buildings and prime downtown locations in Dallas, Denver, Houston and Omaha.

Contacts:

Daniel Peek, HFF Senior Managing Director, (305) 448-1333, dpeek@hfflp.com

Travis Anderson, HFF Director, (214) 265-0880, tanderson@hfflp.com

Kristen Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, (713) 852-3500, krmurphy@hfflp.com

January Hotel Room Tax Collections Grow in Orange County, FL

 ORLANDO, FLORIDA -- County Comptroller Martha Haynie (top right photo) announced today that resort tax collections received by the County for the hotel collection month of January 2011 were $12,559,300.

 Resort taxes are charged on short-term rentals, mostly hotels and motels.

Comptroller Haynie noted that January 2011 collections were seven percent higher than January 2010.

 “Tourism continues to be the bright spot in our local economy,” Haynie stated.

For a copy of the month’s statistics, please contact Martha O. Haynie (407) 836-5690

McCandless Named Operations Manager at D & A Waterproofing Services

 LONGWOOD, FL, Mar. 1, 2011 — John (Jamie) M. McCandless (top right photo) has been appointed operations manager at D & A Waterproofing Services Inc.

McCandless joins D & A Waterproofing with 17 years of facility experience. He is responsible for daily operations as well as sales and business development.

 Previously, he was a superintendent at the Orlando, Fla., office of B E & K Building Group. 

D & A Waterproofing Services Inc. is headquartered in Longwood, Fla. With a staff of 15 waterproofing professionals and support staff, the Company provides services to public and private building owners and managers.

 Services include building audits, epoxy injection, crack repairs, chemical grouting, caulking, sealing and glazing, above- and below-grade waterproofing, concrete repair and protection, total façade restoration, painting, coatings, expansion and control joints, and floor repairs and sealing.

PR Contact: Elaine Ingra, (407) 384-1344 elainei@pr-works.com

GID Urban Development Group Breaks Ground on Manhattan II, a Premier Residential Development in Downtown Denver

                                               

BOSTON, MA – MARCH 2, 2011 – GID Urban Development Group, an affiliate of The General Investment & Development Companies (GID) today announced that construction has begun on Manhattan II, a premier residential multifamily development in downtown Denver.

The 134-unit luxury apartment building is located in Riverfront Park, an urban master planned mixed-use neighborhood consisting of lofts, condominiums, apartments, shops, restaurants, services, and public open spaces.

 The project is owned within a joint venture consisting of GID and an institutional pension fund investment partner. The new development represents the second phase of the Manhattan, an adjacent 236-unit multifamily building also owned by the same joint venture.

The site is located immediately north of Denver’s downtown, the lower downtown district (LODO), and Union Station.

Manhattan II is within close walking distance to Coors Field, Pepsi Center, Invesco Field, Millennium Bridge, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Elitch Gardens amusement park.

The project also benefits from its adjacency to outstanding open space and recreational amenities such as the new 25-acre Commons Park, the 29 acre City of Cuernavaca Park, and the South Platte River. 

“The combination of extremely limited new supply, dramatically reduced construction costs and rising rents makes this an ideal time to develop a new luxury property on a premier urban site in downtown Denver,” said James Linsley, President of GID Urban Development Group.

 “Manhattan II is an exciting multifamily project that offers first-class amenities rivaling that of any other residential development in the area.” 

Designed by Niles Bolton Associates, Manhattan II consists of a total gross area of approximately 267,000 square feet. The development will include 77 one-bedroom units, 49 two-bedroom units and 8 two-bedroom plus den units, as well as an underground private parking garage with 210 parking spaces.  Construction of Manhattan II is anticipated to be completed in August 2012.

Contact:

GID Urban Development Group, 125 High Street Boston, MA  02110

Rubenstein Public Relations, Alan Segan, Telephone: 212-843-8064

Email: asegan@rubensteinpr.com

Glen Kunofsky Named One of Marcus & Millichap’s Top Investment Specialists Nationwide

 ENCINO, CA – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has announced its top investment specialists for 2010. Glen Kunofsky (top right photo) of Marcus & Millichap’s Manhattan office ranked No. 2 out of more than 1,200 investment specialists nationwide and he was also the top-ranked single-tenant retail agent in the firm.

“We are extremely proud to recognize Glen Kunofsky as one of the firm’s top-ranked agents and as the top retail investment specialist for the fourth consecutive year,” says John J. Kerin (middle left photo), president and chief executive officer of Marcus & Millichap.

 “Glen’s consistent excellence is a testament to his dedication to providing the highest quality advisory services to his clients and is a reflection of his exceptional transaction expertise and unrivaled knowledge of the retail market.”

Kunofsky joined Marcus & Millichap in June 2001 and was promoted to senior vice president investments in August 2008. He is a senior director of the firm’s National Retail Group.

Kunofsky facilitated transactions valued at approximately $200 million last year.

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