RECENT NEWS
Pyramid Buys Back Loan on Mass. Mall
March 7, 2002By Orest Mandzy, Commercial Real Estate Direct Managing EditorPyramid Cos., a shopping center owner, has paid off the $25.5 mortgage on the Hampshire Mall in Hadley, Mass., after its lender, Deutsche Bank, started offering the loan...
Mid-Atlantic Could Raise $30Mln from Share Sale
March 7, 2002 LUTHERVILLE, Md. – Mid-Atlantic Realty Trust (NYSE:MRR) plans to raise $30.2 million from the sale of 2 million common shares at $15.10/share.Proceeds will be used to repay fixed-rate mortgage debt and to reduce the REIT's...
Joseph Osborne Named COO of Archon Financial
March 7, 2002 DALLAS – Archon Financial, the conduit lending arm of Goldman Sachs, has named Joseph Osborne chief operating officer. Osborne, who has been with Archon for four years, was most recently vice president and general counsel....
GMAC Names George A. O’Brien III as VP in Manhattan
March 7, 2002 NEW YORK – GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp. has named George A. O'Brien III as vice president and retail loan origination producer in its Manhattan office.Prior to joining GMAC, he was a vice president at GE...
RioCan to Buy 50% Interests in Five Canadian Retail Centers
March 7, 2002 TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust has acquired a 50 percent interest in five retail centers, encompassing roughly 1.5 million square feet, from affiliates of the First Professional Group for about US$84 million.The transaction...
Vornado to Buy Office Building in Arlington, Va.
March 7, 2002 ARLINGTON, Va. – Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) has paid $55 million for the mortgage as well as an option to purchase Crystal City Gateway One.Vornado expects to exercise its option to acquire the 360,000-square-foot office...
Insignia Said to Be in Talks With CB
March 7, 2002 Insignia Financial Group and CB Richard Ellis are said to be in talks to merge, according to the New York Post.The newspaper, which cited unnamed sources, said the talks have entered a "serious" stage and...
Transwestern Pays $27.6Mln for NJ Office Complex
March 7, 2002 PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Transwestern Investment Co. has acquired Lanidex Plaza, a 280,000-square-foot office campus, for $27.6 million, or about $99/sf.Lincoln Property Co. sold the six-building office campus at 200 to 700 Lanidex Plaza Road.Lincoln bought...
PRICE TALK: $335 Mln GMAC Commercial Mortgage Securities Corp, 2002-LT (Lucent)
March 7, 2002 Guidance as of Feb. 28. Class Amount (mlns) Rating S&P Rating Moody's Avg. Life Price Talk Benchmark A-1 60 AAA Aaa 1 +70 area Swaps A-2 60 AAA Aaa 2.3 +115 area Swaps B 10...
Archstone-Smith Hires Mark Schumacher as Controller
March 7, 2002 DENVER, Colo. – Archstone-Smith (NYSE:ASN) has hired Mark A. Schumacher to serve as senior vice president and corporate controller.Schumacher joined the Denver-based apartment REIT from Qwest Communications, where he was the vice president and controller.Comments?...
PRICE TALK: $484.15 GMAC Commercial Mortgage Securities, 2002-FL1
March 7, 2002 Class Amount (mlns) Rating Fitch Rating Moody's Avg. Life Price Talk Benchmark A 294.1 AAA Aaa 2.4 +42 area Libor B 56.9 AA Aa2 2.4 +75 area Libor C 43.57 A A2 2.4 +145 area...
Investcorp Buys Office, Industrial Portfolio in Colo.
March 6, 2002 BOULDER, Colo. – Investcorp has acquired a 591,000-square-foot portfolio of office and industrial, including research and development, properties.Investcorp bought the downtown properties in partnership with Bancroft Capital LLC of Manhattan Beach, Calif., which already owned...
Nationwide Provides $22Mln for 2 Austin, Texas, Retail Properties
March 6, 2002 AUSTIN, Texas – Nationwide Life Insurance Co. has provided $22 million in fixed-rate financing for two retail properties in the city's Golden Triangle section.The two 10-year loans comprise a $19 million mortgage on the 201,155-sf...
Oregon Retail Center Gets $38.5Mln Mortgage
March 6, 2002 GRESHAM, Ore. – John Hancock Life Insurance Co. has provided $38.5 million in financing for Gresham Station, a newly completed 297,190-square-foot retail center.A joint venture between Center Oak Properties LLC and Oaktree Capital Management LLC...
S&P Raises Ratings on Mortgage Capital Funding, 1996-MC1
March 6, 2002NEW YORK – Standard & Poor's has raised its ratings on five classes of Mortgage Capital Funding Inc., 1996-MC1, because of the improved financial operating performance of the collateral pool and increases in subordination.The upgrades are...
Correction: S&P Removes Crown NorthCorp From Select Servicer List
March 6, 2002 Standard & Poor's yesterday removed Crown NorthCorp. Inc. from the March 2002 version of its Select Servicer List.A story published yesterday, "S&P Removes Crown NorthCorp From Select Servicer List", listed the incorrect date for the...
Southeast Regional Digest (3/6/02): Fort Lauderdale Approves $200Mln Mixed-Use Project
March 6, 2002 $200Mln Capri site plan approvedSouth Florida Business Journal FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The city commissioners have approved the final site plan for the Capri, a $200 million hotel, timeshare and retail project slated to rise...
Canada Digest (3/6/02): Edmonton, Alberta’s Office Vacancy Rate Falls Below 10 Percent
March 6, 2002 Edmonton, Alberta's office vacancy rate falls below 10 percentEdmonton Journal EDMONTON – After years of stagnation, the downtown office vacancy rate is pegged below 10 percent for the first time in nearly two decades. Avison...
Fitch Gives CSS2 Rating to Yamato as Special Servicer
March 6, 2002TOKYO – Fitch Ratings has assigned its CSS2-(JPN) rating to Yamato Servicing KK as a CMBS special servicer, based on the company's ability to service non-performing commercial mortgage loans and meet investors' reporting requirements.Fitch noted the...
Chateau Communities Says Property Sales Will Affect 2002 FFO
March 6, 2002 Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff ReportGREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. – Chateau Communities (NYSE:CPJ) expects its 2002 funds from operations to be negatively affected because it sold $42 million of properties late last year. Because it now...
Host Marriott’s 4th Qtr 2001 RevPAR Sinks 28.3%
March 6, 2002 Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff ReportBETHESDA, Md. – Host Marriott Corp.'s (NYSE:HMT) revenue per available room for the fourth quarter 2001 declined 28.3 percent while operating profit margins declined by 5 percentage points.The RevPAR decline...
DC Office Building Sells for $273/sf
March 6, 2002 Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff ReportWASHINGTON – The Halle Cos. has paid $112.5 million for a 412,052-square-foot office building in downtown Washington, D.C. The Silver Spring, Md.-based real estate firm bought the 13-story building at...
Corporate Office Properties to Raise $25.1Mln from Offering
March 5, 2002 COLUMBIA, Md. – Corporate Office Properties Trust (NYSE:OFC) expects to raise gross proceeds of $25.1 million from a 9.7 million share offering, now that the deal's underwriters have fully exercised their over-allotment option to purchase...
Lend Lease Puts Suburban Houston Offices on the Market
March 5, 2002 HOUSTON – Lend Lease Real Estate Investments is looking to sell 363 North Belt Parkway, a Class-A office building in suburban Houston's Greenspoint office submarket.Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP, in conjunction with Insignia ESG, is marketing...
Borrowers Push Loans to Special Servicers, Higher Delinquencies Might Follow
March 5, 2002 Borrowers of mortgages that have been securitized are increasingly moving to have their loans transferred to special servicing in order to gain debt relief.According to a survey by Standard & Poor's – "Do CMBS Borrowers...
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Commercial Real Estate Direct is the only source -- in print or otherwise -- that keeps close tabs on the entire real estate capital markets industry. It provides up-to-date market intelligence on the mortgage business, equity raising, investment sales and CMBS.
