FirstService Corp., which has been expanding its presence in the United States commercial real estate sector, has acquired an 80 percent stake in Meredith & Grew of Boston, a major player in New England.FirstService, which is headquartered in...

Steven D. Bell & Co is selling 29 multifamily properties in deals worth a combined $677 million.A joint venture of GE Capital and Orion Residential has acquired two of the properties with a combined 914 units in Atlanta...

BPG Properties Ltd. has acquired a 196,431-square-foot office park in Tampa, Fla., for $24.5 million from Eola Capital.The eight-building property, Bay West Commerce Park on 15 acres along West Cyprus Street in Tampa's Westshore area, is 65 percent...

Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff ReportCommercial mortgage lenders are said to be sitting on a substantial pile of B-notes that could have fallen substantially in value.But because those notes are still performing as expected, few are said to...

FirstService Corp., which has been expanding its presence in the United States commercial real estate sector, has acquired an 80 percent stake in Meredith & Grew of Boston, a major player in New England.FirstService, which is headquartered in...

KBS REIT has paid $45.8 million for Plano Corporate Center I and II, a 308,038-square-foot office complex in suburban Dallas.The property, on 20 acres at 2201 and 2301 West Plano Parkway in Plano, Texas, was purchased from a...

John Ahern, a project manager in GE Capital Corp.'s capital markets group, has joined Commercial Defeasance as vice president of sales. Ahern, who had been with GE for 10 years, will also manage the Charlotte, N.C., company's newly-opened...

JPMorgan Asset Management has formed a venture with DCT Industrial Trust Inc. that will pursue investments in the bulk distribution sector.DCT, a Denver REIT that listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange last year, has been...

Raymond D. Martz, the former chief financial officer of Eagle Hospitality Properties Trust, has been named CFO of Phillips Edison & Co. Martz was with Eagle from 2005 until last month, when the Covington, Ky., REIT was acquired...

NNN Apartment REIT has paid $21.6 million for Towne Crossing apartments, a 268-unit complex in Mansfield, Texas, outside of Dallas.NNN Apartment, a non-traded REIT affiliated with Triple Net Properties, had agreed to buy the property earlier in the...

Andrew Feder, a former managing director of Andalex Group, has joined NAI New York City as executive vice president and chief operating officer.Feder, a 20-year industry veteran, will manage the operations of NAI New York, which was formed...

Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff Report Beacon Capital Partners has increased the equity target of its newest investment fund to $4 billion from $3 billion.The Boston investment firm expects to reach that target and close the fund to...

Cedar Shopping Centers Inc. has agreed to pay $31.5 million for a pair of shopping centers with 314,000 square feet in Gardner, Mass., and Bridgeton, N.J.The Port Washington, N.Y., REIT is buying the properties from Paragon Realty Group,...

By John Covaleski, Commercial Real Estate Direct WriterDCD America has sold a 48 percent stake in 11 E. 44th St., a 132,964-square-foot Manhattan office building for about $33.6 million.ING Clarion acquired the stake in the building from the...

Raymond D. Martz, the former chief financial officer of Eagle Hospitality Properties Trust, has been named CFO of Phillips Edison & Co. Martz was with Eagle from 2005 until last month, when the Covington, Ky., REIT was acquired...

NNN Apartment REIT has paid $21.6 million for Towne Crossing apartments, a 268-unit complex in Mansfield, Texas, outside of Dallas.NNN Apartment, a non-traded REIT affiliated with Triple Net Properties, had agreed to buy the property earlier in the...

Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff Report Beacon Capital Partners has increased the equity target of its newest investment fund to $4 billion from $3 billion.The Boston investment firm expects to reach that target and close the fund to...

John Ahern, a project manager in GE Capital Corp.'s capital markets group, has joined Commercial Defeasance as vice president of sales. Ahern, who had been with GE for 10 years, will also manage the Charlotte, N.C., company's newly-opened...

Andrew Feder, a former managing director of Andalex Group, has joined NAI New York City as executive vice president and chief operating officer.Feder, a 20-year industry veteran, will manage the operations of NAI New York, which was formed...

JPMorgan Asset Management has formed a venture with DCT Industrial Trust Inc. that will pursue investments in the bulk distribution sector.DCT, a Denver REIT that listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange last year, has been...

Cedar Shopping Centers Inc. has agreed to pay $31.5 million for a pair of shopping centers with 314,000 square feet in Gardner, Mass., and Bridgeton, N.J.The Port Washington, N.Y., REIT is buying the properties from Paragon Realty Group,...

By John Covaleski, Commercial Real Estate Direct WriterDCD America has sold a 48 percent stake in 11 E. 44th St., a 132,964-square-foot Manhattan office building for about $33.6 million.ING Clarion acquired the stake in the building from the...

Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff ReportCrescent Real Estate Equities retired, through defeasance, $145.8 million of securitized mortgages on five office properties with some 1 million square feet. The defeasance was completed just before Crescent's acquisition by Morgan Stanley...

Alex Gilbert, who has been with JER Partners for the last four years, was named managing director and head of acquisitions for the firm's United States fund business, replacing Cia Buckley, who has joined Dune Capital Management.Gilbert, a...

Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff WriterAn undisclosed investor has acquired an office building at 45-47 West 38th St. in midtown Manhattan for $12.5 million.The new owner is expected to get the property approved for hotel development and resell...