Money Talks; The Deal Sheet

The CRE market?s climbed to the surface since the bottom dropped out in '08, and much of that can be credited to workouts completed by the nation's largest banks. The top 25 banks control 50% of the distressed assets, but they've ID'd the problems and should be fine. We're still knocking on wood.

On June 8, The Real Estate Council hosted a capital market panel discussion where Wells Fargo Bank EVP of special situations—not counting birthdays—Mark Myers (right, with Brookfield Asset Management SVP Steven Ganeless, TREC chairman and HFF executive managing director Mark Gibson, Bank of Texas SVP Dan Easley, and Teacher Retirement System of Texas's Steven LeBlanc) says the market is currently worth $3 trillion, and the banks control 60%  of it. Of that, only 10 to 12%  of the funds are distressed. Another good sign: TRST, the seventh largest retirement plan, has been allocating more of its $17B under management to CRE investments and had a 19% return last year, Steven LeBlanc says.

Steven Ganeless  says there are investment opportunities in higher-risk classes with a good example of General Growth Properties(pictured: GGP property Hulen Mall). It's one of the largest mall operators in the country, yet filed for bankruptcy in April '09. At the time, it was the largest real estate bankruptcy filing in US history; but it emerged from bankruptcy in the fall '10 as two companies and has now been upgraded by the S&P to a positive outlook, he says.Steven LeBlanc?s bullish on multifamily real estate, in which he expects to see new construction in response to rising demand. He considers multifamily the most attractive class for investment right now and expects construction financing for multifamily to become increasingly competitive. Just a reminder that you can hear more about that topic at the Bisnow second annual Multifamily Summit tomorrow at the Westin Galleria. Last chance to register here.

FINANCING

Quadrant Realty Finance secured permanent financing for Plaza at Cottonwood in Albuquerque. Randy Fleisher and Jason Piering placed the 10-year fixed rate, non-recourse loan. The proceeds were used by the borrower to refinance the 100%-occupied 84k SF  retail center, shadow anchored by a Walmart SuperCenter and Home Depot. 

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Monday Properties and investment manager Invesco Real Estate completed the recapitalization of NYC?s 230 Park Avenue, which is largest single-asset investment that Invesco has made. The long-term investment with Monday Properties will complete the repositioning of 230 Park Avenue, initiated by Monday Properties in 1998. Monday Properties will be the operating partner of the partnership and will be the managing and leasing agent for the 34-story landmark. The 1.4M SF office building straddles Park Avenue and is steps away from Grand Central Terminal. 

NEW BUSINESS

LIG Assets entered into an agreement with HQZ Partners to fund, develop and jointly own the $250M 60-acre mixed-use medical campus Peachtree Towne Center Project in Mesquite. The agreement includes funding to complete the first of four phases to the project. The project is subject to an economic development agreement from the City of Mesquite, which provides for financial incentives.

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Freddie Mac has given Grandbridge Real Estate Capital approval to originate loans in Texas under its multifamily program plus seller/servicer network.  This is an expansion into Texas with Houston and Dallas offices.

SALES

SLC enterprises acquired a  3,000 SF Class-C MOB at 733 N Fielder Rd in Arlington near Arlington Memorial Hospital. SCM Real Estate Services? Judy Zoch-Nitzinger repped the seller.

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Hong Kong-based New World Hospitality hotel management company signed a purchase and sale agreement to acquire Rosewood Hotels & Resorts from current owners Rosewood Corp and Maritz, Wolff & Co. The closing date for the $229.5M purchase is July 29. Rosewood Hotels & Resorts will operate as the premium luxury brand in New World Hospitality's portfolio. Rosewood opened its flagship property, Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek (pictured) in Dallas, in 1979. It has grown to a collection of 19 properties in eight countries.

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RCC Miron Office, an affiliate of Realty Capital Corp, sold the third building in its Miron Grove Office Park to a medical imaging physician's group. The 3,200 SF building on Miron Drive off FM 170 is adjacent to the Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Southlake. Two remaining buildings in the first phase of the project are finished out and available for sale or lease. Each building has a tenant and is approximately 50% leased. The seller was repped by Realty Capital Corp?s Mark Boone.

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Wilken Properties purchased a tract of land at the northwest corner of SH 121 and Denton Tap Road in Coppell. The owners, Drs Stephanie and Bret Wilken, are building a new office for Wilken Family Eyecare. It's expected to open in the spring. Venture Commercial's Ken Reimer, Amy Pjetrovic and Jane Ann Stock represented the seller, CDI Gateway. Gordon Atkinson of The Weitzman Group repped the buyer.

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Lee & Associates completed a 24k SF industrial building sale at 1910 Old Denton Rd in Carrollton. Nathan Denton  and  Greg Nelson repped the seller, D&D Wood Properties. The buyer is Ricky Seigler.

LEASES

Morrison Milling Co leased an almost 68k SF building at 2300 I-35 in Denton. NAI Robert Lynn?s Matt Elliott and Craig Jones represented the tenant.

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End Zone Athletics leased 25k SF at 1111 WN Carrier Pkwy in Grand Prairie. NAI Robert Lynn?s Michael Stanzel repped the tenant.

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Landmark Healthcare leased a 15k SF building at 8200 Tristar in Irving. NAI Robert Lynn?s Rick Medinis repped the landlord, AV South Realty, and Harkinson Investment Corp's Jeff Harkinson repped the tenant.

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Catalyst Rx renewed its almost 11k SF lease at 3000 Internet Blvd at Hall Office Park in Frisco. Landlord Hall Financial Group was repped by director of leasing Kim Butler, leasing associate Tammy Lomonaco and marketing associate Brad Gibson. JLL?s Andy Leatherman represented Catalyst Rx.

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Carga Logistics Corp inked a more than 14k SF lease at 2618 W Hwy 303 in Grand Prairie in the Great Southwest Distribution Center No. 3. NAI Robert Lynn?s John Lancaster repped the landlord, Cabot Industrial. Colliers International Dallas? Tom Pearson and Chris Teesdale repped the tenant.

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Urology Associates of North Texas signed a 10k SF lease at the USMD Medical Office Building at 811 W I-20 in Arlington. SCM Real Estate Services prez Gary Walker and leasing specialist Renee Efimoff repped the landlord.

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Just Fitness 4 U leased 19k SF  of anchor space in Spring Creek Village at 7989 Belt Line Rd for its sixth DFW location. Marc Marrocco, Perren Gasc, and Beau Barkerding with the commercial retail division of The Weitzman Group represented Just Fitness 4 U.

KUDOS

Cousins Properties was recently honored during TIAA-CREF's 2011 Property Management Forum ad Four Diamond Award Ceremony called The GOVIES. For the second consecutive year, Cousins was presented with the Four Diamond Award for excellence in property management performance as a service provider. Additionally, three of Cousins' TIAA-CREF-managed properties received the Four Diamond Award for  consistent property management excellence in '10. The three properties that received the Four Diamond Award are: The Towers at Williams Square in Irving; and Lincoln Center in Dallas as well as one in Atlanta. The Towers at Williams Square and Two Live Oak also received the Four Diamond Award in '09.

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Dallas, Houston, and Atlanta lead the nation in the number of buildings that have achieved BOMA 360 status, accounting for one-quarter of the more than 230 buildings in 55 US markets with the BOMA 360 designation, which recognizes excellence in building operations and management, life safety/security/risk management, training and education, energy, environmental/sustainability, and tenant relations/community impact. The point-based system benchmarks a building's performance against industry standards. Among the 66 new BOMA 360 buildings in DFW are Banner Place(pictured, owned by Gaedeke Holdings II and managed Gaedeke Group); The Crescent (owned by Crescent TC Investors and managed by Crescent Real Estate Equities); and The GEICO Building (owned by GEICO and managed by iON Management).

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Waldman Bros added Eric Goldberg to its firm. His background includes CRE with a focus on retail investment sales. His experience brings a strong foundation to his new position as property and casualty advisor at Waldman Bros.

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McCarthy Building Co named Michael Duffy as director of federal programs. Michael is responsible for managing client relationships and overseeing sales for the firm's federal business unit. Its current focus includes military and civilian federal agency work primarily in Texas and the Southwest, collaborating closely with regional McCarthy counterparts in the central and southeastern US.

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Antonio DiGesualdo joined Cotton Creek Capital  as managing director. He comes on board with the two current managing directors,Smith Brownlie III and James Braden, in managing the firm and its affiliated investment funds. Prior to Cotton Creek Capital, he was a partner at TGF Management Corp with approximately $700M under management focused on control transactions with middle-market companies, primarily in the Southwest.

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Prama Kumar, senior project estimator and project manager for Hill & Wilkinson?s special projects group, was one of two commercial construction women in North Texas to receive the TEXO 2011 Magnolia Woman of the Year Award. The Magnolia Woman of the Year Award recognizes women in construction who have exhibited leadership qualities in job performance, in their commitment to continuing education and community participation, and who serve as a role model for others in the industry.

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Jayson Williams has been promoted to VP of real estate services at Innovative Developers Inc. Jayson will be responsible for leasing and transactions, and property management, and will assist in bringing development projects to fruition.

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Elizabeth Stricklin joined the Henry S. Miller family of companies as senior broker and Shawn Loney joined the firm as sales associate. Elizabeth returns to the company after serving as an associate in the mid-1970s. Elizabeth?s focus will be in the acquisition and disposition of multifamily investment properties. Shawn will specialize in landlord and tenant REO and the acquisition and disposition of industrial properties for owners and buyers.

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Trammell Crow Co promoted Scott Dyche to principal and general counsel. In his new role, he will oversee all legal affairs relating to the company, deal structuring and risk mitigation for all development and investment projects throughout the US. He is also responsible for retention, supervision, and coordination of all outside counsel, litigation management, and supervision of legal group staff. He will serve on the company's investment committee and as TCC?s chief compliance officer. He assumes the role from Christopher Kirk, who now serves as global director of HR for CB Richard Ellis, TCC?s parent company.