News
DISTRESS 101
August 24, 2011
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| If you thought your back-to-school days were over, think again. Over 150 joined us last week with pencils sharpened and notebooks in hand to learn about the latest opportunities at Bisnow’s Distressed Phase II: Secondary Loan Market event at the Harvard Club. (We consider our schmooze time the adult form of cookies and milk.) Among them: The Renatus Group’s Steve Matri, JLL’s Dustin Stolly, and Renatus’ Kevin Leahey. |
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| Tranzon’s John Dobos, The Rappaport’s Andrew Cohn, and The Martin Architectural group’s Daniel Rosen and Mike Rosen traveled far and wide to join us—Andrew from DC, Daniel and Mike from Philly, and John from New Jersey (he gets credit too—we’ve been through those tunnels and bridges). Daniel and Mike (who are sponsoring Bisnow’s first-ever Philadelphia State of the Market Sept. 15) tell us they’ve been working on sustainable portions of large-scale master-planned communities from the US to China. One trend is repurposing and fitting out dark, distressed malls. Some of its projects: Laurel Town Center in Laurel, Md. and Alexan CityView in Bayonne, N.J., one of the largest LEED-certified sustainable communities in the country. |
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| Marcus & Millichap’s Karen Dome, Hera Real Estate Advisors’Susan Spelios, and The Situs Cos’ Christine Wojcik. This summer has been Marcus & Millichap Special Asset Services’ busiest time, as numerous regional and national financial institutions have relied on the firm to dispose of distressed commercial assets, Karen says. Overall, the politics of the US debt downgrade and stock market uncertainty have pushed capital into US Treasuries and has increased activity in real estate. More Class-A, primary market buyers will emerge now that the cap to interest rate spread has widened, she says, while Class-B product in strong metros and top properties in healthy secondary markets will also be attractive. She’s particularly bullish about multifamily. |
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| TAG Real Estate’s Andy Bene (with Paradigm-Exeter Advisors’ Dana Rowan and TAG Real Estate’s Garrett Bowden) tells us that although the debt biz (easy) has come back, equity (moderately difficult) is still feeling its way around. There’s plenty of distressed product to be had internationally, particularly Dubai and London, as well as the Midwest, Texas, and Florida. Right now, New York is “overbanked.” |
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| If you’ve ever packed your car to the hilt and drove your child to college, you know it can be a bigger headache than a distressed asset. But First American Title’s Wayne Baird (with WeiserMazar’s Ron Lagnado and Talmar Advisors’ Feroz Talyarkhan) found a great shortcut for his oldest, a freshman at South Carolina’s College of Charleston—order your items at Bed Bath & Beyond up in New York, then just pick them up at a local store. (That's how it earns the "Beyond" moniker.) |
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| City Urban Realty’s Michael Alvandi, Extell Development’s Bernard Wolff, and Urban Realty Partners’ Stan Listokin. |
