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10 Must Reads for the CRE Industry Today (March 19, 2015)

10 Must Reads for the CRE Industry Today (March 19, 2015)

 

  1. Fed Won’t Raise Interest Rates This Year, Marc Faber “Investors are awaiting a signal from the Federal Reserve on whether the central bank will raise interest rates, but "Dr. Doom" Marc Faber thinks the Fed will keep them waiting. ‘In my view, the Fed will not increase interest rates this year,’ the editor of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report editor said Wednesday on CNBC's ‘Squawk Box,’ pointing to dollar strength and recent disappointing economic data. (CNBC)
  2. Houston’s Galleria Mall Prepays $821M in 2005 Loans “The Galleria, a 2.3 million-square-foot mall that is Houston, Texas’ most visited attraction, has prepaid $821 million in debt during an open prepayment period, Mortgage Observer has exclusively learned. The CMBS loan was conservatively underwritten, with a 47.5 percent loan-to-value ratio and debt service coverage ratio of nearly 2.73, according to data from Trepp.” (Commercial Observer)
  3. Braves Hit Home Run with Comcast Deal “The Braves in late 2013 announced plans to leave Turner Field for a new $672 million ballpark now under construction in suburban Cobb County. As part of the deal, the team said it planned to develop a $500 million mixed use complex next to the stadium with a hotel, office space, apartments and stores. Now the Braves have cut a deal with Comcast CMCSA -1.20% to occupy the entire nine-story office tower planned in the complex.” (The Wall Street Journal)
  4. MetLife to Move NYC Staff to Namesake Park Avenue Tower “The move will bring the company full-circle, having once occupied most of the landmark property, known as the MetLife Building, before selling it to a partnership led by Tishman Speyer in 2005. MetLife moved more than 900 workers to a converted warehouse in Long Island City in 2001, then shifted most of them back to Manhattan to 1095 Avenue of the Americas about six years later. Both 200 Park and the 1095 building have the MetLife logo at their tops.” (Bloomberg)
  5. Brackett, USAA RealCo Form Healthcare-Property Focused JV “USAA Real Estate Co. and Brackett Flagship Properties have entered into a joint venture to acquire, develop, manage and lease healthcare-sector properties throughout the Southeast, and started the partnership off with the acquisition of a portfolio of nine properties totaling 315,000 square feet.” (Commercial Property Executive)
  6. Loews Hotels Seeks Growth for Less “Loews Hotels & Resorts, the 69-year old luxury hotel company with 23 properties in the U.S. and Canada, wants to grow faster and own less. The company’s new chief executive, Kirk Kinsell, said Loews—one of the last major hotel operators to own most of the hotels it manages—plans to reduce its future exposure to real estate by seeking partners on deals, rather than owning properties outright.” (The Wall Street Journal)
  7. Two Pols Loom as Obstacles for $1B Brooklyn Project “Mayor Bill de Blasio met behind closed doors Monday with Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Nydia Velazquez. According to Ms. Velazquez, ‘port activity in Brooklyn’ was discussed, which presumably means development proposals for the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal and the adjacent Industry City. Conflicting visions of the Sunset Park sites appear to be inevitable.” (Crain’s New York Business)
  8. NYL Originates Generous Mortgage Loan for Leading Santa Monica Office Asset “New York Life Real Estate Investors has originated $260 million in refinancing for the owners of the Water Garden phase 1 office park in Santa Monica. HFF placed the 12-year, fixed-rate loan on behalf of institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management.” (Commercial Property Executive)
  9. The End of Starbucks As We Know It? “Starbucks Coffee is getting creamed by New York City rents. The java giant may get priced out of its premier and larger Manhattan locations as some of the company’s earliest stores approach renewal after 15 to 20 years.” (Commercial Observer)
  10. The Shadowy History of Robert Durst’s Real Estate Holdings “In 2008, two years after Robert Durst formally split with Durst Organization, Charatan founded BCB Property Management along with her son, Bennat Charatan Berger. Robert Durst’s relationship to BCB is difficult to nail down. In documents provided to Newsweek by a New York–based real estate investor with knowledge of the matter, a business relationship between Durst and Charatan is suggested through LLCs that overlap addresses.” (Newsweek)
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