- Lennar Forms $1.1 Billion Fund for Multifamily-Home Projects “Lennar Corp., the largest U.S. homebuilder by market capitalization, formed a $1.1 billion joint venture that will develop multifamily communities in 25 U.S. metropolitan markets. Lennar, a Miami-based builder primarily focused on single-family home construction, will invest $504 million in the venture and provide 19 undeveloped assets it already owns.” (Bloomberg)
- Hotelier Standard Strikes a Rare Deal “Standard International, the hotel-management company founded by hotelier André Balazs, is expanding its reach through its first acquisition and fresh money from outside investors. The New York-based hotel company, which manages five properties in Los Angeles, Miami Beach and New York, said it has acquired a 51% stake in Bunkhouse, an Austin, Texas-based owner and operator of four small boutique properties in Texas.” (The Wall Street Journal)
- Those Energy Upgrades Could Save Landlords $350 Million “The Building Energy Exchange has compiled a cheat sheet explaining how long various energy-saving projects would take to pay back a landlord's investment. Retrofitting Affordabilitym, a blueprint of sorts for the city's 1.5 billion square feet of large multifamily buildings, identified $2.1 billion worth of improvements and found 78% of them would pay back their investment within a decade through energy savings.” (Crain’s New York Business)
- Digital Realty Confirms Rumors “Digital Realty Trust, Inc., the largest data center REIT, is getting bigger with the planned acquisition of Telx, a privately owned national provider of collocation, interconnection and cloud enablement solutions, for $1.9 billion. The San Francisco-based REIT, which is a leading global provider of data center and colocation solutions, and Telx, owned by private equity firms ABRY Partners and Berkshire Partners, announced the deal Tuesday.” (Commercial Property Executive)
- Independent Will Tower in Texas “Locals here like to say that everything is bigger in Texas, and that will certainly apply to the state capital’s newest planned residential tower. At 685 feet in height, the 58-story building, named the Independent, is slated to be the tallest predominantly residential building west of the Mississippi River.” (The Wall Street Journal)
- Reel Deal: AMC Theatres’ New Stars “AMC Theatres, already one of the top three largest movie theater chains in the U.S., is about to grow even larger. The company has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Starplex Cinemas for $172 million in cash. AMC won’t just increase its footprint with the merger; it will increase its footprint in all the right places. By acquiring Starplex, AMC will grow with little geographic overlap.” (Commercial Property Executive)
- A&P’s Future Up in the Air “Leaders of the two main North Jersey unions representing workers at A&P and Pathmark stores said Tuesday they are still waiting to see what will happen, after being told last month by company representatives that it was able to meet its obligations, and that no crisis was imminent. But despite company assertions that everything remains business as usual while it explores strategic options, reports continue to surface of vendors refusing to extend credit to the company, and of landlords not receiving rent checks.” (NorthJersey.com)
- What Millennials Want “As they begin to form households of their own, millennials ages 20 to 37 voice their housing desires and, often, contradictory realities. Fifty percent is the share of millennials who are renters; among the remainder, 26% own a home and 21% live with family.” (Multifamily Executive)
- Meet the Mastermind Behind This REIT Merger “Gramercy has been a dream REIT, and while I was reluctant to hop in early, I have been very pleased with the overall performance, especially when the dividend was reinstated. I knew that my initial investment in Gramercy was somewhat speculative given the volatile history of the previous operating model. However, I decided to take the initial dip after examining the experience of the management team, namely Gordon Dugan.” (Seeking Alpha)
- Remembering FAO Schwarz, the Iconic Toy Store “Its flagship on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, the last store of a chain that once had 40 locations, is shuttering, felled by rising rents and the rise of online shopping. But the brand will live on in the form of FAO boutiques inside stores run by its parent company, Toys “R” Us, which bought it in 2009.” (Fortune)
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