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10 Must Reads for the CRE Industry Today (November 13, 2015) Rendering courtesy of Target

10 Must Reads for the CRE Industry Today (November 13, 2015)

 

  1. Blackstone to Buy $3 Billion in Calpers Real Estate Fund Stakes “Blackstone Group LP agreed to buy $3 billion of real estate fund stakes from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. Blackstone’s Strategic Partners unit will acquire Calpers’ share in 43 funds, according to a statement Thursday from the New York-based firm. In June, Calpers said it would sell as much as $3 billion of its real estate portfolio as part of a broader plan to reduce costs and invest with fewer asset managers.” (Bloomberg)
  2. Target Finally Bringing its Small-Format Urban Stores to Manhattan “Target’s small format city stores are finally coming to the ultimate urban jungle: Manhattan. The retailer’s chain of small- or mid-size urban stores, aimed at winning over city dwellers or office workers who don’t want to go to its suburban big box locations, will open its first Manhattan location next year. The store will be a two-level, 45,000 square-foot location (about the size of a larger Barnes & Noble, and a third of the size of a regular Target) in Manhattan’s trendy TriBeCa neighborhood.” (Fortune)
  3. Brooklyn Startup Supplies the Apartment, Furniture, and Roommates “This is the first building run by Common, a startup using tech amenities and rent-as-you-go flexibility to lure peripatetic urbanites with movable jobs and freelancer incomes. The price tag per bedroom—the size ranges from 100 sq. ft. to 150 sq. ft.—is $1,800 to $1,950 a month. That includes utilities and house basics like cooking oil, salt, paper towels, and Swiffers.” (Bloomberg)
  4. Macy’s CFO Reveals 4 Reasons the Company Blew It Last Quarter “Macy's sales and traffic are slowing ahead of the all-important holiday shopping season. The department store chain cut its annual profit forecast on Wednesday after posting a quarterly sales decline of 5.2%, with same-store sales falling 3.9%. The company's chief financial officer, Karen Hoguet, blamed Macy's performance on four problems.” (Business Insider)
  5. Massachusetts Regulator Charges Realty Capital with Proxy Voting Fraud “Massachusetts' top securities regulator on Thursday said he has charged Realty Capital Securities LLC with fradulently casting shareholder proxy votes. An administrative complaint filed by Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin seeks to revoke the broker-dealer registration of Realty Capital, an affiliate of American Realty Capital.” (Reuters)
  6. What Mezzanine Lenders Have Learned Since the Last Crisis “While deal structure and documentation on mezzanine debt has been consistent over the years, panelists at a recent conference hosted by the Information Management Network discussed some of lessons that mezz lenders and investors learned from the last downturn. The panelists, who spoke at the conference at The Union League Club in Midtown Manhattan on Tuesday, pointed to the Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village and Equity Inns Portfolio defaults as cautionary tales against multi-tranche mezzanine deals.” (Commercial Observer)
  7. 4 Ways to Kick-Start Your Career in Real Estate Investment “Much like the stock market, in real estate we’re always skulking and waiting, ready to pounce on what we believe is the perfect time to jump into the market. I’m here to tell you -- don’t keep waiting. You can spend the next few years waiting for the perfect time, but if you have the startup funds and are eyeing a particular set of properties at a good deal, it’s best not to wait.” (Entrepreneur)
  8. Warren Buffet Buys Dallas Real Estate Firm “Billionaire Warren Buffett is getting in on the Dallas real estate market. An affiliate of his firm Bershire Hathaway, HomeServices of America, Inc., has purchased Dallas-based Allie Beth Allman & Associates. The real estate company specializes in luxury properties with $1.5 billion in sales last year.” (WFAA)
  9. $6B in Miami CMBS Loans Are About to Mature. Here’s the Upside “If you want to understand why the once intimidating “wall” of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) set to mature between 2015 and 2017 has pretty much crumbled, take a look at Miami. Close to $6B in CMBS loans will come due in the next two years in this gateway city, yet thanks to an explosion in foreign investment, rock-bottom interest rates and price appreciation that has pushed valuations close to pre-recession peaks, that reckoning no longer portends economic doom. Instead, the wave of CMBS maturities has turned into an investment opportunity.” (Bisnow)
  10. Retailers Give the Santa Experience a Makeover “Getting your kids' picture taken with Santa used to mean miles-long lines, whining children and a check of your watch every few interminable minutes. While that may still be the case at some shopping centers across the U.S., several big-name property owners are giving the traditional visit with Santa Claus a total makeover. After last year's hit partnership with Disney's "Frozen," Taubman Centers this season is teaming up with the cast of "Peanuts" for a new edition of its interactive ice palaces, at 10 of its properties.” (CNBC)
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