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10 Must Reads for the CRE Industry Today (November 3, 2015) Photo: Sean Gardner/Getty Images

10 Must Reads for the CRE Industry Today (November 3, 2015)

 

  1. GE Eyes NY, but Guv-Mayor Feud Stands in Way “GE is interested in moving to the city—almost certainly to Manhattan. Suburban office parks are out; urban centers are in, which is the major reason New Jersey’s economy is doing so poorly. What would be shocking is whether the governor and Mayor Bill de Blasio team up to lure GE back to the place it abandoned in 1975. The difficulties begin with the endless feud between the governor and the mayor.” (Crain’s New York Business)
  2. Freddie Mac Reports First Quarterly Loss in Four Years “Freddie Mac FMCC, the mortgage buyer under government conservatorship, on Tuesday said it lost $475 million in the third quarter, its first loss in four years, after earning $4.17 billion in the prior-year quarter. Freddie Mac blamed the loss on the marking-to-market of derivatives as interest rates declined. Freddie Mac's regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said more losses were a possibility for both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.” (MarketWatch)
  3. Stuyvesant Town: How One Firm Is Reaping a Windfall Where Investors Lost Billions “Investors have suffered billions in losses over the past decade on New York's Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village apartment complex. But one little-known company controlled by Fortress Investment Group is poised to reap a massive payday. The company, CWCapital Asset Management, has been managing the Manhattan apartment complexes on behalf of creditors since 2010, after the owners defaulted.” (Wall Street Journal)
  4. Macerich Closes First of Three Joint Ventures in Shopping Center Sector for $1.5B “The Macerich Company (NYSE: MAC) has closed on the first of three joint ventures in the shopping center sector. The company had previously announced it would form these ventures to contribute interests in eight regional malls, totaling about $2.3 billion. This first joint venture will allow GIC to acquire a 40 percent interest in Lakewood Center in Lakewood, Calif.; Los Cerritos Center in Cerritos, Calif.; South Plains Mall in Lubbock, Texas; and Washington Square in Portland, Ore.” (REBusiness Online)
  5. Amazon to Open its First Bricks-and-Mortar Bookstore “To sell more books, Amazon.com Inc. is getting physical. Amazon said it would open a brick-and-mortar store in its Seattle hometown on Tuesday, stocked with books and Amazon devices, like Kindle e-readers. The company sent an email to customers announcing the new store in a mall near the University of Washington. The store, dubbed Amazon Books, is a reversal from Amazon’s roots as a pure online retailer.” (MarketWatch)
  6. Zell: ‘I Am Just Brutally Pragmatic’ “Just days after the sale of 23,000 apartments by his Equity Residential to Starwood Capital Group for $5.4 billion, founder and chairman Sam Zell shared secrets to his phenomenal success during a lively keynote for CCIM Thrive on Oct. 28. Michael Desiato, VP and group publisher for ALM’s Real Estate Media Group, interviewed Zell, and at the outset, warned the audience: ‘[Zell] is candid; what you’ve heard about real estate…you ain’t heard nothing yet.’” (GlobeSt.)
  7. Bankruptcy Judge Clears Sale of Shuttered Caesars Casino “Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. secured a bankruptcy judge’s permission to sell its Harrah’s Tunica Hotel & Casino in Mississippi as part of its chapter 11 restructuring. Judge A. Benjamin Goldgar of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago on Monday signed off on the shuttered casino’s sale, for $3 million, to TJM Properties. In doing so, the judge took some issue with the company’s request for him to ‘approve’ the sale.” (Wall Street Journal)
  8. The Contents of the Wealthiest Americans’ Estates “How does estate asset allocation change as clients climb the wealth ladder? The IRS recently offered a bit of insight into the finances of the high net worth when they released Statistics Of Income estate tax data for taxpayers filing in 2014 (so, the majority of those included died in 2013). Taxpayers in the lowest bracket ($5 million - $10 million) have a higher percentage of their estate in personal residences, retirement plans and other real estate (defined as commercial property, undeveloped land, REITs and residences other than the primary).” (Wealthmanagement.com)
  9. Vornado Secures $750M Loan Facility on 220 Central Park South “Vornado Realty Trust received a $750 million loan facility for its massive luxury residential development at 220 Central Park South with $187.5 million of the debt drawn upon at closing, the company announced. Several lenders took part in the deal, including J.P. Morgan Securities; Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith; PNC Bank; Société Générale; U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo.” (Commercial Observer)
  10. Man Sets Off Bomb at Miss. Walmart “A man is charged after allegedly setting off an explosive at a Mississippi Walmart Sunday morning. Marshall W. Leonard, 61, of Tupelo, will be charged with placing an explosive device. Under Mississippi Code 97-37-25 he could get life in prison if convicted, the Tupelo Daily Journal reported. No one was injured in the incident. The remnants of the homemade explosive device have been sent to the crime lab. A supporter of the Mississippi flag, Leonard railed against anyone who wanted it removed because it contained the Confederate battle flag.” (The Clarion-Ledger)
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