January 1, 2007

Cover Story

Mr. Fix It

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Parke M. Chapman

It's a brutally competitive climate for multifamily investors hunting for assets these days. Just about anything with walls and tenants has unsolicited bids on it....

Features

Hooked on Medical Office

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By H. Lee Murphy

Carl Ohly was a young Atlanta accountant looking for a business to invest in back in 1972 when a friend told him about a medical office building project that had run aground in mid-construction...

To many real estate investors, Atlanta's office market remains an enigma. Despite a vacancy rate hovering near 20%, 2.4 million sq. ft. of new office space was under construction in the third quarter of 2006...

Private Buyers on Gobbling Binge

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Ben Johnson

Mega deal typically is one of those overly dramatic phrases that the ego-driven, bigger-is-better commercial real estate industry loves to bandy about when it comes time for the annual ritual of retrospection....

Urban Hot Spot Alters Columbus

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Michael Pramik

On a cool October evening, a couple sporting Toronto Maple Leafs jerseys stroll across Front Street in downtown Columbus, Ohio, as their hockey team prepares to play in Nationwide Arena....

Unconventional Wisdom

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By John Egan

Just northeast of Charlotte, N.C., John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts LLC is putting the finishing touches on its Embassy Suites Hotel Charlotte-Concord Resort and Spa set to open this month. ...

Sizing Up Commercial Appraisals

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Matt Hudgins

It's difficult to overestimate the importance of accurate appraisals in the commercial real estate industry....

Developments

REIT Launch in UK Takes Center Stage

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Stan Luxenberg

After decades of opposing industry efforts to establish real estate investment trusts in the United Kingdom, the British government will permit the investment vehicle beginning this month....

Canadian Investors Bullish on Brazil

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Albert Warson

Canadian real estate investors with deep pockets discovered Brazil in a big way in 2006, spending billions on commercial real estate ...

Mall Makeover

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Jeanne Lang Jones

With the Puget Sound area economy outperforming the rest of the nation, Westfield America is taking steps to reposition its Westfield Southcenter mall to capture a larger market share....

Sports Condos Hit Stride

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, John Egan

Several U.S. developers are trotting onto an expanding field in real estate multimillion-dollar luxury condominium projects marketed to diehard college sports fans and passionate alumni, predominantly baby boomers....

Q & A

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Sibley Fleming

Veteran developer Tom Cousins, 75, retired as chairman of Cousins Properties Inc. in November, becoming chairman emeritus of the company he founded in 1958 with $2,500....

Names In The News

NAMES IN THE NEWS

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Catherine Jones has joined Equis as senior vice president. Jones will be responsible for the planning and execution of projects for major corporations and professional firms....

Deals And Projects

In Progress: Arcola Center

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM

The Arcola Center is planned for up to 2.1 million sq. ft. of office and commercial space, up to 1.1 million sq. ft. of retail, and approximately 80 acres of town homes and multifamily housing over the next 10 to 20 years....

DEALS & PROJECTS

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM

The Treeline Cos. has acquired Atria East, a six-story, 207,000 sq. ft. commercial office building for $46 million from Heritage Management Co. ...

Columns

Our New Year's Resolution: Expanded News CoverageOur New Year’s Resolutions: Expanded News Coverage

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Sticking to our New Year's resolution to arm readers with the best information possible, we're adding three new elements to NREI's news coverage in print and online in 2007....

CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP AT CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Parke Chapman

An Italian holding company has acquired a 67.5% stake in real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. IFIL Group, the investment arm of the Agnelli family, paid Rockefeller Group International $563 million for the majority stake....

Prepare For Deals With Hair on Them

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By W. Joseph Caton

Excess capital in equity and debt financing markets delivered an eventful 2006, and promises more of the same in 2007. But the commercial real estate finance story to look for this year is the brutal competition among investors to snap up unstabilized properties...

Hotel Owners Can Avoid Property Tax Surprises

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Bernice Dowell

The feverish pace of hotel acquisitions over the past two years has driven sale prices to record levels. Assessors tend to use high sale prices as the basis for property tax calculations. ...

Playing to Win: Roger Staubach

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Christine Perez

Just a few years into his NFL career, Roger Staubach was already thinking about life after football. The salaries of professional athletes in the 1970s weren't what they are today, and the Dallas Cowboys quarterback was married with three kids....

Changing Political Landscape

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Jim Arbury

Last November's election results brought control of Congress into the hands of Democrats. Three critical questions emerge as the 110th Congress gets underway, and the answers will affect federal issues important to the apartment industry...

Voters Trump Court on Eminent Domain

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By G. M. Filisko

The November elections shook Washington, D.C. because they caused the first power shift in more than a decade. Less noticed but equally seismic was the fact that voters in state after state rejected laissez-faire federal rules on the use of government power to seize private property for development....