September 1, 2007

Cover Story

Weathering the Storm

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

So much for the forecast that shoddy subprime lending was an isolated event. What started as a spike in residential mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures...

Features

Mega Warehouses Rise in Phoenix

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Steve Bergsman

If investors thought industrial development in Phoenix was hot in the 1990s, then today's market must seem blistering. In 2007, 11.5 million sq. ft. of...

Super Transformation: Public to Private

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

In just 60 days, it was a done deal. By the time the ink was dry on the contract handing New York-based The Blackstone Group ownership of MeriStar Hospitality...

Will the Hotel Industry Overbuild?

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Stan Luxenberg

In January, Ashford Hospitality Trust, a Dallas-based REIT, announced the $2.4 billion acquisition of 51 hotels that had been part of CNL Hotels and Resorts....

An Adventurous Ride in Emerging Markets

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Dees Stribling

Hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal is building his in a place with the unlikely name of the Backwaters, a complex of lagoons and lakes linked by countless canals...

Affordable Housing Innovators

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Denise Kalette

Thirty years ago, as the World Series played out at Yankee Stadium, many baseball fans were riveted not by the batter at the plate, but by what they saw...

Peeling the Multifamily Onion

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

Sometimes averages are a lousy performance indicator. That's particularly true of the national apartment sector, where a 5.8% vacancy rate and rental...

Is Seniors Housing at the Cyclical Peak?

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Jane Adler

Seniors housing hit its sweet spot in mid-2007. High occupancies, rising rents, solid yields and the prospect of a quickly aging population lured investors...

Corporate Environmentalism Surges

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

Pizza Fusion, a restaurateur based in Deerfield Beach, Fla., is gearing up at 50 new franchises to install features such as bamboo flooring, countertops...

Developments

Loan Delinquency Spike Raises Red Flag

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Matt Hudgins

Rating agencies have been sounding alarm bells over aggressive underwriting in commercial mortgage-backed securities for more than a year, but until recently...

Private Equity Benched?

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Benjamin Mark Cole

The private equity power players who helped fuel the real estate and REIT run-up of the 2000s will be largely sidelined amid fears the subprime debacle...

Wind Power Blows Hot in Real Estate Community

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Morris Newman

The propeller-like blades of wind turbines are finding their way to the rooftops of corporate headquarters, high-rise residential towers, government structures...

Does the Hotel Industry Need a Travel Czar?

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Denise Kalette

The American hotel industry is poised to earn a record $27.4 billion in profits this year, nearly $5 billion more than in 2005, but some travel business...

Q & A

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Dees Stribling

William Thomas: Prevailing seniors housing concept lacks any true sense of community Geriatrician William H. Thomas is one of the nation's better-known...

Names in the News

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM

David Steinberg has been promoted to vice president of Konover Development. He will be responsible for identifying development and redevelopment opportunities...

Deals and Projects

Deals & Projects

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Hines REIT has acquired a Long Island office complex, 3 Huntington Square Quadrangle from AEW Capital Management for $87 million. Two four-story buildings...

In Progress: Chicago Riverfront Office Tower

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM

DEVELOPER: Larry Levy and Hines LOCATION: Chicago SIZE: 50-story, 1.1 million sq. ft. office tower PROJECTED COMPLETION: June 2011 BUZZ: The anchor tenant...

Investors Float Mixed-Use Plan to Save Queen Mary

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Parke M. Chapman

A $43 million bid has cleared the way for the redevelopment of an unusual waterfront site in Long Beach, Calif. In mid-August, a private investor group...

Columns

The First Phase of the Credit Storm Is Over, But Expect More Turbulence

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Matt Valley

While optimists are confident that the current credit crunch is merely a blip, pessimists are convinced that the subprime mortgage contagion can only...

New Owner Plans to Reignite Charleston's Cigar Factory

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

Charleston, S.C., has been on The Simpson Organization's to-do list for about five years. The Atlanta-based real estate investment firm is finally getting...

World Beat

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Bennett Voyles

Global capital soars despite debt crisis Global direct real estate investment hit a new record of $382 billion in the first half of 2007, rising 16% over...

Just How Severe Will the Correction Be?

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

In recent weeks, hardly a day has gone by without a news headline pointing to a residential mortgage lender or investor that has either closed shop, ceased...

Tax Witch Hunt Against Private Equity?

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

Keep your eyes on the Congressional proposal to increase taxes on partnerships commonly used by private-equity and hedge-fund firms. Legislators are positioning...

Before You Invest: Index

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Mark Obrinsky

When you're considering investing millions of dollars in an apartment property, you want to know everything you can about how that property performs compared...

Fair Taxation Often Eludes Build-to-Suits

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By J. Kieran Jennings, Esq.

In a build-to-suit transaction, the value of the property to the user who had it built is greater than the value that property holds for the next user....

Lessons still resonate from Hurricane Katrina

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Denise Kalette

As Gulf Coast residents uneasily watch for Atlantic storms this hurricane season, housing officials and private developers in Houston keep their own vigil,...