Real Estate

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Cousins, PREI Enter $173M JV for Terminus 200

ATLANTA-Cousins Properties Inc. has entered into a $172.5-million joint venture with Prudential Real Estate Investors to develop, own and lease Terminus 200. The figure is the estimated cost of construction of the 565,000-sf office property in Buckhead.

With this deal, Cousins has closed on a $138-million construction loan with Wells Fargo Bank as administrative agent, Regions Bank as service agent, and PNC Bank, Bank of North Georgia and Atlantic Capital Bank as additional participants. PREI acted on behalf of institutional investors.

Matt Gove, vice president at Cousins, tells GlobeSt.com the venture was an opportunity for the developer to partner with Prudential on another project, adding the two already have two successful partnerships.

This venture follows a year in which Cousins has made a number of moves with its capital structure, including expanding its revolving credit facility to $500 million, he says. The company also closed on loans for two large projects, he adds.

“All together it puts us in a great place capital-wise to do other projects in our pipeline and be opportunistic next year,” Gove explains. With the building already under construction, Cousins looked at “its capital needs and development pipeline, and a venture like this made sense.”

Cousins broke ground on Terminus 200 in June. The 25-story office asset is slated for an August 2009 delivery, as GlobeSt.com previously reported. No leases have been signed for the Buckhead tower at this date. Terminus 200 is rising at the 10-acre Terminus mixed-use project. It joins Terminus 100, a 656,000-sf office tower that delivered in April. That property is 100% leased and its tenant roster includes Bain & Co., Citigroup, CB Richard Ellis, Wachovia and UBS.

All total, Terminus will feature more than one million sf of office, 125,000 sf of restaurant and retail space, and more than 800 for-sale units. The first residential building, 10 Terminus Pl., will have 137 units and is currently under construction. It will deliver next summer.

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source: globest.com

Hobby Lobby Takes 50,000 SF at 162,000-SF Plaza

STATESBORO, GA-Retailer Hobby Lobby has signed a 50,000-sf lease and will be one of the anchors of the 162,000-sf Statesboro Crossing shopping plaza. The retail asset is rising at the southwest corner of Brannen Street and the Veterans Memorial Parkway.

Statesboro Crossing is a 50/50 joint venture between Chattanooga, TN-based CBL & Associates Properties Inc. and Atlanta-based Ewing Southeast Realty. Projected to open in fall 2008, Statesboro Crossing will be an open-air shopping center featuring anchors, specialty shops, restaurants and freestanding retail space. The other anchor tenant will be TJ Maxx, with other tenants including Rack Room Shoes.

Staubach Co. VP of Atlanta’s retail office Steve Gunning and SVP of Dallas’s retail office Mike Leonard represented Hobby Lobby.

The project site is adjacent to a Wal-Mart SuperCenter and a Lowe’s, and is located less than one-quarter mile from Statesboro Mall, which is anchored by JCPenney, Belk, Sears and a 12-screen Carmike Cinema. It is also in close proximity to Georgia Southern University. Chattanooga, TN-based Artech Design Group is the architect on the project. Chattanooga-based EMJ Corp. is the general contractor.

Ewing Southeast Realty is a retail development company specializing in land and shopping center development. The company currently has projects under development in Covington, Lovejoy, and Villa Rica, GA as well as a project in Albertville, AL. CBL owns and manages three other regional malls in Georgia including Arbor Place in Douglasville, Georgia Square in Athens, and Walnut Square in Dalton and two associated centers.

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source: globest.com

Bankrupt Levitt and Sons' Major Creditors Get Properties Back

From post WWII Levittown in Long Island, NY to Chapter 11 in FL on November 9th, some 60 years later, Levitt and Sons built over 200,000 homes. All projects were halted in October. Moving proceedings forward, the bankruptcy judge gave permission for Levitt and Sons to abandon more than 1000 unfinished lots in The Seasons at Tradition, an upscale “active-adult” community they were developing in southeast Florida. Levitt and Sons will also be allowed to abandon over 3000 lots across the rest of Florida, some in Flagler County. The move allows two of Levitt and Sons largest creditors, Bank of America and Key Bank, to foreclose on the properties.

Levitt filed to abandon about 2,800 unsold lots in St. John’s and Manatee counties as well as in South Carolina and Georgia that are secured by loans from Wachovia Bank. If the two parties are unable to reach a new financing agreement by a scheduled December 19 hearing, Levitt will seek court permission to abandon the lots.

Levitt and Sons owes Key Bank $96.5 million and Bank of America $103.9 million. Other major creditors include Wachovia Bank ($112.5 million), Regions Bank ($24.7 million) and AmTrust.

In The Seasons at Tradition, those who already own homes are faced with unmanned security gates and unbuilt amenities. Those with unfinished homes face the reality that their contract deposits are in jeopardy. Several contractors were also left hanging. The Seasons is one of eight communities within the 8,200 acre Tradition development.

On a positive note, Levitt and Sons parent company, Levitt Corp. has released a statement announcing the establishment of a fund “to provide assistance to employees of Levitt and Sons who were or will be adversely impacted by the Chapter 11 filing. The new fund will pay the separation pay of Levitt and Sons’ former employees that Levitt and Sons is unable to pay due to limitations mandated by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. These funds will track the Levitt and Sons pre-bankruptcy separation policies and practices, including pre-bankruptcy medical benefit claims under the Levitt and Sons’ health plan.”

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source: gotoby.com

Tidelands Condo Owners Seeking Support for Lawsuit against Centex

Palm Coast, FL – Two parties who jointly own one of the condominiums in the Centex developed Tidelands are pursuing legal options. After receiving advice from two attorneys, they contacted other Tidelands property owners by letter to gain additional support. They hope to assemble a group to share expected legal costs.

Early this week, I was contacted by one of the individuals. He explained that their attorneys are optimistic that their claim has validity. Letters were sent to other Tidelands property owners to gain participation and financial support for their effort. If enough parties join them, they gain strength in numbers as well as spread the attorney’s retainer and future fees among participants. I was provided with a copy of the letter.

Tidelands sold out at pre-construction prices before commencement of construction. By the time buildings approached completion, the bottom had started to fall out of the market. Some buyers under contract contacted Centex with the hope of reducing the price of their contract while, at the same time, considering the option of simply walking away from their contracts and deposits. The potential plaintiffs contend that when they met with Centex, a bright picture was painted, including custom manufactured water taxis which would ferry property owners between the several Centex projects and amenities under development. These included the Palm Harbor Resort Marina and refurbished Palm Harbor Golf Course, Bulow Shores and a condominium project at Marineland.

Things did not turn out that way. The Tidelands project is on hold with some buildings not built. Only one condo tower is completed at the resort location. The resort condo/hotel wasn’t built and the golf course was closed and allowed to deteriorate. It has since been donated to the City of Palm Coast to be used as a municipal golf course. The Marineland condominiums, Bulow Shores and the custom water taxis never materialized. Bulow Shores was purchased by the Ginn Company. The Centex property at Marineland is for sale. The letter contends that the unfulfilled promises combined with the aggressively low prices Centex’s adopted in order to sell the remaining units damaged owners who purchased at original prices.

December 1, 2007 update - A Centex representative has informed me that my statement that Tidelands is "on hold" is incorrect. He writes, "That is not true, we are sold out of built product and are taking reservations on future buildout of the next 38 units."

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source: gotoby.com

Ginn’s BriarRose Development in Georgia Has Successful Release

Palm Coast, FL – In 2003, Jeff Davis left the Ginn Company to develop The BriarRose, an 1879 acre private country club and estate community in the Oconee River Valley near White Plains, GA. This August, the Ginn Company, financed by Lubert-Adler, purchased BriarRose for an undisclosed sum and brought Jeff back to his prior position as president of Ginn Real Estate. Last weekend, the change was celebrated with a release event, which I attended, featuring 23 newly released cottage lots. All 23 lots, priced from the low $200s to the mid $300s were snapped up, many from foreign buyers taking advantage of the weak dollar. Five of the cottage lots plus three estate lots were bought by folks from the U.S.

The BriarRose shares many of the characteristics of Ginn’s other developments. They target buyers seeking homesites for retirement and second homes. Other Ginn projects offer lifestyle themes built around golf, skiing, or water. The theme at BriarRose is country living. Lots are all large, some several acres. About 225 of 800 homesites have been sold. Homes will vary from cabins and cottages under 1900 square feet to multi-million dollar estate homes of several thousand square feet. It does have a golf course, but will additionally include an expansive equestrian facility and a sporting club. The sporting club, with over three dozen bird dogs, offers some of the best quail hunting in Georgia. It also offers several clay shooting facilities, some single station, a five station stadium, and a walk up course, where clays (clay pigeons) seem to appear at random as the shooter progresses through the course in a simulated hunting environment. The 250 year-old house at the sport club will be converted into a fine “country” dining restaurant.

Rather than “new urbanism,” BriarRose represent “new ruralism.” I grew up in a small town environment. There were only 66 students from two towns in my high school graduating class. I hunted with a great dog and shot clays when I was younger. I thoroughly enjoyed the BriarRose experience. It took me back to a more tranquil and peaceful time when you could sit in front of a fire with your dog at your feet and the smell of good food emanating from the kitchen. But the real highlight of the weekend was the sales, indicating that there is life left in both Ginn and in some segments of the real estate market. This is good news for all of us.

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source: gotoby.com

Real Estate

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Cousins, PREI Enter $173M JV for Terminus 200

Hobby Lobby Takes 50,000 SF at 162,000-SF Plaza

Bankrupt Levitt and Sons' Major Creditors Get Properties Back

Tidelands Condo Owners Seeking Support for Lawsuit against Centex

Ginn’s BriarRose Development in Georgia Has Successful Release

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