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> News of the day < It was one of those late nights where the TV is teaching you how to make a million dollars just by parting with four payments, no make that three low payments if you acted now (that’s why you don’t keep a phone near your bed). Then the most interesting infomercial came on covering an area [...] |
Ford Graphics leased 14,000 square feet of office and warehouse space at 1431 N.W. 17th Ave., Portland. Todd Collins of Macadam Forbes represented Ford Graphics;
Brad Carnese and Kevin Kriesien of Cushman & Wakefield of Oregon represented the lessor, NATI LLC.
Los Angeles-based Ford Graphics provides graphic services to the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Portland serves as its regional headquarters.
• Law firm Ater Wynne LLP signed an expansion lease for 8,655 square feet at the Lovejoy building, 1331 N.W. Lovejoy, Portland. Craig Reinhart and Chris Elsenbach of CRESA Partners represented Ater Wynne; Mark Friel, Buzz Ellis and Ben McInnis of Pacific Real Estate Partners Inc. represented the building owners, Unico Properties.
• Stanley Convergent Security Solutions renewed its lease for 6,145 square feet at the Pacific Corporate Center, 15495 S. W. Sequoia Parkway, Portland. Trevor Kafoury and Jason Green of CB Richard Ellis represented Stanley; the landlord, Pacific Realty Associates LP, represented itself.
• Beovich Walter & Friend Inc., a court reporting service, leased 5,131 square feet at Congress Center, 1001 S.W. Fifth Ave., Portland. Tom Remley and Julie Bennett of Grubb & Ellis Co. represented Beovich; Eric Castle of Shorenstein Properties represented the center.
•Curt Faus Corp., a residential contractor, leased 4,163 square feet at the Lake Oswego Executive Business Center, 5775 Jean Road. Jeff Snyder of Grubb & Ellis Co. represented Curt Faus; Eric Haskins and Jeff Syder, also of Grubb & Ellis, represented the owner, Illig Investments.
• Affinity Property Management subleased 3,883 square feet of unused space from law firm Miller Nash LLP at U.S. Bancorp Tower, 111 S.W. Fifth Ave., Portland. Tom Becic of Melvin Mark Brokerage Co. represented Miller Nash.
• Longevity Fitness Center Inc. leased 3,745 square feet at the Lake Oswego Executive Business Center. Jeff Snyder of Grubb & Ellis Co. represented Longevity; Eric Haskins and Jeff Snyder of Grubb & Ellis represented the owner, Illig Investments.
• Seguro Group Inc. leased 3,620 square feet at 6342 S.W. Macadam. Stephen Thompson and Mark Watson of Cushman & Wakefield of Oregon represented Seguro; Josh Schweitz of GVA Kidder Mathews represented the lessor, VanderHouwen and Associates Inc.
• Hitachi Consulting Corp. signed an expansion lease for 3,328 square feet at U.S. Bancorp Tower. Jeff Borlaug of NAI Norris, Beggs & Simpson represented Hitachi; Joe Vaughan of Pacific Real Estate Partners Inc. represented the tower, Unico Properties.
• Wellstone Group LLC, a financial planning firm, leased 3,072 square feet at 5800 S.W. Meadows Road, Lake Oswego. John Medak and Jennifer Medak of NAI Norris, Beggs & Simpson represented Wellstone; Jeff Sholian of Pacific Real Estate Partners Inc. represented the lessor, Kruse Way LLC.
• Michael Greenlick & Michael Levine, a civil and criminal law practice, leased 2,731 square feet at Congress Center, Portland. Dan Swift of Cushman & Wakefield of Oregon represented the attorneys; Brandon Frank, Eric Haskins and David Squire of Grubb & Ellis Co. represented Congress Center LP.
• Zoom Care PC, a chain of urgent care clinics, leased 1,500 square feet at Rock Creek Corporate Center, 3600 N.W. John Olsen Road, Hillsboro. Eric Haskins of Grubb & Ellis Co represented Zoom Care; Pat Schreck of Melvin Mark Brokerage Co. represented owner Kryptiq Corp.
• Five Guys Burgers and Fries, based in Lorton, Va., signed a new lease for 2,062 square feet at Willamette Marketplace, 2050 W. Eighth St., West Linn. Don Dowhaniuk of Staubach Retail Services NW represented Five Guys; Melissa Darm and Marc Strabic of CB Richard Ellis represented the owner, VPC-OR West Limited Partnership.
• Charlie Davidson purchased CedarOak Professional Building, a 15,419-square-foot office building at 18676 Willamette Drive, West Linn, from CedarOak Professional Building LLC for $2.84 million. Dann Wonser of Doug Bean & Associates Inc. represented the buyers, a family trust. Buck Reasor of Bluestone and Hockley Real Estate Services represented the three dentists selling the property. The buildings is leased to six tenants specializing in dentistry as well as Willamette Falls Hospital.
• Lake Road Medical LLC purchased a 16,800-square-foot medical office building at 6542 S.E. Lake Road, Milwaukie. Doug Campbell of Mele Taylor Westerdahl represented Lake Road Medical; John Medak and Jennifer Medak of NAI Norris, Beggs & Simpson represented the seller, Maginnis Family LLC.
• Adidas Village in Portland is one of five projects honored by the Urban Land Institute with a Global Award for Excellence. The Adidas Village project, by Adidas-Solomon North America and Winkler Development Corp., transformed a former hospital into the new corporate headquarters for Adidas and its 800 employees. It was the lone U.S. project to receive a Global award.
• Beaverton-based Mission Homes has opened the first phase of Jordan Park, a 12-home subdivision in the Cedar Hills area with prices starting at $589,000. The model home is at 10788 N.W. Jordan Lane.
The Urban Land Institute named Seattle its top U.S. real estate market to watch next year, in its Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2009 report released Oct. 21.
The report is based on the insights and predictions of real estate experts nationwide. According to the report, “Seattle boasts its ‘corporate giants,’ but the market braces for rising downtown office vacancies; now at 10 percent. Tepid job growth will flatten rental rates. Housing demand drops and prices will slip, but stay above national averages. Interviewees rate the market a strong ‘buy’ for apartments, and the ‘number-one buy’ among industrials is the Puget Sound ports.”
The top five markets named in the 2009 ULI report after Seattle were San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles.
Other top 10 markets were Denver, Houston, Boston, Dallas and Chicago.
The 30-year-old Emerging Trends report is the oldest industry outlook for real estate and land use in the nation, according to the ULI. The land group collaborates with accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP on the study, and polls more than 600 real estate experts across the country. Those experts include investors, developers, lenders, brokers and consultants.
Experts cited in the 2009 Emerging Trends report expect the country’s real estate and financial markets to hit bottom next year.
Those markets are expected to flounder for much of 2010, with ongoing declines in property values, more foreclosures and “a limping economy that will continue to crimp property cash flows,” the report said. Real estate values could drop 15 percent to 20 percent from their mid-2007 peak.
“Only when property financing gets restructured will pricing recorrect, so we can find the floor, and this transition could wipe out companies and people,” one respondent said in the report.
Those interviewed for the ULI report generally believe financial institutions will continue to be pressured to move bad loans off their balance sheets, and will do that via auctions. Investors will be discouraged until that “bloodletting” ends, the report said. When investors start buying again, cash and buyers with low leverage will be “king,” banks will impose tougher lending guidelines and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) will be popular again in a more regulated form.
One silver lining for the real estate market, according to the report, is that smart investors will be able to capitalize on the inevitable economic recovery, which could come as early as 2010. “Money will be made on riding markets back to recovery and releasing properties, not on … financing structures,” the report said.
Based in Washington, D.C., the ULI is a nonprofit group that advocates for responsible land use, and to create and sustain “thriving” communities worldwide.
While Texas has fared better than most states, it has not escaped the investment slowdown that has gripped commercial real estate markets throughout the country.
According to a recent report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, as of the end of August 2008, annualized sales for commercial properties in Texas stood at $14 billion — quite a drop from actual sales of $31.6 billion reported for the same period in 2007.
The report, “U.S. Financial Woes Taking a Toll on Texas Industry,” is one of several items in the latest issue of Southwest Economy — a publication distributed by Federal Reserve Bank six times annually. The report was written by D’Ann Petersen, business economist with the Federal Reserve Bank; and associate economist Laila Assanie.
The commercial real estate investment slump has been spurred by a national economy that began showing signs of stress last August, note Petersen and Assanie. Any hopes that credit disruptions would be brief were dashed by the recent Wall Street meltdown, the study adds. With credit harder to come by, and investors demanding higher risk premiums, the velocity of commercial real estate transactions has slowed significantly.
The investment falloff in Texas has been felt in all types of commercial real estate. Annualized 2008 sales of San Antonio’s commercial assets — including office, industrial, retail and apartments — are running 58 percent behind actual sales posted in 2007.
Looking ahead at the rest of this year and into 2009, Petersen and Assanie state that national economic woes will continue to weigh on investment activity in Texas. Still, the very drivers that brought investment money to the Lone Star State in the first place — including its healthy real-estate market fundamentals — are still in place, and will bring the investors back once the economy rebounds, their report predicts.
