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In The Pipeline: CoStar Development and Construction News for Feb. 7-13
In this week's Pipeline, George Smith Partners is close to finalizing that rarest of transactions in today's soft market -- a construction loan for new development on the Westside of Los Angeles. Meanwhile, to the east of L.A. in the Inland Empire,...

CoStar's Retail News Roundup: Feb. 7-13, 2010
This week in the Retail Roundup, CoStar reports on expansions or new concepts at Casual Male, Coach, Subway and Chick-fil-A; closings, cutbacks, bankruptcy, default, receivership or foreclosure news at Disney Store, Movie Gallery, Car Dealerships, Walking...

Global Law Firm Signs 102,000-SF Lease in Washington, D.C.
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobsen LLP is relocating its Washington, D.C. office, leasing 102,000 square feet at Lafayette Tower. The international law firm signed a 16-year deal, slated to commence in about a year. The 11-story, 245,000-square...

Hill Country Galleria Sold at Bankruptcy Auction for $75M
Chicago-based REIT Management & Research is the new owner of Hill Country Galleria, a 1.28 million-square-foot mixed-use lifestyle center located in Bee Cave, TX (a suburb of Austin) that filed bankruptcy in May of last year. The investment company won...

Optimism Trumps Gloom at MBA Real Estate Finance Conference in Glitter City
More than 2,000 commercial and multifamily real estate professionals attended the Mortgage Bankers Association's four-day Commercial Real Estate Finance/Multifamily Housing Conference, which wraps up Thursday in Las Vegas. Despite a recession and...

Battered Industrial Property Sector Poised to Resume Growth
The amount of empty warehouse, distribution and flex space hitting the market contracted again sharply in the fourth quarter, and CoStar analysts say industrial real estate appears poised to join office and some retail categories in returning to positive...

Forecasted Growth in Retail Franchise Stores May Fuel Demand
Where will demand for retail real estate come from in 2010? One area increasingly viewed as a potential source is franchise operators. Pricewaterhouse Coopers forecasts that approximately 11,100 new franchised retail stores are expected to open across...

Movie Gallery Files Bankruptcy, Closing 800+ Stores
Late Tuesday night, the country's second largest movie rental chain, Movie Gallery, brought to fruition circulating rumors that it would file Chapter 11. Like most retailers, Movie Gallery was hit hard from lack of consumer demand during the recession...

Threatened Legal Action Over NYC Rent Control Likely to Roil CMBS Market
Another half a billion dollars in CMBS debt looks even weaker this week after New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced his intent to sue Vantage Properties LLC, a major New York City multifamily landlord. Cuomo sent a five-day notice letter...

Aussie REIT Negotiating for U.S. Office Portfolio
Real Estate Capital Partners USA Property Trust (RECP), a REIT based in Sydney, Australia, has conditionally agreed to purchase all of the units of Record Realty Holdings US Trust. RECP would pay about $17.68 million for the assets. The total price...