Commercial Real Estate Finance

Week in Review for February 2 – 8:

- The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (“JOBS Act”), signed into law last year, will likely help more investors participate in real estate ventures formerly restricted to high net worth investors, reports Commercialappeal.com. This securities act, intended to boost American start-ups, will likely promote a “crowdsourcing” approach to fundraising among some real estate companies.

- Philadelphia Business Journal’s Natalie Kostelni provides a look at the brand-new, Philadlephia-area headquarters of Endo Health Solutions (NASDAQ: ENDP). The 320,000-SF property was developed by Trammel Crow Co. and IMC Construction.

- Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LRY) announces a new office development for the Great Valley Corporate Center, close to Endo Health Solutions’ new property. Liberty will develop a 200,000 SF office for financial giant Vanguard Group in a $55 million project slated for completion in the summer of 2014.

- As New York City’s multifamily market grows increasingly competitive, developers seeking higher returns pursue multifamily opportunities in the Bronx, New York’s poorest (but least expensive) borough. The borough saw a 63% increase in investments in 2012, reports Ariel Property Advisors.

- Real Estate Investment Today reports fundraising for retail REITs throughout the world grew by 80% in 2012, based on data from SNL Financial. Retail REITs raised a total of $22.5 billion last year,  the majority of this capital going to publicly traded American retail REITs.

 - In Philadelphia’s up-and-coming Northern Liberties neighborhood, developer Bart Blatstein sells a controlling stake in his Piazza at Schmidt’s and Liberties Walk developments to New York-based Kushner Companies. Philadelphia Business Journal reports an estimated transaction total of $130 million. The apartment and mixed-used properties are popular among the city’s young professionals. The Piazza at Schmidt’s is frequently the site of outdoor concerts and other events.

- California-based KBS Real Estate Investment Trust III acquires the RBC Plaza office building in Minneapolis for $118.1 million, reports CoStar. The 40-story building was previously owned by Brookfield Office Properties.

- On CNBC, Hamid Moghadam, Chairman and CEO of industrial REIT Prologis (NYSE: PLD), discusses industrial real estate opportunities in emerging markets.

- In better-established industrial markets, such as those in the U.S., investors and operators report strong demand and some rent increases. However, developers remain wary of building too much new industrial space.

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