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	<title>Harvard Companies, Inc.</title>
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	<description>Commercial Real Estate Brokerage, Tenant Representation, Aquisitions &#38; Dispositions</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:43:15 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/829/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/829/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:43:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Planned Pelli project will shake up Dallas office market Steve Brown stevebrown@dallasnews.com Published: 15 December 2011 11:05 PM In 1972, an engineer-turned-real estate developer turned the Texas commercial property market on its ear. Houston developer Gerald Hines hired illustrious architect Philip Johnson to design a downtown office project. Most of Hines’ office buildings to date had been workaday [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1>Planned Pelli project will shake up Dallas office market</h1>
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<p>Steve Brown</p>
<p><a href="mailto:stevebrown@dallasnews.com">stevebrown@dallasnews.com</a></p>
<p>Published: 15 December 2011 11:05 PM</p>
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<p>In 1972, an engineer-turned-real estate developer turned the Texas commercial property market on its ear.</p>
<p>Houston developer Gerald Hines hired illustrious architect <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Philip_Johnson">Philip Johnson</a> to design a downtown office project.</p>
<p>Most of Hines’ office buildings to date had been workaday projects that delivered good value to tenants for the money.</p>
<p>But with Pennzoil Place in Houston, builder Hines demonstrated that high architecture and for-profit commercial property development could be married.</p>
<p>His Pennzoil Place was fully leased when it opened and was hailed as the country’s Building of the Year by<em><a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/New_York_Times_Company">The New York Times</a></em>.</p>
<p>Developers all over the country took notice — especially in Dallas, where the skyline had long been derided as looking like “a bunch of Kleenex boxes standing on end.”</p>
<p>A transformation</p>
<p>The 1980s real estate boom and the rise of postmodern architecture soon shook Dallas real estate.</p>
<p>Before you knew it, renowned architects including Johnson and partner John Burgee, I.M. Pei, Aldo Cossutta and Skidmore, Owings and Merrill’s Richard Keating were forever changing the city with eye-popping building designs.</p>
<p>During the last decade or so, a tighter business focus on real estate costs and tougher financing hurdles for builders have reined in spending for buildings.</p>
<p>The exception has been in downtown Dallas’ Arts District, where acclaimed work by <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Renzo_Piano">Renzo Piano</a> , Foster + Partners, Joshua Prince-Ramos and <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Rem_Koolhaas">Rem Koolhaas</a> have brought Dallas international attention.</p>
<p>And, of course, too much has been said about those new bridges by Spanish architect <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Santiago_Calatrava">Santiago Calatrava</a>.</p>
<p>Even in the public sector, the high cost of top-tier architecture can be a tough bill to swallow. A stunning Dallas convention center hotel tower designed by Foster + Partners was nixed in favor of a more tame scheme when the projected costs got out of hand.</p>
<p>The files of developers and architects are full of proposed projects that never got off the drawing board because of the economics of the deal.</p>
<p>That’s what makes Crescent Real Estate Holdings’ decision to hire master architect César Pelli a game changer in today’s Dallas office market.</p>
<p>While most developers are scrambling to figure out how to finance and keep the rent down on the next generation of office space, Crescent has upped the ante with its plans for a $225 million office, retail and residential project in Uptown.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>For Full Article please visit:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/business/columnists/steve-brown/20111215-planned-pelli-project-will-shake-up-dallas-office-market.ece">http://www.dallasnews.com/business/columnists/steve-brown/20111215-planned-pelli-project-will-shake-up-dallas-office-market.ece</a></p>
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		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/824/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/824/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:37:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=824</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dallas’ property market in 2011: the good, the bad and the ugly G.J. McCarthy/Staff Photographer Construction continues on the Museum Tower building (center) in downtown Dallas. Steve Brown stevebrown@dallasnews.com Published: 29 December 2011 09:46 PM The North Texas real estate market was a tale of extremes in 2011. While the housing market languished, commercial real estate [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1>Dallas’ property market in 2011: the good, the bad and the ugly</h1>
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<div>G.J. McCarthy/Staff Photographer</div>
<div>Construction continues on the Museum Tower building (center) in downtown Dallas.<a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/business/columnists/steve-brown/?rss" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.dallasnews.com/skins/dmn/gfx/pixel.png" alt="" width="16" height="16" /></a></div>
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<p>Steve Brown</p>
<p><a href="mailto:stevebrown@dallasnews.com">stevebrown@dallasnews.com</a></p>
<p>Published: 29 December 2011 09:46 PM</p>
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<p>The North Texas real estate market was a tale of extremes in 2011.</p>
<p>While the housing market languished, commercial real estate rebounded sharply after three years of declines.</p>
<p>Office and apartment leasing soared. Construction cranes came back. And there was a surge in sales of big investment properties.</p>
<p>Even the shopping center sector, which was hit hardest during the recession, showed promise, with some high-profile building sales and major merchant expansions.</p>
<p>But in the housing market, the downturn dragged on. Still, there are signs of a comeback in residential.</p>
<p>Prices appear to be flattening, and foreclosures are down. Just don’t bet on a bounce in home values anytime soon.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Biggest deal</p>
<p><strong>Crescent Real Estate sales</strong></p>
<p>The quiet sale of a major stake in three of Dallas’ biggest commercial properties — Uptown’s Crescent complex and <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Trammell_Crow">Trammell Crow</a> Center and the Fountain Place towers downtown — didn’t attract a lot of attention.</p>
<p>But J.P. <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Morgan_%28designer%29">Morgan</a> Asset Management’s acquisition of controlling interests in the local landmarks is a deal for the record books.</p>
<p>Investment brokers estimate that the sale by Crescent Real Estate was for more than $700 million, making it the largest such transaction of all time in Dallas.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Biggest change in the skyline</p>
<p><strong>Museum Tower</strong></p>
<p>In an urban jungle already populated with “hey, look at me” buildings&#8230;.</p>
<p>For Remainder of Article, Please Visit:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/business/columnists/steve-brown/20111229-dallas-property-market-in-2011-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly.ece">http://www.dallasnews.com/business/columnists/steve-brown/20111229-dallas-property-market-in-2011-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly.ece</a></p>
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		<title>Grubb &amp; Ellis Files For Bankruptcy, Sells Itself to BGC Partners After All &#8211; CoStar Group</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/breaking-news-grubb-ellis-files-for-bankruptcy-sells-itself-to-bgc-partners-after-all-costar-group/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/breaking-news-grubb-ellis-files-for-bankruptcy-sells-itself-to-bgc-partners-after-all-costar-group/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:03:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=820</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Grubb &#38; Ellis Co., one of the country’s most recognizable CRE services brands which fell on hard financial times during the economic recession, has agreed to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and sell the company in a bankruptcy transaction to BGC Partners, owners of Newmark Knight Frank. In a statement, Santa Ana, CA-based Grubb [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Grubb &amp; Ellis Co., one of the country’s most recognizable CRE services brands which fell on hard financial times during the economic recession, has agreed to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and sell the company in a bankruptcy transaction to BGC Partners, owners of Newmark Knight Frank.</p>
<p>In a statement, Santa Ana, CA-based Grubb &amp; Ellis said it believes the acquisition by the investment firm headed by Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick &#8220;will bring the much-needed scale and resources the company had been seeking through its strategic process&#8221; and will position Grubb &amp; Ellis to &#8220;become part of a well-capitalized global platform.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Following a thorough and rigorous process and the evaluation of all available options, we determined that a partnership with BGC provides the best platform for our brokerage professionals, employees and clients,&#8221; said Thomas P. D&#8217;Arcy, president and chief executive officer of Grubb &amp; Ellis. &#8220;We believe the transaction will be seamless for our clients and we expect no disruption to the company&#8217;s operations.</p>
<p>&#8220;Furthermore, we believe our professionals and clients will benefit greatly by being part of the BGC organization, which, with its recent acquisition of Newmark Knight Frank, will bring together two strong brands to create a powerhouse in the <a href="http://www.showcase.com/" target="_blank">commercial real estate</a> space. BGC&#8217;s purchase of the company&#8217;s senior debt and its willingness to provide incremental financing to ensure the smooth execution of the sale process demonstrate its commitment to the success of the Grubb &amp; Ellis business.&#8221;</p>
<p>To execute the bankruptcy sale, BGC said it has acquired the outstanding secured debt of Grubb &amp; Ellis and has committed to provide debtor-in-possession financing to fund Grubb &amp; Ellis operations during the sale and bankruptcy process.Grubb &amp; Ellis has filed motions requesting that the bankruptcy court approve sale procedures and set a hearing date to approve the sale.</p>
<p>Lutnick, chairman and CEO of BGC, said the deal reflects the &#8220;deep and unwavering commitment&#8221; of BGC to build a premier position in real estate services.</p>
<p>&#8220;We agreed to acquire Grubb &amp; Ellis because we believeNewmark Knight Frank&#8217;s and Grubb &amp; Ellis&#8217; broad knowledge and extensive brokerage expertise, combined with BGC&#8217;s powerful proprietary technology and our strong financial backing, will enable Grubb &amp; Ellis to thrive and grow as part of the BGC family of companies.&#8221;</p>
<p>Barry M. Gosin, CEO of Newmark Knight Frank, pointed to the &#8220;tremendous&#8221; synergies between NKF&#8217;s's consultative approach to clients and Grubb&#8217;s transactional and management services capabilities. James D. Kuhn, NKF president, added that Newmark Knight Frank&#8217;s business model has been &#8220;dramatically strengthened&#8221; upon becoming part of BGC and believes Grubb &amp; Ellis&#8217;s brokers, employees and clients would find the same opportunities to grow.</p>
<p>The announcement comes a week after longtime Grubb &amp; Ellis Co. director C. Michael Kojaian <a href="http://www.costar.com/News/Article/Grubb-Ellis-Chairman-Kojaian-Steps-Down/135877" target="_blank"><strong>resigned from the company&#8217;s board of directors,</strong></a><strong> </strong>in part to &#8220;avoid actual or apparent conflicts of interest&#8221; in connection with his affiliated companies.</p>
<p>Negotiations with several prominent companies in recent months, including BGC Partners, C-III Capital Partners and Colony Capital, <strong><a href="http://www.costar.com/News/Article/Latest-Potential-Investor-In-Grubb-Ellis-Emerges-From-Talks-Without-Agreement/135522" target="_blank">had failed to yield an agreement that would infuse enough cash into the company </a></strong>to continue operations.</p>
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		<title>Finally, some good news about Victory Park</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/finally-some-good-news-about-victory-park/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/finally-some-good-news-about-victory-park/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:59:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[News this week that development is about to restart in Dallas’ Victory Park project may have been a surprise to some folks. Most of the reports about the development have been bad of late. Just last week, lenders foreclosed on one of its biggest buildings. So truly, it is about time for Victory to catch [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>News this week that development is about to restart in Dallas’ Victory Park project may have been a surprise to some folks.</p>
<p>Most of the reports about the development have been bad of late.</p>
<p>Just last week, lenders foreclosed on one of its biggest buildings.</p>
<p>So truly, it is about time for Victory to catch a break.</p>
<p>For more than a decade the ambitious project has gone from boom to bust, from controversy to celebration.</p>
<p>One thing hasn’t changed along the way — the 75-acre development’s strategic location on the northwest corner of downtown Dallas.</p>
<p>That’s why there will soon be construction cranes rising again over Victory Park.</p>
<p>But what’s going to be built won’t be more of the same.</p>
<p>Instead of expensive condos that have gone begging or more high-priced retail space, Victory’s developers are going to add a new office tower and midrise apartments.</p>
<p>Demand for this new space will boost Victory’s population — something that must happen if the project is going to be what was once envisioned.</p>
<p>Victory has a storied past.</p>
<p>The project started out with a political battle over building the <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/American_Airlines_Center">American Airlines Center</a> sports arena and the surrounding mixed-use complex. Voters finally approved the project after a virulent public campaign.</p>
<p>Actually, that part of the project turned out even better than planned. The city of Dallas paid off 17 years ahead of schedule the $140 million in bonds used to build the arena and infrastructure.</p>
<p>After the arena was under way, it still took a while to get the rest of the project going.</p>
<p>The New York firm originally hired to build Victory pulled out of the deal in 2003 after almost four years of planning.</p>
<p>Victory’s owners — developer Hillwood and companies affiliated with the arena’s sports teams — then went back to the drawing board to come up with a new scheme.</p>
<p>What they picked was set by the tone of the times.</p>
<p>The high-end condos and shops that went up at Victory did OK until the <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Economic_Recession">recession</a> hit and the economic downturn let all the air out of the deal. It wasn’t long before Victory’s storefronts were going dark.</p>
<p>Last week lenders foreclosed on the 28-story, mostly unsold House condo tower.</p>
<p>The German bank that now owns the luxury high-rise has marked it down from almost $80 million in debt to about $32.5 million.</p>
<p>In 2009, German investors who had invested more than $185 million took control of the buildings and some of the land at Victory.</p>
<p>Since then, the office buildings and apartments at Victory have filled up.</p>
<p>The more than 600,000 square feet of existing office space in Victory is 95 percent leased. And the two current apartment buildings — Vista and Cirque — are 98 percent occupied.</p>
<p>No wonder Victory’s owner has decided to go with more offices and apartments.</p>
<p>But most important in this week’s construction announcements at Victory is the proof that the German owners are going to stick with the deal for a while. It would have been easy for them to just liquidate Victory for cents on the dollar and turn their backs on the whole project.</p>
<p>“We are committed to making Victory Park become the icon for Dallas it was supposed to be,” said Lance Fair, vice president of Victory Park and chief operating officer of Estein &amp; Associates, the company that represents the German owners. “We are long-term investors, and that’s our approach with Victory.”</p>
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		<title>New name for downtown Dallas deck park</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/new-name-for-downtown-dallas-deck-park/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/new-name-for-downtown-dallas-deck-park/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:44:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=809</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Credit: The ParkAn artist&#8217;s rendering shows what Klyde Warren Park will look like when complete later this year. WFAA Posted on February 19, 2012 at 10:47 AM Updated yesterday at 11:52 AM DALLAS — The 5.2-acre park now being constructed over Woodall Rodgers Freeway in downtown Dallas has a new name: Klyde Warren Park. It is [...]]]></description>
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<div id="storyimg hmedia"><img title="New name for downtown Dallas deck park" src="http://media.wfaa.com/images/469*264/0219_klyde_warren_park01.jpg" alt="Klyde Warren Park" width="469" height="264" border="0" />Credit: The ParkAn artist&#8217;s rendering shows what Klyde Warren Park will look like when complete later this year.</p>
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<p>WFAA</p>
<p title="2012-02-19t08:47:07z">Posted on February 19, 2012 at 10:47 AM</p>
<p title="2012-02-19t09:52:58z">Updated yesterday at 11:52 AM</p>
<p title="2012-02-19t09:52:58z">DALLAS — The 5.2-acre park now being constructed over Woodall Rodgers Freeway in downtown Dallas has a new name: Klyde Warren Park.</p>
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<p>It is named after the nine-year-old son of Kelcy Warren, CEO of Dallas-based<a href="http://www.energytransfer.com/" target="_blank">Energy Transfer Partners</a>, who has made a substantial donation to the completion of the $110 million public-private project.</p>
<p>&#8220;I am so pleased that my son and I are able to play a role in bringing this incredible asset to our city,&#8221; Kelcy Warren said in a written statement issued on Sunday.</p>
<p>Plans for Klyde Warren Park include a performance stage, restaurant, walking paths, a dog park, a children&#8217;s park, and a great lawn. It is scheduled to open this fall.</p>
<h5><a href="http://harvardco.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Capture.png"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-814" title="Capture" src="http://harvardco.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Capture.png" alt="" width="210" height="210" /></a></h5>
<p><a href="http://www.wfaa.com/news/business/New-name-for-downtown-Dallas-park-139633233.html#">http://www.wfaa.com/news/business/New-name-for-downtown-Dallas-park-139633233.html#</a></p>
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		<title>Developer plans $55M redo of Butler Brothers Building at 500 S. Ervay in Downtown Dallas</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/developer-plans-55m-redo-of-butler-brothers-building-at-500-s-ervay-in-downtown-dallas/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:29:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=804</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A Texas-based investment partnership has big plans for the 101-year-old building adjacent to Dallas’ City Hall. Alterra 500 South Ervay LLC, a limited liability company of Alterra International, led by Turkish investor Mike Sarimsakci, plans to spend $55 million turning the Butler Brothers Building into a multi-use property that would include a 220-room hotel, 250 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>A Texas-based investment partnership has big plans for the 101-year-old building adjacent to Dallas’ City Hall.</h2>
<p><img src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/615x/rh/rhxjfgvha97vdpvg.jpg" alt="" /></p>
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<p>Alterra 500 South Ervay LLC, a limited liability company of Alterra International, led by Turkish investor Mike Sarimsakci, plans to spend $55 million turning the Butler Brothers Building into a multi-use property that would include a 220-room hotel, 250 apartments, and about 80,000 square feet of office and retail space.</p>
<p>The development group is looking for partners for its extended-stay hotel flag, retail and restaurant space and school, said Sarimsakci, who has been described by Turkish media as the “Turkish Trump.”</p>
<p>“We want the building to be more than a residential building and hotel. We want retail and restaurants to compliment the residential,” Sarimsaci said.</p>
<p>Sarimsakci is a partner for the Eastern Mediterranean investment group. He has been previously affiliated with the $135 million development called 1401 Elm St. in downtown Dallas. The 52-story 1.3 million-square-foot property was previously known as Elm Place.<br />
POSTED BY <a title="Posts by Bob Voelker" href="http://www.youplusdallas.com/cityblog/real-estate/author/bobvoelker/" rel="author" target="_top">BOB VOELKER</a>   |    Dallas Morning News  JANUARY 21ST, 2012 AT 5:15 AM</p>
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		<title>Fannie, Freddie CEOs Sued by SEC Over Mortgage Crisis</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/fannie-freddie-ceos-sued-by-sec-over-mortgage-crisis/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/fannie-freddie-ceos-sued-by-sec-over-mortgage-crisis/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:44:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shawn Dawson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=790</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK (TheStreet) &#8212; The Securities and Exchange Commission is suing former executives of Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) and Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB) for allegedly misrepresenting their exposure to subprime loans to investors, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. The executives include former Freddie Mac Chief Richard Syron and Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd. The SEC alleged that Fannie Mae executives [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>NEW YORK (<a href="http://www.thestreet.com/" target="blank">TheStreet</a>) &#8212; The Securities and Exchange Commission is suing former executives of Fannie Mae (<a href="http://www.thestreet.com/bn//quote/FNMA.OB">FNMA.OB</a>) and Freddie Mac (<a href="http://www.thestreet.com/bn//quote/FMCC.OB">FMCC.OB</a>) for allegedly misrepresenting their exposure to subprime loans to investors, according to a report by the <em>Wall Street Journal.</em></p>
<div>
<p>The executives include former Freddie Mac Chief Richard Syron and Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd. The SEC alleged that Fannie Mae executives misled the public about its exposure to subprime mortgages and Alt-A loans between December 2006 and August 2008. Freddie Mac executives also allegedly misled public about its subprime loan exposure between March 2007 and August 2008.</p>
<p>The SEC had sent Wells notices earlier this year to the executives informing them of their planned enforcement action, according to the report.</p>
</div>
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		<title>Uptown, Dallas &#8211; New $225 Million Development Planned</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/uptown-dallas-new-225-million-development-planned/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/uptown-dallas-new-225-million-development-planned/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:08:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shawn Dawson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=787</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[DALLAS (Dallas Morning News) – Pelli Clarke Pelli will design a mixed-use project in Uptown for Crescent Real Estate Holdings LLC. The $225 million development will include an office tower, 60,000 sf of retail and restaurant space, and 50 luxury residential units. It will be at Cedar Springs Rd. and Olive St. The firm&#8217;s owner, Cesar Pelli has [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>DALLAS (<a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/business/commercial-real-estate/headlines/20111212-famed-architect-cesar-pelli-to-design-new-uptown-development.ece?action=reregister"><em>Dallas Morning News</em></a>) – Pelli Clarke Pelli will design a mixed-use project in Uptown for Crescent Real Estate Holdings LLC.</p>
<p>The $225 million development will include an office tower, 60,000 sf of retail and restaurant space, and 50 luxury residential units. It will be at Cedar Springs Rd. and Olive St.</p>
<p>The firm&#8217;s owner, Cesar Pelli has designed some of the world’s modern landmarks, including Petronas Towers in Malaysia.</p>
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		<title>Dallas Ft. Worth Metroplex Real Estate By The Numbers</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/dallas-ft-worth-metroplex-real-estate-by-the-numbers/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/dallas-ft-worth-metroplex-real-estate-by-the-numbers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:03:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shawn Dawson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=785</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[FORT WORTH (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) – According to the latest figures from McGraw-Hill Construction, commercial building contracts in the Metroplex totaled $166.9 million in October, down 38 percent from a year ago. Meanwhile, residential contracts totaled $544.5 million, up 28 percent. Year to date, commercial contracts through October totaled $3 billion, down 2 percent compared with [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>FORT WORTH (<a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/12/11/3587193/real-estate-water-district-buys.html"><em>Fort Worth Star-Telegram</em></a>) – According to the latest figures from McGraw-Hill Construction, commercial building contracts in the Metroplex totaled $166.9 million in October, down 38 percent from a year ago. Meanwhile, residential contracts totaled $544.5 million, up 28 percent.</p>
<p>Year to date, commercial contracts through October totaled $3 billion, down 2 percent compared with a year ago. Residential contracts totaled $4.4 billion for the first ten months, up 10 percent.</p>
<p>Statewide numbers for the year show commercial contracts down 13 percent at $11.5 billion and residential contracts remaining flat at $14.6 billion.</p>
<p>The area includes Collin, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Ellis, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant and Wise Counties.</p>
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		<title>APARTMENTS 2012 TOP INVESTMENT</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/apartments-2012-top-investment/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/apartments-2012-top-investment/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:54:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shawn Dawson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=782</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[HOUSTON (realtynewsreport.com) – Where will investors be putting their money next year? Multifamily properties, according to a recent 2012 outlook survey conducted by Jones Lang LaSalle. Survey respondents said rising rental rates and declining home ownership rates suggest strong apartment investment activity in the coming year. And take note, Dallas: When asked where in the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>HOUSTON (realtynewsreport.com) – Where will investors be putting their money next year? Multifamily properties, according to a recent 2012 outlook survey conducted by Jones Lang LaSalle.<br />
Survey respondents said rising rental rates and declining home ownership rates suggest strong apartment investment activity in the coming year.<br />
And take note, Dallas: When asked where in the United States they would be most likely to invest next year, respondents ranked Big D among the top five cities, beating out New York City and Washington, D.C.<br />
On the flip side, they said Houston was one of the five cities in which they&#8217;d most likely sell properties.<br />
The survey was completed by more than 150 private investors, real estate brokers, developers, REIT and institutional investors.<strong><br />
</strong></p>
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		<title>Jobs Up in Texas!</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/jobs-up-in-texas/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/jobs-up-in-texas/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:19:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=759</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Texas continues to post consistent gains across all major metros. Major Texas metros performed well again in July, with Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth and Austin topping the long-term growth charts. Houston was among the top performers on an annual basis, with payrolls up 2.6% over the past twelve months and up 1.6% over the past [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: left;">Texas continues to post consistent gains across all major metros. Major Texas metros performed well again in July, with Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth and Austin topping the long-term growth charts. Houston was among the top performers on an annual basis, with payrolls up 2.6% over the past twelve months and up 1.6% over the past six months. Austin continued expanding in July, adding nearly 3,000 jobs throughout the month, and employment is up 1.8% over the past twelve months, 1.4% over the past six months and 0.4% over the past three months, showing that much of its expansion occurred in mid-2010</p>
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		<title>CoreLogic® Home Price Index Shows Fourth  Consecutive Month-Over-Month Increase However Down Year-Over-Year</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/corelogic%c2%ae-home-price-index-shows-fourth-consecutive-month-over-month-increase-however-down-year-over-year/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/corelogic%c2%ae-home-price-index-shows-fourth-consecutive-month-over-month-increase-however-down-year-over-year/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:14:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=752</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Home Prices Still Down 5.2 Percent Vs. July 2010 Homeprices in the U.S. increased for the fourth consecutive month, inching up 0.8 percent on a month-over-month basis. On a year-over-year basis, however, national home prices, including distressed sales, declined by 5.2 percent in July 2011 compared to July 2010. In June 2011, prices declined by [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Home Prices Still Down 5.2 Percent Vs. July 2010</strong></p>
<p>Homeprices in the U.S. increased for the fourth consecutive month, inching up 0.8 percent on a month-over-month basis. On a year-over-year basis, however, national home prices, including distressed sales, declined by 5.2 percent in July 2011 compared to July 2010. In June 2011, prices declined by 6.0 percent* compared to June 2010. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices declined by 0.6 percent in July 2011 compared to July 2010 and by 1.9* percent in June 2011 compared to June 2010. Distressed sales include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions.</p>
<p>Highlights as of July 2011</p>
<ul>
<li>Including distressed sales, the five states with the highest appreciation were: West Virginia (+14.0 percent), New York (+3.3 percent), Wyoming (+3.2 percent), Mississippi (+2.4 percent), and the District of Columbia (+2.3 percent).</li>
<li></li>
<li></li>
<li></li>
<li></li>
<li></li>
<li></li>
<li></li>
<li>Including distressed sales, the five states with the greatest depreciation were: Nevada (-12.2 percent), Arizona (-11.9 percent), Illinois (-10.0 percent)&nbsp;</li>
<li></li>
<li>Excluding distressed sales, the five states with the highest appreciation were: West Virginia (+16.8 percent), South Carolina (+5.5 percent), New York (+4.1 percent), Wyoming (+3.8 percent), and North Dakota (+3.6 percent)
<p>.</li>
</ul>
<p>&#8220;While July&#8217;s numbers remained relatively positive, particularly for non-distressed sales which have been stable, seasonal influences are expected to fade in late summer. At that point the month-over-month growth will most likely turn negative,&#8221; said Mark Fleming, chief economist with CoreLogic. &#8220;The slowdown in economic growth and increased uncertainty caused by the recent stock market volatility will continue to exert downward pressure on prices.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>As Era of &#8220;Extend &amp; Pretend&#8221; Ends, More CRE Shopping Begins</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/as-era-of-extend-pretend-ends-more-cre-shopping-begins/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/as-era-of-extend-pretend-ends-more-cre-shopping-begins/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Aug 2011 09:33:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=748</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Investors See More Opportunities in Distressed Investment Coming To Market Ahead of This Year&#8217;s Glut of Maturing CRE Debt As the &#8220;extend and pretend&#8221; period of the Great Recession wanes into a period of true loan modifications, lenders and note holders appear to be forcing more distressed loans into the marketplace. And in turn, institutional [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 id="oHeadline"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;">Investors See More Opportunities in Distressed Investment Coming To Market Ahead of This Year&#8217;s Glut of Maturing CRE Debt</span></h1>
<div id="oAuthor">As the &#8220;extend and pretend&#8221; period of the Great Recession wanes into a period of true loan modifications, lenders and note holders appear to be forcing more distressed loans into the marketplace. And in turn, institutional investors, who were disappointed in the relatively slim pickings available in the distressed markets after raising enormous sums targeted for acquisition in 2009 and 2010, seem to be back on the hunt for more opportunities in investment-grade<a href="http://www.showcase.com/" target="_blank">commercial real estate</a>.</div>
<div id="oArticleText">SilverLeaf Financial, a private equity firm specializing in buying distressed debt, this week acquired six non-performing notes secured by various apartment complexes in Georgia. The aggregate unpaid balance of the notes totals $16.6 million. Shane Baldwin, a principal of SilverLeaf, said depressed market conditions coupled with overleverage factored into the default.
</p>
<p>&#8220;We liked the collateral, and felt comfortable with the location of the apartment complexes. Our investment platform incorporates a strategy in which we acquire loans and loan portfolios that are priced below the intrinsic value,&#8221; Baldwin said. &#8220;In the event we exhaust our work-out or restructuring options, the hope is we own the real estate at a very good value.&#8221;</p>
<p>Taking title to a distressed property figured extensively in another transaction this week, Global Fund Investments and MMG Equity Partners foreclosed on Harbour Village, a 112,886-square-foot shopping center in Jacksonville, FL, anchored by The Fresh Market and Stein Mart. After acquiring the conduit loan from a special servicer in an off-market transaction in April, the Global / MMG partnership set about the foreclosure process to take title to the property.</p>
<p>Gabriel Navarro, MMG principal, said, &#8220;We&#8217;re happy to have completed the foreclosure process and take title to one of the best-built and well located shopping centers in Jacksonville. This transaction is another example of our ability to move very quickly and work within nontraditional transaction guidelines and timeframes.&#8221;</p>
<p>According to the latest CoStar Commercial Repeat-Sale Indices, transaction activity increased 24% from 2,176 sale pairs in the first quarter of 2011 to 2,690 sale pairs in the second quarter of 2011. Investment grade transaction activity drove most of the increase. Noteworthy in the investment grade index is that the percent of distressed sales increased to 34% of the activity in June 2011 from 32.2% in May 2011.</p>
<p>In March, CoStar Group forecast $45 billion to $60 billion worth of distress transactions in 2011.</p>
<p>Bank &#8220;extend and pretend&#8221; strategies through 2008-2010 moved a glut of loan maturities to this year. As of year-end 2010, CoStar forecasted more than $850 billion in commercial real estate loan maturities this year. And 2011 has produced a strong stream of newly delinquent loans on top of already significant increases in loan modification and liquidation activity.</p>
<p>Under such &#8220;extend and pretend&#8221; policies, lenders and servicers simply extended maturity dates as a way to wait out the Great Recession. Then in the second half of last year, the number of &#8220;true&#8221; modifications of principal and interest rate reductions began to make up an increased share of activity. This also opened the doors for banks to start releasing loans they did not want to modify back into the marketplace.</p>
<p>As a result, the opportunities for investors to acquire properties through foreclosures on attractive terms has also increased, according to a white paper Urdang, the real estate arm for BNY Mellon Asset Management, released this week.</p>
<p>David Rabin, managing director, private real estate, at Urdang Capital Management, and the co-author of the report, said, &#8220;With banks increasingly willing to sell these properties and with commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS) delinquencies at an all-time high, we believe there will be increasing opportunities to purchase or recapitalize over-leveraged assets at an attractive cost basis.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;The ability to acquire these properties at attractive costs is possible because of the significant amount of commercial real estate debt that is scheduled to mature over the next four years,&#8221; said David Blum, managing director, portfolio management, at Urdang Capital and the other co-author of the report. &#8220;Many of these properties have experienced deferred capital expenditures, which will require owners to invest additional equity or dispose of their assets.&#8221;</p>
<p>Also contributing to the attractiveness of selectively acquiring commercial real estate is that, aside from a handful of high-end properties in top tier U.S. markets, commercial real estate values generally remain well below the pricing peaks reached during the 2005 to 2007 period, according to the authors. The report attributed this drag on commercial real estate to the downward pull exerted by sales of distressed properties.</p>
<p>&#8220;This drop in values has put many otherwise healthy properties in a position where they will require infusions of additional equity so maturing mortgages can be refinanced,&#8221; Blum said. &#8220;This gives new investors the opportunity to have a lower cost basis than those who bought similar properties a few years ago, providing them&nbsp;with the ability to offer lower rental rates than comparable properties with greater debt burdens.&#8221;</p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 22px; ">
<div id="oAuthor" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-size: 12px; ">By&nbsp;<a title="Click to send an e-mail" href="http://www.costar.com/News/Article/As-Era-of-Extend-Pretend-Ends-More-CRE-Shopping-Begins/131637?ref=/News/Article/As-Era-of-Extend-Pretend-Ends-More-CRE-Shopping-Begins/131637&amp;src=rss" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-size: 12px; "><strong style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-size: 12px; ">Mark Heschmeyer</strong></a></div>
<div id="oArticleDate" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-size: 12px; ">August 24, 2011</div>
<p></span></p>
</div>
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		<title>United Fidelity building to become Homewood Suites hotel</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/united-fidelity-building-to-become-homewood-suites-hotel/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/united-fidelity-building-to-become-homewood-suites-hotel/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:46:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=743</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By STEVE BROWN Real Estate Editor stevebrown@dallasnews.com Published 08 August 2011 10:57 AM An Irving hotel firm is transforming a vacant downtown Dallas office building into an all-suite hotel. The former United Fidelity Life Insurance Building at 1025 Elm St. has been vacant for more than a decade. Earlier this year, Lowen Hospitality Management bought the property out [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.dallasnews.com/incoming/20110808-fidelity.jpg.ece/BINARY/w620x413/fidelity.JPG" alt="" /></p>
<p>By STEVE BROWN</p>
<p>Real Estate Editor</p>
<p><a href="mailto:stevebrown@dallasnews.com">stevebrown@dallasnews.com</a></p>
<p>Published 08 August 2011 10:57 AM</p>
<p>An <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Irving%2C_Texas">Irving</a> hotel firm is transforming a vacant downtown Dallas office building into an all-suite hotel.</p>
<p>The former United Fidelity Life Insurance Building at 1025 Elm St. has been vacant for more than a decade.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, Lowen Hospitality Management bought the property out of foreclosure. It has begun work to convert it to a <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Homewood_Suites_by_Hilton">Homewood Suites by Hilton</a> Hotel.</p>
<p>The first phase is to gut the old building and ready it for redevelopment, Lowen officer Sanjay Naik said Monday.</p>
<p>“It will definitely take the rest of this year to clean it out,” Naik said. “We don’t have an opening date scheduled yet.”</p>
<p>Built in 1918, the 10-story high-rise originally housed the offices of the Texas &amp; Pacific Railroad.</p>
<p>In 1920, United Fidelity bought the Texas &amp; Pacific Building located between Elm Street and Pacific Avenue and moved its office into the lower floors of the high-rise. Most of the building remained occupied by the railroad into the 1950s.</p>
<p>The insurance company in 1959 decided to modernize the classical-style high-rise with a glass and metal exterior.</p>
<p>That’s when an adjoining five-story parking garage was constructed facing Griffin Street.</p>
<p>The brown glass building for many years housed operations of First National Bank of Dallas and its successor companies.</p>
<p>Dallas architecture, engineering and design firm Aguirre Roden Inc. is handling the work on the renovation project.</p>
<p>“We are in the design phase of the renovation as well as performing some demolition work,” executive vice president Gary Roden said.</p>
<p>The Elm Street project is the third new hotel development under way downtown.</p>
<p>Construction will be completed later this year on the Omni Dallas convention hotel on Young Street. South of the convention center on Lamar Street, development has begun on a 76-room Nylo Hotel.</p>
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		<title>Dallas-area commercial foreclosures fall from last year</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/dallas-area-commercial-foreclosures-fall-from-last-year/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/dallas-area-commercial-foreclosures-fall-from-last-year/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:44:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=740</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By STEVE BROWN Real Estate Editor stevebrown@dallasnews.com Published 04 August 2011 10:25 PM &#160; During the first half of 2011, almost a half-billion dollars in Dallas-Fort Worth area commercial properties were sold by lenders on the courthouse steps. The total sounds big, but the dollar volume and number of commercial property foreclosures in the area are down [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.dallasnews.com/incoming/20110804-nb_02fenton_20452811.jpg.ece/BINARY/w620x413/NB_02FENTON_20452811.JPG" alt="" /></p>
<p>By STEVE BROWN</p>
<p>Real Estate Editor</p>
<p><a href="mailto:stevebrown@dallasnews.com">stevebrown@dallasnews.com</a></p>
<p>Published 04 August 2011 10:25 PM</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>During the first half of 2011, almost a half-billion dollars in Dallas-<a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Fort_Worth%2C_Texas">Fort Worth</a> area commercial properties were sold by lenders on the courthouse steps.</p>
<p>The total sounds big, but the dollar volume and number of commercial property foreclosures in the area are down from the same period last year. And the expected flood of commercial real estate sales by lenders just hasn’t materialized.</p>
<p>“What we are seeing is just phenomenal compared to what it could have been,” said George Roddy, whose Foreclosure Listing Service tracks North Texas property foreclosure postings and sales. “We heard predictions of how much commercial property would be foreclosed on, and it hasn’t gotten there yet.”</p>
<p>In the first six months of the year, just over 300 commercial properties — including offices, retail buildings, apartments, warehouses and development land — were sold at auction by lenders, Roddy’s data shows. That’s about a 7 percent decline from the same period last year.</p>
<p>The dollar volume of the foreclosures is down even more — about 30 percent less than in 2010.</p>
<p>In number and dollar amount, the current downturn’s commercial foreclosures are nothing like what North Texas saw in the late 1980s and early 1990s real estate crash.</p>
<p>“We were running in Dallas County 300 to 400 sales a month back then,” Roddy said. “Compared to that, the last few years have been anemic.”</p>
<p>Not that North Texas hasn’t had plenty of commercial foreclosures so far in 2011.</p>
<p>The largest included an LBJ Freeway office complex — the Fenton Center in <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Farmers_Branch%2C_Texas">Farmers Branch</a> — and the<a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Crowne_Plaza">Crowne Plaza</a> hotel in <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Addison%2C_Texas">Addison</a>.</p>
<p>Lenders also foreclosed on parts of a new shopping center on State Highway 121, the <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Lewisville%2C_Texas">Lewisville</a> Town Crossing. And big development sites in <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Irving%2C_Texas">Irving</a> and <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Frisco%2C_Texas">Frisco</a> went into lender control.</p>
<p>Lost land</p>
<p>Development land accounted for the biggest share of commercial property foreclosures so far this year in the D-FW area. More than 100 tracts with more than $178 million in debt went into foreclosure.</p>
<p>Office buildings, with almost $85 million in debt, and apartments, with more than $80 million in mortgages, were also sold at foreclosure, according to Foreclosure Listing Service’s data.</p>
<p>So far, some lenders have been reluctant to take over failed commercial real estate deals.</p>
<p>That’s given the market time to sort out some of its problems, said Stuart Wernick, senior vice president of Grandbridge Real Estate Capital.</p>
<p>“A lot of the lenders have been able to work out the problems with their borrowers,” Wernick said. “They are being patient and working with their clients, who have acted honorably.</p>
<p>“There is also some new capital out there that has shown up to save the day,” he said. “Interest rates have remained low, and that’s helped, too.”</p>
<p>Train wrecks</p>
<p>Still, hundreds of North Texas commercial properties face debt issues in the year ahead, analysts say.</p>
<p>And billions in local property loans will come due over the next few years and must be refinanced.</p>
<p>“There are train wrecks waiting to happen, still working their way through the system,” said Tom Fink, managing director of Trepp LLC, a <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/New_York_%28state%29">New York</a> commercial mortgage information firm.</p>
<p>Trepp estimates that of the more than $19 billion in outstanding commercial mortgages in the D-FW area that have been sold as securities, about 11 percent are delinquent.</p>
<p>“You should see some time over the next 24 months another $1.3 billion hit the courthouse steps,” Fink said.</p>
<p>He estimates only about a third of the problem deals have been foreclosed on so far.</p>
<p>“The process has gone a lot slower than anyone ever thought it would,” he said.</p>
<p><strong>Top foreclosures</strong></p>
<p>Some of the most expensive of the commercial properties sold at foreclosure auction in the first half of 2011 and their original loan values:</p>
<p><strong>Fenton Center office complex,</strong> Farmers Branch: $62 million</p>
<p><strong>Crowne Plaza Hotel, </strong>Addison: $30 million</p>
<p><strong>Parts of Lewisville Towne Crossing shopping center:</strong> $20 million</p>
<p><strong>Frisco Main Street and tollway mixed-use land: </strong>$19.8 million</p>
<p><strong>Irving land, </strong>109 acres, State Highway 114 and Belt Line Road: $14.3 million</p>
<p>SOURCE: Foreclosure Listing Service</p>
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		<title>In bad times, big-ticket amenities in Dallas are booming</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/in-bad-times-big-ticket-amenities-in-dallas-are-booming/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/in-bad-times-big-ticket-amenities-in-dallas-are-booming/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:33:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=733</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By DAVID FLICK Staff Writer dflick@dallasnews.com Published 30 July 2011 11:25 PM &#160; In the teeth of the worst recession in eight decades, Dallas is undergoing a building boom. Not in real estate, heaven knows, or in construction of high-rise office buildings, but in an area in which the city has always been judged weak [...]]]></description>
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<p>By DAVID FLICK</p>
<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p><a href="mailto:dflick@dallasnews.com">dflick@dallasnews.com</a></p>
<p>Published 30 July 2011 11:25 PM</p>
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<p>In the teeth of the worst <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Economic_Recession">recession</a> in eight decades, Dallas is undergoing a building boom.</p>
<p>Not in <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Real_Estate_%28musician%29">real estate</a>, heaven knows, or in construction of high-rise office buildings, but in an area in which the city has always been judged weak — in projects devoted to the quality of life.</p>
<p>The opening of the <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/AT%26T_Inc.">AT&amp;T</a> Performing Arts Center in 2009 brought international attention, but it was only one of more than a dozen high-profile, big-ticket amenities that have opened in the past few years — or will come on line in a few years hence.</p>
<p>The projects include four downtown parks, a presidential library, a <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/American_Museum_of_Natural_History">natural history museum</a> , a nature center along the Trinity River and major expansions at existing institutions such as the <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Dallas_Zoo">Dallas Zoo</a> and the Dallas Arboretum. The total cost of the list, which is only a partial one, comes to well over $1 billion.</p>
<p>Transportation projects, ordinarily the most mundane of civic projects, have been enlisted in the movement to improve urban life here. Millions in private funds were raised to turn the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge from what would have been a utilitarian structure into a city landmark. Meanwhile, the <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/McKinney%2C_Texas">McKinney</a> Avenue trolley will be expanded, and the Santa Fe Trail, a bicycle and pedestrian path, has opened in <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/East_Dallas%2C_Texas">East Dallas</a>.</p>
<p>The list does not include recent expansion of the <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Dallas_Area_Rapid_Transit">DART</a> rail, which some urban experts consider the most crucial amenity of all.</p>
<p>Darwin Payne, author of <em>Big D</em>, the best known of the city’s histories, said Dallas has experienced two similar periods — the decades near the turn of the century when cultural institutions such as the city library and art museum were founded, and the era of the Centennial Exposition in the mid-1930s.</p>
<p>But, in sheer variety and scale, the accomplishments of those eras pale compared with the current boom.</p>
<p>“If you total up everything that’s being done now, I don’t think I can come up with a period in Dallas history that has had anything like that,” Payne said.</p>
<p>No grand plan</p>
<p>What is striking is that the amenities boom was not the result of any grand blueprint.</p>
<p>While the performing arts center had its origin in urban renewal plans that originated 30 years ago, most of the projects were conceived and developed independently of one another. Indeed, the Trinity River Project, perhaps the most ambitious local example of grand planning, still largely sits on the launching pad.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the projects have progressed when the economic downturn has dampened construction of almost everything else.</p>
<p>In part, this is because nearly all were approved and funded before the downturn struck. They also draw from sources — such as bond issues, donations from wealthy individuals and tax increment funds — that are less sensitive to the downturn than are commercial real estate projects funded by the private sector.</p>
<p>“The things under construction now were started in better economic times,” said Veletta Forsythe Lill, director of the Arts District. “The feeling of the city fathers and mothers has been that the show must go on.”</p>
<p>There is <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/No_Doubt_%28musician%29">no doubt</a> the struggling economy has had an effect.</p>
<p>Although bad economic times may actually increase demand for free amenities such as the parks or the trolley, the effect on more expensive forms of entertainment has been significant.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Dallas_Symphony_Orchestra">Dallas Symphony Orchestra</a> and the <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Dallas_Opera">Dallas Opera</a> have announced cutbacks recently. Indeed, opera officials noted that <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/The_Move_%28musician%29">the move</a> from Fair Park to the Winspear Opera House raised their costs by $4 million per season.</p>
<p>‘Growing up’</p>
<p>Some urban experts and civic leaders said they thought local interest in quality-of-life projects increased after 2001, when <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Boeing">Boeing</a> officials cited a lack of amenities in Dallas when they chose Chicago as their new headquarters.</p>
<p>Bill Lively, who was raising funds for the planned Performing Arts Center at the time, finds that explanation overstated.</p>
<p>“People say Boeing was a catalyst. I don’t think it was,” Lively said. “But I do think it was remembered by a lot of thoughtful people who were looking at ways to raise the culture of the city to a level equal to those of other great cities.”</p>
<p>In many ways, he said, the dramatic activity is a reflection of the city’s current place in its history.</p>
<p>“I think Dallas is growing up, and now we are maturing culturally,” Lively said.</p>
<p>That explanation was echoed by other commentators, among them Aaron Renn, an urban analyst based in Chicago.</p>
<p>“I think that’s the history of most big cities. First, you want to become rich, then you want to become classy,” he said. “I think of Chicago; it was a filthy, gritty town for a long time. But once it got rich, businessmen started building amenities.”</p>
<p>On the other hand, cities such as New York had a long head start, Renn notes. Eastern cities, especially, have an urban density that will be hard for Sun Belt cities such as Dallas to re-create.</p>
<p>“Dallas is never going to be competitive for the kind of people who want that kind of environment,” he said. “It’s not Manhattan; it’s just not.”</p>
<p>Nature hasn’t been particularly helpful either — North Texas has no large natural bodies of water or nearby mountains.</p>
<p>“You have to make up for not having a waterfront by building parks,” advised Andy Kunz, director of New Urbanism, an Alexandria, Va., nonprofit that seeks to encourage livable downtowns.</p>
<p>Overcoming criticism</p>
<p>The most frequent criticism of the recent cultural building frenzy is that it reflects an erroneous belief that Dallas can simply spend its way into vibrancy.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, Blair Kamin, the Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic of the <em> <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Chicago_Tribune">Chicago Tribune</a></em>, walked around the AT&amp;T Performing Arts Center and found its street life disappointing.</p>
<p>“Despite the architectural firepower, the Dallas Arts District can be an exceedingly dull place,” he wrote in his review. In a particularly stinging aside, he said some of its designers referred to it as “an architectural petting zoo.”</p>
<p>Although Kamin conceded later in the critique that people-friendly amenities such as the Woodall Rodgers deck park might change the equation, even Dallas supporters don’t completely deny his point. But they plead that a vibrant city does not happen overnight.</p>
<p>Karl Zavitkovsky, the economic development director for the city of Dallas, argues that the incremental nature of reurbanization of downtown often hides its progress. The announcement of a new museum gets lots of attention; the opening of a restaurant, much less so.</p>
<p>“There’s a lot of stuff going on right now under the radar, particularly with the adaptive reuse of old office buildings,” he said.</p>
<p>Defenders are surprisingly muted about justifying big-ticket amenities as a direct spur to future development. Invited to make that argument, Zavitkovsky went no further than to cite quality of life as “one of the issues that makes a location attractive to a business thinking of coming in.”</p>
<p>“Do big amenities alone assure you of success? No. But if you have the opportunity to do some significant things, then all that reinforces the basics needed for urban development,” he said.</p>
<p>Kunz said a city’s walkability has become a crucial factor in determining its quality of life, especially among young professionals. As a result, the construction of the DART system may be the most important element in the city’s future, Kunz said.</p>
<p>“Unfortunately the recession has put a lot of things on hold, but when it ends, you can bet that the developers will be coming in to be near the rail system,” he said.</p>
<p><a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Terry_Nichols">Terry Nichols</a> Clark, a professor of sociology at the <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/University_of_Chicago">University of Chicago</a>, said that emerging cities worldwide, particularly in Asia, are pondering the same quality-of-life issues.</p>
<p>He recalled an incident in which Japanese businessmen were being courted by officials of <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Seoul">Seoul</a>, South Korea.</p>
<p>“The Seoul people asked, ‘How can we attract your businesses?’ And the reply they received was, ‘Make life pleasant for our wives.’”</p>
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		<title>After a breather, Dallas’ Uptown is ready to boom again</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/after-a-breather-dallas%e2%80%99-uptown-is-ready-to-boom-again/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/after-a-breather-dallas%e2%80%99-uptown-is-ready-to-boom-again/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:09:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[By STEVE BROWN Real Estate Editor stevebrown@dallasnews.com Published 05 May 2011 09:18 PM With the building downturn, the construction cranes have flown the coop from Dallas’ Uptown district. But don’t expect them to stay away for long. Developers are already working on a handful of projects, and more are in the wings. “I think the [...]]]></description>
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<p>By STEVE BROWN</p>
<p>Real Estate Editor</p>
<p><a href="mailto:stevebrown@dallasnews.com">stevebrown@dallasnews.com</a></p>
<p>Published 05 May 2011 09:18 PM</p>
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<p>With the building downturn, the construction cranes have flown the coop from Dallas’ Uptown district.</p>
<p>But don’t expect them to stay away for long.</p>
<p>Developers are already working on a handful of projects, and more are in the wings.</p>
<p>“I think the market in Uptown is going to bounce back a lot quicker than many people think,” said John Zogg, managing director of leasing with Crescent Real Estate. “We’ve caught our breath for a bit.</p>
<p>“And we have a lot more velocity than Las Colinas or, say, Richardson,” Zogg said. “Uptown has fared better in the downturn.”</p>
<p>Before the recession hit, the Uptown area was the fastest-growing Dallas real estate market. Developers put up billions of dollars in offices, residential high-rises, retail and hotel space.</p>
<p>Because the Uptown area didn’t get dramatically overbuilt — particularly for office space — commercial builders are betting the area will come roaring back over the next couple of years.</p>
<p>Crescent Real Estate — which owns the Crescent complex on Cedar Springs Road — is working on an office tower on vacant land it owns at McKinney Avenue and Olive Street.</p>
<p>“We think it’s the best building site in Uptown,” Zogg said. “This area is where all the energy is.”</p>
<p>Crescent’s proposed office project is one of three percolating in the same area.</p>
<p>The company’s three-building Crescent office complex — which celebrates its 25th birthday this year — is more than 90 percent leased.</p>
<p>Investment firm Highland Capital Management just inked a 45,000-square-foot lease to move its Dallas headquarters from the Galleria complex to the Crescent.</p>
<p>The Crescent’s owners are spending $6 million to upgrade the elevators and have invested more than $2 million in the buildings’ power systems.</p>
<p>“It still requires a lot of capital so we can keep the Crescent in the condition our clients demand,” Zogg said.</p>
<p>Just across the street from Crescent’s proposed office building, investor Spyglass Equities Co. has begun leasing a four-story office project that would be constructed on top of an existing parking garage at Olive and Cedar Springs.</p>
<p>Called Harwood Court, the 100,000-square-foot building could be ready in as little as 14 months.</p>
<p>Strong market</p>
<p>“Uptown is clearly the strongest office market in Dallas,” said real estate broker Jon Altschuler, who’s rounding up tenants for the deal. “Rents are increasing and space is tight.</p>
<p>“It’s the area where the big services firms and financial companies want to be,” he said.</p>
<p>Three of Dallas’ largest commercial real estate firms — CB Richard Ellis, Colliers International and Cushman &amp; Wakefield — recently moved their regional offices to Uptown buildings.</p>
<p>Of the five office towers built in the area during the recent boom, only one still has significant vacant space.</p>
<p>“We’re just under 40 percent leased,” said Greg Fuller, chief operating officer of Granite Properties, which opened its 19-story 17Seventeen McKinney office tower last summer. “We’ve been able to lease about 25,000 square feet a quarter, which is about what we planned.”</p>
<p>With space in the area tightening up, Fuller said, quoted office rents are up by as much as 15 percent from a year ago.</p>
<p>“Rents are still off of their highs by as much as 10 percent, but that is a whole lot better than most markets,” he said. “There has definitely been an increase in momentum in the market.”</p>
<p>Joel Pustmueller of Peloton Commercial Real Estate agrees that Uptown is poised for a comeback.</p>
<p>“The Uptown is almost back to where it was two years ago, price-wise,” Pustmueller said. “Nearly all the new buildings constructed over there are full.</p>
<p>“We expect another building to be kicked off down there in the coming months.”</p>
<p>Harwood International’s new 26-story Saint Ann Court office tower at Olive Street and Harry Hines Boulevard is 75 percent leased. The 314,000-square-foot building has lead tenants including Amegy Bank, Boston Consulting Group and law firm McGuire, Craddock &amp; Strother.</p>
<p>Developer Gabriel Barbier-Mueller is already working on his next Uptown office tower — this one near the entrance to the Dallas North Tollway.</p>
<p>“Hopefully, we’ll start construction this year,” Barbier-Mueller said. “If we get a signed tenant who is creditworthy, the money is available to start a project.</p>
<p>“Sometime between now and 2016, I think you’ll see at least two or three towers in the Uptown district, based on the demand we see,” he said. “I think by 2012 and 2013, you’ll start seeing the cranes here again.”</p>
<p>Along with the office tower, Harwood International’s proposed project near McKinnon and Wolf streets will contain retail space and an apartment tower.</p>
<p>“Our planned Harwood Village will have at least seven restaurants and a grocery store that will serve takeout food,” Barbier-Mueller said. “All of those buildings will have direct access to the Katy Trail, so if you want to bike to work, you can.”</p>
<p>With construction of the Woodall Rodgers Park connecting Uptown to the downtown Arts District, the central business district will be more closely linked.</p>
<p>“This area has really taken on an active life, and I think it’s becoming a real city,” Barbier-Mueller said.</p>
<p>Residential and retail</p>
<p>Residential and retail activity in Uptown is also rebounding.</p>
<p>Developer Gables Residential has broken ground on just under 300 units in its apartment project near the Katy Trail between Fairmount and Routh streets. Gables is already a major rental landlord in Uptown.</p>
<p>And in Cityplace on Blackburn Street, developer JLB Partners is about to begin construction on a 194-unit apartment project that will cost more than $30 million.</p>
<p>Inland American Communities is about 90 percent leased at its new 227-unit Cityville Katy Trail apartments on Lemmon Avenue and Cole Avenue.</p>
<p>“Overall, the apartment market down in Uptown is doing very well — even better than the downtown stuff,” said Greg Willett, vice president with apartment analyst MPF Research. “We are pretty optimistic about the urban core in the next few years.”</p>
<p>With occupancy over 95 percent, landlords are ratcheting up rents, Willett said.</p>
<p>“The big story for the Uptown market is the rent growth — up 9.5 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier,” he said.</p>
<p>And with fewer apartment deals in the development pipeline, there won’t be many units coming on the market this year.</p>
<p>“It is looking pretty sparse in terms of new product deliveries,” Willett said.</p>
<p>Of course, developers are working on that.</p>
<p>Cityplace Co. president Neal Sleeper said he’s already getting a lot of tire kickers for the building sites left in the area.</p>
<p>“I think the prospects are very good that we’ll get construction under way on another building in the next year,” Sleeper said. “It’s quite likely that the freeway building sites we have at Blackburn and Lemmon and North Central Expressway will end up being office projects.”</p>
<p>Cityplace space</p>
<p>Sleeper said retail space in Cityplace — including the popular West Village complex — is staying full.</p>
<p>“And for every space we empty, we have three deals working on it,” he said.</p>
<p>Cityplace is talking to a range of tenants from restaurants to offices about taking over the former Borders Books space at McKinney and Lemmon, he said.</p>
<p>“The only big hole in the West Village area is that Borders store,” said broker Jack Gosnell of UCR Urban. “Prices are holding up in the area, and the sales volumes are very steady.</p>
<p>“The market seems to be bouncing back real strong.”</p>
<p>UCR estimates almost 20,000 people live in Uptown and have an average income of more than $82,000.</p>
<p>Restaurant space in Uptown is doing particularly well, Gosnell said.</p>
<p>“Where we are really weak is for neighborhood services,” he said. “We need another strong grocery component in Uptown.”</p>
<p>The only large retail vacancies are in the Victory Park project, which has suffered retrenchment over the last few years. The future of the big mixed-use project on Uptown’s western edge is still up in the air.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, Cousins Properties took over management of Victory Park, and it is still working on repositioning the development.</p>
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		<title>Major real estate investor buys Fairmont Dallas for $69 million</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/major-real-estate-investor-buys-fairmont-dallas-for-69-million/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/major-real-estate-investor-buys-fairmont-dallas-for-69-million/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:01:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[By KAREN Staff Writer krobinson@dallasnews.com Published 02 August 2011 04:47 PM A major real estate trust said Tuesday it has purchased the Fairmont Dallas for $69 million, marking the second acquisition of a historic Dallas hotel in two weeks. Inland American Lodging Group Inc., a Florida subsidiary of Illinois-based Inland American Real Estate Trust Inc., [...]]]></description>
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<p>By KAREN</p>
<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p><a href="mailto:krobinson@dallasnews.com">krobinson@dallasnews.com</a></p>
<p>Published 02 August 2011 04:47 PM</p>
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<p>A major real estate trust said Tuesday it has purchased the Fairmont Dallas for $69 million, marking the second acquisition of a historic Dallas hotel in two weeks.</p>
<p>Inland American Lodging Group Inc., a Florida subsidiary of Illinois-based Inland American Real Estate Trust Inc., takes possession of a 42-year-old fixture on the Dallas skyline. The Fairmont Dallas opened in 1969 as one of the first luxury hotels in Texas. The hotel, with 545 guestrooms in two towers and 70,000 square feet of meeting space, received $14.9 million in renovations in the past four years.</p>
<p>The purchase, from California-based Pacific Coast Capital Partners and DiNapoli Capital Partners, also adds to Inland American’s presence downtown. Last October, Inland American acquired the 407-room Westin City Center downtown and rebranded it as a Marriott.</p>
<p>“The Fairmont Dallas fits all of our value and strategic investment criteria,” Marcel Verbaas, president and chief executive of an Inland American subsidiary, said in a prepared statement. “This transaction also extends our commitment to furthering the success of downtown Dallas and the Arts District.”</p>
<p>Most of the company’s Texas hotels fall into the “limited service” category with brands such as Courtyard and <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Residence_Inn_by_Marriott">Residence Inn</a>, which appeal largely to business travelers.</p>
<p>“Now we’re starting to get more into the full-service, luxury space,” said Dan Lombardo, senior investor relations manager for the REIT.</p>
<p>Dallas hotels have been especially attractive to investors of late. Last week, Rosewood Corp. and St. Louis-based Maritz, Wolff &amp; Co. sold five Rosewood-branded hotels to Hong Kong investors. The properties included the Rosewood Crescent Hotel and the <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Rosewood_Mansion_on_Turtle_Creek">Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek</a>.</p>
<p>Lombardo said his company was drawn to North Texas’ resilient economy, population growth and appeal as a convention destination.</p>
<p>“Texas is an area we’re looking at not only for lodging but also for other property types,” he said, noting that Inland American also owns industrial, office and multifamily buildings</p>
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		<title>Perot’s Hillwood buying land for more development</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/perot%e2%80%99s-hillwood-buying-land-for-more-development/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/perot%e2%80%99s-hillwood-buying-land-for-more-development/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:56:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[By STEVE BROWN Real Estate Editor stevebrown@dallasnews.com Published 19 April 2011 02:09 PM Ross Perot Jr.’s AllianceTexas project north of Fort Worth is already one of the country’s biggest developments. But the project is about to grow even larger with additional land acquisitions and development along Interstate 35W. “It’s hard to say for an 18,000-acre [...]]]></description>
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<p>By STEVE BROWN</p>
<p>Real Estate Editor</p>
<p><a href="mailto:stevebrown@dallasnews.com">stevebrown@dallasnews.com</a></p>
<p>Published 19 April 2011 02:09 PM</p>
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<p>Ross Perot Jr.’s AllianceTexas project north of <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Fort_Worth%2C_Texas">Fort Worth</a> is already one of the country’s biggest developments.</p>
<p>But the project is about to grow even larger with additional land acquisitions and development along Interstate 35W.</p>
<p>“It’s hard to say for an 18,000-acre program we are running out of land,” Perot said Tuesday. “We are starting to look for land to grow our program north.”</p>
<p>Perot’s Hillwood Development Co. recently acquired a 158-acre tract from lenders at I-35W and FM 1171.</p>
<p>“It has very good commercial zoning ready to go,” said Perot, who met with reporters following media tours of the property.</p>
<p>And Hillwood is about to begin work on a 3,300-acre former ranch it owns on I-35W in Denton County.</p>
<p>“It’s mostly going to be residential and commercial,” Perot said. “It’s a wonderful piece of property; it’s in the path of growth.</p>
<p>“Our residential team is putting together plans and lining up homebuilders,” he said.</p>
<p>AllianceTexas — which the Perot family started back in the 1980s — is now about 40 percent developed. More than 28,000 people work in the 65-square-mile project, which is located in both Tarrant and Denton counties.</p>
<p>There are about 7,500 homes and apartments in the community.</p>
<p>And millions of square feet of warehouses, office and retail space have been built.</p>
<p>“A lot of our land has been developed,” Perot said. “We are actively pursing acquisitions.”</p>
<p>Hillwood has purchased residential community land in <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Austin%2C_TX">Austin</a> and Las Vegas.</p>
<p>With the local real estate market recovering, Hillwood is first concentrating on further residential and retail development at AllianceTexas.</p>
<p>“We have a couple hundred apartments that are up, but we have 10,000 on the drawing boards,” Perot said. “We should be starting Phase 2 this fall.</p>
<p>“We are going to build as fast as the market lets us build.”</p>
<p>Perot is also scouting more land buys for his residential development firm, Hillwood Communities.</p>
<p>“Our residential guys are looking for property all over North Texas,” he said. “All of our communities are out of lots.”</p>
<p>AllianceTexas has been best known for the millions of square feet of industrial space, the commercial airport and the huge rail cargo facility.</p>
<p>But for the last couple of years, the warehouse building part of the operation has “been a little sluggish,” Hillwood Properties president <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Mike_Berry">Mike Berry</a> said.</p>
<p>“We still have over 1 million square feet of corporate-driven construction under way,” Berry said. “We have a tremendous amount of future development in the pipeline we are going to do.</p>
<p>“There’s land left for 35 to 40 million square feet of industrial,” he said.</p>
<p>Hillwood also continues to be an owner of about 27 acres of land in the Victory Park project in Dallas’ Uptown district.</p>
<p>Perot said Hillwood is focusing on developing a vacant tract fronting Woodall Rodgers that’s next to the Perot Museum of Nature &amp; Science, which is under construction.</p>
<p>“That’s the next development play,” he said. “We have zoning for more than 1 million square feet on that site.”</p>
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		<title>Kroger starts building new store on North Haskell</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/kroger-starts-building-new-store-on-north-haskell/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/kroger-starts-building-new-store-on-north-haskell/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:25:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[By MARIA HALKIAS Kroger started construction Wednesday on a 60,786-square-foot store that’s part of a new retail-residential development just north of downtown Dallas that will include 356 apartments. Kroger’s Fresh Fare store, which emphasizes fresh and prepared foods, will be completed next summer at North Haskell Avenue and Capitol Avenue in a development called Cityville Cityplace [...]]]></description>
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<div>By MARIA HALKIAS</div>
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<p><a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Kroger">Kroger</a> started construction Wednesday on a 60,786-square-foot store that’s part of a new retail-residential development just north of downtown Dallas that will include 356 apartments.</p>
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<p>Kroger’s Fresh Fare store, which emphasizes fresh and prepared foods, will be completed next summer at North Haskell Avenue and Capitol Avenue in a development called Cityville Cityplace across from Cityplace Target.</p>
<p>A surge in area population growth over the past 10 years allowed Kroger to move ahead with the store, said Bill Breetz, president of Kroger’s Southwest division. The Kroger Fresh Fare store will have both an executive chef and a pastry chef on staff and will stock organic and gluten-free foods that people need for health reasons, he said. The store will also include a selection of international foods “to reflect the ethnic diversity in the neighborhood.”</p>
<p>Dallas’ new mayor pro tem, Pauline Medrano, said residents have been asking for a full-service supermarket on the <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/East_%28designer%29">east</a> side of North Central Expressway for years. Kroger is building on property left vacant after a multiscreen theater complex was leveled several years ago.</p>
<p>At a groundbreaking Wednesday attended by neighborhood residents, Medrano read from several letters she received, including one from Michele Choate, a single mother of a 7-year-old boy. Choate doesn’t have a car and worried about her safety while walking past the vacant property to get to the <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Wal-Mart">Walmart</a>Neighborhood Market or Albertsons on the west side of Central Expressway.</p>
<p>“The Target has some foods, but not everything I need, so I would just go without,” Choate said.</p>
<p>Neighbors also applauded when Breetz said the store will create 200 jobs.</p>
<p>The development’s Cityville Cityplace apartments are being built by Inland American Communities. The developer is negotiating with LA Fitness to put a 50,000-square-foot fitness center on the property. A branch of <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Bank_of_America">Bank of America</a> is already there.</p>
<p>The five-story apartment complex will have a six-level parking garage, three courtyards and two swimming pools, said John Allums, Inland’s executive vice president. The first apartment units will open in fall 2012, and the project is expected to be completed by June 2013. Inland has built several apartments in the area under the Cityville brand, but this is the first time the company has teamed with Kroger, Allums said.</p>
<p>Inland’s Cityville Katy Trail on Lemmon Avenue, west of North Central Expressway, was completed in October, and Cityville Oak Park on Lemmon west of the Dallas North Tollway was finished in January 2010.</p>
<p>Kroger plans to open another Dallas store on Maple Avenue in the former Elliott’s Hardware next summer.</p>
<p>The lack of new housing developments in outlying suburbs has Dallas-area grocery retailers focused on filling in more established neighborhoods. The election last November that eliminated dry areas in Dallas County also makes more sites economically viable, grocers say.</p>
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		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/699/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/699/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Aug 2011 19:29:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) – Nearly 58,800 single-family homes in Texas sold in second quarter 2011, a 12 percent decrease from last year, according to the Texas Quarterly Housing Report. The report was issued by the Texas Association of Realtors (TAR) using Multiple Listing Service data compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&#38;M University. &#8220;Though statewide sales [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>AUSTIN (<a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2011/08/02/compared-to-2010-fewer-homes-being.html"><em>Austin Business Journal</em></a>) – Nearly 58,800 single-family homes in Texas sold in second quarter 2011, a 12 percent decrease from last year, according to the Texas Quarterly Housing Report.</p>
<p>The report was issued by the Texas Association of Realtors (TAR) using Multiple Listing Service data compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&amp;M University.</p>
<p>&#8220;Though statewide sales volume is down compared to 2010, when the tax credits were having the biggest impact on our market, we&#8217;re right on pace with the second quarter of 2009,&#8221; said TAR Chairman Dwight Hale.</p>
<p>Center Research Economist Dr. Jim Gaines said he is not surprised by the decrease in sales, given the impact of last year&#8217;s tax credits.</p>
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		<title>Downtown Dallas’ landmark Interurban Building sold at foreclosure</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/downtown-dallas%e2%80%99-landmark-interurban-building-sold-at-foreclosure/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/downtown-dallas%e2%80%99-landmark-interurban-building-sold-at-foreclosure/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Jul 2011 11:01:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Steve Brown/Staff The Interurban Building was built in 1916 and converted to 118 loft apartments and ground-floor restaurant and retail space in 2005. Downtown Dallas’ historic Interurban Building — a former rail station and office building turned into apartments and retail — has been acquired out of foreclosure by a California investor. An affiliate of [...]]]></description>
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<div>The Interurban Building was built in 1916 and converted to 118 loft apartments and ground-floor restaurant and retail space in 2005.</div>
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<p>Downtown Dallas’ historic Interurban Building — a former rail station and office building turned into apartments and retail — has been acquired out of foreclosure by a California investor.</p>
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<p>An affiliate of Bridge Partners paid $11.5 million at this month’s Dallas County foreclosure auction to buy the nine-story building at 1500 Jackson St.</p>
<p>The 95-year-old red brick building was converted to 118 loft apartments and ground-floor restaurant and retail space in 2005. The building is home to downtown’s only grocer.</p>
<p>It was built as a hub for North Texas’ electric railway system and for a time served as a bus station with offices on the upper floors.</p>
<p>The property sat vacant for many years before developers renovated it.</p>
<p>Lender Keycorp Capital posted the building for foreclosure in June after the real estate partnership that owned it, Dallas Interurban Ltd., defaulted on an $18.164 million loan.</p>
<p>Bridge-National Partners LP was the successful bidder for the property.</p>
<p>Bridge Partners was formed in Walnut Creek, Calif., in 1990 and has invested in more than 100 apartment and hotel properties in 16 states. The private company focuses on renovating and repositioning problem properties.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/business/commercial-real-estate/headlines/20110719-downtown-dallas-landmark-interurban-building-sold-at-foreclosure.ece">http://www.dallasnews.com/business/commercial-real-estate/headlines/20110719-downtown-dallas-landmark-interurban-building-sold-at-foreclosure.ece</a></p>
<p>By STEVE BROWN  Real Estate Editor  <a href="mailto:stevebrown@dallasnews.com">stevebrown@dallasnews.com</a></p>
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		<title>Harvard Companies, Inc. Brokers Downtown Dallas Farmers Market Site for Town Homes</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/harvard-companies-inc-brokers-downtown-dallas-farmers-market-site-for-town-homes/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/harvard-companies-inc-brokers-downtown-dallas-farmers-market-site-for-town-homes/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:52:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[You Know That Empty Lot in Front of Downtown Farmers Market? Town Homes! By Robert Wilonsky Click to embiggen plans for the town homes on the lot across from Dallas Farmers Market ​On and off in recent years there have been several attempts to fill that vacant lot across Marilla from the Dallas Farmers Market , and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><span style="font-size: 26px; font-weight: bold;">You Know That Empty Lot in Front of Downtown Farmers Market? Town Homes!</span></div>
<div>By <a href="http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/author.php?author_id=171">Robert Wilonsky</a></div>
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<td>Click to embiggen plans for the town homes on the lot across from Dallas Farmers Market</td>
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<p>​On and off in recent years there have been several attempts to fill <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1010+s+pearl+expressway+dallas&amp;hl=en&amp;ll=32.778209,-96.789894&amp;spn=0.002887,0.013937&amp;gl=us&amp;z=17&amp;layer=c&amp;cbll=32.778212,-96.789899&amp;panoid=Du3qhuVtqV0vOjMj1dqOoA&amp;cbp=11,355.04,,0,-3.6" target="_blank">that vacant lot across Marilla from the Dallas Farmers Market</a> , and each plan has gone nowhere. Which is why I got interested when I saw <a href="http://www.ci.dallas.tx.us/cso/pdf/meetings/farm-06-28.pdf" target="_blank">this</a> : This morning the Farmers Market TIF District Board of Directors met to discuss something called the Farmers Market Square project. I called the Office of Economic Development for more info, and Karl Stundins, area redevelopment manager, confirmed: Yup, this is supposed to go in that lot, fingers crossed.</p>
<p>Stundins says it&#8217;s a 110-unit, 236,900-square-foot town-home project spearheaded by Houston developer Frank Liu of <a href="http://www.intown-homes.com/" target="_blank">InTown Homes</a> , who hopes to plant &#8220;moderately priced&#8221; for-sale properties on the lot &#8212; which is more or less one of the centerpieces of the<a href="http://www.downtowndallas360.com/docs.php?oid=1000000061&amp;ogid=9999" target="_blank">Downtown Dallas 360 plan</a> .</p>
<p>&#8220;We worked with Brent Brown at the CityDesign Studio to look at the site plan and street elevations, and they did a lot of modifications to get to this point,&#8221; says Stundins, who sent the conceptual renderings you see above and after the jump. &#8220;We also looked at Downtown Dallas 360 and looked at that site as more moderately priced. The land&#8217;s expensive, which makes it harder to do for-sale at really, really inexpensive [prices]. But the units will be priced at the lower end of what&#8217;s for sale downtown.&#8221; <a name="more"></a></p>
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<p>​The reason it&#8217;s on the Farmers Market TIF board agenda: Liu, who expects the development to run around $33 million, is seeking $3 million in TIF incentives, which the board suggests the city council approve after it returns from summer vacation. (It&#8217;ll go in front of the Economic Development Committee before the whole council espies the project.) Stundins says of all the projects proposed for the cite, this one &#8220;seems like it&#8217;s going to happen, and they&#8217;re looking to the city for support from the TIF district. It&#8217;s contingent upon that.&#8221;</p>
<p>If Liu gets the TIF incentive, he would expect to begin building by the end of December, with completion date set for September 30, 2013.</p>
<p>But Stundins knows there will be objections; he&#8217;s already heard from folks who want to know why the project doesn&#8217;t contain a retail component, or at least a live-work piece on the ground floor. That was part of a previously planned project set to go on the site, but Stundins says it&#8217;s much more difficult to demand that with a town-home development.</p>
<p>&#8220;The city overall has a larger concern with Farmers Market,&#8221; he says. &#8220;The city wants to privatize it, but we only got one bid, and retail&#8217;s difficult down there. You don&#8217;t want to put in retail if nobody shops there. Marilla, because of City Hall Plaza, doesn&#8217;t really go anywhere. Eventually we&#8217;ll have to look at: Is there a better way to use our resources with Farmers Market and what&#8217;s the appropriate amount of retail space. There&#8217;s more work we have to do.</p>
<p>&#8220;And it&#8217;s difficult, because if you look at the space, 20 percent is allocated to shopping and 80 percent to storage and trucks. The question is: For downtown land, is that the most efficient use?&#8221;</p>
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<p>​</p>
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		<title>Dallas Real Estate Updates</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/626/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/626/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:40:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=626</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NORTH TEXAS OFFICE SPACE LEASING WELL Demand for office space has grown significantly in the Metroplex in second quarter 2011. Office leasing has hit its highest point since before the recession in 2008, according to Cushman &#38; Wakefield of Texas. Net leasing so far this year is at almost a half million sf, the firm [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>NORTH TEXAS OFFICE SPACE LEASING WELL</strong></p>
<p>Demand for office space has grown significantly in the Metroplex in second quarter 2011.</p>
<p>Office leasing has hit its highest point since before the recession in 2008, according to Cushman &amp; Wakefield of Texas.</p>
<p>Net leasing so far this year is at almost a half million sf, the firm said.</p>
<p>The largest increases in leasing have been in Frisco and West Plano, with Dallas’ Uptown District and Richardson’s Telecom Corridor having large leasing gains as well.  DALLAS (<a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/business/commercial-real-estate/headlines/20110622-d-fw-area-office-leasing-rebounds-sharply-at-midyear.ece"><em>Dallas Morning News</em></a>)</p>
<p><strong>NEW APARTMENT DEVELOPMENT AT CENTREPORT</strong></p>
<p>Phoenix-based Alliance Residential has acquired 16.3 acres in the CentrePort Business Park for an apartment development to the south of the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.</p>
<p>The 344-unit apartment community will be on Centre Station Dr. across from the company’s Broadstone CentrePort Apartments.</p>
<p>Alliance expects the new development to be completed in late 2012.  <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/06/22/3172689/80-year-old-boots-win-tony-lama.html">Fort Worth Star-Telegram</a></p>
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		<title>Why Now is the Time to Buy</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/why-now-is-the-time-to-buy/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/why-now-is-the-time-to-buy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 10 May 2011 16:31:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=526</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Considering how the economy has been over the past few years, many people view the optimistic predictions about the Austin real estate market cynically. However, what can&#8217;t be denied is that economists are encouraging people to buy now and are predicting that we will see a strengthening economy by the end of 2011. Charles Plosser [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Considering how the economy has been over the past few years, many people view the optimistic predictions about the <a href="http://austinrealestate.homecity.com/">Austin real estate</a> market cynically. However, what can&#8217;t be denied is that economists are encouraging people to buy now and are predicting that we will see a strengthening economy by the end of 2011. <a href="http://www.philadelphiafed.org/publications/speeches/plosser/2011/03-25-11_shadow-open-market-committee.cfm">Charles Plosser</a> explains that “[c]onsumer spending continues to expand at a reasonably robust pace, and business investment, particularly on equipment and software, continues to support overall growth.” Furthermore, “the nonresidential real estate sector is likely to improve as the overall economy gains ground.”</p>
<p>So what does this mean? Simply put, you only have a few months left to buy at rock-bottom prices with low interest rates. If the idea that interest rates are low shocks you, you would be surprised to learn that, in reality, interest rates are the lowest they&#8217;ve been in the past 50 years. <a href="http://www.inquirer.net/specialfeatures/remittance/view.php?db=1&amp;article=20110501-334072">MoneySense</a> Editor Heinz Bulos comments that “[a] good time to buy a  [. . .] home is when interest rates are low, like this year. This will allow you to lock in a low, fixed rate for a 25-year mortgage.”</p>
<p>And if you&#8217;re worried about those mortgage payments, look around and you&#8217;ll notice that there&#8217;s been a big drop in prices “on the order of 30% nationwide since 2006, and as much as 55% in the hardest hit markets,” as <a href="http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/03/28/real-estate-its-time-to-buy-again/">CNN</a> informs us. But remember that part about how “you only have a few months left to buy at rock-bottom prices”? That&#8217;s because these low prices are mainly because of the incredibly low demand in the real estate market right now. While you can currently buy a house at the fraction of the price you would have paid years ago, you should go ahead and buy now to make sure that you can get that low price before the market fully rebounds.</p>
<p>What you want to take away from this is that, after all of the anxiety of the past few years of economic rockiness, the public is regaining their faith in buying real estate. If you want to get the best deal you should beat the crowd and buy now. So get out there and grab it while you can!</p>
<p>James Kim writes for <a href="http://austinrealestate.homecity.com/">Austin Real Estate</a> service Homecity.com. HomeCity combines powerful online Austin MLS search technology and other online tools with personalized real estate services to provide clients with the knowledge they need to make the right buying and selling decisions.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>D-FW area’s retail property market gaining ground, experts say</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/d-fw-area%e2%80%99s-retail-property-market-gaining-ground-experts-say/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/d-fw-area%e2%80%99s-retail-property-market-gaining-ground-experts-say/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 May 2011 21:35:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=524</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After more than two years of cutting rents and getting back vacant shopping center space, North Texas retail building owners and brokers are hoping the worst is over. “The market feels so much better than it did two years ago and a great deal different than a year ago,” Terry Montesi, CEO of Trademark Property [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>After more than two years of cutting rents and getting back vacant shopping center space, North Texas retail building owners and brokers are hoping the worst is over.</p>
<p>“The market feels so much better than it did two years ago and a great deal different than a year ago,” Terry Montesi, CEO of Trademark Property Co., said at a Friday breakfast meeting sponsored by <em>The Dallas Morning News</em>. “Most of the retailers are now healthy.</p>
<p>“And for good retail spaces, there is a ton of demand,” the Fort Worth-based developer said. “But nobody is building squat.”</p>
<p>With retail construction in the Dallas-<a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Fort_Worth%2C_Texas">Fort Worth</a> area at the lowest level in more than 15 years, the shopping center market will have a chance to recover from the recession, which saw increased store closings and consolidations, industry leaders say.</p>
<p>“On the supply side, we are seeing very little new development,” said Steve Lieberman, CEO of Dallas-based Retail Connection. “We think it will be another 18 to 24 months” before construction picks up.</p>
<p>Full Story:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/business/commercial-real-estate/20110506-retail-property-market-gaining-ground-experts-say-at-dmn-sponsored-event-.ece">http://www.dallasnews.com/business/commercial-real-estate/20110506-retail-property-market-gaining-ground-experts-say-at-dmn-sponsored-event-.ece</a></p>
<p>By STEVE BROWN</p>
<p>Real Estate Editor</p>
<p><a href="mailto:stevebrown@dallasnews.com">stevebrown@dallasnews.com</a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>DFW Sales</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/dfw-sales/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/dfw-sales/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 May 2011 10:19:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=522</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sales Knightvest Capital purchased the 196-unit Timmaron Ridge Apartments at 9850 Whitehurst Drive in Dallas. Transwestern’s Mark Freeman and Taylor Snoddy brokered the sale. MobileComm Ventures LLC purchased 11,994 square feet of office space at 465 State Highway 190 inRichardson from Custer Commons LP. Dennis Barnes and Rick Rensi of CB Richard Ellis brokered the deal [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sales</p>
<p><strong>Knightvest Capital</strong> purchased the 196-unit Timmaron Ridge Apartments at 9850 Whitehurst Drive in Dallas. Transwestern’s Mark Freeman and Taylor Snoddy brokered the sale.</p>
<p><strong>MobileComm Ventures LLC</strong> purchased 11,994 square feet of office space at 465 State Highway 190 in<a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Richardson%2C_Texas">Richardson</a> from Custer Commons LP. Dennis Barnes and Rick Rensi of <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/CB_Richard_Ellis_Group_Inc">CB Richard Ellis</a> brokered the deal with Janice Peters and Sanober Syed of Hudson Peters.</p>
<p><strong>A local private investor</strong> purchased the 160-unit Pebble Cove apartments at 4302 Woodhollow Drive in Dallas. Al Silva of Marcus &amp; Millichap Real Estate Investment Services brokered the sale.</p>
<p>Real estate editor Steve Brown compiles this list.</p>
<p>stevebrown@dallasnews.com</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>iCall Inc. moves HQ to Dallas, hiring 15 to 20</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/icall-inc-moves-hq-to-dallas-hiring-15-to-20/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/icall-inc-moves-hq-to-dallas-hiring-15-to-20/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 02 May 2011 20:50:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=517</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A company that lets consumers make free and low-cost phone calls over the Internet has moved its headquarters from Connecticut to Dallas, and officials said it is on track to quadruple its revenue this year compared with 2010. Having settled into 12,000 square feet of space in downtown Dallas, iCall Inc. plans to boost its [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>
<h1><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;">A company that lets consumers make free and low-cost phone calls over the Internet has moved its headquarters from Connecticut to Dallas, and officials said it is on track to quadruple its revenue this year compared with 2010.</span></h1>
</div>
<div>
<p>Having settled into 12,000 square feet of space in downtown Dallas, iCall Inc. plans to boost its 10-person staff by as many as 15 to 20 people, according to CEO and co-founder<strong>Arlo Gilbert</strong>.</p>
<p>New hires will fill jobs like software and network engineers, sales and technical support staff. Gilbert declined to say what salary ranges iCall pays, adding that it makes &#8230;</p>
<p>Dallas Business Journal</p>
</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>NORTH TEXAS TOWNHOME PROJECTS SPRINGING UP</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/north-texas-townhome-projects-springing-up/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/north-texas-townhome-projects-springing-up/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:02:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=509</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[DALLAS (Dallas Morning News) – North Texas townhouse construction slowed to a crawl over the last few years, with starts dropping by nearly three-quarters since 2006, reports the Dallas Morning News. But a number of area townhouse projects currently in the works suggests the market may be picking up. Take Canton Townhomes, for instance. The development is a few [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>DALLAS (<em><a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/business/residential-real-estate/20110419-townhouse-builders-test-the-water-with-new-dallas-area-projects.ece">Dallas Morning News</a></em>) – North Texas townhouse construction slowed to a crawl over the last few years, with starts dropping by nearly three-quarters since 2006, reports the <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/business/residential-real-estate/20110419-townhouse-builders-test-the-water-with-new-dallas-area-projects.ece"><em>Dallas Morning News</em></a>. But a number of area townhouse projects currently in the works suggests the market may be picking up.</p>
<p>Take Canton Townhomes, for instance. The development is a few blocks from Dallas&#8217; downtown financial district on Canton St. Units are priced from $275,000 to $325,000.</p>
<p>“We have completed six so far, and six are sold,” said project general manager Dana Green. “We have eight more under construction, and three of those are sold.”</p>
<p>The project’s developer, InTownHomes LLC, recently acquired the vacant block across from the current project and plans to build 100 more of the three-story townhomes there.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, area homebuilder Bruno Pasquinelli is about to begin work on the first of around 40 single-story Mediterranean-style townhomes in McKinney’s Craig Ranch development. The townhomes will start around $195,000.</p>
<p>Pasquinelli’s CB JENI Homes is also planning townhomes in Plano’s Enclaves of Willowcrest neighborhood, starting at $185,000, and in Chase Oaks, starting in the $140,000s.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>BASCOM ACQUIRES LUXURY MIXED-USE APARTMENT  IN DOWNTOWN DALLAS</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/bascom-acquires-luxury-mixed-use-apartment-in-downtown-dallas/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/bascom-acquires-luxury-mixed-use-apartment-in-downtown-dallas/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2011 23:59:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=506</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[DALLAS &#8212; The Bascom Group has acquired The Davis Building, a luxury, urban infill mixed-use project. The investment includes a 20-story high-rise building featuring 183 loft-style apartment units, retail space and a 12-level parking garage in downtown  Dallas. It was built in 1926 as an office building and converted into luxury apartments in 2003. The property [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%">
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<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="1" align="left">
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<p><img id="_x0000_i1025" src="http://www.texasrebusiness.com/newsletter/2011/April/0426/0426_Davis.jpg" border="0" alt="The Davis Building" width="121" /></p>
<p><strong><em>DALLAS</em></strong> &#8212; <strong>The Bascom Group</strong> has   acquired <strong>The Davis   Building</strong>, a luxury, urban infill mixed-use project. The   investment includes a 20-story high-rise building featuring 183 loft-style   apartment units, retail space and a 12-level parking garage in downtown  Dallas. It was built in 1926 as an office building and converted into luxury   apartments in 2003. The property was purchased through a receivership sale   with debt financing provided by <strong>J.E.   Robert Cos.</strong>, and was 95 percent leased as the close of   escrow. <strong>Jeffrey Fuller</strong>,   <strong>Han Jang</strong> and <strong>Paul Miskowicz</strong> of The Bascom Group led the transaction. <strong>Ryan Epstein</strong> of <strong>Marcus &amp; Millichap</strong> represented both parties.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
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</div>
<p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><br />
</span></span></p>
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		<title>Texas MLS Data Shows Us Existing Home Sales Are Down 12 Percent</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/existing-home-sales-down-12-percent/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/existing-home-sales-down-12-percent/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2011 22:48:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=490</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sales of existing single-family homes in Texas last month were down 12 percent from a year ago, according to the most recent Multiple Listing Services (MLS) data compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&#38;M University. Just over 17,400 existing single-family homes were sold last month. Median home price remained unchanged at $144,100, and the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sales of existing single-family homes in Texas last month were down 12 percent from a year ago, according to the most recent Multiple Listing Services (MLS) data compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&amp;M University.</p>
<p>Just over 17,400 existing single-family homes were sold last month.</p>
<p>Median home price remained unchanged at $144,100, and the state&#8217;s overall inventory was at 7.6 months.</p>
<p>March 2011 MLS data for many Texas cities are available on the <a href="http://recenter.tamu.edu/data/hs/trends.asp">Center&#8217;s website</a>. Here is a sampling (data current as of today):</p>
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<thead>
<tr>
<td><strong> </strong></td>
<td><strong>Sales </strong></td>
<td><strong>Change from<br />
Last Year </strong></td>
<td><strong>Median<br />
Price</strong></td>
<td><strong>Change from<br />
Last Year </strong></td>
<td><strong>Months&#8217;<br />
Inventory </strong></td>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>Austin </strong></td>
<td>1,749</td>
<td>down 12%</td>
<td>$185,000</td>
<td>up 3%</td>
<td>6.4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong> Bryan-<br />
College Station</strong></td>
<td>162</td>
<td>down 8%</td>
<td>$152,100</td>
<td>up 3%</td>
<td>10.4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong> Dallas</strong></td>
<td>3,504</td>
<td>down 14%</td>
<td>$153,600</td>
<td>down 2%</td>
<td>6.9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong> Fort Worth</strong></td>
<td>611</td>
<td>down 25%</td>
<td>$103,300</td>
<td>down 12%</td>
<td>7.2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong> Galveston</strong></td>
<td>79</td>
<td>up 1%</td>
<td>$190,000</td>
<td>up 31%</td>
<td>16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong> Houston</strong></td>
<td>5,091</td>
<td>down 6%</td>
<td>$149,600</td>
<td>down 2%</td>
<td>7.8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong> Kerrville</strong></td>
<td>27</td>
<td>down 21%</td>
<td>$134,000</td>
<td>down 11%</td>
<td>24.5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong> Laredo</strong></td>
<td>91</td>
<td>up 20%</td>
<td>$118,900</td>
<td>down 7%</td>
<td>7.4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong> Nacogdoches</strong></td>
<td>21</td>
<td>down 16%</td>
<td>$165,000</td>
<td>up 27%</td>
<td>8.3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong> Palestine</strong></td>
<td>30</td>
<td>down 21%</td>
<td>$70,000</td>
<td>down 7%</td>
<td>13</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong> Paris</strong></td>
<td>24</td>
<td>down 27%</td>
<td>$88,000</td>
<td>up 17%</td>
<td>12.6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong> San Antonio</strong></td>
<td>1,589</td>
<td>down 10%</td>
<td>$147,500</td>
<td>up 3%</td>
<td>8.2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong> San Marcos</strong></td>
<td>12</td>
<td>down 25%</td>
<td>$120,000</td>
<td>No change</td>
<td>8.1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong> Sherman-<br />
Denison</strong></td>
<td>109</td>
<td>up 8%</td>
<td>$89,200</td>
<td>up 7%</td>
<td>11.1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong> Victoria</strong></td>
<td>65</td>
<td>up 2%</td>
<td>$115,700</td>
<td>down 16%</td>
<td>6.3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong> Texas</strong></td>
<td>17,405</td>
<td>down 12%</td>
<td>$144,100</td>
<td>No change</td>
<td>7.6</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center)</p>
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		<title>To see the biggest commercial real estate project now being built in North Texas, it helps to have a helicopter.</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/to-see-the-biggest-commercial-real-estate-project-now-being-built-in-north-texas-it-helps-to-have-a-helicopter/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2011 23:00:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=480</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Apr 22, 2011 (By Steve Brown &#8211; The Dallas Morning News) &#8212; International accounting giant Deloitte&#8217;s new Westlake campus is so large that the only way to take it all in is from the air. The 750,000-square-foot corporate training facility sprawls across the rolling landscape of the Circle T Ranch northwest of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Apr 22, 2011 (By Steve Brown &#8211; The Dallas Morning News) &#8212; </em>International accounting giant Deloitte&#8217;s new Westlake campus is so large that the only way to take it all in is from the air.</p>
<p>The 750,000-square-foot corporate training facility sprawls across the rolling landscape of the Circle T Ranch northwest of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.</p>
<p>Almost 500 permanent workers will be housed in Deloitte University when it opens late this year.</p>
<p>But the 35 classrooms and housing for &#8220;students&#8221; will accommodate tens of thousands of Deloitte professionals who&#8217;ll visit the facility each year.</p>
<p>The five-story building looks pretty much like a luxury resort as it curves along the shore of a man-made lake that&#8217;s still under construction.</p>
<p>The project is estimated to cost about $300 million, making it by far the largest and most expensive private-sector commercial building under way in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.</p>
<p>Visitors to the facility will need roller skates to get from one end of the long, narrow complex to the other &#8212; more than the length of two football fields.</p>
<p>The folks at Hillwood, developers of the Circle T Ranch and the AllianceTexas complex, let me hitch a ride on one of their helicopters this week to see the new Deloitte campus.</p>
<p>Even with all the large corporate facilities that Hillwood has had a hand in building in north Tarrant and Denton counties over the years, the Deloitte building is a standout.</p>
<p>&#8220;They expect 45,000 people a year will come through the facility,&#8221; said Mike Berry, president of Hillwood Properties. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think we yet realize what the impact of this will be.&#8221;</p>
<p>To put it in perspective, 28,000 people work in the entire AllianceTexas project.</p>
<p>Although the Deloitte campus has been under constriction for almost two years, it&#8217;s pretty much invisible from nearby highways.</p>
<p>&#8220;You can&#8217;t see it from the road because it sits down in the valley behind trees and hills,&#8221; Berry said.</p>
<p>Along with 800 hotel rooms, the project will have &#8220;fitness, dining, outdoor jogging trails and a number of on-site recreation activities,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>There&#8217;s an amphitheater, ballroom and dining facilities, too.</p>
<p>San Francisco-based Gensler is the architect on the project.</p>
<p>Hillwood won the Deloitte project after the company looked at multiple locations.</p>
<p>&#8220;It was the first such global competition we had with locations around the world,&#8221; company founder Ross Perot Jr. said.</p>
<pre>To see more of The Dallas Morning News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
<pre>http://www.dallasnews.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Dallas Morning News
</pre>
</pre>
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		<title>Bascom Group Acquires a 183-Unit Class AAA Luxury Mixed-Use Apartment Community in Downtown Dallas, Texas Through a Receivership Sale</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/bascom-group-acquires-a-183-unit-class-aaa-luxury-mixed-use-apartment-community-in-downtown-dallas-texas-through-a-receivership-sale/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/bascom-group-acquires-a-183-unit-class-aaa-luxury-mixed-use-apartment-community-in-downtown-dallas-texas-through-a-receivership-sale/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2011 22:52:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=475</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[DALLAS, April 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ &#8212; The Bascom Group, LLC (&#8220;Bascom&#8221;) has acquired The Davis Building, a Class AAA luxury urban infill mixed-use property. The investment includes a 20-story high-rise building featuring a beautiful Neo-Classical facade and including 183 loft-style apartment units, 52,235 feet of premier retail space and the twelve-level 600-space Metropolitan parking garage. The property [...]]]></description>
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<div id="dvHeadline"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;">DALLAS, April 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ &#8212; The Bascom Group, LLC (&#8220;Bascom&#8221;) has acquired The Davis Building, a Class AAA luxury urban infill mixed-use property. The investment includes a 20-story high-rise building featuring a beautiful Neo-Classical facade and including 183 loft-style apartment units, 52,235 feet of premier retail space and the twelve-level 600-space Metropolitan parking garage. The property was built in 1926 as an office building and was converted into an ultra-luxury apartment in 2003. The sale closed on April 21, 2011. The Davis Building is ideally located in the Main Street District of Downtown Dallas, bordered by Main, Elm and Field Street. The property was purchased through a receivership sale with debt financing provided by J. E. Robert Companies. The property is 95% leased as of the close of escrow. The purchase expanded Bascom&#8217;s Texas portfolio to 24 properties totaling 8,480 units. Bascom purchased The Davis Building from the receiver withRyan Epstein from Marcus and Millichap representing both parties. The acquisition was led by Jeffrey Fuller, Han Jang andPaul Miskowicz of The Bascom Group. The onsite property management will be assigned to Entrada Partners and the parking management services will be assigned to LAZ Parking.</span></div>
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<p>The Davis Building resides on 0.78 acres and consists of a wide range of floor plans including one, two, and three-bedroom configurations with an average unit size of 1,036 sq ft. The property was converted into luxury residential lofts in 2003 and has extensive common area amenities including: an attached six-level parking garage with direct access to the building, boutique lobby, rooftop garden, rooftop swimming pool and Jacuzzi, skyline views, cabana lounge with television, fitness facility with custom equipment, underground tunnel access to numerous nearby commercial buildings and underground, retail shops and restaurant onsite, enclosed dog park on the top floor of parking structure, tanning bed, music playing in all corridors, on-site courtesy officer, and a private loading dock. Unit interiors feature terrazzo flooring, black granite countertops, twelve to twenty foot ceilings, exposed ductwork, plaster and brick exposed walls, stained maple wood kitchen cabinetry, full appliance package, above-range microwave oven, ice maker, side-by-side refrigerator, stainless steel shelves over kitchen sink, kitchen pantry, full-size washer and dryer hookups, contemporary ceiling fan, lighting on dimmer switch, designer Ron Rezek vanity lighting, granite vanity with premium faucets, and walk-in closets. Select units offer either stainless steel or black kitchen appliance package, polished concrete and polished wood flooring, over-size oval tub with granite surround, step-in shower with granite surround, private patio or balcony, and a private outdoor Jacuzzi for the penthouse unit.</p>
<p>In addition to a complete amenity package and exceptional interiors, The Davis Building is located on the northeast corner of the highly trafficked Main and Field Streets, covering one full city block in the heart of Downtown Dallas&#8217;s Main Street District. Main Street runs east-west and is home to many of Dallas&#8217;s tallest skyscrapers and grand historic buildings have been restored and adapted for new use. Davis is surrounded by four major freeways (I-35E, I-30, 75, &amp; 336) and roads that provide daily vehicle traffic of 583,000. The property is also part of the downtown tunnel system allowing access to more than 160 restaurants and shops and several major office buildings. Downtown is home to more than 28 million square feet of office space and is the largest employment center in North Texas with a workforce of 115,000 people, which provides a continual stream of highly qualified potential residents. Furthermore, a Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light-rail station is located one block north of the property, providing residents convenient access to all areas of the metro. The surrounding area is known to have some of Downtown Dallas&#8217; strongest demographics and high-end living with an average household income of $88,578.</p>
<p>Photos:<br />
<a href="http://www.ereleases.com/pic/DavisBuilding.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.ereleases.com/pic/DavisBuilding.jpg</a><br />
<a href="http://www.ereleases.com/pic/DavisPoolRoof.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.ereleases.com/pic/DavisPoolRoof.jpg</a></p>
<p><strong>About The Bascom Group, LLC:</strong></p>
<p>Bascom (<a href="http://www.bascomgroup.com/" target="_blank">http://www.bascomgroup.com</a>) is a private equity firm headquartered in Irvine, California, specializing in value-added multifamily real estate investments. Bascom sources value-added apartment properties and repositions them by adding extensive capital improvements and reducing expenses by realizing operational efficiencies through the implementation of institutional-quality property management. To date, Bascom has completed transactions totaling over $6.0 billion. Bascom has been an active buyer of value-added and distressed multifamily properties in California, Colorado, Washington, Hawaii,Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Georgia, and Texas, acquiring nearly 53,000 units distributed amongst 200 properties to date. Bascom, through its joint ventures with the Southern California Industrial Fund LLC, Real Group, LLC and Rushmore Properties, LLC, has acquired more than 2.0 million square feet of commercial properties nationwide.</p>
<p>For additional information regarding this transaction, please contact:</p>
<p>Jeffrey R. Fuller<br />
Senior Vice President &#8211; Acquisitions<br />
The Bascom Group, LLC<br />
26 Corporate Park Drive, Ste 200<br />
Irvine, CA 92606<br />
949.955.0888 Ext. 19<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:jfuller@bascomgroup.com" target="_blank">jfuller@bascomgroup.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.bascomgroup.com/" target="_blank">http://www.bascomgroup.com</a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>Schoolchildren go green for the Earth Day Dallas Festival in Arts District</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/schoolchildren-go-green-for-the-earth-day-dallas-festival-in-arts-district/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/schoolchildren-go-green-for-the-earth-day-dallas-festival-in-arts-district/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2011 22:49:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=473</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Thousands of Dallas schoolchildren swarmed the Arts District on Friday, eager to learn about the environment. Downtown Dallas will turn “green” this weekend for the two-day Earth Day Dallas Festival, organized by a nonprofit agency headed up by Trammell S. Crow. Its aim is to inspire and educate residents to think environmentally friendly. Dallas Morning News [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;">Thousands of Dallas schoolchildren swarmed the Arts District on Friday, eager to learn about the environment.</span></h3>
<div id="post-body-5414092780235925768">
<div><a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Downtown_Dallas%2C_Texas">Downtown Dallas</a> will turn “green” this weekend for the two-day <a href="http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Earth_Day">Earth Day</a> Dallas Festival, organized by a nonprofit agency headed up by Trammell S. Crow. Its aim is to inspire and educate residents to think environmentally friendly.</div>
<div></div>
<div>Dallas Morning News Link: <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20110422-schoolchildren-go-green-for-the-earth-day-dallas-festival-in-arts-district.ece">http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20110422-schoolchildren-go-green-for-the-earth-day-dallas-festival-in-arts-district.ece</a></div>
</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>Highly Visible Office Building For Sale</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/highly-visible-office-building-for-sale/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/highly-visible-office-building-for-sale/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 21 Apr 2011 22:34:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardco.com/?p=461</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Highly Visible Office Building For Sale Distinctive Frontage to I-30 Overlooks Interstate ● I-30 and 820 Interchange 6,208 SF ● $555,600 ● Price SF $89.50 9220 Live Oak Ln. Fort Worth, TX 76179 Flyer: Address: 5555 Bridge St. Fort Worth, TX 76112 Profile: Large 6,208 SF office building divided into three separate suites or can [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Highly Visible Office Building For Sale<br />
Distinctive Frontage to I-30<br />
Overlooks Interstate ● I-30 and 820 Interchange<br />
6,208 SF ● $555,600 ● Price SF $89.50<br />
9220 Live Oak Ln. Fort Worth, TX 76179</p>
<p>Flyer: <a href="http://harvardco.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Flyer-5555-Bridge-St-Office-Retail-Building-Ft.-Worth.pdf"></a><a href="http://harvardco.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Flyer-5555-Bridge-St-Office-Retail-Building-Ft.-Worth.pdf"></a></p>
<p><a href="http://harvardco.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Flyer-5555-Bridge-St-Office-Retail-Building-Ft.-Worth.pdf">Address:          5555 Bridge St. Fort Worth, TX 76112</a></p>
<p><a href="http://harvardco.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Flyer-5555-Bridge-St-Office-Retail-Building-Ft.-Worth.pdf"> </a></p>
<p><a href="http://harvardco.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Flyer-5555-Bridge-St-Office-Retail-Building-Ft.-Worth.pdf"></a></p>
<p><a href="http://harvardco.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Flyer-5555-Bridge-St-Office-Retail-Building-Ft.-Worth.pdf">Profile:             Large 6,208 SF office building divided into three separate suites or can be used as a single              Flyer &#8211; 5555 Bridge St Office &amp; Retail Building &#8211; Ft. Worth</a>space. Large parking lot, surveillance system, incredible location. Built in 1980.</p>
<p>Location:          A short distance east of the I-30 and 820 interchange, this office building has I-30 frontage that overlooks the interstate. High visibility adds tremendous value .</p>
<p>Lot:                  Large 1.37 Acre lot with plenty of parking.</p>
<p>Interior:            Beautifully-styled interior with vaulted ceilings, rich wood trim, decorative lighting, ceramic tile and carpeted flooring.</p>
<p>Occupancy:      Partially occupied by a Law Firm and Real Estate Agent. Can be vacated for new owner if required.</p>
<p>Utilities:           Security system, central heating and air, city sewer and water.</p>
<p>For Sale:          $555,600 or approx. $89.50 per square foot.</p>
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		<title>Welcome to the NEW Harvard Co Website!</title>
		<link>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/hello-world/</link>
		<comments>http://harvardco.com/harvard-news/hello-world/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Mar 2011 15:32:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Randall Turner</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Harvard News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://harvardrealtyco.com/?p=1</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dear friends and colleagues, Welcome to the new harvardco.com. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below or e-mailing rturner@harvardco.com. During this transitional time in our industry, we must focus on designing our future. Our essential roles in Real Estate Brokerage, Tenant Representation, Aquisitions and Dispositions have never been more important. The [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Dear friends and colleagues,</p>
<p>Welcome to the new harvardco.com. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below or e-mailing rturner@harvardco.com.</p>
<p>During this transitional time in our industry, we must focus on designing our future. Our essential roles in Real Estate Brokerage, Tenant Representation, Aquisitions and Dispositions have never been more important.</p>
<p>The site will now be a dynamic representation of our evolving organization. It will be inclusive and aggressively forward-looking. Unique, regularly-updated property listings and North Texas Real Estate News will be at the core of what we do.</p>
<p>Keep checking back during the coming weeks as we will be adding new clients and properties into our database.</p>
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