NREI_BROKERAGE TRENDS_ Penton Media November 18, 2010 If you want to view this on the web go to: http://enews.penton.com/enews/nrei/v/906 TOP STORY --After its Rescue and Retooling, Former Sears Tower Stands Tall By H. Lee Murphy, NREI Contributing Writer The sudden assumption in the commercial real estate world after the twin towers of the World Trade Center were demolished on 9/11 was that in a new era ruled by fears of urban terrorism iconic skyscrapers would suddenly fall out of fashion. Business at the nation's highest building, the 110-story Sears Tower in Chicago, began to plummet as tenants retreated to lower office space elsewhere. Fully nine years have passed, domestic terrorism doesn't breed the same urgent fears and the Sears, renamed the Willis Tower, is making an impressive comeback. When U.S. Equities Realty took over as the building's manager in 2008 from CB Richard Ellis, the complex's 3.4 million sq. ft. in offices were limping along with a 22% vacancy, with most of its ground-floor retail, including a boarded-up Bonwit Teller store, empty and dark. To view the full article go to: http://nreionline.com/strategies/corporate/news/sears_tower_stands_tall_1118/ NEWS FEATURE --NorthMarq Brokers $44 Million Note Sale By NREI Staff The note on the first two phases of Monte Vista Crossings, a retail shopping center in Turlock, Calif., has sold for approximately $44 million. To view the full article go to: http://nreionline.com/strategies/corporate/news/northmarq_brokers_million_1118/ --Jones Lang LaSalle Arranges Sale of Danbury Plaza Hotel By NREI Staff Broker Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels has closed the sale of the Danbury Plaza Hotel in Danbury, Conn., after negotiating an agreement on behalf of its client Pyramid Hotel Fund. The buyer, described as a real estate investor, was not identified. The 242-room hotel is located about 60 miles from New York City and is adjacent to the Matrix Corporate Center, former world headquarters of Union Carbide Corp. To view the full article go to: http://nreionline.com/strategies/corporate/news/jone_lang_sale_danbury_hotel_1118/ --CBRE Report: Office Rents Hit Bottom in Some U.S. Markets By NREI Staff Rental declines appear to be leveling off in a number of major U.S. cities, and some, such as Washington D.C. and New York, have reached the bottom of the rental cycle, according to a new, third-quarter report by CB Richard Ellis Group. To view the full article go to: http://nreionline.com/strategies/corporate/news/office_rents_hit_bottom_1118/ --Red Capital Arranges $17 Million to Refinance Two Texas Seniors Communities By NREI Staff Red Capital Group LLC, a Columbus, Ohio-based real estate finance company, has arranged two Fannie Mae loans totaling $17.056 million to refinance two Alzheimer's care centers in Texas. With funding from Red's mortgage finance arm, Red Mortgage Capital LLC, one of the loans went to JEA Senior Living to finance Cinco Ranch Alzheimer's Special Care Center, a 66-bed facility developed in 2006 and 2007 in Katy, Texas. JEA Senior Living is a privately owned and operated management and development company based in Vancouver, Wash. that owns and/or operates 18 senior care properties in Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Texas and Illinois. To view the full article go to: http://nreionline.com/strategies/corporate/news/red_capital_refinance_seniors_communities_1118/ Advertisement ---------------------------------------- Senior Housing Capital Markets Forecast 2011 Webinar Wednesday, December 8, 2010 @ 2:00pm ET/11:00am PT This free webinar is designed to offer objective assessments of the seniors housing business with a focus on capital and how it will likely be deployed. 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Click here! http://nreionline.com/webinars/ ---------------------------------------- NREI Interactive Products ---------------------------------------- THE ALTER GROUP Larry Armstrong on Architecture in a Recession (http://nreionline.com/images/larry-armstrong-architecture.mp3) Larry Armstrong, President, Ware Malcomb, an international architecture firm, says that in times of recession, survival is dependant on having a strong strategic plan in place and creating functional work vs. extravagent projects to meet clients' needs... WHITE PAPER Back To Basics To Stay Strong In Commercial Real Estate (http://nreionline.com/research/ge-capital-real-estate-0729/) To succeed in this real estate market, investors and managers need a new kind of toolbox... ---------------------------------------- Advertisement ---------------------------------------- Ever wish someone would turn your dream app into reality? We're on it -- but we need your help! At NREI, we're interested in the opportunities being served up by digital apps for the iPad. So we're asking industry professionals like you to join us and become members of our dream app laboratory. Join the lab. http://nreionline.com/dreamapp/ ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- IMN's 10th Annual Borrowers', Investors' & Special Servicers' Forum on Real Estate Mezzanine Lending & Distressed Debt November 30-December 1, 2010 - The Roosevelt Hotel - New York, NY Addressing all the key issues now facing the subordinated real estate finance & distressed debt markets, and bringing together senior executives from borrowers, investors and special servicers, IMN's Forum remains to be the leading event for this market sector. For the latest agenda and further information about the event, visit: http://www.imn.org/mezz2010 ---------------------------------------- ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER Contact Denise Kalette at mailto:denise.kalette@penton.com You are subscribed to this newsletter as #email# To subscribe to this newsletter go to: http://subscribers.nreionline.com/?tc=NLSUB To unsubscribe from this newsletter go to: http://pbinews.com/webforms/newsletter/unsub/?email=#email#&lid=#list_id#&mid=#message_id# For information on advertising in this newsletter, please contact Marianne Rivera at 312-840-8466 or by email at mailto:marianne.rivera@penton.com. 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