Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:57 EST

Convicted stalker Felix Velazquez hoped the plan to kidnap his former girlfriend would have a happy ending — winning back her affections and bringing about a reconciliation.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:32 EST

Engagement ring ownership disputes are often hotly contested due to the emotional aspect of a failed relationship and the ring’s sentimental and economic value.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 09:46 EST

Here is advice on writing a business plan from the 2012 Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge judges:

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:36 EST

Continuing dry conditions helped the spread of a brush fire near Card Sound Road and US1 south of Florida City, but late Saturday afternoon, firefighters who worked all day on the blaze believed they had it mostly contained.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:00 EST

Team behind First Place Kit Korp prepares for life’s next chapter — there’s no kit for that.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:00 EST

Challenge Champion Raw Apps found ways to execute its strategy in the mobile market.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:00 EST

<span class="leadin">Susan Amat </span>is co-founder and executive director of The Launch Pad at Toppel, an entrepreneurial career center at the University of Miami that has helped hundreds of startups. Amat ventured into the music business as a concert promoter at age 15. A serial entrepreneur, she started and ran a successful record label and developed a television show that aired on the E! Network as well as the first CD-Rom magazine. She teaches business strategy, entrepreneurship and organizational behavior at UM and leads Startup Florida.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:00 EST

<span class="leadin">John C. Fleming</span>, a serial entrepreneur, is the technology practice lead at Biztegra Partners, a social web agency based in West Palm Beach. He started his career as a software developer in 1979 and has worked nationally and internationally in engineering, sales, marketing, services and general management in industries ranging from high tech to real estate. Fleming has started companies, raised money and has been part of teams that built products that became market leaders in their space.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:00 EST

<span class="leadin">Felipe F. Basulto </span>is the retail market manager for TD Bank, overseeing the Miami-Dade locations and responsible for growth, profitability and continued expansion of TD Bank’s retail network in the local market. Basulto held similar positions with Regions Bank and Bank of America. He serves on the board for the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, is chair-elect of the South Florida Hispanic Chamber, serves as a trustee with United Way, is chair for the March of Dimes Walk for 2012 and serves on Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) South Florida’s board.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:00 EST

Find the contest rules and all you need to get started on your entry, but first let’s look back on the progress of last year’s winners.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:00 EST

At an event last week, an audience member gave an elevator pitch for his company called Sweat EquiTees, which sells t-shirts with slogans like “Run LLC” and “Kiss me, I’m an Entrepreneur.”

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:00 EST

First Place winner DonorCommunity is building a name in the nonprofit industry.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

Have you hatched a great idea for a business? If your business is less than 2 years old or exists only on paper, you can enter our 14th Annual Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge, co-sponsored by Florida International University’s Eugenio Pino & Family Global Entrepreneurship Center.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

Marc De Kuyper, 11th generation of the Dutch family that produces a rainbow of popular hard-partying liqueurs, didn’t exactly have a free ride into the business. He had to get the right degrees and succeed at several other jobs first. Finally, with an impressive resume in hand, he had to go through a series of formal interviews, business exams and psychological and IQ testing at De Kuyper Royal Distillers, which was founded in 1695 and has always been run by the family.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

In the world of civil penalties, getting a major company to pay a $2.5 million settlement doesn’t seem like much, maybe the equivalent of a $100 parking ticket. But look past the money that Asset Acceptance Capital, one of the nation’s largest consumer debt buyers, has to pay to settle a case with the Federal Trade Commission regarding its alleged use of deceptive practices to collect old debts, and you see a major push from the government to send a signal to the debt-buying industry.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:00 EST

If you want to know how the Chinese economy is doing, look no further than KFC.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:12 EST

With so many of us taking the entrepreneurial route, here’s a tax primer for the newly self-employed.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:22 EST

Underperforming money managers are losing their most reliable scapegoat.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 10:13 EST

Air France says it expects to maintain more than 85 percent of its long-haul flights and 80 percent of European flights when pilots, cabin crew and other personnel begin a four-day walkout Monday to protest a government labor reform.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:08 EST

American and Israeli gas prospectors say they have discovered a large amount of offshore natural gas in Israeli waters near the Lebanese border.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:28 EST

An Eni SpA oil pipeline ruptured and caught fire as a militant group claimed responsibility for an attack in the region, their first alleged assault in months as its purported leader awaits trial on terrorism charges in South Africa.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:21 EST

Car buyers will likely pay more for new and used cars this year as the economy improves.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:41 EST

General Motors Co. said Saturday that most of its 4,400 U.S. dealers have agreed to upgrade their showrooms over the next four years.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:06 EST

Bob Thompson learned he had prostate cancer after routine screening at the Whittier Street Health Center, a community-based facility that has long served serving thousands of residents of the inner-city Roxbury neighborhood.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:21 EST

Russia's state-controlled Gazprom natural gas giant acknowledged for the first time Saturday that it had briefly reduced gas supplies to Europe amid a spell of extreme cold.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:31 EST

Hundreds of Palestinian protesters have called for their prime minister's resignation over recent tax and price increases.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:11 EST

Italy is now a "safe place" amid market turbulence, Premier Mario Monti said in an interview published Saturday, pressing for Europe to turn its political energy to generating growth rather than further plans to strengthen budget discipline.

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:09 EST

A Fort Lauderdale company sells armored vehicles to military clients and companies with employees overseas.

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:00 EST

With Scarabeo 9, a Spanish company’s leased oil rig, in place for exploratory drilling off the Cuban coast, response plans are being firmed up in case a spill reaches the United States.

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:50 EST

The Brazilian government created a special visa program after thousands of Haitians were stranded in remote Amazon towns. It will also issue work visas to Haitians at its embassy in Port-au-Prince.

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:47 EST

This week’s roundup includes news on Brazilian banking and upcoming international trade events in Florida

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:00 EST

Ecuadoran plaintiffs in an $18 billion lawsuit against Chevron said the company has been trying to bribe its way out of the case by offering to support an innovative conservation effort.

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:16 EST

An Ecuadoran court has upheld a ruling against Chevron for polluting the environment. Chevron says the ruling is illegitimate.

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:05 EST

The pace of economic reforms has picked up as Cuba seeks to move more people off government payrolls in an effort to boost its economy.

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 20:32 EST

Cuevana, an Argentine website that streams the latest Hollywood blockbusters and TV series, started off as a dorm-room project that has attracted millions of viewers. Now, it has attracted lawsuits from HBO and Turner, among others.

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:45 EST

A bankruptcy judge converted Claudio Osorio’s personal and corporate bankruptcy cases to Chapter 7

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:00 EST

However, recent measures could put the economy of South Florida’s largest trading partner back on the growth track by the second quarter of 2012.

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 23:00 EST

François Delattre focused on investment and trade during a recent visit to Miami.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:11 EST

Facebook's billionaire CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls himself a hacker.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:26 EST

Saboteurs stole passwords and sensitive information on tipsters while hacking into the websites of several law enforcement agencies worldwide in attacks attributed to the collective known as Anonymous.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:46 EST

Poland's prime minister says he is suspending the ratification process for an international copyright treaty after widespread protests and attacks on government websites.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:01 EST

A group linked to the hacker network Anonymous says it has attacked the Swedish government's website and shut it down by overloading it.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:51 EST

The hacking collective Anonymous is claiming credit for defacing the Boston Police Department's website.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:07 EST

Trading jokes and swapping leads, investigators from the FBI and Scotland Yard spent the conference call strategizing about how to bring down the hacking collective known as Anonymous, responsible for a string of embarrassing attacks across the Internet.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:26 EST

Motorola Mobility says about 100 Xoom tablet computers that it refurbished for sale on Woot.com may not have been properly wiped of the previous owners' data.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:41 EST

Hewlett-Packard Co. ushered in Meg Whitman as its CEO with a $16.5 million compensation package that hinges on the one-time politician's ability to lift the stumbling technology company's stock price during the next two years.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:07 EST

The goody-two-shoes among us say it's better to give than to receive. That's not true for the average Facebook user, though.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:36 EST

Apple Inc. has temporarily blocked Motorola Mobility's attempt to have it withdraw several iPhone and iPad models from its Internet store in Germany, the latest twist in an extended legal duel over patents between the companies.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:11 EST

For an emerging generation of Japanese innovators, the dream isn't a job for life at a big company. They have new ambitions, and they're determined to go places. Especially Silicon Valley.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:09 EST

Two cruise ships have been hit by norovirus, a gastro-intestinal bug that spreads fast and leaves misery behind.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:14 EST

Princess Cruises has confirmed the stomach illness that affected almost 100 passengers aboard the Ruby Princess is norovirus.

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:53 EST

Carnival Corp. said in a regulatory filing that it expects full-year profits to take a $155 million to $175 million hit from the Costa Concordia grounding.

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:02 EST

Authorities in the Bahamas say a 26-year-old U.S. tourist has died aboard a Carnival cruise ship and the cruise has been delayed pending the investigation.

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:59 EST

Passengers who suffered no physical injury from the grounding of the Costa Concordia are being offered a settlement of about $14,500. Lawsuits filed Friday put that figure in the shadows.

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:19 EST

The Disney Wonder will set sail from Miami beginning in December, drawing more tourists here.

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:33 EST

Reports of a 30-percent discount for shipwreck survivors on future cruises sparks global outrage as Carnival and Costa try to contain the damage to their brands in wake of Concordia crisis.

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:05 EST

On an average day, about 50,000 people around the world board cruise ships to start their vacations. Half of them set to sea on a vessel owned by Carnival Corp, the industry leader based in Doral.

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:29 EST

In the hours after her husband’s murder, investigators grilled Narcy Novack on her husband’s temper, their marital ups and downs and his sexual peccadilloes.

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:33 EST

As details about some victims of the ill-fated ship were released, the captain said hadn’t abandoned ship but had slipped on deck and tumbled overboard into a lifeboat.

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:06 EST

Travel experts say it’s difficult to tell how many potential passengers have been scared away from taking cruises.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:26 EST

Jackson Health System is restructuring in response to lower patient volume and budget problems.

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:33 EST

UM’s eye institute announced plans for a three-year expansion as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:37 EST

Limited data on 1,219 University of Miami patients was stolen in November when someone broke the back window of a pathologist’s car and took a briefcase that contained a flash drive.

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:53 EST

Backers of the controversial, and expensive, procedure say it can zap tumors with such accuracy that surrounding tissue is unharmed.

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:55 EST

Jackson Health System and the University of Miami are planning a new arrangement that would have some UM doctors practicing only at UM, while opening the way for FIU doctors.

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:00 EST

Hospitals made disastrous decisions in the 1990s in hiring doctors. Now, they’re again buying physician practices — saying better management will make the difference this time.

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:11 EST

Jackson Health System executives projected for the second straight year that the system might run out of cash this summer unless major steps are taken.

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:15 EST

Federal authorities have rejected a request from Florida to get a waiver on a crucial reform requirement -- a move that could clear the way for state consumers to get more than $170 million in refunds on their health insurance.

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:17 EST

A little-known part of the federal healthcare reform act could get Floridians $145 million in insurance rebates and perhaps put many insurance agents out of business.

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:19 EST

Jackson Health System, which has lost $423 million the past three years, reported Wednesday that it had a $348,000 surplus in December.

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:47 EST

The South Florida hospital association is once again asking the Legislature to ban guns in hospitals, but the gun lobby is adamantly opposed and legislators are showing little interest.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:38 EST

A look at taxable sales when the Big Game to South Florida shows no big bump in spending. Super Bowl did score some touchdowns with hotel taxes, though.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:30 EST

Even if unemployment rises nationally with today’s report, it’s bound to land much lower than Miami-Dade’s double-digit jobless rate. Broward is more a mirror of the national hiring market.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:22 EST

Underperforming money managers are losing their most reliable scapegoat.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:28 EST

An Eni SpA oil pipeline ruptured and caught fire as a militant group claimed responsibility for an attack in the region, their first alleged assault in months as its purported leader awaits trial on terrorism charges in South Africa.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:08 EST

American and Israeli gas prospectors say they have discovered a large amount of offshore natural gas in Israeli waters near the Lebanese border.

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 10:13 EST

Air France says it expects to maintain more than 85 percent of its long-haul flights and 80 percent of European flights when pilots, cabin crew and other personnel begin a four-day walkout Monday to protest a government labor reform.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:31 EST

Hundreds of Palestinian protesters have called for their prime minister's resignation over recent tax and price increases.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:21 EST

Car buyers will likely pay more for new and used cars this year as the economy improves.

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST

The Miami Marlins say they've expended $38 million toward creation of their $515 million county-owned baseball stadium, but county officials say Miami-Dade will dispute payments that donít fit the projectís purview.

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST

The City of Hialeah continues to move forward a long-stalled Urban Youth Baseball Academy by taking the remaining steps to receiving a green light from the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resources Development and financing from Major League Baseball.

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST

Itís about 2 p.m. on a Friday. For much of Miami, the work week is winding down. But it feels like the weekend is already getting started at Magic City Casino. "Miamiís Vice," reads one banner, "Blackjack."

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST

With the success of its 5-year-old Hospitality & Tourism Management program in Tianjin, Florida International University is moving forward to continue its China presence and expand to offer two new degrees.

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST

If the real estate bust was good for anything, it might be that itís forcing developers to get more creative. How creative?

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST

he Omni Community Redevelopment Agency has chosen California-based Bastien & Associates, Inc. as design consultant for the Miami Entertainment Center, the film studio it's planning at 29 NW 13th St., formerly a county schools building.

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST

One of the nation's largest insurance brokers has moved its South Florida office to Brickell Avenue.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:47:10 GMT

This week's People of Note includes the following markets: Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Milwaukee/Madison, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, South Florida, Washington, DC. LOS ANGELES Cockrum Joins Lowe Enterprises Investors as SVP By Laurie Forbes Lowe Enterprises Investors hired William M. Cockrum IV as senior vice president to head the company’s marketing and capital raising efforts. He will be based in th

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:05:01 GMT

GREEN LEAD is a column on environmental and sustainable design and construction, best practices for green building maintenance and operations, economic impact on developers and owners, new LEED and Energy Star building certifications, and trends in the Green Building movement. Send in your Green News Leads to news@costar.com Latest Research on Green Real Estate Now Available

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:23:19 GMT

Real estate investment firm C-III Capital Partners LLC last week completed its acquisition of Princeton, NJ-based NAI Global. The long-awaited closing came seven months after the transaction was announced in June, leading some to wonder if the deal had fallen by the wayside. But C-III was hardly idle during that time, acquiring three other companies and making a major play for cash-strapped CRE services firm Grubb & Ellis Co. As reported by CoStar...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:13:36 GMT

A two-week period of exclusive negotiations between Grubb & Ellis Co. and New York-based financial brokerage BGC Partners expired Tuesday without an agreement, according to a document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Under the previous agreement, Grubb & Ellis provided an exclusive right to negotiate for BGC Partners, headed by chief executive Howard Ludnick, to pursue a debt or equity financing agreement or acquisition of...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:33:03 GMT

With the gradual return of economic growth, including higher levels of manufacturing and consumer spending, the vacancy rate for U.S. warehouses continued to decline at the end of 2011 as the property sector was buoyed by its strongest quarter for net absorption since late 2008. The vacancy rate tracked across 210 markets by Property and Portfolio Research (PPR), CoStar’s analytics and forecasting division, declined to 9.6% in the fourth quarter...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:15:59 GMT

As economic headwinds subside, the commercial real estate lending business for U.S. banks has hit an inflection point. For the first time in five years, a majority of banks are finally talking about their ability to grow their loan portfolios. While the sentiment among banks is neither unanimous, nor the projected lending growth strong, bank executives in analyst earnings calls over the past couple of weeks were clearly signaling they believe they...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:13:48 GMT

The dollar volume of commercial real estate sales vaulted back to longterm historical levels in 2011. CoStar Group has confirmed $291.6 billion in CRE sales in 2011, a 32% increase over the sales volume in 2010. Last year's volume bested the 12-year average volume of $254.2 billion. However, the 2011 dollar volume is still overshadowed by credit-bubble level of $560.5 billion in 2007. Sales of office property led all other types in dollar volume...

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:07:01 GMT

Regulators took over four banks in the past week, including the $1.2 billion-sized Tennessee Commerce Bank of Franklin, TN, one other Tennessee bank and one each in Florida and Minnesota. Republic Bank & Trust Co. (RB&T) in Louisville, KY, acquired Tennessee Commerce Bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC"). In addition to assuming approximately $1 billion of the deposits of TCB (both insured and uninsured), RB&T purchased...

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:05:38 GMT

Goldman Sachs is the putting out the first new CMBS offering of 2012. GS Mortgage Securities Trust 2012-GC6 is a pool of 80 fixed-rate loans totaling $1.15 billion and backed by 127 properties. The loans were originated by Goldman Sachs Mortgage Company (45.8%), Citigroup Global Markets Realty Corp. (45.1%), and Archetype Mortgage Funding ILLC (9.1%). According to Moody's Investors Service, the concentration of multifamily and manufacturing...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:03:32 GMT

In The Pipeline is a column on significant acquisitions of commercial land for sale, and other transactions and trends affecting office, industrial, flex, multifamily, mixed-use, hotel and public works developers. Send us news leads about your new commercial real estate project -- and sign up to be added to our distribution list to receive future In the Pipeline columns by e-mail. Trammell Crow, Principal Launch $1B Development Program Principal...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:08:38 GMT

LyondellBasell renewed 358,138 square feet at 1 Houston Center in Houston. The plastics, chemical and refining company signed a long-term extension deal to maintain its global operations at the central business district office tower. The 1.06 million-square-foot property at 1221 McKinney St. was built in 1996. The lease also included naming rights; the 46-story office building will now be known as LyondellBasell Tower. Charles Gordon, Craig...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:19:00 GMT

This week's People of Note includes the following markets: Dallas, Denver, National, New York City, Orange County, San Francisco and Washington, DC. DALLAS, NATIONAL Behringer Harvard Appoints New President, CEO of REITs By Laurie Forbes Behringer Harvard hired Michael J. O'Hanlon as an executive vice president of the firm and as CEO and president of Behringer Harvard Opportunity REITs I and II. He took the place

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:58:19 GMT

The Miami Herald Media Company has agreed to terms to relocate to a 158,265-square-foot office building in Doral, FL. The building, at 3511 NW 91st Ave. in Miami, will be renamed One Herald Plaza at Westpointe Business Park. The company has also acquired an adjacent six-acre pad site to house its 119,000-square-foot production building. CoStar first brought you coverage of the sale of Miami Herald's former waterfront office location to Genting...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:15:29 GMT

Office space absorption doubled during 2011 as the office-using job base expanded and vacancies declined across nearly two-thirds of U.S. submarkets, CoStar Group reported this week in its Year-End 2011 Office Review & Outlook. The report presented to CoStar clients found that positive momentum in office fundamentals and the continued absence of new construction is expected to result in higher rents for building owners over the next few years. Office...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:15:23 GMT

While perhaps not a nationally significant or unusual deal by itself, U.S. Cellular's renewal this past month of an office lease in Madison, WI, succinctly depicts the current state of leasing. U.S. Cellular agreed to extend its lease with affiliates of Wells Real Estate at the U.S. Cellular Building, a four-story, 102,000-rentable-square-foot office building. The Chicago-based carrier leases 73% of the building and owns a 45% equity interest in...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:14:41 GMT

Real estate investment firm C-III Capital Partners LLC completed its acquisition of NAI Global, just 10 days after negotiations between C-III and partner Colony Capital LLC to acquire Santa Ana, CA-based Grubb & Ellis Co. expired without an agreement. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. At the time the NAI Global transaction was announced in June 2011, C-III Capital and its veteran CEO Andrew L. Farkas expected it to close...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:13:57 GMT

Lodging demand trends continue on a solid recovery trajectory, despite heightened global macroeconomic risk stemming from European sovereign debt concerns and a slowdown in China, according to a bevy of reports that hit the market this week. While the ongoing hotel recovery is expected to be uneven, it is a recovery nonetheless, observers say, and one clearly reflected in recent investment activity. The pace of hotel real estate investment in the...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:09:45 GMT

The tax rate on carried-interest investment income earned by real estate partnerships, private equity investors and hedge fund operators has once again become an issue for national debate -- this time, all the way to the 2012 presidential campaign. Two prominent Michigan lawmakers announced that they are reviving efforts to reclassify the tax treatment for carried-interest income after Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney released tax records...

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:17:39 GMT

Amid a slowing, uneven economic recovery in 2011, the world's 200 largest metro economies continued to drive global growth, according to The Brookings Institution in its Global MetroMonitor. But here's the rub for the U.S.: The study reveals that emerging-market metro areas in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe were the fastest growing last year, while most American and Western European metros struggled to rebound from the Great Recession. Meanwhile...

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:02:48 GMT

Heitman LLC has acquired the Ravens Crest Apartments at 3217 Ravens Crest Dr. in Plainsboro, NJ for $95 million, or about $135,000 per unit, from Equity Residential. Occupancy at time of sale was more than 95 percent. The 704-unit, two-story, 586,520-square-foot multifamily building was built on 29 acres in the Princeton North submarket of Middlesex County. It is an even mix of one- and two-bedroom units that rent for $865 to $1,570 per month...

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:16:27 GMT

Excel Trust, a publicly traded real estate investment trust based in San Diego, CA, has acquired Promenade Corporate Center for $56 million, or about $222 per square foot, from Pacific Companies. The transaction is the second, and final, part of the larger acquisition of Scottsdale Promenade in Scottsdale, AZ for a total consideration of $166 million. The initial sale took place in July 2011 when Excel took the retail portion for $110 million...

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:16:27 GMT

Wells Real Estate Funds, a Georgia-based REIT, acquired the seven-story Franklin Center in Columbia, MD, from Principal Financial Group Inc. for $65 million, or about $324 per square foot. The Class A office building delivered in 2008 at 6841 Benjamin Franklin Drive in the Columbia South submarket. It totals 200,573 square feet and is fully occupied by SAIC Inc., according to CoStar information. Paul Collins, William Collins, Jud Ryan, Jonathan...

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:26:05 GMT

Apartment developer RedPeak Properties LLC sold a 324-unit multifamily community at 650 S. Dahlia Circle in Denver, CO, to CBRE Investors for $54.3 million or $167,593 per unit. The Heritage Creek Apartments complex is a 308,700-square-foot property with 19 buildings. The property, located in the Glendale submarket, was delivered in 1996. David Martin of Moran & Co. represented the seller. Please refer to COMPS #2229375 for more information...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:29:15 GMT

Africa Israel USA has sold the Clock Tower Building at 5 Madison Ave. in New York City to hotel chain Marriott International, Inc. for $165 million, or almost $618 per square foot. The 41-story, 267,000-square-foot office tower was built in 1909 in the Gramercy Park submarket near Madison Square Park. One of Manhattan's earliest skyscrapers, the landmark building was originally constructed and occupied by Metropolitan Life Insurance, and is still...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:53:03 GMT

In The Pipeline is a column on significant acquisitions of commercial land for sale, and other transactions and trends affecting office, industrial, flex, multifamily, mixed-use, hotel and public works developers. Send us news leads about your new commercial real estate project -- and sign up to be added to our distribution list to receive future In the Pipeline columns by e-mail. Follow me on Twitter for live news updates. CA Firm Named Hudson...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:54:19 GMT

Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group have retained Sylmar, CA-based Tutor Perini Corp. for the 26-acre, $4 billion Hudson Yards development in Midtown Manhattan. The civil and building construction company said it has also been retained for the construction of a residential tower just south of the Hudson Yards on 30th Street and 10th Avenue. Tutor Perini will book the work into its backlog as the developers release various phases of...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:07:57 GMT

Rizaro Management has paid $123 million for Privet Capital's Park & Coast bulk portfolio of 11 multifamily communities located in Brooklyn, NY. The properties total 820 rental units, for an average price of $150,000 per key. The properties are all located near the water in Sheepshead Bay, Crown Heights, Brighton Beach or Prospect Park. The buildings total 871,833 square feet, and were built in the 1920s and 1930s in the North and South Brooklyn...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:05:16 EST

Blackstone Group's $11 billion bet on retail property is showing signs of paying off.

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:43:31 EST

Regardless of whether the New York Giants or the New England Patriots win Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, a prohibitive favorite has emerged: Indianapolis-area hotels.

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:38:18 EST

Boston Properties Inc. and SL Green Realty Corp. reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, a sign that the nation's largest office landlords have been able to boost revenue despite tepid job growth.

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 02:58:52 EST

London looks likely to experience a drought of new housing over the next few years, as construction of homes amid fears of renewed recession and a dearth of mortgage finance, a report from property consultant suggests.

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:37:31 EST

The price tag for One World Trade Center, the signature skyscraper under construction at Ground Zero in New York, has risen to more than $3.8 billion, making it by far the world's most expensive new office tower.

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:28:02 EST

The family behind Opus, once one of the largest private developers in the country, is making a comeback after settling battles with creditors and former employees.

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:26:21 EST

Marriott has been trying—and failing—for more than four years to build a brand of hip hotels. Now, it finally may be breathing some life into the Edition brand, its competitor to the stylish W chain.

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:41:47 EST

The estate of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is now the owner of a Montana ski and golf resort, after assuming control of the assets of Moonlight Basin Ranch LP.

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:41:24 EST

The estate of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is planning this week to use $1.33 billion in cash to buy a 26.5% stake in apartment giant Archstone.

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:50:53 EST

Brookfield Asset Management canceled a deal to take control of the huge Atlantis resort in the Bahamas and two other resorts from Kerzner after other creditors obtained a court ruling delaying the deal.

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:51:45 EST

Calpers, the giant California pension fund, is dumping one of its last major housing investments at a big loss.

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:44:40 EST

The stocks of home builders, shunned by investors for most of the past year, are suddenly in vogue again.

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:32:35 EST

A fight has broken out over a deeply discounted planned sale of $150 million in debt backed by a Las Vegas area resort and casino.

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:33:22 EST

A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. real-estate fund that has walked away from a number of struggling investments is taking a different approach with a Chicago skyscraper, deciding to fight its creditors rather than surrender ownership of the building.