Property Types Office
CASTO Invests $400M in Puerto Rican Portfolio
May 14, 2008

Columbus-based CASTO has invested $400 million in 1.7 million square feet of retail and office space in Puerto Rico. The properties were owned by Vadim Nikitine, president of Puerto Rico-based Commercial Centers Management Inc. Nikitine and Casto will now split ownership of the assets.

The partnership--dubbed CASTO Caribbean--acquired nine retail properties located throughout Puerto Rico, along with a high-rise office tower in Downtown San Juan. The acquisition places CASTO Caribbean among the top five retail owners in Puerto Rico. CASTO and Commercial Centers Management will split ownership of the properties equally, and Commercial Centers will continue to operate and lease the assets.

This venture is the latest in a series of partnerships between the two firms, beginning with the development Winter Park Village in Winter Park, Fla. Since that project, the partnership has expanded their holdings to eight lifestyle centers totaling 2 million square feet, as well as three mixed-use developments that are currently under development. PACE Financial Group provided financial advisory on the deal, working with institutional investors advised by JP Morgan Asset Management.

 
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220-Acre Mixed-Use in Works Near University of Missouri
August 20, 2008
By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor -- A 220-acre parcel near the University of Missouri's Discovery Ridge research park in Columbia is on tap to sprout a gargantuan mixed-use project. Forum Development Group, the owner of the land, recently wrapped up...

Icahn Nabs AT&T's Dallas HQ in Sale-Leaseback
August 20, 2008
By Tonie Auer, Southwest Correspondent -- Transferring its headquarters from San Antonio to Dallas, telecom giant AT&T Inc. has moved into a 37-story high-rise and sold the building in a sale-leaseback deal to Icahn Enterprises for an undisclosed amount. The...

W.P. Carey Closes $58M Sale-Leaseback in Germany
August 20, 2008
By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor -- New York City-headquartered W.P. Carey, acting through its publicly held non-traded REITs CPA(R):15 and CPA(R):17 - Global, has completed a sale-leaseback transaction in Germany with U.K.-based automotive supplier Wagon Plc. The properties involved are...

Och-Ziff, Kolter in $1B Southeast Residential JV
August 20, 2008
By Scott Baltic, Contributing Editor -- New York-based Och-Ziff Capital Management Group and Kolter Group of West Palm Beach, Fla., have announced the formation of a $1 billion joint venture that will target residential properties in the Southeast that are...

REal Talk with Adam Perrotta-Tuesday
August 19, 2008
By Adam Perrotta, News Writer --In the latest example of a firm looking to snap up debt in the wake of the credit crunch, Apollo Real Estate Advisors has pumped up funding for its debt investment fund to $930 million....

Is Family Business a Good Idea?
August 15, 2008
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth --Oh what a conundrum! Family business: Should I, or shouldn't I? In my opinion there really isn't a right or wrong answer to this question. It is simply a matter of personal preference....

What to Do When Marketing Goes Wild
August 08, 2008
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer N2growth --Have your company's marketing initiatives wandered astray? Is the proverbial tail starting to wag the dog with respect to your current marketing campaigns? How do you know when marketing is out of control?...

Six Mistakes Real Leaders Avoid
August 01, 2008
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth --I recently had a reader ask: "Is there a simple test that can be used to quickly determine an executive's leadership ability?" The short answer is yes. There are, in fact, a great...

Top Brokers Do Deals in Bad Markets, Too
July 18, 2008
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer N2growth --Many in the industry long for the frothy markets of 2005 when sellers experienced record low cap rates, buyers were aided by loose credit and a strong flow of funds from the capital...

Know Thy Customer
July 11, 2008
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth --How well do you really know your customer? Let me put this as simply as I can. If you want to succeed in business you must be in touch with the demands of...