Global Viewpoints

Equity Investment Group Provides Funding for International Civil Rights Center and Museum

Edited: Jennifer Brenner
Source: CAHEC

A nearly $7 million investment coordinated by the Community Affordable Housing Equity Corporation (CAHEC) helped provide part of the necessary funding to complete the renovation of the historic building that houses the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro, N.C. The Museum and Center held its grand opening celebration February 1.

Using state and federal Historic Tax Credits, CAHEC provided nearly $7 million, in conjunction with BB&T, to support the Museum's renovation of the F.W. Woolworth building originally built in 1929. Other financing included federal New Markets Tax Credits and contributions from corporations and individuals.

The newly-dedicated International Civil Rights Center and Museum showcases the Woolworth lunch counter sit-in, a critical milestone in the civil rights movement.

As a tax credit syndicator, CAHEC provides equity financing, raised from corporate investors, to developers of qualified affordable housing and other community revitalization projects. Headquartered in Raleigh, CAHEC helps develop and foster safe and thriving neighborhoods throughout the Southeast and mid-Atlantic region. A nonprofit corporation, CAHEC also provides capital through a series of Community Investments that empower residents, promote the development of rental and ownership housing, and encourage sustainability within the communities that CAHEC serves.

"The opportunity to invest in and support the International Civil Rights Center and Museum furthers CAHEC's mission – to build community value – not only through affordable housing developments, but through the renovation of historic properties such as this and other mixed-use developments," said Dana Boole, president and CEO of CAHEC.

"CAHEC is proud to be a part of the landmark accomplishment that the Museum represents. We're happy we could help make it happen," Boole said.

In addition to helping fund the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, CAHEC has invested approximately $13 million in affordable housing projects in the Greensboro area for families, special-needs residents and the elderly.

"One of our larger investments in the area was the restoration of Richardson Hospital as a home for elderly residents, another example of rehabilitating a historic structure to meet today's needs," said Charles Newcomer, CAHEC's vice president of acquisitions and underwriting.

Originally built in 1927 to serve the city's minority community and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, L. Richardson Memorial Hospital was Greensboro's oldest surviving medical structure and has been recognized as being the "first modern black hospital" by historians.

"Investing in the renovation of Richardson Hospital allowed CAHEC the opportunity not only to save a historic building but to provide badly needed housing for the elderly in Greensboro. It's exactly the type of project CAHEC seeks out and that our investors and developers take pride in," Newcomer said. CAHEC was recently allocated $30 million in New Markets Tax Credits by the federal government and is actively seeking opportunities to support the development and redevelopment of commercial and mixed-use real estate primarily through the rehabilitation of historic buildings in distressed communities.

"New Markets Tax Credit projects will allow CAHEC to become even more involved in bringing communities back to life," Boole said.

"In a much broader sense, through its investors and developers, CAHEC is indeed building community value, one structure at a time," he said.

Created in 1992 to help finance the development of affordable rental housing in North Carolina, CAHEC now ranks as one of the nation's top nonprofit equity syndicators. Its territory has moved beyond North Carolina's borders to encompass ten southeastern and mid-Atlantic states plus the District of Columbia. Its core business has also expanded from an exclusive focus on raising and investing capital in qualified low-income housing tax credit developments to include a variety of tax-credit preservation and community revitalization projects. In addition, CAHEC's innovative Community Programs provide residents of CAHEC-sponsored properties with economic, educational and enrichment opportunities.

RICS: Investment Cash Returns to Commercial Property

Edited: Jennifer Brenner
Source: RICS

Commercial property transactions rose across the majority of the globe with Brazil and China leading the way. With generally low interest rates and relatively high yields, investors have returned to commercial property. The net balance of surveyors reporting a rise in transactions in Brazil rose from 29 percent to 61 percent in the fourth quarter while the net balance in China edged up to 58 percent from 47 percent.

By way of contrasts, more surveyors again reported a drop in activity in the US. Occupier demand has also been most visible across the emerging economies with lettings activity picking up most in Latin America, emerging Europe and most of Asia.

The UK property recovery was led by the London office market, with the amount of available space declining for the first time in two years. However, elsewhere in the UK and across 90 percent of the globe, the amount of available space continued to rise. There were some notable exceptions. Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Austria, Hong Kong and Ghana are all witnessing mild declines.

Surveyors are confident that the emerging economies, particularly in Latin America and Asia, will continue to lead the property recovery into the first quarter of 2010 but concerns persist over the outlook for some of the more developed real estate markets. Surveyors generally remain downbeat on the US, Japan, Germany, Italy and the United Arab Emirates.

RICS chief economist Simon Rubinsohn said: "The latest Global Commercial Property Survey demonstrates in the clearest possible terms that it is emerging real estate markets where sentiment has turned around most significantly. Crucially, the improvement in investor appetite is being accompanied by a firmer tone to the rental market. This is key to ensuring that the recovery proves sustainable."

"The strength of the results contained in the survey for Latin America and Asia are a reflection of the unfolding economic recovery with many of the more developed markets likely to be hampered by the challenges resulting from the ballooning of public sector debt and need of the authorities to gradually exit from emergency monetary conditions."

Commenting on the report, Ong See Lian, Vice President of RICS and Chairman of RICS Asia said: "Clearly the report confirms investors' confidence in the Asia market, in particular China. Asia will lead the world in its economic recovery and the improvement in investors' confidence will augur well for the property market in Asia."

Henry Li, Chairman of RICS China commented on the Chinese market: "The more positive sentiment towards the occupier market has been evident across a wider number of real estate markets, in particular China. The RICS Global Commercial Property Survey Q4 2009 reflects the investor transactions are now rising with China topping the statistics in terms of an investment led property recovery."

Focusing on local issues, David Faulkner, RICS Hong Kong Chairman said: "The positive sentiment towards both the investor and occupier markets in Hong Kong has seen both capital values and rents increasing whilst yields remain at record low levels. With no signs of an imminent rise in interest rates, yields are expected to remain stable with any increase in rents being reflected in higher capital values in the short term."

JLL and IBM Sign a Seven-Year IT Services Agreement

Edited: Jennifer Brenner
Source: Jones Lang LaSalle

IBM and Jones Lang LaSalle, one of the world's leading financial and professional services firms specializing in real estate and investment management, announced a seven-year information technology (IT) services deal. IBM will provide full infrastructure support services for JLL across 19 countries throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The contract is similar to an existing agreement with JLL in the United States and Asia-Pacific.

End-user support will be provided across a number of functions including deskside, server operations, application management, helpdesk, network management, asset management, IT procurement, service management and system security. The deal will be supported by IBM data centers across the globe, with support services provided in nine languages. As a result of this contract, Jones Lang LaSalle will benefit from increased productivity and reduced costs, as all users will be able to communicate directly with the IBM service desk function, rather than going through local client teams.

IBM was awarded the contract after demonstrating it could provide a region-wide service, while illustrating its ability to support the client's agenda of cost-efficiency and system availability.

Andy Palmer, Chief Information Officer, EMEA, Jones Lang LaSalle, said, "It is flexibility and adaptability that IBM provides in its infrastructure support solution and that is critical to the success of our IT services. Jones Lang LaSalle has a long-standing business relationship with IBM, which understands the specific IT requirements in the real estate sector. The relationship is vital for us in continuing to adopt new technologies to service our worldwide operations."

Andrew Brierley, Vice President, Head of Strategic Outsourcing Business Development, Global Technology Services, IBM UK & Ireland, said, "Proven IBM tools using a similar architectural footprint and the centralized data center operations for Jones Lang LaSalle, as in the US and Asia-Pacific, will deliver a more integrated IT solution for our client. IBM's unmatched industry experience in infrastructure management across geographical regions will ensure Jones Lang LaSalle is well placed to take advantage of future growth and opportunity."

The deal was signed in the fourth quarter 2009.

Real Capital Analytics Acquires Real Estate Econometrics

Edited: Jennifer Brenner
Source: Real Capital Analytics

Real Capital Analytics ("RCA") recently announced that Dr. Sam Chandan, accompanied by his team at Real Estate Econometrics ("REE"), has joined the firm. Dr. Chandan joins RCA as global chief economist and executive vice president, and a member of the firm's management committee.

"Dr. Chandan has long been one of the most influential economists in the industry and we are very fortunate to now have Sam as part of the RCA team," said Robert M. White, Jr., RCA's founder and president.

"We are looking forward to being part of the RCA family," said Chandan. "As the flow of real estate capital and credit becomes increasingly international, RCA's global platform offers the foremost vantage point for thought leadership and industry impact."

Dr. Chandan founded Real Estate Econometrics in 2008 to offer strategic insight into policy and regulatory initiatives impacting commercial real estate, as well as commercial mortgage and equity investment surveillance. "The REE team has pioneered new areas of research and has played a leading role in assessing recent policy initiatives on behalf of the industry," added White. "In joining REE's capabilities with our own, RCA enhances our unmatched data set and analytical resources."

Dr. Chandan holds a Ph.D. in Applied Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he currently serves as adjunct professor of real estate. Dr. Chandan was a Doctoral Scholar in the Economics Department at Princeton University and has served on the faculty of the economics department at Dartmouth College. Dr. Chandan also holds masters' degrees in Economics and Engineering. Prior to joining Real Capital Analytics, Dr. Chandan was president of Real Estate Econometrics, and chief economist and senior vice president at Reis, Inc.

Founded in 2000, Real Capital Analytics, Inc. is a global research firm based in New York City. The firm's proprietary research is focused exclusively on the investment market for commercial real estate.

Cushman & Wakefield Names Glenn Rufrano CEO

Edited: Jennifer Brenner
Source: Cushman & Wakefield Inc.

Cushman & Wakefield Inc. named Glenn Rufrano as President and CEO. Mr. Rufrano, who will also be appointed to the company's Board of Directors, will join the firm March 22 following the completion of his tenure as CEO of Centro Properties Group. He will be based in New York.

Mr. Rufrano is a highly accomplished global real estate executive who has held leadership positions at public REITs and in the private real estate investment arena. Since 2008, he has been CEO of Australian-based Centro Properties Group, and previously he served as CEO of New Plan Excel Realty Trust Inc. from 2000 to 2007.

Prior to joining New Plan, from 1983 to 2000, Mr. Rufrano was a co-founder of The O'Connor Group (currently known as O'Connor Capital Partners), which has invested in real estate internationally. He also spent more than five years at Landauer Associates Inc. where he was involved in the sale of some of the most prominent office properties in the United States.

"We are delighted that Glenn will join Cushman & Wakefield as President and CEO. His extensive real estate experience and management background make him the ideal leader to grow the company and further expand the brand worldwide," said Carlo Barel di Sant'Albano, a Cushman & Wakefield board member and Chief Executive Officer of EXOR S.p.A., the investment company of the Agnelli family and the majority shareholder of Cushman & Wakefield. "We are confident that Glenn has the vision to lead Cushman & Wakefield, creating meaningful value for our clients, employees and other stakeholders."

"Cushman & Wakefield is one of the most recognized and respected commercial real estate services firms in the world, and I am looking forward to contributing to its growth," said Mr. Rufrano.

Mr. Rufrano is a graduate of Rutgers University and holds a master's degree in real estate from Florida International University. He serves on the Boards of General Growth Properties Inc. and New York University's Real Estate Institute, and was previously a director of Trizec Properties Inc., a public REIT which owned office properties throughout the United States, and Criimi Mae Inc., a mortgage REIT. As Cushman & Wakefield's President and CEO, Mr. Rufrano replaces Bruce Mosler, who became co-chairman of the Board on January 1, 2010.

JPMorgan Asian Opportunity Fund Raises $858.6 Million

Edited: Jennifer Brenner
Source: J.P. Morgan Asset Management

J.P. Morgan Asset Management has closed funding for the JPMorgan Asian Infrastructure & Related Resources Opportunity Fund (the "Fund") with $858.6 million in capital commitments from a diversified range of investors, including institutional and high-net worth investors from the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East.

The Fund, which is one of the largest dedicated Asian infrastructure funds, targets a broad range of infrastructure assets in the region including toll roads and other transportation assets, power generation, electricity transmission/distribution facilities, water supply, waste management and social infrastructure (including facilities for healthcare and education services). The Fund will also make related resource investments involving the critical inputs required for Asia's massive infrastructure investment agenda.

Philip Jackson, Chief Executive, J.P. Morgan Asset Management – Global Real Assets – Asia Infrastructure Investments Group, said: "We have built a strong team of experienced infrastructure professionals based in Hong Kong, Singapore and Mumbai. We are 100% focused on building upon the investments made to date and look forward to delivering the attractive investment returns our clients are expecting."

The Fund demonstrates the continued expansion and reach of J.P. Morgan Asset Management's Global Real Assets platform into the emerging markets and infrastructure space, complementing its existing suite of real estate and infrastructure strategies that span the risk-return spectrum, the public and private markets and geographic regions of the world.

"Asia is providing an extraordinary opportunity for investing in infrastructure and its related resources," said Joe Azelby, Global Head, J.P. Morgan Asset Management – Global Real Assets. "We have had tremendous interest from a diverse group of investors who see the growth potential that this dynamic market affords and require an investment firm with direct access to a broad range of investment opportunities and the resources to capitalize on them. J.P. Morgan Asset Management fulfills those requirements."

J.P. Morgan Asset Management – Global Real Assets has approximately $43 billion in real estate and infrastructure assets, as of December 31, 2009. With a 40-year history of successful investing and a staff of 359 professionals, J.P. Morgan Asset Management – Global Real Assets identifies, analyzes, negotiates, acquires, develops, redevelops, renovates, operates, maintains, finances and sells assets, on behalf of its clients. J.P. Morgan Asset Management's broad investment capabilities and framework for analyzing opportunities in today's complex real estate and infrastructure markets provide critical insights for its institutional clients in both the public and private markets.