TODAY'S TOP STORIES

JV ACQUIRES INTEREST IN FIFTH AVENUE RETAIL SPACE FOR $525 MILLION NEW YORK CITY — The Carlyle Group and Crown Acquisitions have acquired a controlling interest in the retail portion of 666 Fifth Avenue in New York City from Kushner Cos. for $525 million. The 90,000-square-foot property is positioned on Fifth between 52nd and 53rd streets, and contains 200 feet of uninterrupted retail frontage. Carlton Advisory Services negotiated the transaction, as well as the financing, which was provided by a lending syndicate that includes Barclays and SL Green. Prior to completion of the transaction, Abercrombie & Fitch leased 20,000 square feet of space at the property, where it will join the NBA Store and Hickey Freeman. For more news from the Northeast, click here.

HF Lakeside II LLC has acquired a 299,540-square-foot, Class A office tower, which is located within Hayden Ferry Lakeside in Tempe, Ariz., for $92.5 million. HAYDEN FERRY LAKESIDE OFFICE TOWER SOLD FOR $92.5M TEMPE, ARIZ. — A 12-story office tower in Tempe has traded hands for $92.5 million. The 299,540-square-foot, Class A tower is located within Hayden Ferry Lakeside, a 43-acre mixed-use development of office, retail and residential space. SunCor Development Co. has sold the building to HF Lakeside II LLC, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation of America. “SunCor has done a superb job attracting blue-chip companies to this mixed-use development,” said Robert Obringer, vice president of HF Lakeside II LLC.  “This waterfront property and the overall vision for Hayden Ferry Lakeside are extremely impressive and the quality architecture, construction and central location are what drove us to be a buyer,” he said. The property is currently 83 percent leased to tenants such as KPMG, MetLife, and Fidelity National Title Insurance.  “Hayden Ferry Lakeside is well on its way to achieving the ultimate vision created by SunCor,” said Randy Levin, vice president of commercial/urban development and design for SunCor.  “Vibrant commercial and residential aspects of the development are flourishing.  Clearly, the central live-work-play theme of Hayden Ferry Lakeside is striking a chord in this market,” Levin said. The sale transaction was negotiated by executive director Chris Toci and director Ted Harrison of Cushman & Wakefield of Arizona, in cooperation with R. Craig Coppola, Mark Seale, Chris Krewson and Andrew Cheney of Lee & Associates, Arizona. For more news from the West, click here.

GRUBB & ELLIS HEALTHCARE REIT ACQUIRES 13 HEALTHCARE PROPERTIES INDIANAPOLIS — Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT has acquired Medical Portfolio 3, a 689,000-square-foot collection of 13 healthcare-related properties encompassing 20 buildings throughout Indianapolis. The portfolio is anchored by Clarian Health Partners, which leases approximately 325,000 square feet of space throughout nine of the properties. Medical Portfolio 3 was acquired from HCP Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Financing for the acquisition was provided by Fifth Third Bank and through the utilization of the Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT line of credit. For more news from the Midwest, click here.

Whole Foods Market, which anchors Plaza San Remo in Coral Gables, Fla., was purchased by Venera Holdings. WHOLE FOODS MARKET IN CORAL GABLES SOLD FOR $31.1 MILLION CORAL GABLES, FLA. — Florida-based Venera Holdings recently sold the 59,155-square-foot Whole Foods Market, located in Plaza San Remo in Coral Gables, for $31.1 million. The retail space anchors the shopping center, located at 6705 Red Road. Colliers Abood Wood-Fay represented the seller, and information about the buyer was not released. For more news from the Southeast, click here.

COPT PURCHASES THREE-BUILDING OFFICE PORTFOLIO FOR $40.5 MILLION SAN ANTONIO — Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) has acquired three office buildings for a total of $40.5 million. Two of the buildings are located in San Antonio; known as 151 Technology Center, the buildings were acquired for $17.3 million. The two-story buildings are located at 1560 Cable Ranch Rd. and total 122,975 square feet. Both are fully occupied, with prominent tenants including Sears, Air Force Federal Credit Union and AFNI. The third building in the transaction, the 124,305-square-foot Cresterra building located in Colorado Springs, Colo., was acquired for $23.2 million. COPT’s San Antonio portfolio now consists of four office buildings totaling 601,000 square feet; two office buildings currently under construction that total 91,000 square feet; and 58 acres of land that can support approximately 725,000 square feet of development. For more news from Texas, click here.

TODAY'S ARTICLE:
Legal

AVOIDING LEGAL SURPRISES How to Reduce the Risk of Successor Liability when Purchasing a Company By Brian Bailey, Esq. Becker Meisel LLC Bailey Even beautifully wrapped packages can hold some unpleasant surprises. That is most certainly the case when purchasers of New Jersey companies learn they are being sued or held responsible for costs (financial and otherwise) arising under previous ownership. The legal term is “successor liability” and it can mean big trouble for purchasers that have not properly structured the transaction nor done the due diligence to protect themselves from potential problems and a day in court. It is an easy trap to fall into but one that may be avoided with some care and planning. Avoiding successor liability is a matter of a purchaser knowing what needs to be identified and what needs to be steered clear of. For the entire article, click here