The great sell-off: $1m-plus state homes

Housing New Zealand is to sell nearly $9 million of state homes in swanky Auckland suburbs - but cannot sell other million-dollar properties until the tenants move out.

The Herald on Sunday can reveal that HNZ plans to sell seven properties - each worth more than $1m - but needs Cabinet permission after strict rules about selling Crown property were introduced this year.

Housing New Zealand has confirmed the sale of four houses in Orakei, and three others in Freemans Bay, St Heliers and Herne Bay for a total of $8.6m. A Herne Bay home was sold in July for $800,000.

But the National Party wants more million-dollar homes sold so cheaper houses can be bought to ease the city's state housing shortage.

Housing spokesman Phil Heatley said it was "a joke" that million-dollar state homes could not be sold until the tenants moved out, including $2m properties in Glen Innes and Orakei.

"Any policy to sell these multimillion-dollar state homes when they become vacant is meaningless."

Heatley said the top four state houses were worth $6.3m and could buy 16 state houses at average Auckland prices, to cut the waiting list of 11,000 nationwide. "That's 12 families off the waiting list for a start."

Housing Minister Chris Carter introduced a policy last year, to assess whether the 141 state homes worth more than $700,000 should be kept, sold or redeveloped to build more homes on the land when the existing tenants left.

Gary Anaru, Housing New Zealand assets general manager, said selling the valuable properties needed to be balanced against the risk of buying more homes in poorer areas.

"If you sell all state homes in high-value areas and buy where land is cheapest, you end up concentrating all state homes in particular areas, which is not ideal for the community," Anaru said.

Two years ago the Herald on Sunday revealed a three-bedroom property in Takitimu St, Orakei, with sweeping views of the Waitemata Harbour, was the most expensive state home, worth $1.2m.

However, Housing New Zealand would not reveal if the home was one of the properties now up for sale.

A property in Glen Innes has since overtaken it as the most valuable state home, and the first to top $2m.

The most any tenant pays for one of the top 10 most valuable state properties is $84 a week.

Tenants in one Glen Innes house - worth $820,000 three years ago - are paying just $34 a week.

Some of the tenancies are 35 years old, although the average stay is seven years.

All of the top 10 properties skyrocketed in value during the property boom, as the houses were on large sections, often with sea views, in more affluent suburbs.

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source: nzherald.co.nz

Hill plan riles neighbours

A "massive" 61-townhouse development proposed for Napier Hill has residents fearing the character and safety of the neighbourhood will be lost.

Hukarere Heights, sited on the old Hukarere Girls College campus off Napier Tce, will be a four-stage project turning the mostly empty property into a townhouse complex complete with swimming pool.

The 61 townhouses planned are three and four-storeys, in blocks of five to 13 units. One unit is standalone.

The almost 2.6ha property will be transformed with extensive earthworks needed for the steep site.

Architect Craig Moller of Moller Architects, (which designed the Sky Tower) said each block of townhouses would have its own character and a variety of materials would be used.

A resource consent for Hukarere Heights is out for public submissions. It complies with most planning regulations and does not breach the 10 metre height maximum or exceed maximum site coverage.

But neighbours are concerned at the proposal. They said the increased traffic flows would cause problems and would clash with traffic and children from Napier Central School.

And residents said the look of the planned development did not fit with the character of Napier Hill.

Christine Shields has lived on Napier Tce for 37 years and lives next door to the planned multi-unit development.

"I'm not at all happy about it; in a general sense because of the amount of traffic it will generate, but it is also about the look of the area," she said.

Selwyn Rd resident Anthony Sabiston agreed with Mrs Shields' concerns but had other worries about the high-density proposal.

"It's because of the density and what flows on from that."

The developers, School Development Ltd, were unavailable for comment.

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source: nzherald.co.nz

DLC Acquires 16-Center Portfolio from Edens & Avant

Tarrytown, NY-based DLC Management, a private retail real estate owner, has just grown its portfolio by 1.57 million square feet with a 16-shopping center portfolio deal. Edens & Avant sold the portfolio to DLC for an undisclosed amount in this owner-to-owner transaction, facilitated with no outside brokerage representation.

An East Coast private shopping center owner, Edens & Avant held a portfolio of more than 140 retail centers in 16 states prior to this announcement.

Including this transaction, DLC has completed 31 acquisitions in 2007, representing a 27% growth in its portfolio over 2006. The company now boasts a portfolio of 94 shopping centers totaling more than 16.5 million square feet in 25 states.

While the portfolio is not consistent with Edens & Avant's focus on owning higher profile lifestyle and power centers on the east coast, it is consistent with DLC's focus on acquiring neighborhood and community shopping centers with strong traffic counts and good visibility in well populated markets that already do or have the potential to generate strong repeat consumer traffic.

DLC's newly acquired portfolio spans seven Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states and the assets are primarily grocery-anchored neighborhood and community centers, as follows:

ALABAMA:
Gulfdale Plaza - Mobile, AL Gulfdale Plaza (94,712 SF) is a community shopping center located at the intersection of Gulfdale Drive and Dauphin Island Parkway in Mobile, AL. Gulfdale Plaza is anchored by Food World and includes Burke’s Outlet, Family Dollar and others.

Shields Plaza - Huntsville, AL
Shields Plaza (79,240 SF) is a community shopping center located at the intersection of Winchester Road and Shields Road in Huntsville, AL. Tenants include Dollar General, Rite-Aid and Movie Gallery; but there is a 44,000-SF vacant anchor box.

FLORIDA:
Marketplace at Ocala - Ocala, FL
Marketplace at Ocala (74,692 SF) is a community shopping center located at the intersection of Blitchton Road and 44th Avenue in Ocala, FL. The center is anchored by Winn-Dixie, and also features Dollar General, Supercuts and H&R Block.

Marketplace at Palm Bay - Palm Bay, FL
Marketplace at Palm Bay (149,752 SF) is an open-air shopping center anchored by Winn-Dixie and Beall’s Outlet. The center is located at the intersection of Babcock Street and Port Malabar Boulevard in Palm Bay, FL. DLC also owns Palm Bay Center, a 135,049 shopping center anchored by Publix nearby.

GEORGIA:
Crossroads South - Jonesboro, GA
Crossroads South (211,178 SF) is an open-air shopping center anchored by Kroger and K-Mart. Located at the intersection of Spur and Tara Boulevard, this center is features Eckerd, Fashion Bug, Shoe Show, Rent-A-Center, GNC, Supercuts and Big 10 Tire. DLC also owns the nearby Tara Crossing, a 235,219 SF shopping center located in Jonesboro.

MISSISSIPPI:
Fulton Crossing - Corinth, MS
Fulton Crossing (179,905 SF) is anchored by Kroger and Kmart. Other tenants include Dollar Tree, CATO and Advance Auto Parts. The center is located at the intersection of Hwy 72 West and Fulton Drive in Corinth, MS. The acquisition of this center marks DLC's entrance into Mississippi.

NORTH CAROLINA:
South Square Marketplace - Charlotte, NC
South Square Marketplace (72,219 SF) is a community shopping center located at the intersection of East Arrowood Road and South Boulevard in Charlotte, NC. Anchored by Compare Foods, it is also home to CATO and H&R Block. DLC also owns Akers Center in Gastonia, NC (Charlotte MSA), a 415,737 SF power center anchored by Target, Steve & Barry’s and Toys ‘R’ Us.

Swift Creek Plaza - Garner, NC
Swift Creek Plaza (56,890 SF) is a Food Lion-anchored community shopping center located at the intersection of Glen Road and Technology Drive in Garner, NC.

SOUTH CAROLINA:
Armstrong Plaza - Fountain Inn, SC
Armstrong Plaza (57,838 SF) is a community shopping center located at the intersection of N. Main Street and Valley View Road in Fountain Inn, SC (Greenville, SC - MSA). Anchored by BI-LO, the center also includes CVS Pharmacy and H&R Block.

Broad River Centre - Columbia, SC
Broad River Centre (48,650 SF) is a community shopping center located at the intersection of Broad River Road and Brevard Street in Columbia, SC. Anchored by Food Lion, other tenants in the center include CVS Pharmacy and Family Dollar. DLC Management also owns North Pointe, a 64,255 SF, Publix-anchored community shopping center located in Columbia, SC.

Butler Square - Maudlin, SC
Butler Square (85,315 SF) is a community shopping center located at the intersection of West Butler Avenue and Cary Drive in Maudlin, SC (Greenville, SC - MSA). Anchored by Bi-Lo, other tenants include Dollar Tree, Sally Beauty, CATO and TCBY Yogurt.

VIRGINIA:
Cypress Point - Virginia Beach, VA
Cypress Point (117,958 SF) is a community shopping center anchored by Farm Fresh and Family Dollar, located at the intersection of Diamond Springs Road and Wesleyan Drive.

Ridgewood Farm - Salem, VA
Ridgewood Farm (79,342 SF) is a community shopping center located in Salem, VA. The center is anchored by Kroger and Tuesday Morning and also includes Super Cuts, Subway and Check N’ Go.

Southwest Plaza - Roanoke, VA
Southwest Plaza (87,434 SF) is a community shopping center located at the intersection of Electric Road and Grandin Road in Roanoke, VA. The center was recently renovated and is anchored by an expanded Food Lion. Other retailers include CitiFinancial, Great Clips and Firestone.

The Village Courts - Lynchburg, VA
The Village Courts (77,576 SF) is a Kroger-anchored community center located at the intersection of Boonesborough Road (Route 627) and Route 388 at the entrance of Fort Boonesborough State Park.

West Broad Commons - Richmond, VA
West Broad Commons (103,308 SF) is an open-air shopping center anchored by Food Lion and located at the intersection of Broad Street and Tuckernuck Drive.

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source: costar.com

CRB Realty To Develop Mixed-Use Tower in Midtown

CBR Realty plans to purchase a portion of a 3-acre land parcel that the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer owns at Fourth Street and Peachtree Street in midtown Atlanta for a future project. The church agreed to sell some of the land with the condition that its structures would be included in the overall master planned development.

On the northern part of the land, CBR Realty will build a 40-story mixed-use tower comprising of 600,000 square feet. The master plan will also include 40,000 square feet of retail, hotel, office and apartment structures included in the master plan.

Construction is planned to undergo at the beginning of 2009 and be completed in the fall of 2010.

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source: costar.com

CA Firm Invests $5M in Stockbridge Medical Space

Montrose, CA-based chartered corporation Eagle Atlanta Med LLC completed its purchase of the 17,900-square-foot medical space at 919 Eagles Landing Parkway in Stockbridge, GA. G&C Realty LLC sold the eight-year-old building and its .91-acre land parcel for $5.1 million, or about $285 per square foot.

Consisting of four units of fully leased medical space, the property offered the purchaser a cap rate of nearly 8% in an area of Henry County that has undergone a 40.6% growth rate in the past half decade.

Marcus and Millichap handled both sides of the deal, with Michael Sunshine and Adam Kepler of the national office and industrial properties group - Atlanta representing the seller, and Joshua Levy of Marcus and Millichap’s Los Angeles office representing the buyer.

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source: costar.com