Malaysia 's First Grand Hyatt Opens

Grand Hyatt Malaysia Skyline

Hyatt Hotels Corporation recently announced the opening of Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, the company's first Grand Hyatt hotel in Malaysia.

Situated in the Kuala Lumpur City Center (KLCC) next to Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, the 370-room hotel is within walking distance of the iconic Petronas Twin Towers, Suria KLCC, KLCC Park, Dewan Filharmonik Petronas as well as the Golden Triangle shopping and entertainment district.

The Pavilion Shopping Center is less than a ten minute walk by the covered sky-bridge outside the hotel.

"We are thrilled to be able to bring the Grand Hyatt brand to the Malaysian community," said Larry Tchou, Managing Director, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts - Asia Pacific. "Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur's opening echoes again Hyatt's development strategy, which is to focus on the gateway cities and markets where customers are traveling. We are very excited to introduce our authentic hospitality to Kuala Lumpur and cater to travelers from Asia and other continents around the globe."

Designed by award-winning architecture firm, Bilkey Llinas Design, the hotel exudes contemporary grandeur, including 42 suites. The ground floor lobby is decorated with specially commissioned art pieces.

Grand Hyatt Malaysia

One is a circular art feature inscribed with a well-known welcoming Quranic verse, "A thousand dinar," that is well positioned at the main entrance and the second art piece by Malaysian artist, Abdul Multhalib Musa, is a gold/bronze sculpture resembling an elegant tower.

A crescent-shaped sculpture, symbolic to Brunei and Malaysia, is the center piece of the ground floor lobby, sitting perfectly in the calm pond by the grand staircase. To check-in to the hotel, guests are whisked to the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur's sky lobby, strategically positioned at the highest level of the building to allow for a captivating view of the city's skyline with the iconic Petronas Twin Towers as the backdrop.

All of the hotel's guestrooms and suites were designed with floor-to-ceiling windows to maximize natural daylight, and this resulted in the rooms having expansive views of the city, the greenery of KLCC Park or the Petronas Twin Towers. Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur has some of the largest rooms in the city, starting at 505 square feet (47 square meters).

Additionally, the hotel features three dining options, more than 35,530 square feet (3,300 square meters) of exclusive meetings and events space and the Essa Spa.

Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur was also designed and built to be able to qualify for certification by the Green Building Index organization. The hotel's certification process was initiated during its construction phase, where ground water from the basement levels were collected for two-and-a-half years for the purpose of site cleaning, water tests and washing of out-going vehicles.

Grand Hyatt hotels are large-scale, distinctive hotels in major gateway cities and resort destinations. As of June 30, 2012, Hyatt's worldwide portfolio consisted of 492 properties in 45 countries.

Brazil's Largest Residential Broker on Expansion Kick

Sao Paolo, Brazil

With $124 million in the cash register (250 million reais), Brasil Brokers Participacoes SA (BBRK3), the country's largest real estate broker, has contracted to buy two brokerages in Sao Paulo that is expected to increase its revenue from sales of existing homes to 35 percent in five years, from 15 percent today. 

Brasil CEO Sergio Newlands Freire, made that estimate in an interview with Bloomberg.  Freire said he is banking on that revenue increase from buyers who are now obtaining more bank credit for home purchases.  Near full employment in the country should also stimulate buyer demand, he said.

Brasil has contracted  to buy 65 percent of real-estate broker Miranda Imobiliaria for 6.6 million reais ($3.2 million US)  and 55 percent of Bamberg Planejamento & Empreendimento Imobiliarios for an estimated 25.5 million reais $12.6 million US).  It has committed to acquire the remaining 45 percent of Bamberg over four years.

Brasil plans to buy at least  three more companies this year as part of a strategy to expand in the secondary housing market.

"The secondary real estate brokerage market in Brazil is made up of small companies, so acquisitions to consolidate this market are part of our growth strategy," Freire told Bloomberg.

But current economic figures don't exactly support Freire's optimism.  The first half of the year was marked by slowing housing credit amid weakening economic growth.

Brazil's gross domestic product will expand by only 1.75 percent this year, its second-weakest performance in nine years, according to economists in a survey by the central bank published Aug. 20.

Freire, however, is confident new projects and sales of existing units will increase in the second half, he told Bloomberg.

The company's largest markets remain in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Bloomberg reports Brasil Brokers had net income of 21 million reais ($10.4 million US) in the second quarter, a 34 percent drop from the 31.7 million reais ($15.6 million US) posted a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing on Aug. 14. Contracted sales fell 8 percent to 4.6 billion reais ($2.27 billion US). 

Global Commercial Property Markets Emerging From Economic Fog in 2Q, Says New JLL Report

This week global real estate consulting firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) released thier second quarter Global Market Perspective, which captures in-depth data and analysis on the global property market in the year to date.

According to the report, following a lull in activity during Q1, the global property market has resumed a steady recovery path. Investment volumes recovered to US$108 billion in Q2, up 24 percent quarter over quarter, signaling that capital markets are on track to achieving US$400 billion volumes for full-year 2012.

Josh Gelormini, Vice President of Research at Jones Lang LaSalle tells World Property Channel, "In the office leasing markets, a combination of corporate relocation, consolidation, and - very selectively -  specific industry-related expansion is continuing to motor measured improvement globally."

Gelormini further continues, "Meanwhile, investors continue to seek opportunities to purchase well-located core product across a diverse mix of cities and property types, motivated in large part by attractive relative yields, compared with other asset classes."

Other key JLL global market highlights in 2Q include:

• The global economic outlook has weakened as euro strains re-emerge.  Asia Pacific markets will continue to drive global growth this year, however, a deceleration is increasingly apparent. 

• In a climate of uncertainty, corporate occupiers have adopted a "wait and see" approach to expansion as global take-up volumes have fallen year-on-year. Corporates are trending towards sale and leaseback transactions as they look to release capital. 

• Leasing activities have improved from the Q1 lull, but are still below 2011 levels due to weak jobs growth, slow corporate hiring and the downward reset of global growth projections. Gross leasing volumes for full-year 2012 expected to be 10 percent lower than in 2011.

• On the other hand, vacancy continues to edge downwards, with the global office vacancy rate falling to 13.3 percent in Q2, the lowest since 2009.  Regionally, the Americas and Asia Pacific regions have continued to see vacancy rates fall, while they have remained unchanged in Europe.

• With global office supply still falling, the Jones Lang LaSalle Global Office Index, which tracks the rental performance of prime office space across 90 major markets, has continued to grow, up by a further 0.6 percent during Q2 2012.

• In residential, high trading volumes have been recorded for Germany, while momentum has been maintained in the U.S. rental apartment market. In Asia, residential sales have improved in China and Hong Kong and remain resilient in Jakarta, driven by investor interest, low lending rates and rising rental returns.

• Retail exhibited a mixed picture. While Greater China recorded strong demand and healthy rental growth, market conditions were relatively flat in the US. In Europe, demand is expected to drive rents in the top retail locations in London, Moscow and Paris in the second half of 2012, while most other European markets will remain broadly stable.

Health Care REIT Pays $1.9 Billion for Outstanding Stock of Sunrise Senior Living Assets

It's the biggest commercial real estate deal of the year to date.

Toledo, OH-based Health Care REIT (NYSE-HON) has contracted to buy all of the outstanding stock of McLean, VA-based Sunrise Senior Living Inc. (NYSE-SRZ) for $$14.50 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.9 billion.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2013.

The deal will make Health Care REIT one of the world's largest owners of seniors housing with over 58,000 units located in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom, according to a prepared statement from Health Care REIT.

As part of the transaction, Health Care REIT will acquire Sunrise's 20 wholly owned seniors housing communities and Sunrise's interest in joint ventures that own 105 seniors housing communities.

The 20 wholly owned communities are located in the U.S. (17) and Canada (3), while the joint venture communities are located in the U.S. (78) and the United Kingdom (27).

The deal calls for about $950 million to be paid in cash and the balance through the assumption of debt at an average interest rate of about 4.9%.

"There are few opportunities (today) to acquire assets of this quality in a transaction of this scale,"  said Sunrise CEO Mark Ordan,  ""Sunrise has been at the forefront for more than 30 years in creating best-in-class, high-end senior living communities."

BofA Merrill Lynch acted as exclusive financial advisor to Health Care REIT on the transaction. Arnold & Porter, LLP, Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, and Sidley Austin, LLP acted as Health Care REIT's legal advisors.

One World Trade Center Now 55% Pre-Leased with GSA Committing to 6 Floors

One World Trade Center (Photo Courtesy of Port Authority of New York and New Jersey)One World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, part of the larger World Trade Center project that has been in the works since just after the 9/11 attacks, is now 55% pre-leased.

The latest tenant to tie the knot, taking 270,000 square feet, is the General Services Administration, which, in mid-July, signed up for 20 years at  "a market rate," says Jordan Barowitz, spokesman for The Durst Organization, which is responsible for leasing at the building. He declined to give a specific price per square foot for the deal.

The One World Center building, which upon completion is slated to be the tallest building in the Western hemisphere, will cost an estimated $3.2 billion, says Steve Coleman, spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is developing the building in partnership with The Durst Organization. It will be 1776 feet tall and have 3 million square feet of office space spread out over 104 stories. One World Trade Center, formerly known as the Freedom Tower, is scheduled for completion in late 2013 or early 2014, he says.

In addition to the GSA lease, there are two others. This spring, The Durst Organization--an equity partner in the development of One World Trade Center--announced that the publisher Conde Naste had signed a 20-year lease for 1.2 million square feet in the building. Plus, in 2009, China Center, New York, LLC, a division of Vantone Industrial Co., Ltd., a Chinese real estate company, signed a roughly 190,000-square foot lease. "But the financials on the deal were signed off on before Lehman Brothers," says Barowitz, in an attempt to put the lease-signing in context, without actually identifying the price per square foot.

Freedom Tower at sunset (Courtsey of Port Authority of New York and New Jersey)

As for the most recent lease, Barowitz says: "The GSA rents were determined through a complex formula because of the nature of deal; the federal government (in this case, US Customs), had been a tenant in the old 6 World Trade Center; now, the GSA (also a part of the federal government) agreed to come back to (the new) tower one."

Coleman says that to become an equity partner in the development of One World Trade Center, The Durst Organization contributed $100 million up front to the project, in what he termed, "a complicated arrangement."

There are no leases in the works now, says Barowitz, "but there are many prospects, some of which are household names. There has been interest from a variety of banks and financial services companies," he says. By the end of the year, I don't know if more leases will be signed, but there has been a lot of interest in the building and hopefully we'll have another deal soon."

Mohegan Sun to Build Poconos Hotel and Convention Center

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, Poconos, Penn.

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, one of the largest entertainment, gaming, shopping and dining destinations in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., recently announced plans to add a 238-room hotel and convention center.

The event was immediately followed by a groundbreaking ceremony in which representatives replaced the traditional 'shovel in the ground' with a more unconventional approach of using a jackhammer to officially kick off construction.

"We are excited to announce that we are moving forward with this ambitious project, and we are even more thrilled about what this means to the local economy from a job creation and tourism perspective," said Bobby Soper, President and CEO of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs.

The seven-story project, which is being coined Project Escape, is anticipated to create nearly 350 construction jobs over the course of the 15 months it will take to complete. In addition, roughly 270 permanent positions will be added to Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs increasing its total number of employees to nearly 2,000, and making them one of the larger employers in the region.

"Since we first opened we knew that a hotel and convention center would greatly enhance our operation and make a more complete destination," Soper added. "The timing just had to be right."

As part of Project Escape, the 238-room hotel will include a combination of standard guest rooms and suites and feature rooms with exclusive views of the Race Track, as well as a fitness center, indoor pool and a bistro serving breakfast and light fare. A new porte-cochere is also being added for additional guest convenience.

The adjacent Convention Center being added will be roughly 20,000 square feet and be available for a number of special events, meetings, concerts and more. With divisible space, the new Convention Center at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs will be able to accommodate a number of different sized groups up to 800 for seated banquets. The space can even be converted into a concert venue, holding up 1,500 seats.

Project Escape is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2013.

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs is owned by the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut. Situated on 400 acres in the scenic hillside of Plains, Pennsylvania, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs was the first facility in Pennsylvania to add slot machines and is currently home to 82,000 square feet of gaming space including over 80 live table games, 2,500 slot machines and electronic table games, as well as a variety of dining and shopping options, nightlife, entertainment and live harness racing eight months out of the year.