This is a company blog used by the New Jersey Jones Lang LaSalle Team to keep track of current events within the real estate sector. All items posted on this website are originally written by other authors from various sources. This is simply used as a searchable tracking system for news we found relevant to our business.
Enzon Pharmaceuticals Prices $225 Million of Convertible Senior Notes Martin C. Daks NJBIZ Staff 5/18/2006
Enzon Pharmaceuticals said today that it has set a $225 million price on a previously announced offering of convertible senior notes, or debt that can be converted to stock. The securities yield 4% and are due 2013. The initial buyers of the notes were also granted an option to buy an additional $50 million of the securities that can be converted into Enzon common stock at $9.55 per share. Early this morning Enzon stock traded at $7.59, well above its 52-week low of $5.70, but below its one-year high of $9.28. Enzon plans to use the proceeds from the offering to acquire outstanding 4.5% notes due 2008. The Bridgewater-based biopharmaceutical company focuses on developing and commercializing therapeutics to treat cancer and other diseases. Shares of Enzon (Nasdaq: ENZN) stock dipped 13 cents to $7.51 this morning.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 1:55 PM
Foster Wheeler Group CEO Resigns Martin C. Daks NJBIZ Staff 5/18/2006
Foster Wheeler announced today that Bernard H. Cherry will step down June 16 as CEO of the company's Global Power Group. His management responsibilities will be picked up by Foster Wheeler CEO Raymond J. Milchovich. Cherry, 66, joined the Bermuda-based company, which has operational headquarters Clinton, in November 2002 as CEO of Foster Wheeler North America. In May 2004 he was named CEO of Foster Wheeler Global Power Group. Foster Wheeler engages in engineering, procurement, construction, manufacturing, and other services. The company’s stock (Nasdaq: FWLT) climbed 43 cents to $48.21 this morning.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 1:54 PM
Imaging Firm RadPharm Relocating and Expanding in Princeton Shankar P. NJBIZ Staff 5/18/2006
RadPharm, a provider of medical-imaging collection and interpretation services based in Princeton, is expanding and relocating its corporate headquarters from 18,600 sq. ft. in a Carnegie Center building to 43,500 sq. ft. at Princeton Overlook. Both buildings are owned by Cranford-based real estate investment trust Mack-Cali Realty. RadPharm had in March raised $8 million in equity financing from a group of venture capital firms including Adams Street Partners of Chicago and other individual investors. Its early investors include Ampersand Investors of Wellesley, Mass. The company’s services include evaluation of radiological images from oncology-drug trials in addition to regulatory submission reviews.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 1:54 PM
May 19, 2006 -- The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage in the U.S. rose to 6.60 percent this week, the highest in almost four years, according to Freddie Mac.
The 30-year rate rose from last week's 6.58 percent and compares with 5.71 percent a year earlier. The rate hasn't been higher since the week ended June 20, 2002. The one-year adjustable rate was unchanged at 5.62 percent.
Rising mortgage costs are contributing to a slowdown in the housing market that's being watched by Fed policy makers as they decide whether to extend a series of interest-rate increases that started in June 2004.
"It seems pretty clear now the U.S. housing market is cooling," Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday in response to questions after a speech in Chicago. "This looks to be a very orderly and moderate cooling at this point."
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posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 1:53 PM
MONTVALE, NJ-Accordia Realty Ventures and Meritage/Oppenheimer Real Estate Value Partners I LP have teamed up to acquire the 62,000-sf office building at 85 Chestnut Ridge Rd. here. The deal marks their second joint acquisition in New Jersey. They earlier bought the Warren Office Center in Warren.
The latest acquisition, currently vacant, is the former headquarters of Executive Jet Corp., which shed the space when it became part of the Cincinnati-based NetJets. The price was not disclosed.
"We know from our previous experience that this is a terrific market," says Jason Bogart, a principal of Accordia, a West Orange, NJ-based firm. Plans call for "a complete repositioning of the asset to a headquarters-quality, class A building, Bogart says, "that will be versatile enough to accommodate a large single tenant or several smaller tenants." DMR Architects of Hasbrouck Heights, NJ has been hired to design a makeover that will include a new exterior wall system, a new roof, new common areas and mechanical systems. The landscaped grounds will also be upgraded.
"While there has been concern over vacancy in many parts of the state, spec office projects have already begun in the Parsippany and Princeton markets" says Accordia’s Joe Romano. "The Montvale market has been particularly active and we have already begun to receive RFP’s from prospective tenants. We think the timing is right. We plan to move quickly to fine-tune our plan and start executing our strategy for the property."
A Gehry Grows in Brooklyn The unveiling of a new design for the 22-acre Atlantic Yards site marks the latest step for the controversial project
On May 11, Frank Gehry, FAIA, unveiled new models for his 22-acre Atlantic Yards development in downtown Brooklyn. He says the latest work is more sympathetic to the scale and character of the residential area that the project borders. Some of the buildings are shorter and less bulky than those that were previously presented. Many of them will have glass walls at street level, and others will not be built so closely together. Most of the buildings will be clad either in metal, glass, or brick, and their designs are generally much less unorthodox than the models presented last July. For instance many buildings that had been tilting in various directions in the prior models are now standing straight up.
Making the project fit into the neighborhood will certainly be a challenge. The $3.5 billion project, which would be located at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues, would be the largest project in the history of the borough. It would include about 600,000 square feet of office space; 6.79 million square feet of residential space; 850,000 square feet of sports and entertainment area, which would be used as a new arena for the New Jersey Nets. There would also be 247,000 square feet of retail, and seven acres of open space. The plan calls for four office towers of 35 to 60 stories, located near downtown Brooklyn's commercial corridor.
"It's possible to make this project fit into the area, to open it to more light and air," says Jim Stuckey, president of Atlantic Yards Development Group. He says the arena will be fronted on most sides by residential buildings, helping it blend into the area. Its glass portions will be open to the street, showing off the building's interior. While huge buildings, like the 620-foot Miss Brooklyn Tower and the arena itself, highlight the project the majority of structures will be low-rise brick residential buildings. Stuckey says the materials of many of the projects are undecided, but that some would be more iconic than others.
"If we had all iconic buildings this would be just a jumble," he says.
The eastern edge of the site, which creeps into the more residential, low-density neighborhood of Prospect Heights, would form a superblock, with seven residential buildings of 20 to 40 stories. Gehry's design includes 4,500 rental units and 1,500 market-rate condos.
Neighbors still complain that the project's developers, Forest City Ratner, have not solicited enough public input for the plan, which will likely utilize eminent domain to condemn at least six buildings. Others complain that the giant project will never fit into the neighborhood. In a press release, the Brooklyn group Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn said, "The new design unveiled by Gehry and Ratner today is 16 skyscrapers worth of window-dressing. It puts a Gehry sheen on top of repudiated 1960's style urban renewal."
But Stuckey says his team has already met with many local groups. Public review of the project is now scheduled for the end of June, and completion of an environmental impact statement is set for the end of July, he says. He adds that the team has now procured 90 percent of the land it needs for the project, and hopes it will not have to resort to eminent domain to get the rest. By Sam Lubell
Copyright 2000- 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 1:51 PM
MAY. 18 9:00 P.M. ET Retirement and financial services provider Principal Financial Group Inc. promoted its president of retirement and investor services to company president and chief operating officer on Thursday.
Larry Zimpleman will oversee all global and domestic operations, including the U.S. and international asset accumulation businesses; Principal Bank; the life and health insurance businesses; and the global asset management businesses under Principal Global Investors. He was also elected to Principal's board.
J. Barry Griswell will continue as chairman and chief executive, overseeing company strategy, mergers and acquisitions and corporate functions. The company also announced the election of Daniel J. Houston to executive vice president.
Principal reported a 39 percent profit increase for the first quarter on May 2. The Des Moines-based company, a leading 401k retirement plan provider, reported record earnings of $285.7 million, or $1.01 per share compared to 68 cents per share, or $205.5 million a year ago.
The company has $205.3 billion in assets under management and serves about 16 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 1:51 PM
APPLE OPENS BIG APPLE CORE STORE NYC 05 18 06 Peter Slatin
From the time the General Motors Building opened in 1968, at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, its sunken retail plaza has been a failure. Retail experts in Manhattan's real estate community called it "the Well" when trying to entice a tenant or just talk it up; in private, though, they referred to it as 'the Pit."
But when Apple Computer's 147th retail store there opens to the public on May 19, the company hopes that dank image will be jettisoned like a well-tongued apple seed. They hope the Pit becomes instead a fleshy, juicy fruit drawing hordes of consumers into the transparent, 32-foot-square cube jutting up from the GM Building's beautifully transformed plaza (now brought up just above the street and graced by two small pools), and down the glass-enclosed circular elevator or the broad floating, curving staircase to the 10,000-square-foot store below. If the Apple fans that were already beginning to line up on Thursday morning for Friday's 6 p.m. opening are any indication, they should feel optimistic.
From the Steve Jobs-designed cube, the point of entry on the GM plaza, which faces the Plaza Hotel and Grand Army Plaza, to the bright, column-free shopping expanse below, with its i-Pod and Genius bars and its tables of supercool Macs and MacBooks, Apple appears to have met the challenge of creating a flagship store worthy of the distinction. It's the largest store in Apple's portfolio to date, and it will be the first Apple store to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week (a fact unknown until a week ago by most of the 300 workers, including 250 new employees, who'd volunteered to work there). According to an Apple sneior vice president for retail Ron Johnson, 96 of those 300 will be so-called Genius workers who can handle a full barrage of technical questions from consumers.
Johnson says Apple's stores generate about $4,000 a square foot in sales for an average of $22.2 million a year; its first store, opened four years ago, brought in $11 million. This store, flooded at its core by natural light from the plaza cube, has a cool but bright lighting scheme that manages to fully illuminate the store without casting the harsh lighting characteristic of far too many retail environments. Designed by Apple and the Philadelphia architecture firm Bohlen Cywinski Jackson, the space is laid out for easy navigation, and manages to be both cutting-edge high-tech and unintimidating, a rare confluence.
The store's location is clearly key: it's hard to find hyperbole in thinking of this corner, as Apple's real estate bloodhounds did, as sitting at the gateway to "the world's best shopping street" and Manhattan's flush Upper East Side.
This is Apple's second store in Manhattan; the company also operates a store on Prince Street in SoHo. And although a company spokesman declined to say where in New York City Apple's next shop will open, retail specialists are convinced that the computer maker has decided on 34th Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, directly opposite from the Empire State Building and less than a block from Herald Square, home of Macy's.
There, a joint venture between SL Green Realty Trust (nyse: SLG) and investor Jeff Sutton has acquired control of three buildings totaling more than 50,000 square feet. Unlike the off-street, offbeat frontage on 59th Street, this location will offer at least 75 feet of frontage. SLG also declined to comment.
The new store and the renovated GM Plaza are good for Apple, but they are also a clear vindication for the building's owner, New York's Macklowe Organization, led by vetern New York developer Harry Maklowe and his son Billy. By creating life in a public plaza that has historically been a black hole, dreary but for the activity of the CBS "Morning Show" broadcast, Macklowe has brought even more value to what most observers thought was his wildly overvalued acquisition of the building in 2003 for $1.4 billion from a partnership between bankrupt Conseco Insurance and Donald Trump, who had been feuding over their investment both as Conseco sank and real estate suffered after September 11. Macklowe bet its entire office portfolio as collateral to obtain financing to make that deal, leaving Manhattan wise men shaking their heads. But those heads shook in the other direction when Macklowe refinanced the building for $1.7 billion within 18 months, helping to set new price levels for the soaring market in trophy office buildings.
Many also saw Macklowe's first action on taking over management of the property as an act of civic improvement: the removal of the gold-colored Trump name from the facade of the building. But the Macklowe name did not replace it. Perhaps founder Macklowe preferred the private satisfaction that comes with owning a historic building where he had arranged many deals as a young leasing broker with Julien J. Studley. And perhaps to ice that cake, as we reported recently, Macklowe purchased condominium units in the former Plaza Hotel, now being renovated, from which he will be able to peer down at the Apple shoppers descending into the depths of the General Motors plaza.
Steve Jobs had a big hand in designing the 32-foot-square cubed entrance to the new Apple store, below the GM Plaza.
Clothing Distributor TransAmerica to Occupy 65,000-SF Warehouse
TransAmerica, a clothing distributor to third-world countries, purchased 50 Carol St. in Clifton from WEA Enterprises. The property sold for $5.72 million, or roughly $88 per square foot. TransAmerica will use the space to expand its distribution center.
The 65,000-square-foot warehouse is in Passaic County, only 10 miles from New York City. It was built in 1961 on 2.85 acres with 70 parking spaces. The property features 800 amp power, 15-foot ceiling heights and six external loading docks.
Michael Evans of SBWE in Hasbrouck Heights marketed the property for WEA Enterprises. Matthew Corpuel of CB Richard Ellis represented TransAmerica.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 1:49 PM
NYC economy weakened by 1,600 jobs in April by Tom Fredrickson May 18, 2006
a decline in government employment, but the private sector grew and the low unemployment rate remained stable.
New York City's overall job picture weakened by 1,600 jobs in March because of a decline in government employment, but the private sector grew and the low unemployment rate remained stable.
The decline, which reduced year-to-date job gains to 32,000, came as the result of the public sector shrinking by 3,000 jobs. The dropoff continued a recent trend of highly variable local government job numbers.
The Private sector, the more important economic barometer, added 1,500 jobs in April, while March private sector jobs were revised downward by 400.
The numbers come from Barbara Byrne Denham, an economist with Jones Lang LaSalle, who seasonally adjusted numbers from the state Department of Labor. The biggest surprise in the numbers, she noted, was the securities industry losing 1,000 jobs after having gained an average of 1,400 jobs in the first three months of 2006.
The state also reported that New York City's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in April was unchanged from the previous month, while the whole state's rate was at its lowest level in five years, according to the Labor Department.
The City's unemployment rate of 5.4% was 0.3 percentage points lower than a year earlier but still higher than the nationwide rate of 4.7%.
Statewide, the unemployment rate excluding New York City, increased to 4.6% in April from 4.3% in March. The rate in the state as a whole stood at 4.9% in April - its lowest rate since 2001.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 1:49 PM
Office Depot Announces the Acquisition of Allied Office Products Nation's Largest Privately Held Office Products Company Has Strong Northeast Presence
DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 2006--Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services, today announced that it has acquired the business of privately held Allied Office Products, the country's largest independent dealer of office products and services. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Allied has annual revenues of more than $300 million. The company currently operates sales offices from New York to California, with a strong concentration in the Northeast. Allied's offerings include office supplies, break room and coffee services, janitorial supplies, computer products, custom printing, managed print services, promotional items, office furniture and design.
"This acquisition accelerates Office Depot's growth, enhances our competitive position and extends our industry leading line of products and services," noted Steve Odland, Chairman and CEO of Office Depot. "In particular, Allied's strength in the Northeast will continue to broaden Office Depot's presence in this important region, while their ability to meet the diverse needs of legal and medical customers will further our expansion in key vertical markets."
"Allied and Office Depot share the same philosophy when it comes to providing customers with innovative solutions that add value to their businesses," said Howard Brown, Chairman and CEO of Allied Office Products. "Office Depot has the breadth and depth of both national and private brands, as well as the promotional programs, purchasing power, and financial clout necessary to empower our sales people to better meet customer requirements on a global basis."
Howard Brown, his son Michael, who currently serves as President of Allied Office Products, and other key executives, will continue as part of the management team within Office Depot's North American Business Solutions Division (BSD).
"Allied's management experience, national customer base and knowledgeable sales force are perfect complements to our existing contract organization and infrastructure," added Cindy Campbell, Executive Vice President of BSD for Office Depot.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 1:48 PM
Jets fever fires up Florham Park Officials roll out the green carpet to welcome team to its new home BY NAVID IQBAL DAILY RECORD
FLORHAM PARK -- A mob backed Wayne Chrebet against a New York Jets van and hounded him for autographs. The popular wide receiver, who retired at the end of last season, disappeared into a crowd of young boys, girls and older fans who wielded everything from fliers, to notebooks, to jerseys, to footballs for him to sign.
For at least 20 minutes at the welcoming party for the professional football team Wednesday afternoon Chrebet signed whatever came his way.
The Jets chose Florham Park over about 40 other North Jersey towns to move their headquarters and practice facility. Billed as "Jets Fest," the event Wednesday was a chance for borough officials, officials from the team and the New Jersey Sports Exposition Authority to congratulate each other, while fans had fun.
For Joey Signorelli of Morris Plains, it was a chance to get a closer look at the team he said he's been a fan of ever since Joe Namath was quarterback.
"I like it," Signorelli said of the Jets decision to move from Hofstra University in Long Island to the ExxonMobil site off of Park Avenue. "We'll watch them practice."
While Namath wasn't at the event, it was attended by most of the team's 2006 draft picks, Chrebet, Jets owner Woody Johnson and team president Jay Cross and New Jersey Sports Exposition Authority Chairman Carl Goldberg.
"This is an amazing crowd,"Johnson said at about 4:30 in the afternoon after being introduced by the event's emcee, Thomas M. Hadley, who recently retired as a borough councilman. "This has been a long, I guess, journey. We'll be in Florham Park for a long time."
The most boisterous of the crowd were the many school-aged children wearing green and white Jets memorabilia. A police officer twice asked the large group to move back that had gathered at a gazebo where the VIP guests and the borough officials stood. Once the crowd had moved back, Florham Park cheerleaders waved yellow and black pompoms and chanted, "J-E-T-S! Jets! Jets! Jets!"
Mayor in uniform
"We think it's going to be a great partnership for years to come," Mayor Frank D. Tinari said before reading an official borough proclamation, which was presented as a plaque to Johnson. Tinari's patented bowtie was striped green, white and black. He wore a Jets baseball cap and later donned a custom Jets uniform with his name on the back, which was given to him by Johnson.
NJSEA spokesman Goldberg told the crowd that this was his return to Florham Park, where he started his real estate career 30 years ago. He said that because of the partnership between the borough, the Jets and the NJSEA, "Every time you read in the paper about Florham Park, it'll say the home of the Jets."
Goldberg said that that borough's planning board would be able to view plans of what the Jets intend to do on the 20-acres of the more than 420-acre ExxonMobil site on which they will build their practice facility.
More development, including a hotel, a childcare facility, and age-restricted housing, can also be built at the ExxonMobil site now that the borough council approved zoning changes in the area.
Arrival dates
Goldberg said construction for the new facility could begin as early as December and the team would move in by the summer of 2007.
However, Jets President Jay Cross said later that a realistic timetable for when the practice field and headquarters would be usable for the team is June 2008.
Cross said among the factors that led the team and the NJSEA to select Florham Park: a great community, with varying types of housing; a 20-minute commute to East Rutherford, where a new, shared stadium for the Jets and rival New York Giants will be built.
After Johnson praised the "city" council and made other introductions, the draft picks all left the gazebo and were immediately set upon by hungry autograph-seekers. Even Johnson signed autographs.
Besides Chrebet, the biggest crowd had gathered around first-round draft pick, offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Two Morris County Park Police officers stood nearby. "If you work hard, you could be like me," Ferguson, of Freeport, N.Y. told a youngster whose height reached to his knee. 'Take my card'
Among the crowd was a real estate agent, dressed in a suit and tie. He approached draft pick Brad Smith, a Youngstown, Ohio native, and gave him a card in case Smith ever looked for a house in the area. Cross said some Jets employees have already been around looking for housing.
If the number of people wearing Jets colors was any indication, then most of the public at the event were there simply to get a closer look at their favorite football team.
Denise Adesso of Florham Park wore a Jets uniform and got autographs from several draft picks and Chrebet.
"We're just excited that they moved up here," she said. "We'll probably be there every week checking out their practices."
Ahmed Chater took a half day off from work Wednesday. He wanted to get autographs, too, especially from Ferguson and one of his all-time favorite players, Chrebet.
"Unfortunately the line around them was really long," he said.
The ExxonMobil site is now managed by the Gale-Rockefeller group. The NJSEA, which operates the Meadowlands, will pay $20 million to purchase the 20 acres in Florham Park. That amount of money would come off the tax rolls, but the borough would be getting payment in lieu of taxes of about $150,000 annually for 10 years. The team and the sports authority also plan to offer $50,000 annually to support and maintain the borough's recreational facilities.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 1:46 PM
Tigers on the rise Wednesday, May 17, 2006 By JOAN VERDON STAFF WRITER
Lorna Chen was recruited to become a real estate broker 25 years ago by Fort Lee brokers who realized she had two valuable assets: an interest in the then-emerging condominium market and fluency in three Chinese dialects.
Those brokers "recognized the Asian market was going to become a huge force," said Chen. After working for other companies, she founded The Chen Agency real estate brokerage with her son Nelson in 1997. The company is now one of the leading Realtors for Bergen County's Gold Coast, handling more than $94 million worth of transactions in Fort Lee, Cliffside Park and Edgewater last year.
The Chens see their business as more mainstream American than Asian-oriented. "Actually, this is the United Nations market," said Nelson Chen, pointing out that the company serves clients who speak everything from Russian to Korean to English with a native New Jersey accent. The Chens are part of an Asian-American entrepreneurial explosion occurring in the United States, with New Jersey in the forefront of the trend, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
A Census Bureau report released Tuesday found that the number of Asian-owned businesses in the country grew by 24 percent between 1997 and 2002. Nationwide, Asian-owned businesses generated more than $326 billion in revenues in 2002, up 8 percent from 1997, according to the report.
New Jersey placed fourth in terms of total number of Asian-American-owned firms, behind only the nation's three most populous states: California, Texas and New York. It also ranks fourth in the percentage of businesses with Asian-American owners, with 2.4 percent, behind Hawaii, California and the District of Columbia.
In New Jersey, the number of Asian firms increased 25.4 percent from 1997 to 2002, and their revenue was up 10.5 percent.
Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon called the report "another indicator" that minority entrepreneurs are "engines for growth in our economy."
Nationwide, Chinese-Americans represent 26.3 percent of the Asian business owners counted by the Census Bureau. Asian Indians are the second-largest group, followed by Korean and Vietnamese business owners.
In New Jersey, Asian Indians represent 43 percent of the Asian business owners, followed by Chinese, 24 percent, and Korean, 21 percent.
Bergen County led the state with the most Asian-owned firms, followed by Middlesex, Hudson, Monmouth, Morris, Somerset and Passaic counties. The Census Bureau listed Bergen County as having almost 11,000 Asian-owned firms, but said only 2,738 of those firms were large enough in 2002 to have paid employees.
The spread of Asian-owned businesses in North Jersey is especially evident in downtown business districts in Fort Lee, Palisades Park and Leonia, where store signs in Japanese, Korean and Chinese are common.
In downtown Passaic, Indian video stores, groceries and restaurants have replaced German delis and Polish bakeries along the Broadway shopping street.
Yellappa N. Moorthi opened a restaurant, Udupi Kitchen, on Broadway in Passaic in December. He said he had worked in the restaurant business in California and decided to open his own restaurant after moving to New Jersey. He said starting a business has been tough, but he is hoping it will pay off as "more people learn we are here. We're 100 percent vegetarian."
In North Jersey, banks have responded to the growth in Asian entrepreneurship by adding tellers and customer service representatives who speak Korean, Japanese, Chinese and other Asian languages, and expanding their presence in neighborhoods where many Asians live and work.
In the past seven months, business loans to Asian-Americans accounted for 30 percent of the total number of Small Business Administration loans in New Jersey, said Harry Menta, a spokesman in the Newark office.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America has made the most SBA loans to Asians in New Jersey in recent months, making 158 loans for $8 million in the period from Oct. 1 through April 30. PNC Bank, of Pittsburgh, did the largest dollar volume to Asians in New Jersey, lending $13.9 million in 66 loans. Broadway National Bank in Fort Lee made 62 loans for $10.1 million.
In 2005, overall SBA loan approvals in New Jersey were up 29 percent from 2004, while the number of loan approvals for Asian borrowers was up 35 percent.
Though some of the Asian-American businesses -- especially those owned by recent arrivals -- cater mainly to fellow immigrants, a growing number have moved into the mainstream.
For instance, Nelson Chen is what his mother calls "an ABC – American-Born Chinese." He's a graduate of the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania, and he believes other second-generation Asian sons and daughters will continue the entrepreneurial boom. "I think the pressure's on the next generation to succeed further," he said. "But it will be hard to match what their parents did."
Staff Writers Richard Newman and Dave Sheingold contributed to this article.
Biotech seeks public offering Firm wants to sell $86.25M of stock Thursday, May 18, 2006 By GEORGE E. JORDAN Newhouse News Service
A New Jersey biotechnology company searching for treatments for rare genetic diseases has filed with federal regulators to sell $86.25 million worth of common stock in an initial public offering.
The Cranbury company, Amicus Therapeutics, says it plans to use the proceeds from the sale to continue development of three medicines, including a tablet to treat Fabry disease, a rare fat-storage disorder suffered by an estimated 10,000 people worldwide.
A preliminary prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission does not say how many shares would be offered for sale or at what price. It also did not provide a date for the public offering.
Amicus' research is focused on Fabry, Gaucher and Pompe diseases -- all rare disorders that cause a fatty substance to accumulate in certain body tissues. The prospectus says the disorders "represent substantial commercial markets due to the severity of the symptoms and the chronic nature of the diseases."
Founded in 2002, the company has lost $44.4 million and expects to continue to suffer heavy losses as the experimental drugs undergo expensive clinical trials. Most of its 52 full-time employees are research scientists who work out of a 32,000-square-foot rented laboratory space.
Amicus has received $55 million in seed money from several venture capitalists and the Garden State Life Sciences Venture Fund, which is funded by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
Currently, Fabry, Gaucher and Pompe disease patients must undergo regular infusions of specialized proteins called enzymes. Amicus takes a novel approach to treatment: Its medicines, called pharmacological chaperones, are designed to repair damaged enzymes, making the infusions unnecessary.
One of Amicus' potential competitors, Genzyme, recently reported first-quarter sales of its Fabry therapy reached $80.5 million, a 15 percent increase from the first quarter of 2005, but short of Wall Street estimates of $83 million to $95 million.
Until Amicus wins Food and Drug Administration approval to market one of its drugs, it remains in the same situation as dozens of biotech companies backed by venture capitalists that use genetic engineering and knowledge of the human genome to search for targeted treatments. Only a handful eventually turn a profit.
Amicus is different in one important respect: The 150-page prospectus lists Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs as the lead underwriters, and Pacific Growth Equities as co-manager. That gives Amicus the backing of three blue-chip investment banks.
George E. Jordan may be reached at gjordan@starledger.com or (973) 392-1801.
Universal Display Corporation Inc. 375 Phillips Boulevard, Ewing 08618; 609-671-0980; fax, 609-671-0995. Steven Abramson, president. Home page: www.universaldisplay.com
Universal Display Corporation will showcase its new, 40,000 square-foot research laboratory at an invitation-only open house on Monday, May 22, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.. Congressman Rush Holt is scheduled to speak on how Universal Display has led the revitalization of `Einstein Alley,' the high tech research corridor for Central New Jersey.
Universal Display is a pioneer in organic light emitting diode (OLED) technology that was incubated at Princeton University. OLEDs (naturally existing chemicals that glow when electrically charged) could revolutionize displays on TVs, cell phones, and even buildings. Consumer products using OLEDs are scheduled to debut in 2006.
The company's revenues doubled for the first quarter of this year, compared to last, thanks to a contract with a major display manufacturer. It owns or has exclusive license rights in approximately 725 issued and pending patents.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 1:43 PM
MJR Development Breaking Ground on 640,000SF Mixed-Use Project
MJR Development is breaking ground on a 640,000-square-foot mixed-use project in Kirkland, Wash., called Woodinville Village. The company has retained Jones Lang LaSalle to raise $170 million construction financing for the project, which is scheduled to open in the summer of 2007.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 1:43 PM
Brookfield Completes $230M Acquisition By Erika Morphy
ARLINGTON, VA-Brookfield Properties Corp. has closed on its purchase of two office buildings--601 & 701 South 12th St.--from National Retail Properties, a publicly-traded REIT. The assets were acquired for $230 million. Brookfield has assumed a $95-million, interest-only mortgage at 5.4%, which expires in 2013.
Proceeds from the recent sale of two of Brookfield's Denver assets were used to fund the acquisition of these properties in a 1031 exchange. Craig Macnab, CEO of National Retail Properties, says that proceeds of this sale will be eventually invested in a portfolio of higher yielding retail properties.
For its part, Brookfield is divesting itself of its secondary market assets in order to expand in the Washington-area market, says Ric Clark, president & CEO of Brookfield Properties. The two 12-story office buildings are located in the Pentagon City, a submarket of Arlington County, and total 554,000 sf. The properties are 100% leased to the Transportation Security Administration through 2014.
Brookfield is still in acquisition mode for the DC-area market, the spokesperson says. When the company entered the market 30 months ago it determined it would expand between two million to three million sf. Since then, its portfolio of class A office properties has grown to six buildings comprising 2.3 million sf.
Brookfield began marketing its Denver assets last summer, according to a spokesperson. In the first quarter of 2006 it completed the sale of the Trade Center Denver, for $116 million, booking a gain of $30 million. In November it sold the Colorado State Bank Building for $22 million, with the gain undisclosed.
Brookfield had a third Denver based asset on the market--Republic Plaza--which it recently took off the market, the spokesperson says. "The prices that came in weren’t what we were hoping for. The smaller buildings as it turned out did better than the larger one for that market."
Mercury Calls for Wilshire CEO’s Firing By Sean Ryan
Sean Ryan is associate editor of Real Estate New Jersey.
NEWARK-Mercury Real Estate Advisors has called for a quicker sale or liquidation of properties for locally based Wilshire Enterprises, as well as the termination of its CEO, Sherry Wilzig Isak. The Greenwich, CT-based Mercury, whose 14.6% stake of shares makes it Wilshire’s largest single shareholder, has written three publicly aired letters since November claiming Wilshire’s actions are not maximizing shareholder value. For previous coverage, click here.
In this latest missive, Mercury CEO David R. Jarvis and president Malcolm F. MacLean IV write that they approve of Wilshire canceling a planned multifamily buy in Avondale, AZ, as well as its plans to sell individual properties in its portfolio. But it wants the process to move quicker, believing the real estate market to be softening. "We believe that if management was truly committed to realizing shareholder value and not simply interested in perpetuating the existence of a company to earn record salaries and bonuses, the company would have already been sold or all assets would have been liquidated," they write.
On May 15, Wilshire announced a $3 per share cash dividend; Jarvis and MacLean would like to see that price upped to $4 or $4.25. This new letter also chastised Wilshire, and Isak in particular, for selling off its oil and gas business in March 2004, before the current surge of oil prices. "This embarrassingly poor decision indicates that Ms. Isak had an incredible lack of understanding of the potential value of the company’s assets," they write.
Wilshire has recently sold off many its real estate holdings in New Jersey, including the Wilshire Grand Hotel in West Orange for $12.75 million. It has claimed a turnaround strategy of acquiring properties in Sunbelt states including Arizona, Texas and Florida. Wilshire officials did not return a call for comment.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 1:41 PM
A ballpark deal, but with a big 'if' Wednesday, May 17, 2006 BY MATTHEW FUTTERMAN Star-Ledger Staff
After months of fighting, the developers of the Xanadu complex in the Meadowlands and the owner of a minor-league baseball team have reached a deal to build a ballpark.
However, according to three executives involved with the negotiations, the deal between the developers, Mills Corp. and Mack-Cali Realty, and minor-league baseball impresario Steve Kalafer requires Gov. Jon Corzine to approve $13 million in public funding for the ballpark, and Corzine has not yet decided whether the ballpark is a good investment.
"We've been working very hard on this and we are making progress," said George Zoffinger, chief executive of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, the state agency that operates the Meadowlands. "It's an important piece of the Xanadu plan, and we want to see the project happen."
Under the terms of a tentative agreement for a $20 million ballpark, Mills/Mack-Cali would contribute $6 million, Kalafer would pay $1 million and the state would contribute a $3 million cash loan and $10 million in bonds. Kalafer's annual rent payments of $1.15 million would repay the state's debt.
Bob Sommer, a spokesman for Mills/Mack-Cali, said the developers have been "working hard ... to complete a deal for the ballpark, and we are very close."
Now, Corzine has to decide whether the ballpark is viable, especially since independent minor league teams in nearby Montclair and Newark often play in half- empty stadiums. Brendan Gilfillan, a spokesman for Corzine, said the governor remains committed to making minor league baseball a part of Xanadu, but he stopped short of committing funding to the project. Kalafer did not return phone calls seeking comment.
After Kalafer signed on as a partner with Mills/Mack-Cali in 2002, helping them win the rights to build the $1.3 billion Xanadu complex, he became frustrated as the developers showed little interest in following through on their commitment to build the ballpark for the proposed Bergen Cliff Hawks of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
The two sides bickered for months, then Kalafer sued Mills/ Mack-Cali for breaching a contract. The developers countered with a threat to bring a different minor league team to the Meadowlands.
The crux of the dispute was who would pay for the ballpark, with Kalafer trying to hold Mills/ Mack-Cali to an earlier pledge to build the stadium and the developers claiming the two sides had never formalized a deal. With pressure mounting from local politicians, the sports authority stepped in to try to mediate a deal.
Developers negotiate Epstein's plan Morristown building's owner hopes to avoid eminent domain BY ROB SEMAN DAILY RECORD
MORRISTOWN -- The owner of a building that effectively stands in the way of the redevelopment of the Epstein's Department Store site has again put an offer on the table to partner with the developers, rather than fight them in court over his property.
Cedric Shabsis, the owner of the building occupied by Hollywood Tans on DeHart Street, said he held a teleconference with Robert Goldsmith, attorney for the Morristown Parking Authority, and Steven Santola, the attorney for Woodmont Properties, the two entities that will be redeveloping the site.
Shabsis, 85, who lives in Florida, had been served with a complaint by the developers to condemn the property, which would serve as a staging area for most of the construction of the seven-story condominium, apartment and retail buildings, and eventually as the site for a loft building.
But Shabsis said that while the developers had begun steps to take his property by eminent domain, the attorneys appeared willing to listen to his idea to partner with the developers to build a five-story office building instead of lofts.
"They seem to be very nice and I felt this was the first time where they were looking upon things a little bit differently," Shabsis said.
Goldsmith and Santola could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
A year of talks
Negotiations between Shabsis and the developers have taken place for more than a year to no avail. Shabsis contends that the property is worth $3.8 million to $5 million. Though the property is assessed at $492,000, Shabsis said the property is worth more because the tenant pays for and handles maintenance of the building as well as a portion of the tax.
The Parking Authority contended that the property was appraised at $650,000, and offered to swap its current home at 10 Pine St. for Shabsis' building, or pay him $1 million. But Shabsis said that the authority's building currently houses several tenants.
Shabsis on Tuesday repeated an offer to become a partner in building a five-story office building that would feature elevators exclusive to each floor. He would not reveal his idea for an anchor tenant.
Shabsis said Tuesday that he is hopeful because the attorneys took the time to consider his offer.
"Legally they don't have to do anything," Shabsis said. "I was just hoping they would consider all this and not just push me aside."
"If there is not a favorable consideration, I will battle it the best I can because what they are offering me is peanuts," Shabsis said.
Watchful lawyer
But Shabsis' attorney, John Parmigiani, said that he was unsure of whether the offer would be any more fruitful than prior negotiations.
"I don't know what will come of this," Parmigiani said.
"The Parking Authority has been more than generous in listening to him," Parmigiani said. "I think they have been more than kind in that way. Whether or not this is a good project, they at least listened."
David Rahn, chief executive and financial officer for Hollywood Tans, in Florida, said that the company had been informed of the proceedings.
"Our attorneys are going to be reviewing it with me on Friday and we're going to see how to proceed legally," Rahn said.
Besides Shabsis, Woodmont is also in the midst of negotiating a deal with Starbucks Coffee, which has occupied a space in the Epstein's building since before the department store closed. The coffee chain's lease included a provision that called for an automatic 10-year renewal when the lease expired in March.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 3:05 PM
Final week for Hudson United name Tuesday, May 16, 2006 By RICHARD NEWMAN STAFF WRITER
TD Banknorth signs will go up this weekend on some 200 Hudson United Bank branches in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
The name change, and shift to TD Banknorth's data systems, will be the icing on the cake of a $1.9 billion merger that gives Maine-based TD Banknorth 102 branches and more than $2 billion in deposits in New Jersey.
"We expect a smooth finish over this weekend," Wendy Suehrstedt, president of TD Banknorth's Mid-Atlantic Division, said Monday. "All systems will be converted by Sunday.'' Starting that day, Hudson United customers will be able to bank at any of TD Banknorth's 590 branches and 770 ATMs, which are spread from Maine to Pennsylvania.
But the transition is not without inconvenience for some Hudson United customers. Those who use online banking will have to reenroll. And those who use the bank's electronic bill-paying service will have to reenter data about payees. The enrollment period begins Sunday.
Other transitions will be more seamless. Savings and checking account numbers and PIN numbers stay the same, and customers can keep using checks issued by Hudson United until they run out. The bank said direct deposits and most other automatic transactions will continue uninterrupted. Customers can keep using their Hudson United debit or ATM cards until TD Banknorth issues new ones.
Service fees may change on some accounts, for better or worse. Monthly maintenance fees for personal checking, money market and savings accounts will be waived during the first statement cycle, the bank said on its Web site.
TD Banknorth officials said in October that they intended to cut operating costs at Hudson United Bank by one-fourth, largely through layoffs, and that severance packages would include at least 13 weeks' pay. As of Monday, 293 of 1,900 employees had left the company.
Typical of bank mergers, most of the cuts are in back office departments. Some whose jobs were eliminated have taken other jobs within the company, Suehrstedt said.
TD Banknorth, which is majority-owned by the Canadian financial services firm TD Bank Financial Group Inc., acquired Mahwah-based Hudson United in January as a springboard for expansion in the New York-New Jersey area. Since that deal closed in January, TD Banknorth has cut a deal to expand further in North Jersey, agreeing to buy Saddle Brook-based Interchange Bank, which has 30 branches, in a $480 million cash deal expected to close early next year.
TD Banknorth is expected to close eight to 12 Bergen County branches because some Hudson United and Interchange branches are in close proximity to one another.
The company said last month that it took a $10.9 million first-quarter management restructuring charge related to the Hudson United merger.
TD Banknorth's first-quarter earnings increased to $76.2 million, or 36 cents per share, up from $34.1 million, or 18 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $400.3 million, from $278.4 million.
On Monday, shares fell five cents, to $28.75.
E-mail: newman@northjersey.com
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 3:03 PM
Gov. Corzine Signs Bill Creating Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority
Governor Jon S. Corzine signed legislation creating the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority. The Authority will be charged with developing a comprehensive conversion and revitalization plan for Fort Monmouth after it is closed by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.
"First and foremost, the work of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority will be to examine how we take this valuable asset, and use it to meet the needs of the local community and our state," Corzine said. "As we deal with issues regarding the disposition of property and the retention and creation of good jobs, the authority's answer will be guided by the fact that the future of our entire community depends on creating strong, smart and sustainable economic growth."
The bill, S-1049, was sponsored by Senators Ellen Karcher (Mercer and Monmouth) and Joseph Kyrillos (Middlesex and Monmouth). The Assembly Bill was sponsored by Assemblymen Michael Panter (Mercer and Mercer), John Burzichelli (Salem, Cumberland and Gloucester), Samuel Thompson (Middlesex and Monmouth) and Sean Kean (Monmouth).
The planning authority will consist of 10 members and will be appointed as follows: * Four members will be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Two of the members will be representatives of the private sector, one will be a representative of land conservation and environmental concerns and one will be a representative of organized labor. No more than two of the Governor's appointed members will be from the same political party.
One member will be appointed by the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders The Secretary of Commerce The Mayor of Eatontown The Mayor of Oceanport The Mayor of Tinton Falls One Representative of Fort Monmouth, appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Defense The authority will be organized within the Department of Treasury but will be independent of any supervision or control by the department.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 3:03 PM
Notable is Federated Department Stores' 160,000 square feet at Vornado's 11 Penn Plaza, of which 50,000 feet are expansion. CBRE repped Federated, but nobody's talking.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 3:02 PM
SKY'S THE LIMIT By ZACHERY KOUWE May 17, 2006 -- EXCLUSIVE
Flush buyout giants yesterday turned their attention to Cendant Corp.'s travel business, which includes popular Web sites Orbitz and CheapTickets.com, jumping into an auction that could end with a $4.5 billion deal, sources told The Post. The firms that bid, including Bain Capital, Texas Pacific Group and Apollo Management, often snap up undervalued divisions of large companies, restructure them and sell them back to the public.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., run by buyout king Henry Kravis, has also shown interest in Cendant but it's unclear if it submitted a bid yesterday.
Ironically left out of first-round bidding was the Blackstone Group, which actually put Cendant's travel business in play earlier this year by submitting an unsolicited offer to buy the division, sources said.
Blackstone's reluctance to enter the auction may be a sign that it wants to avoid a heated bidding war, said one source.
The firms are likely to join together for their final offer or bring in other buyout shops to help fund the deal, sources said.
Last year, Cendant, which owns hotel chains Days Inn and Avis Rent-A-Car, said it would split into four separate publicly traded companies. But after receiving interest from private-equity firms, it decided to put the travel unit up for sale.
The division, which was recently renamed Travelport, consists of Orbitz, CheapTickets, online travel agent network Galileo, and travel agency Gullivers Travel Associates.
The unit faltered last year when bookings at British travel site Ebookers plc, which the company acquired for $330 million in late 2004, fell 40 percent below expectations.
Running the auction are investment banks Citigroup, J.P. Morgan and Evercore Partners. New York-based Cendant still plans to spin off Realogy Corp., its real estate unit, and Wyndham Worldwide, its hotels unit and keep Avis.
Expedia Inc., the largest U.S. online travel agency that was spun off from Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp a year ago, reported first-quarter profit fell 51 percent partly because of market share losses to Orbitz and other competitors such as Travelocity and Priceline.
Cendant could make a quick profit on a sale: it bought Orbitz from five airlines in 2004 for only $1.2 billion.
zachery.kouwe@nypost.com
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 3:01 PM
Study finds transit village brings far fewer children Wednesday, May 17, 2006 By DARRYL R. ISHERWOOD Staff Writer
A study conducted by Rutgers University may answer the question of whether residential developments planned near train stations in several townships in the state, including Hamilton, will attract families with large numbers of children who end up overburdening local schools. The study, completed by researchers at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy shows what supporters of the so-called "transit village" concept have long preached: the villages produce far fewer children -- an average of two per 100 homes -- than similar-sized housing farther from a transit hub.
Though the report has not been officially released, a copy of the draft was obtained by The Times.
"While this analysis is preliminary and one should continue to monitor the demographics of (Transit-Oriented Developments -- TODs) over time, the above-cited evidence suggests that TODs generate relatively few public school children," the report says.
The study, which, according to a summary in the report, was paid for by the state Office of Smart Growth, looked at developments surrounding several existing transit hubs throughout the state, including projects in South Orange, New Brunswick, Morristown, Metuchen and West New York.
To determine the actual number of children who live in each development, researchers contacted the school boards in those municipalities to find out the number of children enrolled in public schools.
The number of students in the developments ranged from 0 to 45 per 100 homes, with an average among the 10 developments of two children per 100 homes.
Contacted yesterday, a spokesman for the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) said the Office of Smart Growth was one of several agencies that funded the study, including the Urban Land Institute and the New Jersey Redevelopment Association.
Spokesman Sean Darcy said the agency could not comment on the report because it is still a draft and has not officially been made public.
The data is in line with an earlier study of transit-oriented developments throughout the state that put the average at about 1.7 children per 100 homes with a range of 0 to 10 per 100 homes. The battle over the number of school children who will eventually live in transit villages has raged since the concept was introduced at the beginning of the decade.
Perhaps nowhere has it been as passionate as in Hamilton, where developers have proposed 980 homes near the NJ Transit station.
Officials have repeatedly said that the new development would not be a burden on the schools and the more than $10 million in tax revenue will far outweigh the cost to the school system. Opponents have said the village could produce hundreds of children that would fill local elementary schools already packed to capacity.
The long-awaited Rutgers study bolsters township officials' claims that transit villages create a positive tax revenue with little or no negative impact on the schools.
Using the Rutgers numbers, Hamilton can expect fewer than 20 additional school-age children to live in the development when it is complete.
The report provides the first "real world" numbers for transit-oriented development and may finally settle the debate.
But reached yesterday, Rutgers researcher David Listokin, who wrote the report, said that in demographics, issues are rarely put to bed.
"I think this is empirical information that was not available before," Listokin said. "I think it will provide a basis for further discussion, but the numbers speak for themselves."
Listokin said because the report is only a draft he could not comment further on the findings or the criteria for choosing the developments used in the study.
The report is scheduled to be made public this summer, Listokin said, and it will likely be "fine tuned" before then.
Hamilton officials were ecstatic over the numbers, saying they are another reason to move forward with the development, which has drawn intense fire from critics in the past two years. "The experience nationwide has been that there are dramatically fewer school children and, indeed, very few school children at all that tend to live at transit villages," said Mayor Glen Gilmore, who has long been a proponent of the development by the Hamilton station.
"It's part of the nature of the setting that is being created at the transit village that few children will live there."
A spokesman for NJ Transit, which owns the land surrounding the station and is developing 300 of the 980 homes, said the study should help put fears to rest.
"This study should serve to reassure the people of Hamilton that the transit-oriented development will provide many benefits without draining township resources," said spokesman Dan Stessel.
But opponents of the project believe the numbers are skewed and point to a report issued by the Hamilton school board in November that showed the development could add as many as 290 new children to the already crowded district.
"If you ask a reasonable person in Hamilton Township, I think it would be a tough sell that out of 900-plus units they will only generate 18 children," said school Superintendent Neil Bencivengo. "It's very difficult for a reasonable person to believe that data is accurate."
That study, conducted by Connecticut-based demographer Stanton Leggett and Associates, used traditional housing numbers and did not take into account the development's location near the train station, the researcher who completed the report told The Times in November.
That report also took into account more than 100 new affordable homes the township will need to build to meet its state-mandated requirements. Those homes, Bencivengo said, are likely to produce as many as 100 to 150 additional children for the schools.
Gilmore addressed the school's concerns and the November report, saying the school district would be irresponsible to ignore the Rutgers numbers when deciding on whether to build new schools in the township.
"It would be irresponsible for anyone to ignore those facts and those studies and go on a spending spree where the evidence doesn't justify it," Gilmore said.
The Rutgers report, titled "Who Lives in New Jersey Housing? A Quick Guide to New Jersey Residential Demographic Multipliers," contains information on several types of housing, from one-bedroom rentals to four- and five-bedroom, single-family homes.
The study also took into account home values for each type and size of home, showing demographics for homes both above and below median home value. In nearly all instances, homes valued below the state's median produced more children than those valued above the median.
In some cases the disparity is dramatic, with three times the number of public school children coming from homes below median value as from those homes above.
Contact Darryl Isherwood at disherwood@njtimes.com or at (609) 989-5708.
State's unemployment rate jumps Jobless spike makes experts jump Wednesday, May 17, 2006 By BETH FITZGERALD Newhouse News Service
A long winning streak for the New Jersey economy ended last month when the state's unemployment rate surged to 5.1 percent from 4.5 percent in March -- and climbed above the nation's 4.7 percent jobless rate for the first time in 35 months.
According to a survey of households for April, the Garden State labor force totaled 4.5 million, the number of employed people was 4.3 million, with 231,300 unemployed, up from 203,000 in March, the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported yesterday. A combination of an increase in the labor force and a decrease in the number of jobs boosted the number of unemployed people and thus the April jobless rate.
New Jersey's unemployment rate was 6 percent in mid-2003 before trending down, reaching 5 percent in May 2004. The low point of the past three years was 4.2 percent in May 2005, according to the seasonally adjusted, revised and "benchmarked" figures from the state agency. Since that low point, the state jobless rate has been trending higher, although at a moderate rate.
But economists were skeptical about how the unemployment rate could rise so dramatically in April, when a parallel survey of New Jersey employers showed they added 6,200 jobs, nearly double the 3,300 jobs gained in March. They said they need a few months to decide if they're looking at an ominous economic trend -- or just some kooky aberration in the data.
"This does not make any sense to me; the New Jersey economy has been doing pretty well. Sometimes you can get some really strange numbers," said Joel Naroff, chief economist for Commerce Bank.
"Whoa!" was the initial, surprised reaction from Rutgers University economist James Hughes. "It just does not seem plausible. But one month does not make a trend, and this may well be a blip given the strong growth in payrolls in April. We shouldn't put too much into this; we have to see what happens next month."
Acting State Labor Commissioner David Socolow said the 5.1 percent rate, "looks like an anomaly -- there is nothing going on in our economy that would indicate this kind of an extreme spike."
April's 6,200 payroll gain brought the state's nonfarm payroll to 4,074,900. The private sector added 5,300 jobs while government payrolls grew by 900. The private sector bounced back in April after losing 400 jobs during the first three months of 2006, and "this was a pretty good jump in private sector employment," Hughes said.
The professional and business services sector rose by 3,600 jobs to 598,700, and accounted for just more than two-thirds of the private-sector job gains. Financial sector jobs gained 1,100 to 284,100, while the information sector declined 1,300 to 95,500.
Leisure and hospitality grew by 900 to 344,900 while construction gained 600 jobs to reach 171,700. Education and health rose 300 to 569,200. Trade, transportation and utilities fell 100 to 879,900 and manufacturing fell 200 to 231,200.
While the unemployment rate and the payroll jobs figures appear to be close relatives -- both describe the same labor market during the same time period -- they are gathered using different methods, and hence may be more like cousins than siblings.
Each month, employers tell the government how many people they hired or let go, and that's where the 6,200 increase in the state's April payroll came from.
To calculate the unemployment rate, the government also conducts a telephone survey each month of about 1,500 New Jersey households. The survey asks adults if they are working, unemployed or looking for work.
To be counted among the unemployed, one must both be out of work and looking for a job. Those who ceased looking for a job may have voluntarily dropped out of the labor market or they may be "discouraged workers" who want a job but have given up hope of finding work. Either way, they aren't counted among the unemployed.
The unemployment rate can be a volatile statistic, said Rae Rosen, senior economist of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
"The numbers can have a sharp spike, and then a year later the government revises the numbers and the spike ceases to exist," Rosen said. "Without another month or two of confirmation, this is not something that is really indicative of a worsening trend."
Labor Commissioner Socolow illustrated how the federal government's year-end revision of monthly unemployment rates can dramatically iron out the ups and downs of the data. The initial jobless rates for last September, October and November were 4.4, 3.9, 4.6 percent, respectively; after the year-end revision, called "benchmarking," the numbers became 4.4, 4.4 and 4.5 percent.
Medical devices cure VCs' biotech blues The gadgets and gizmos doctors and hospitals use are increasingly reliant on Silicon Valley tech -- and that plays to the strengths of most venture capitalists. By Michael V. Copeland, Business 2.0 Magazine senior writer May 12, 2006: 11:13 AM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO (Business 2.0 Magazine) - Investing in healthcare startups has long been a specialized business. It's one thing to kick the tires on an Internet startup; you just go to the website and start clicking away. It's another matter altogether to try to figure out if a biotech startup really has come up with a cure for cancer. And the small number of biotech-savvy VCs has limited the number of healthcare deals that get done.
But medical devices are changing that. Private equity investment in medical devices rose 23% last year to $2.1 billion, and in the first quarter of 2006, 70 medical device companies received $690 million in venture investment, a 62% increase over the same period in 2005.
These investments are on the rise because these life-sustaining or -improving gizmos often use the same hardware and software found in the IT world -- gear that is familiar to the large number of VCs with engineering backgrounds. Indeed, information technology is giving birth to a new generation of medical devices that are doing everything from smoothing wrinkles to easing depression.
Staying younger, longer
To understand the demand for medical devices, just listen to the creaking knees of the baby-boom generation. There is a huge, well-heeled population of people hitting their 50s who want to keep up their daily routine for as long as possible. They want to look younger, run faster, and work longer than any generation that has come before them. And they have the money to pay for some devices and services out of pocket.
In addition to the fact that this market is growing, venture capitalists also like the fact that medical devices face far fewer regulatory hurdles than drugs do, so they can be brought to market faster and more cheaply.
"The number of people that are starting to consume this kind of healthcare is large and is only going to increase," says Mark Brooks, a venture capitalist at BA Venture Partners who focuses on medical devices and healthcare services. "It's a huge opportunity."
One area that Brooks and his firm focus on is orthopedics -- devices and materials that replace hips, knees, hands, feet and parts of the spine. "The spine is an incredibly hot area right now," Brooks says.
Redwood City, Calif.-based Spinal Kinetics is a BA Ventures investment that is developing a material that can replace the lumbar discs in your back. San Diego-based N-Spine, which is also developing implantable devices for the spine, recently banked $1 million in venture funding FROM ???.
Another red-hot area of medical-device investment is non-invasive cosmetic surgery and skin care. In the U.S., people paid more than $12.5 billion last year for cosmetic procedures out of their own pockets. It's the sort of predictable and growing market VCs love.
Startups in this arena that recently received funding include DermaCare, a Livermore, Calif.-based company that landed $2.7 million to develop new skincare technologies. Palo Alto-based Aesthetic Sciences banked $3 million for its soon-to-launch "injectable filler" products which promise to erase, or at least lessen, wrinkles.
There are plenty of remaining opportunities. One area that remains largely untapped by startups, VCs say, is the intersection between wireless technology and healthcare. As sensors and communications networks converge to give us 24/7 health monitoring, there will be money to be made by adapting off-the-shelf wireless technologies to the needs of doctors and nurses. Sad to say, even with all these new devices that will keep us going longer than ever before, at some point we're sure to land in the hospital -- and when we're there, we'll want the best technology money can buy. That's what makes medical devices such a great growth market for venture capitalists.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 2:57 PM
Higher Returns... Did you see the Pinnacle Development Partners, LLC advertisement headlined "Stocks Still Low? Invest now in Atlanta's booming real estate market"? (Newsweek, May 1, 2006)
The ad copy states, "25% return within 45 days with a minimum $5K investment." And Pinnacle's web site boasts: "For novice home buyers and investors, buying bank-owned properties (REO's) from the lender is the safest way to buy. There is no risk. There are no taxes, no liens to worry about, and no tenants to evict."
Is this true? Wow, who knew real estate could be so profitable? But don't worry, if you miss the foreclosure market in Atlanta, the Wall Street Journal has a real estate tip for you. ("Investors, Seeking Roads to Riches, Turn to Infrastructure," May 3, 2006)
The WSJ writes, "Infrastructure is real estate's latest hot market. ... Toll roads, hospitals and other networks or structures that provide support to society -- traditionally overlooked in real-estate portfolios -- increasingly are being snapped up by investors seeking stable cash flow and improved returns."
And last year, "a private Australian-Spanish partnership paid $1.83 billion for the right to operate the 7.8-mile Chicago Skyway toll road for 99 years. Since then, Indiana has leased its 157-mile turnpike for 75 years for $3.8 billion."
OK, I'm contrasting apples and oranges. (That's an understatement.) Trends come and go. But it seems to me that there are good deals and bad deals in every market for every property type.
What do you think? -- Peter Pike
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 2:56 PM
Midtown commercial rents surge: report by Julie Satow May 16, 2006
Manhattan's commercial real estate market is continuing its upward trajectory, with Midtown seeing the most dramatic tightening.
Manhattan's commercial real estate market is continuing its upward trajectory, with Midtown seeing the most dramatic tightening, according to a recent report.
Rents averaged more than $50 a square foot in Midtown in the first quarter, a 6% hike over the fourth quarter of 2005, according to a quarterly report from commercial real estate services firm Studley. At nearly $63 a square foot, Class A rents rose to their highest level since 2002.
With so little space left in Midtown, "the trend for tenants to take advantage of a 'flight to quality' has abated," said Steve Coutts, a senior vice president at Studley. Instead, tenants are casting a wider net in their search for space.
The Grand Central submarket saw the most leasing activity, with 1.2 million square feet of transactions finalized over the last six months-more than half of all the transactions for Midtown. This reduced availability to 6.1 million square feet -- the lowest level since 2001. With average rents of $36 a square foot, Downtown is not faring as well as Midtown, but that may change. "Demand for space downtown will progressively increase as Midtown rents continue to spike upward," says Mr. Coutts.
The availability of office space in lower Manhattan is 13%.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 2:54 PM
Industrial at 15 Stern Sells for $2.9 Million Owner/User To Occupy Building in Springfield
BMT Holdings LLC purchased the 32,265-square-foot industrial building at 15 Stern Ave. for $2.9 million, or approximately $90 per square foot. The seller was Luminco Inc.
The one-story building, built in 1953, is on 1.55 acres in Union County. The property features six loading docks, two drive-in bays, a wet sprinkler and 13-foot to 16-foot ceilings.
Frank Lopriore of Trammell Crow Co. represented the seller, Luminco Inc. Trammell Crow broker Lee Barnes represented the buyer, BMT Holdings LLC.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 2:53 PM
Partnership Buys Industrial at 350 Secaucus for $6M SBWE Inc. Brokers Purchase of 80,000-SF Warehouse
Vimco Partnership sold an 80,000-square-foot industrial building at 350 Secaucus Road for $6 million, or approximately $75 per square foot, to an undisclosed buyer. The new owner will occupy the space later this year for warehouse use.
This property was built in 1971 on 3.9 acres in Hudson County, and contains 12,000 square feet of office space. The building attributes include 21-foot ceiling heights, 800 amps of power, 10 loading docks and column spacing of 35-feet-by-40-feet.
Laurence Blau of SBWE Inc. represented both the buyer and the seller.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 2:52 PM
Office at 134 Evergreen Place Sells for $4.06 Million
Investor Buys Evergreen Legal/Medical Building in East Orange
The group 134 Evergreen Associates LLC purchased 134 Evergreen Place in East Orange for $4.06 million, or about $49.50 per square foot.
This eight-story building was built in 1967 on 1.25 acres and has a total square footage of 82,000. The building also features three passenger elevators.
The investors of 134 Evergreen Associates LLC and 134 Evergreen LLC were self-represented
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 2:48 PM
Group Buys Bergen County Bank Building for $2.5 Million
Office Property at 645 Westwood Sells for $129.50 PSF
MWD River Vale One LLC purchased 645 Westwood Ave. in River Vale from Pascak Valley Hospital Associates for $2.52 million, or about $129.50 per square foot.
This 19,450-square-foot, three-story office building on 2.25 acres was built in 1971 in Bergen County. The building features a passenger elevator, on-site banking and on-site property management.
Pascak Valley Hospital Associates and MWD River Vale One LLC were self-represented.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 2:47 PM
Office Owner Secures $16M Financing By Eric Peterson (To read more on the debt and equity markets, click here.)
HOBOKEN, NJ-Financing amounting to $16 million has been arranged for Baker Waterfront Plaza, a 93,000-sf class A office building here. Located on the Hudson River, the property is also known as Two Hudson Place.
Constructed in 1987-88, the eight-story building is currently occupied by 14 tenants including Nomura Securities and the US Postal Service. The funding was arranged by Andrew Stewart and Dev Morris of David Cronheim Mortgage Corp., based in Chatham.
The loan was placed at an interest rate of 5.65% and has a 10-year term amortizing over 30 years, according to information released by Cronheim. The borrower and lender were not identified, however, the building is currently listed in the portfolio of National Realty and Development Corp. of Purchase, NY.
Treatment Facility Aims for Expansion By Eric Peterson
NEWARK-CentraCore Properties Trust has closed a transaction with Community Education Centers Inc for a $13-million, 286-bed expansion of its Delaney Hall facility here. Delaney Hall is a treatment facility for educating and training inmates prior to their re-entering society
The facility is owned by CPT, a Palm Beach Gardens, FL-based REIT, and leased to and operated by CEC. Under the terms of the transaction, that relationship will continue.
"Expanding existing facilities is the most efficient means of increasing correctional or training capacity," says Charles R. Jones, president and CEO of CPT. "That's particularly true given escalating new construction costs and the difficulty of obtaining use permits and zoning for new urban-based facilities."
The expansion, which will boost Delaney Hall's capacity to 1,012 beds, will include administrative areas and add approximately 40,000 sf to the existing facility. It will continue to operate during the expansion, which is expected to be completed during Q3 of 2007.
According to details released by CPT, the REIT will provide capital for the expansion, but won't incur direct construction risk or construction management responsibility. The project's architects, engineers and construction-related professionals are all being hired by and will be supervised by CEC. CPT will also reimburse CEC for $566,000 in prior improvements.
The lease between CPT and CEC has also been amended, including rate escalators of 3% annually once the expansion is completed. The lease maturity date on the existing 726-bed facility has been amended as well. CEC had some seven years to go on its original 10-year lease, but the lease will now have a maturity date of 10 years on the entire facility starting on the date the expansion is finished.
