Vestar Development Co. announced the formation of a $250 million opportunity fund to bankroll the shopping-center developer's acquisition of retail real-estate projects throughout the West that now are selling for bargain prices.
Vestar partner David Larcher said the $250 million could be leveraged into $700 million to $800 million in real-estate acquisitions.
He said Vestar Strategic Retail Partners will target retail properties in the $20 million to $100 million range that can be enhanced by the company's experience and management.
Over the past two years, Phoenix-based Vestar has partnered with institutional investor Rockwood Capital of New York City to acquire shopping centers valued at more than $400 million. Last month, the group paid $79 million in cash for a landmark Las Vegas-area retail development. It was Vestar's first acquisition in the Las Vegas area.
Larcher is optimistic the company can raise the prescribed $250 million by mid-2012 and is working with Dallas-based Stephen Inc. to market the fund to investors. Once funded, Vestar Strategic Retail Partners will become the company's exclusive vehicle for financing acquisitions.
Vestar currently manages more than 21 million square feet of retail property with an average occupancy of 97 percent.
"We believe this is a great time to invest in value-add retail properties," said Bob Cavanaugh, Vestar's chief investment officer. "With our firm's track record of acquiring and stabilizing struggling assets, we are confident that our in-house capabilities will create meaningful value for the fund's investors."
by Max Jarman The Arizona Republic Dec. 1, 2011 06:22 PM
Vestar forming fund to purchase retail real-estate projects
Showing posts with label vestar development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vestar development. Show all posts
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Ellman out as Westgate manager
Steve Ellman, the developer who brought the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team to a new Glendale arena eight years ago and then built the glittering Westgate City Center around it, has lost one of his last tenuous links to the entertainment and shopping district.
Lender iStar Financial seized the bulk of Westgate from the Ellman Cos. in September and last week moved in Phoenix-based Vestar Development Co. as the center's new property manager.
Vestar developed Tempe Marketplace, Desert Ridge Marketplace and other retail spots in Arizona and other states.
IStar plans to hold the property and infuse the center's retail and office space with cash and splash, according to asset manager Jeff Teetsel.
Ellman had said he hoped to stay on as property manager several months back when it was announced that Westgate faced foreclosure. He still owns billboards that were part of Westgate's distinctive design as well as some office space.
Tim Wright, vice president of the Ellman Cos., declined comment.
Teetsel, principal of Phoenix-based Teetsel Properties, said that Vestar has been charged with "re-energizing" Westgate.
"Vestar has the most experience with bringing different kinds of events that draw shoppers and we expect them to bring that to Westgate," he said. Shoppers and visitors will be able to see some of the new events as the holiday season gets underway.
A free outdoor skating rink will open for the three-day Thanksgiving weekend, complete with free skate rental for visitors, and the center will hold a tree-lighting ceremony, holiday story times and the Naughty or Nice Bar Crawl.
Ellman opened Westgate around Jobing.com Arena near Glendale Avenue and Loop 101 in 2006, three years after the Coyotes played their first game. Jerry Moyes took over ownership of the Coyotes from Ellman that same year.
Glendale had financed the bulk of the arena as Ellman promised to build Westgate. The core of the project is a 33-acre outdoor plaza of shops, restaurants, offices, an AMC movie theater and a fountain that "dances" to music . About 10 million visitors annually come through Westgate, usually around games at the hockey arena and nearby University of Phoenix Stadium. A few other events have attracted crowds to the area, but it has struggled bringing in patrons the rest of the time.
As a result, Westgate retail space is about 75 percent leased and tenants fill only half of the available office space.
Teetsel said that all of those conditions should change under the new management, which will emphasize attracting foot traffic on non-peak days when the arenas are dark.
Westgate received no bids when its auction opened at $40 million in September and iStar repossessed the project.
The new owner "views this as a longer-term hold and plans to spend money to make money," Teetsel said. "Looking for owners is not on the drawing board today or anticipated to be on the drawing board any time soon."
The economic downturn and ownership problems with the Coyotes had dragged down prospects for Westgate, but Teetsel said that the center now has the capital to make the kind of improvements that attract tenants.
by Lesley Wright The Arizona Republic Nov. 9, 2011 12:00 AM
Ellman out as Westgate manager
Lender iStar Financial seized the bulk of Westgate from the Ellman Cos. in September and last week moved in Phoenix-based Vestar Development Co. as the center's new property manager.
Vestar developed Tempe Marketplace, Desert Ridge Marketplace and other retail spots in Arizona and other states.
IStar plans to hold the property and infuse the center's retail and office space with cash and splash, according to asset manager Jeff Teetsel.
Ellman had said he hoped to stay on as property manager several months back when it was announced that Westgate faced foreclosure. He still owns billboards that were part of Westgate's distinctive design as well as some office space.
Tim Wright, vice president of the Ellman Cos., declined comment.
Teetsel, principal of Phoenix-based Teetsel Properties, said that Vestar has been charged with "re-energizing" Westgate.
"Vestar has the most experience with bringing different kinds of events that draw shoppers and we expect them to bring that to Westgate," he said. Shoppers and visitors will be able to see some of the new events as the holiday season gets underway.
A free outdoor skating rink will open for the three-day Thanksgiving weekend, complete with free skate rental for visitors, and the center will hold a tree-lighting ceremony, holiday story times and the Naughty or Nice Bar Crawl.
Ellman opened Westgate around Jobing.com Arena near Glendale Avenue and Loop 101 in 2006, three years after the Coyotes played their first game. Jerry Moyes took over ownership of the Coyotes from Ellman that same year.
Glendale had financed the bulk of the arena as Ellman promised to build Westgate. The core of the project is a 33-acre outdoor plaza of shops, restaurants, offices, an AMC movie theater and a fountain that "dances" to music . About 10 million visitors annually come through Westgate, usually around games at the hockey arena and nearby University of Phoenix Stadium. A few other events have attracted crowds to the area, but it has struggled bringing in patrons the rest of the time.
As a result, Westgate retail space is about 75 percent leased and tenants fill only half of the available office space.
Teetsel said that all of those conditions should change under the new management, which will emphasize attracting foot traffic on non-peak days when the arenas are dark.
Westgate received no bids when its auction opened at $40 million in September and iStar repossessed the project.
The new owner "views this as a longer-term hold and plans to spend money to make money," Teetsel said. "Looking for owners is not on the drawing board today or anticipated to be on the drawing board any time soon."
The economic downturn and ownership problems with the Coyotes had dragged down prospects for Westgate, but Teetsel said that the center now has the capital to make the kind of improvements that attract tenants.
by Lesley Wright The Arizona Republic Nov. 9, 2011 12:00 AM
Ellman out as Westgate manager
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Vestar develops Las Vegas retail project
Phoenix-based Vestar Development has paid $79 million in cash for a landmark Las Vegas-area retail development in a joint venture with Rockwood Capital of New York City.
It's the fourth deal Vestar has done with Rockwood and it is Vestar's first property in Las Vegas, a metro area that has been hammered by falling real-estate prices.
Vestar, which developed such signature Phoenix-area projects as Scottsdale Pavilions, Tempe Marketplace and Desert Ridge Marketplace, was drawn to Las Vegas because of its glut of undervalued retail properties and investment opportunities.
"Now is a great time to invest in the Las Vegas retail real-estate market," Vestar President Rick Kuhle said.
Like metro Phoenix, Las Vegas has been particularly hard hit by foreclosures and falling real-estate prices, with many retail properties now selling substantially below their replacement costs.
"We feel we got a great deal on a terrific property," Kuhle said, noting the company is looking for other retail-investment opportunities in the Las Vegas area.
The District at Green Valley Ranch is a 384,107-square-foot shopping center outside Las Vegas that contains a number of quality tenants, including Whole Foods Market, REI, Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma and P.F. Chang's China Bistro.
The project was developed in two phases in 2004 and 2006 and is now about 85 percent leased.
The District at Green Valley Ranch was developed for an estimated $170 million by Las Vegas' prominent Greenspun family as part of their Green Valley Ranch master-planned community in Henderson, Nev.
Lenders, who were owed an estimated $120 million, took back the development in January after the Greenspuns' American Nevada Co. was unable to renegotiate the loan.
Vestar and Rockwood bought the property from LNR Partners LLC, which held the property on behalf of the lenders.
Vestar teamed with Rockwood last year to refinance Tempe Marketplace and to buy out a majority partner and, earlier this year, to buy two undervalued shopping centers in Southern California.
by Max Jarman The Arizona Republic Nov. 2, 2011 12:00 AM
Vestar develops Las Vegas retail project
It's the fourth deal Vestar has done with Rockwood and it is Vestar's first property in Las Vegas, a metro area that has been hammered by falling real-estate prices.
Vestar, which developed such signature Phoenix-area projects as Scottsdale Pavilions, Tempe Marketplace and Desert Ridge Marketplace, was drawn to Las Vegas because of its glut of undervalued retail properties and investment opportunities.
"Now is a great time to invest in the Las Vegas retail real-estate market," Vestar President Rick Kuhle said.
Like metro Phoenix, Las Vegas has been particularly hard hit by foreclosures and falling real-estate prices, with many retail properties now selling substantially below their replacement costs.
"We feel we got a great deal on a terrific property," Kuhle said, noting the company is looking for other retail-investment opportunities in the Las Vegas area.
The District at Green Valley Ranch is a 384,107-square-foot shopping center outside Las Vegas that contains a number of quality tenants, including Whole Foods Market, REI, Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma and P.F. Chang's China Bistro.
The project was developed in two phases in 2004 and 2006 and is now about 85 percent leased.
The District at Green Valley Ranch was developed for an estimated $170 million by Las Vegas' prominent Greenspun family as part of their Green Valley Ranch master-planned community in Henderson, Nev.
Lenders, who were owed an estimated $120 million, took back the development in January after the Greenspuns' American Nevada Co. was unable to renegotiate the loan.
Vestar and Rockwood bought the property from LNR Partners LLC, which held the property on behalf of the lenders.
Vestar teamed with Rockwood last year to refinance Tempe Marketplace and to buy out a majority partner and, earlier this year, to buy two undervalued shopping centers in Southern California.
by Max Jarman The Arizona Republic Nov. 2, 2011 12:00 AM
Vestar develops Las Vegas retail project
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