Archive for February, 2010

COLUMBIA – With funding from the Home Depot Foundation, the National Center for Healthy Housing offers a suite of training and informational resources to help affordable housing professionals adopt sustainable and healthy building practices.

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CLARKSVILLE – The Creig Northrop Team of Long & Foster has started a new division for Land & New Home Sales.  Division head Cindy DelZoppo says the group will focus on prospects for whom buying land has become an attractive and cost-effective option.

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CROFTON – Homebuilder Caruso Homes is helping homeowners sell their existing homes in exchange for buying a new home in a Caruso community in Maryland.  Save & Sell offers a reduced 5 percent listing, provides access to resale expertise, and gives agents a $1,500 incentive to help sell the home.

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BALTIMORE – Last night’s meeting of the Md. chapter of the commercial real estate development association showed a debt level of $566 billion for commercial real estate, much of which comes due in 2011 and 2012 and is held by community banks.  Values for office space have further room to fall, and in Maryland the ratio of loans to total capital is well above the national average.  The feds are aware and are looking into how to help, but 285 banks (nationwide) are still expected to fail this year, which will encompass $120 billion of commercial real estate loans.

From left to right: Moderator Jim Lighthizer of Chesapeake Real Estate Group, Rob Carpenter of The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Tom Dwyer of CW Capital, Spencer Levy of CB Richard Ellis, and Shawn Krantz of Brownstone Capital.

INDIANAPOLIS – Simon Property Group, owner of Arundel Mills shopping center and the outlet shopping centers in Queenstown and Hagerstown, has made an offer for the bankrupt General Growth Properties.  The fully financed, $10 billion transaction would include about $9 billion in cash.  GGP owns more than 200 shopping malls and controls most of the development opportunities in the recently approved 30-year master plan for downtown Columbia.

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BWI AIRPORT – Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport was ranked first in the world among airports serving 15-25 million passengers per year, according to the 2009 Airports Council International (ACI), Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey.  The annual survey of airport users examines services, operations, and facilities; 140 airports participate in the ASQ program.

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ANNAPOLIS – The US Green Building Council (USGBC) has approved another professional education course from BOMI International, the institute for property and facility management education.  Refrigeration Systems and Accessories is the fifth BOMI Int’l course approved by USGBC for credentialing maintenance requirements.

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GLEN BURNIE – VetCentric, a practice-to-home delivery provider of prescription medications and veterinary therapeutic and wellness diets, has partnered with Pfizer Animal Health in a move that allows home delivery of Pfizer products to VetCentric’s partner clinics. Pfizer Animal Health discovers, develops and manufactures veterinary-prescription vaccines and medicines for livestock and companion animals.

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COLUMBIA – Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) posted a 25% total return for shareholders last year.  The numbers included a 5% increase in diluted funds from operations and an 8% decrease in diluted earnings per share.  The company has 1.1 million square feet under construction that is 54 percent leased, and its properties are 90.7% occupied and 91.3% leased.  Renewals on expiring leases are 73% and represent 1.8 million square feet.

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PRINCETON, NJ – Heartland Payment Systems, with many local restaurant customers using its payment processing system, has made an agreement with the National Restaurant Association to offer a unified payments-processing platform.  This alliance will provide restaurateurs with effective tools, solutions and resources that will help them reduce expenses, improve operations and increase profitability.

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