JUNE 10, 2014

ATLANTA -- Seniors Housing Business, France Media, Inc.'s award-winning magazine covering the rapidly growing independent and assisted living, skilled nursing and memory care facets of the seniors housing industry, has been selected by the American Seniors Housing Association to produce this year's "ASHA 50" supplement, which ranks the 50 largest owners and managers of seniors housing.

The ASHA 50 supplement will be produced with Seniors Housing Business' August/September issue, which will also be distributed at the National Investment Center's (NIC) annual conference, the leading information and networking event in the seniors housing industry.

"We are extremely excited to work with Seniors Housing Business on the ASHA 50 rankings and we believe this 21st edition will continue the established tradition of producing authoritative rankings of the largest owners and managers of market-rate seniors housing," said David Schless, president of the American Seniors Housing Association. "The ASHA 50 supplement is a must-have publication for owners, operators, lenders and investors, and other professionals interested in understanding key trends related to seniors housing real estate." 

"Seniors Housing Business is very excited to partner with ASHA on what is a "must-read" for everyone in seniors housing as well as those considering getting into this growing sector of commercial real estate," said Richard Kelley, publisher of Seniors Housing Business.

"ASHA's decision to work with Seniors Housing Business is a reflection of how the magazine has become an integral part of the seniors housing industry," continued Kelley. "The ASHA 50 will not only reach all of our Seniors Housing Business circulation, but will also be mailed with the circulations of France Media's five regional commercial real estate magazines (Northeast Real Estate Business, Southeast Real Estate Business, Heartland Real Estate Business, Texas Real Estate Business and Western Real Estate Business) to give ASHA and this burgeoning asset class the widest possible exposure and reach." 

For more information about the ASHA 50 supplement and Seniors Housing Business, contact Editor Matt Valley at (404) 832-8262 or mvalley@francemediainc.com. For advertising information, contact Richard Kelley at (914) 468-0818 or rkelley@francemediainc.com.

CHARLOTTE -- Grandbridge Real Estate Capital has closed a $19 million first mortgage loan for a two-property hospitality portfolio in Charlotte's central business district. The portfolio includes a 181-room Hilton Garden Inn and a 149-room Hampton Inn. Chris Caison and CJ Webb of Grandbridge's Charlotte office originated the fixed-rate refinancing, which was provided through one of Grandbridge's life insurance correspondent lenders.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- United Realty Trust Inc., a non-traded REIT, has purchased a triple-net-leased medical office building at 945 82nd Parkway in Myrtle Beach for $15.7 million. The property is located adjacent to the Grand Strand Regional Medical Center, an acute care hospital. United Realty purchased the two-story, 44,323-square-foot property in an off-market transaction. The medical office facility is fully leased to three tenants: Carolina Health Specialists, The Cardiology/Gastroenterology Associates and Grand Strand Regional Diagnostic and Women's Center.  

Joe Tichar DDR senior vice president

The second half of May was an especially busy time for DDR Corp., the Beachwood, Ohio-based real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and manages a portfolio of primarily large-format power centers in 39 states and Puerto Rico.

DDR hosted more than 1,000 meetings with retail real estate executives and assorted shopping center industry professionals at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas during RECon 2014. The three-day convention, which took place May 19-21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, attracted more than 33,000 attendees from across the globe.

"The overriding theme for me coming out of RECon was the continued robust demand [for space] we're seeing from the best-in-class retailers, specifically in the power center format," said Paul Freddo, senior executive vice president of leasing and development for DDR Corp. during an investor presentation at REITWeek 2014 in New York City in early June. 

Added Freddo: "The question we get from these retailers who obviously we are dealing with on a daily basis is, 'How can you help me grow? How are you going to find me space in your centers, the centers I want to be in, and how do you get creative in doing it?'"

On May 29, just a week after the shopping center convention, DDR announced the launch of a multi-year lease termination initiative, known as Project Accelerate, which seeks to recapture high-quality anchor store locations across its portfolio. DDR currently owns and manages 396 shopping centers totaling 108 million square feet.

Specifically, DDR is collaborating with retailers in the books, electronics, toys, office and traditional department store categories to "rightsize" their real estate footprints by regaining control of locations in advance of lease expirations. This initiative enables DDR to remerchandise its prime assets with "market-share-winning tenants" while realizing mark-to-market rental upside of 30 to 40 percent.

During the first phase of this initiative, DDR has identified 90 anchor locations, representing 3.3 million square feet of prime retail space that meet the company's criteria for accretive recapture. Of these leases, DDR has finalized terms to recapture 21 locations, representing 550,000 square feet primarily located in Boston, Cleveland, Denver, Orlando, Phoenix, Raleigh and San Antonio.

Demand for new store growth from retailers such as Nordstrom Rack, Sprouts Farmers Market, Ulta, Whole Foods, Five Below, HomeGoods, Fresh Market, Marshalls, Trader Joe's, White House Black Market, Gap Factory, Shoe Carnival, PetSmart and Carter's represents a select group of merchants that DDR is in discussions with to backfill the recaptured locations.

REBusinessonline.com sat down with Joe Tichar, DDR's senior vice president of corporate operations, early on the opening day of RECon 2014 to discuss the company's dominance in the power center category, its near-term strategy and the health of the American consumer.

Click here to continue reading Matt Valley's interview with DDR's Joe Tichar.

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