The Washington D.C. office of Hines, the international real estate firm, announced the acquisition of the ownership interest of their partner, Archstone, in the mixed-use CityCenterDC project that is currently under construction in downtown Washington, D.C.
The acquisition of Archstone's interest in CityCenterDC was completed in connection with the acquisition by Equity Residential and AvalonBay Communities of Archstone Enterprises LP.
The Hines | Archstone partnership was chosen by the District of Columbia in 2003 to develop the massive $700 million project on the site of the city's old convention center. In 2011, the partnership secured equity financing from its anchor investor Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company, the real estate investment arm of the Qatari Investment Authority, and the financing was put in place by Barwa Bank's investment banking subsidiary, The First Investor (TFI), which is a co-investor and manages the dedicated TFI U.S. Real Estate Fund. Construction began on Phase I of the project in March 2011.
In addition to increasing its incremental ownership in the overall mixed-use project, Hines will assume development responsibility for the two large apartment buildings comprising 458 units in the center of CityCenterDC. The firm's rapidly expanding multifamily residential development business was established in January 2011 and currently has approximately 5,500 units in various stages of development, representing more than $1 billion of construction in 12 U.S. cities.
Hines President Jeff Hines commented, "The project's momentum in office leasing, strong residential condominium sales and widespread interest among retailers and restaurants make CityCenterDC an excellent vehicle for further investment. We have enjoyed working with Archstone and are proud to complete and manage this momentous development for D.C."
Neil Brown, Archstone's chief development officer, added, "Archstone and Hines have worked together hand-in-glove on this project for the last decade, and there is no better outcome for the project than for Hines to assume full oversight of this massive mixed-use development. Additionally, many of the very talented Archstone employees, who have been a part of this project for so many years, are being absorbed into the Hines organization, which will insure a seamless transition and minimize disruption to the project. This has been the most exciting project that I have been involved with in a nearly 30-year career, and it is comforting to know that it will be brought to completion by the extraordinary combination of Hines and its newest employees from Archstone."
Construction on Phase II of CityCenterDC is expected to commence in the first half of 2014. It will consist of a 370-room luxury hotel and an additional 73,000 square feet of retail space.
Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The firm's historical and current portfolio of projects that are underway, completed, acquired and managed includes 1,208 properties representing more than 488 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments. Currently, Hines manages 379 properties totaling 137 million square feet, which includes 66 million square feet for third parties. With offices in 104 cities in 18 countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $23.8 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world. Hines is also a world leader in sustainable real estate strategies, with extensive experience in LEED®, ENERGY STAR®, BREEAM, Haute Qualite Environnementale and DGNB green building rating systems. Visit www.hines.com for more information.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Design firms slash IT spending in 2009
Over half of architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting firms (55%) are budgeting less for information technology in 2009 than they did in 2008, according to a new report from ZweigWhite. The 2009 Information Technology Survey reports that firms' 2009 IT budgets are a median of 3.3% of net service revenue, down from 3.6% in 2008. Firms planning to decrease spending are expected to do so by a median of 20%.
| Aug 11, 2010
Thom Mayne unveils 'floating cube' design for the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas
Calling it a “living educational tool featuring architecture inspired by nature and science,” Pritzker Prize Laureate Thom Mayne and leaders from the Museum of Nature & Science unveiled the schematic designs and building model for the Perot Museum of Nature & Science at Victory Park. Groundbreaking on the approximately $185 million project will be held later this fall, and the Museum is expected to open by early 2013.
| Aug 11, 2010
10 tips for mitigating influenza in buildings
Adopting simple, common-sense measures and proper maintenance protocols can help mitigate the spread of influenza in buildings. In addition, there are system upgrades that can be performed to further mitigate risks. Trane Commercial Systems offers 10 tips to consider during the cold and flu season.
| Aug 11, 2010
Reed Construction Data files corporate espionage lawsuit against McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge
Reed Construction Data (RCD), a leading construction information provider and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reed Elsevier (NYSE:RUK, NYSE:ENL), today filed suit in federal court against McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge, a unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MHP). The suit charges that Dodge has unlawfully accessed confidential and trade secret information from RCD since 2002 by using a series of fake companies to pose as RCD customers.
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, HOK top BD+C's ranking of the 75 largest state/local government design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 State/Local Government Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Brad Pitt’s foundation unveils 14 duplex designs for New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward
Gehry Partners, William McDonough + Partners, and BNIM are among 14 architecture firms commissioned by Brad Pitt's Make It Right foundation to develop duplex housing concepts specifically for rebuilding the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans. All 14 concepts were released yesterday.
| Aug 11, 2010
City of Anaheim selects HOK Los Angeles and Parsons Brinckerhoff to design the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center
The Los Angeles office of HOK, a global architecture design firm, and Parsons Brinckerhoff, a global infrastructure strategic consulting, engineering and program/construction management organization, announced its combined team was selected by the Anaheim City Council and Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to design phase one of the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center.
| Aug 11, 2010
Construction employment shrinks in 319 of the nation's 336 largest metro areas in July, continuing months-long slide
Construction workers in communities across the country continued to suffer extreme job losses this July according to a new analysis of metropolitan area employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. That analysis found construction employment declined in 319 of the nation’s largest communities while only 11 areas saw increases and six saw no change in construction employment between July 2008 and July 2009.
