A&B donates Maui land for transit center

Honolulu-based Alexander & Baldwin Inc. has donated land to the Maui Economic Opportunity Inc. for its new transportation center in Puunene.

The plans to build the center on 10 acres of former sugar cane land were announced Friday at an MEO fundraising dinner. Half of the land was purchased at a deep discount from Alexander & Baldwin (Nasdaq: ALEX), the other half was donated.

"This donation from Alexander & Baldwin is incredibly large," said Sandy Baz, executive director at MEO. Baz said the value of the donated land is probably worth about $7 million.

MEO will use the site to consolidate all of its transportation operations. The location will include bus storage, a passenger transfer station, maintenance facility, bus washing and fueling station and administration offices.

Baz said the need for transportation services has been growing over the years and this project should accommodate the agency's expected growth for the next 20 years.

The project is expected to cost $9 million. The transportation center already has received $1.2 million from the state for the land purchase as well as $400,000 from Maui County.

MEO is a community action agency with 42 years of service to Maui, helping over 20,000 clients through 40 different programs. Clients include the elderly, youth, disabled, immigrants and the economically disadvantaged.

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source: bizjournals.com

Legacy Partners acquires Tower Court apartments in Walnut Creek

Legacy Partners has bought the 109-unit Tower Court apartment community in Walnut Creek from Hall Equities Group for an undisclosed amount.

The Foster City real estate company plans to renovate the interiors and common areas of the complex, which was completed in 1989.

Tower Court, located at 1555 Riviera Ave., is a Class A apartment community on a 1.37-acre site within walking distance of the Broadway Plaza shopping center in downtown Walnut Creek. It is one block from the Walnut Creek BART station.

Its apartments range from 500 to 950 square feet in size and layouts from studio to two-bedroom, two-bath. Amenities include 13,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, a secure parking garage with elevators and a private landscaped courtyard with a swimming pool and a spa, as well as views of Mount Diablo.

"With the acquisition of Tower Court, we have the opportunity to transform a high-quality asset with dated finishes by completely renovating the interiors and common areas to match its fabulous downtown Walnut Creek location," said Jeff Byrd, senior vice president of Legacy Partners.

The sellers were Mark Hall and Richard Clancy of Hall Equities Group. The brokers were Douglas Hood, Kyle Gray and Kase Abusharkh of Sperry Van Ness.

Legacy Partners plans to close on over $300 million of in-fill multifamily acquisitions and new development in the San Francisco Bay Area over the next year, according to a news release. The 800-employee company oversees a commercial and residential real estate portfolio valued at more than $5.8 billion in California, Arizona, Colorado, Washington and Texas.

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source: bizjournals.com

Highwoods leaves Columbia, S.C., with $24M sale

Highwoods Properties has sold its last remaining buildings in Columbia, S.C. - a move that fulfills its promise to exit the market.

The Raleigh real-estate investment trust said it sold the buildings, mostly flex space encompassing 253,000 square feet, for $23.6 million. Highwoods (NYSE: HIW) said the buildings were an average of 20 years old and 83 percent occupied.

Columbia had been deemed a "non-core market" for Highwoods, which wasn't pleased with its portfolio there or the area's potential for growth. The buildings it sold were expected to bring in just $1.5 million in net operating revenue in 2008.

Highwoods, headquartered in Raleigh, has made efforts to pull out of other non-core areas - some with more success than others.

The company's plan to sell off its assets in Winston-Salem, for example, has been stymied by the size of its portfolio there: 1.3 million square feet of office space, 300,000 square feet of industrial space and 14 acres of land. Highwoods announced the delay of that sale in November, saying the credit crunch has made it difficult for a potential buyer to put together a deal.

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source: bizjournals.com

UBS opens S.F. office for the ultra wealthy

UBS said Monday that it opened a private wealth-management office in San Francisco to meet the needs of clients with at least $10 million.

The firm this year opened five offices around the country targeting the ultra-wealthy segment.

UBS' private wealth-management offices include brokerage, trust and private banking services.

The new San Francisco office will be managed by Wendi Eckardt, executive director, who will report to Tony Tarrab, managing director and northwest regional manager.

The firm also maintains a similar office in Los Angeles.

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source: bizjournals.com

Re/Max Cosmopolitan hires Branstorm

Re/Max Cosmopolitan, the only Re/Max office within the Interstate 277 loop, has hired Branstorm Inc. as its agency of record.

Charlotte-based Branstorm will manage all public relations and marketing for Re/Max Cosmopolitan, whose primary focus is the center city condominium market.

Financial terms of the agreement weren't disclosed.

"I am a big believer in the power of public relations and know we've found the right partner in Branstorm to help us build our brand and grow our business," says Dan De La Portilla, owner and managing broker of Re/Max Cosmopolitan.

Re/Max Cosmopolitan, at 505 N. Church St., recently opened with five sales agents. It's affiliated with Re/Max International Inc., one of the largest real estate companies in the world.

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source: bizjournals.com