Developer trying to erase debt, get out of Ch. 7

GROVELAND -- A Lake County developer who last week converted from Chapter 11 reorganization to Chapter 7 took action this week to get out of bankruptcy.

Groveland Estates LLC principal Conrad Wagner -- who filed for Chapter 11 earlier this year to fend off the foreclosure of his Lake County property -- made a nearly $56,000 payment on Dec. 3 to one of his lenders in an effort to regain control of his firm.

As a result, he now has until Jan. 18 to repay the $3.6 million loan.

Florida Real Estate Ventures LLC foreclosed on Groveland Estates' loan in April after the developer failed to make payments. The foreclosure required the sale of Groveland Estates' 155-acre property, the site of a proposed mixed-use development in south Lake County.

Groveland Estates responded to the foreclosure by filing for Chapter 11. An April 23 summary filed with the court says Wagner was confident he could refinance or manage the existing debt and protect his investment under Chapter 11.

Groveland Estates converted to Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Nov. 28 in another attempt to stall the foreclosure sale, says Peter Hill, Wagner's attorney.

Nevertheless, the property, valued at $34.5 million, was sold to the lender on Nov. 29 in Lake County Circuit Court for about $100. But the sale wasn't finalized due to the bankruptcy court stipulation giving Wagner until Jan. 18 to pay off the debt and continue with his ­proposed project.

If Groveland Estates can't pay off the debt by then, the property sale will be finalized, a court filing says.

Meanwhile, both parties at a Dec. 4 Chapter 7 bankruptcy hearing agreed to allow Wagner to continue living and working at the $9.5 million, 32,000-square-foot mansion on the property if he insures it.

Further, Wagner's firm plans to move forward with its mixed-use project, says Hill.

"

Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software
development, Internet programming,

real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name
registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the
complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

"

Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software development, Internet programming, real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

source: bizjournals.com

Auditors group calculates move to Lake Mary

LAKE MARY -- The Institute of Internal Auditors plans to build a new $15 million international headquarters in Seminole County.

Currently based in Altamonte Springs, the institute inked a deal on Dec. 3 with Colonial Properties Trust to buy

5.25 acres at 950 Heathrow Park Lane near Lake Mary for $2 million. The closing is set for early February.

Chief Financial Officer David Polansky says the institute will construct an 85,000-square-foot building, breaking ground on the project by mid-2008. The building will involve some type of "green" construction, though the organization is still determining to what extent.

No architect or general contractor has been selected yet to oversee the project.

Once completed in mid- to late 2009, the institute will move out of its 38,000-square-foot headquarters on Maitland Avenue in Altamonte Springs and occupy about 60,000 square feet in the new building. The remaining space will be leased. Eventually, Polansky expects the institute to occupy the entire building.

"We have experienced tremendous growth in membership and revenue in recent years," says Polansky, noting that three years ago the organization employed 120 people. Today, it has 184 employees, and Polansky anticipates the employee base to almost double to 365 within 10 years.

That growth is being driven in large part by companies beefing up internal auditing practices, which evaluate governance processes, financial and operational systems and regulatory compliance.

The Institute of Internal Auditors is a volunteer professional organization and has established standards that are accepted within the industry. In addition, the institute provides certification and training for its 150,000 members.

"It's one of the fastest-growing professions in the world," says Scott McCallum, the institute's communications director.

The organization's move to Lake Mary is a perfect fit for the office park on the west side of Interstate 4, says Seminole County Commissioner Mike McLean. "It fits the vision Seminole County and Lake Mary have for the Lake Mary/I-4 corridor for clean, high-wage jobs that bring value to the community."

And the move strengthens the growing "fi-tech" hub -- financially focused companies -- the county has developed with the presence of Fiserv, Chase and Bank of New York, says John Ashworth, president and CEO of the Seminole County Regional Chamber of Commerce. "It's a feather in our cap to attract any organization that represents that many people worldwide."

"

Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software
development, Internet programming,

real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name
registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the
complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

"

Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software development, Internet programming, real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

source: bizjournals.com

Walgreen warehouse could mean 100 workers for Rogers

Walgreen Co. will open its first Minnesota warehouse in Rogers.

Company officials last month signed a 10-year lease for 335,000 square feet in a former Department 56 Inc. warehouse.

Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen, which operates 113 Walgreens pharmacy stores in Minnesota, will use the facility as a supplement to its distribution center in Windsor, Wis.

A Walgreen spokeswoman said the center will have 75 to 100 employees, some shifted from existing Walgreen facilities. Most will be new hires.

The building is at 13201 Wilfred Lane in the Rogers Industrial Park. Lenox Group Inc. of Eden Prairie (formerly Department 56) terminated its lease and announced previously that it would move its operations to a distribution center in Hagerstown, Md.

Walgreen will take control of the space sometime next summer.

The owner of the building, Chicago-based Morgan Stanley Real Estate Advisors Inc., was represented in the Walgreens deal by brokers Mark Sims and Chris Garcia at Bloomington-based United Properties.

Frank Sherwood from the Minneapolis office of The Staubach Co., a Dallas-based real estate brokerage, assisted Walgreen with the site search.

Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos. U.S. Inc. is constructing the interior space to accommodate Walgreen and will continue to serve as property manager.

Walgreen operates 6,100 stores and 13 distribution centers nationally.

Walgreen looked at several sites around the Twin Cities, including the Macy's distribution center in Minneapolis and build-to-suit options in the Shakopee area.

Walgreen officials wanted a larger facility farther south, but it picked the 8-year-old site because it was available and functional. Plus, the 24 acres offer some room for expansion, according to a source familiar with the decision who declined to be named due to confidentiality agreements.

"

Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software
development, Internet programming,

real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name
registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the
complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

"

Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software development, Internet programming, real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

source: bizjournals.com

Exceeding expectations: Bayshore to add stores, target Sears

The Village Shoppe signed on as a temporary holiday tenant at Bayshore Town Center in October, but after just one month, the home decor shop's owners want a permanent lease.

Foot traffic is "really, really good" in the Glendale shopping center and the gift shop's sales have been "amazing," said store manager Joe Paluso. The Village Shoppe also has stores at Southridge and The Shops of Grand Avenue.

"It's been great," Paluso said of Bayshore. "Our numbers are better than we thought."

Many retailers at metropolitan Milwaukee's first regional "lifestyle center" are saying the same thing as Bayshore draws positive reviews in its second holiday shopping season. Sales are exceeding expectations, and so far the $300 million project is paying off for tenants and lead developer Steiner & Associates, Columbus, Ohio.

Customer traffic at Bayshore was up 14 percent during Thanksgiving week, which is the start of the holiday shopping season, compared with the same week in 2006, said Beau Arnason, executive vice president with Steiner. Arnason declined to disclose sales figures.

"We're extremely pleased with the sales performance of the tenants," he said.

Despite the early success, Steiner & Associates doesn't plan to stand still. Chief among its goals for 2008 will be approaching Sears Holdings Corp. about terminating the final four years on the lease for the Sears store at the north end of the shopping center.

"You just have to see if things work out right at the same time for both parties," Arnason said. "It's definitely something we look at as a future opportunity."
Meeting planned for Sears

Steiner has no definitive plans for the Sears section of the center, Arnason said. Glendale city administrator Richard Maslowski said a meeting will be scheduled after the holidays to "determine if there's been any movement" by Sears. The city has acquired the former Goodyear Tire site north of the Sears store for possible expansion of the retail space, he said.

A spokeswoman for Sears, of Hoffman Estates, Ill., said the company is "not aware of any effort to terminate our lease prematurely" at Bayshore.

"We are committed to staying at the location until the end of our lease," said Kim Freely.

"

Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software
development, Internet programming,

real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name
registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the
complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

"

Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software development, Internet programming, real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

source: bizjournals.com

Zilber Ltd. to sell two downtown Milwaukee buildings

A Minneapolis real estate management company has a contract to acquire two downtown Milwaukee office buildings from Zilber Ltd., one of the city's largest commercial landlords and property management firms.

Hempel Properties Inc. is buying the 230,500-square-foot Clark building, 633 W. Wisconsin Ave., and the 117,200-square-foot Wells Building, 324 E. Wisconsin Ave., which are two of Zilber Ltd.'s six downtown office properties.

Michael Mervis, a spokesman for Zilber, would not disclose the price offered by Hempel for the Wisconsin Avenue buildings. A spokesman for Hempel declined to comment.

The Milwaukee assessor's office valued the Clark Building at $12.1 million in 2007, while the Wells Building was valued at $6.6 million. The pending sale of the offices is not a package deal, Mervis said.

Money from the sale of the office buildings will be reinvested in Zilber's Pabst Brewing Co. project. Zilber Ltd. is the lead developer of The Brewery project at the 21-acre former Pabst complex on the west side of downtown.

The estimated $205 million redevelopment of the Pabst property began in early 2007. Street and other infrastructure work is under way at The Brewery, which is part of a $27 million tax incremental financing district.

Zilber is working with several other developers on residential, office and retail projects at The Brewery. Madison-based Gorman & Co. is converting the 138,000-square-foot former keghouse into loft apartments.

"

Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software
development, Internet programming,

real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name
registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the
complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

"

Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software development, Internet programming, real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

source: bizjournals.com