lobal digest
Capri Enters Saudi Arabia With $2B Project
Chicago-based Capri Capital Partners LLC has stepped onto the global
stage with a $2-billion investment in Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah
Economic City.
Through an 80/20 joint venture with Dubai-based Emaar Properties, the
firm will develop a phased, mixed-use project over the next three to four years,
according to Rehan Atiq, vice chairman and co-chief executive officer of Capri
Global Capital. He says the firm wanted to make its mark in an emerging market that isn’t as heavily invested in, say, as Brazil, Russia or China.
“Saudi Arabia is a market that’s opening up much like Dubai was 15 years
ago,” he says. “As a result, there is
demand across all property types.”
Plans for the project call for two
300- to 400-key luxury hotels, for
which Capri is currently in negotiations with the Waldorf-Astoria and
St. Regis brands, according to the
company.
A convention center and hotel
with 1,000 rooms are also envisioned, as are two 200- to 300-unit
residential condominiums, with
King Abdullah Economic City 500,000 sf of ground-floor retail.
On the drawing board as well are
two million-sf, class A office towers.
Taller de Arquitectura of Spain is charged with designing the project, while
Chicago-based development firm Prime Group will act as lead developer.
KAEC, which has been under way since 2005, is being touted as the single
largest private sector-led project in the region. The city is comprised of a seaport, industrial district, financial sector, education zone, resorts and a residential area. Emaar is the master developer on the 168-million-sm project, which
upon completion will become the third largest city and biggest seaport in the
country.—Danielle Douglas
Tokyo Office Market to Grow Moderately in ’08
Despite some softening in the first quarter, demand for office space in Tokyo is
nevertheless healthy. This was one of the points stressed during CB Richard
Ellis’ recent web conference, “Global In-Sight: the Tokyo Outlook.”
“While there is no doubt that the exuberance of last year is now gone, the
underlying real estate fundamentals still make sense,” said Andy Hurfurt, executive director of CBRE Consulting in Tokyo.
Since Q2 ’05, vacancy for class A office space in Tokyo has remained very
slim, but in the last quarter it rose 30 basis points to 1.5%, said CBRE. Rental
rates in the capital also slipped a bit—down 0.8% in Q1—for the first time in
three years, as US subprime woes led large occupiers to place expansion plans
on hold.
Still, Hurfurt maintained, “Occupier demand for good-quality, well-located
properties remains firm. We are seeing some softening in demand at the most
expensive end of the rental spectrum and also in the poorest quality properties,
but mid-range space is still enjoying robust tenant interest.”
With a mere 680,000 sf of class A space slated to come on line during the
year, vacancy is anticipated to remain low, noted Andrew Ness, executive director of CBRE Research for Asia. Tokyo, he said, is not prone to wide swings in
vacancy due to steady demand from its large corporate sector.—Danielle Douglas
UBS ACQUIRES THIRD PHASE
OF FINNISH BUSINESS PARK
Tampere, Finland—Stockholm-based
NCC Property Development has traded
Building C, the third phase of its Tulli
Business Park here. On behalf of its
Euroinvest Immobilien fund, UBS picked
up the office property for 200 million
Swedish krona. The project, which has
a targeted completion of December, is
6,000 sm and about 87% preleased.
Upon delivery in the summer of 2009,
the entire four-building complex will
consist of 35,000 sm and 350 parking
spaces.
VIETNAM’S TALLEST HOTEL
SET TO RISE IN WEST HANOI
West Hanoi, Vietnam—A joint venture
of InterContinental Hotels & Resorts and
Keangnam Enterprises of Korea is gear-
ing up to devel-
op what is
reportedly the
tallest lodging
property here.
The 70-story
InterContinental
Hanoi Landmark
will offer 383
rooms and
suites as well
as 300 serviced
residences.
Hanoi Landmark Slated to open
in early 2011,
the luxury hotel will feature a lounge, large
outdoor pool, meeting center and fitness
club. It marks IHG’s eighth hotel either
open or under development in Vietnam.
SWEDISH BANK PICKS UP
TWO LOGISTICS ASSETS
Madrid—Swedish bank SEB Group has
added the two buildings at the local
Ciempozuelos logistics park to its SEB
ImmoPortfolio Target Return Fund portfolio. The facilities total 80,244 sm. The
seller, Coperfil Real Estate, will continue
to manage the site, with plans to build
more than 100,000 sm of additional
space. ◆
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