Toronto-headquartered RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust has just struck a deal to take six grocery-anchored shopping centers in suburban Montreal off the hands of ING Real Estate Canada L.P. RioCan REIT will shell out $67.5 million for the portfolio, which encompasses an aggregate 454,000 square feet. “These are safe assets you buy for [...]

The U.S. Department of Commerce has reported that construction of new houses dropped more than 15 percent in December, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 550,000. The issuance of new building permits nationwide for residential projects also contracted–down 12.3 percent for single-family houses and 10.7 percent for apartments. These are the lowest figures since [...]

ProLogis has leased more than 140,000 square feet in Bratislava, Slovakia, to Tesco International Clothing Brand,  a division of Tesco plc.Construction on the 290,000-square-foot building located at ProLogis Park Galanta-Gan commenced in July 2008, and is scheduled for completion during the first quarter of 2009.This is Tesco’s third lease with ProLogis in Slovakia. The company [...]

A deal inked by Franklin Street Properties Corp. on Oct. 31 for the $130 million purchase of Chicago’s 16-story Congress Center has fallen through.According to an SEC filing this week, Franklin Street elected to terminate the agreement on Jan. 13. No reason for the termination of the material definitive agreement was listed on the report. [...]

A plan for a mixed-use community in Honolulu has just received the approval of the Hawaii Community Development Authority. The development, proposed by Chicago-based General Growth Properties Inc. affiliate Victoria Ward Ltd., will span 60 acres and ultimately encompass approximately 17.3 million square feet of commercial and multi-family space. “HCDA was created several [...]

Where in the United States did housing sales actually go up in December? The San Francisco area, bastion of exceedingly high housing costs throughout the early- to mid- 2000s, saw home sales spike upward 19.7 percent in the last month of 2008, compared with November, according to MDA DataQuick, which specializes in compiling real estate [...]

Just short of three years after purchasing the Riverside Commons office complex in Irving, Texas, Westmount Realty Capital L.L.C. and equity partner Buchanan Street Partners have just sold the 460,300-square-foot Class A property to two-year tenant Research in Motion. Situated on 13 acres in Irving’s Las Colinas submarket about 10 miles east of [...]

The eyes of the world were on Washington, D.C., on Tuesday for the U.S. government’s historic changing of the guard, but also for further clues about what the new administration will do to expedite economic recovery. Delivering his inaugural address as 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama soon touched on the sickly economy. [...]

Energy titan Hess Corp. has signed a long-term lease to occupy the entire 844,800-square-foot Discovery Tower office building in Downtown Houston, a 29-story property currently being developed by Trammell Crow Co. and Principal Real Estate Investors.Financial details were not disclosed on the lease or the construction of the building, but HoustonArchitecture.info put the [...]

Despite the departure of its CEO, the slashing of a dividend payment, a halt to new development plans and a workforce reduction, it remains largely business as usual as industrial REIT ProLogis works to straighten out its financial situation and rework a massive maturing debt load.Denver-headquartered ProLogis, the world’s largest industrial warehouse developer, remains active [...]