Originations

GMAC Commercial Holding Corp., Horsham, Pa., has formed an “office of the chairman” and named four executives to positions in the newly created body.The office of the chairman will serve as the senior decision-making body of the commercial real estate lender, formulating corporate strategy and interacting with GMAC Financial Services, GMACCH said. The members of the office are: David Creamer, chairman of GMACCH; Charles E. Dunleavy Jr., vice chairman of the company; Robert D. Feller, who has been promoted to chief executive officer of the company; and Scot B. Barker, who has been promoted to president and chief operating officer of GMACCH. Mr. Feller and Mr. Barker will be responsible for daily operations, while Mr. Creamer and Mr. Dunleavy will focus on long-term strategy and “working with key stakeholders” to ensure the continued growth of the company, GMACCH said.

WR Hambrecht + Co., San Francisco, has announced the hiring of George B. Rogers and Christopher J. Hartung as managing directors in connection with the formation of a Real Estate Securities Group, a new business line for the firm.The group will focus on capital transactions and research coverage for real estate investment trusts, real estate operating companies, and homebuilders. "WRH+Co.'s OpenIPO and OpenFollow-On equity auction products can benefit both issuers and investors of real estate securities by allowing participation in a truly efficient process," Mr. Rogers said. Mr. Rogers founded Black Mountain Capital, an investment banking consulting group in the real estate and technology areas, and he was previously employed by Jefferies & Co. Inc. and Robertson Stephens & Co. Mr. Hartung was previously a managing director and group head of real estate equity research at Banc of America Securities. WR Hambrecht can be found online at http://www.wrhambrecht.com.

Simon Property Group Inc., Indianapolis, has announced that it will proceed with its $18 per share cash tender offer for Taubman Centers Inc., Bloomfield, Mich., despite the unanimous rejection of the offer by Taubman's board of directors.In a brief statement issued after the Taubman board's action, Simon said it will proceed with the offer and with its federal lawsuit to challenge what it called Taubman's "continuing efforts to disenfranchise its public shareholders." The suit maintains that Taubman's board is breaching its fiduciary duty by not giving "adequate consideration" to a previous offer by Simon and by accepting the Taubman family's "claimed veto power" over the offer. Simon said Taubman "has opted out of the Michigan Control Share Act to avoid a shareholder referendum" on the tender offer, and that if Taubman shareholders want to take advantage of the offer they must tender into the offer by Jan. 17 and "support our efforts to invalidate the Taubman family's illegally obtained blocking position." The two real estate investment trusts can be found online at http://www.simon.com and http://www.taubman.com.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.04% for the week ending Dec. 13 from 6.19% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 5.60% to 5.46%, while the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages decreased from 4.21% to 4.18%. Fees and points averaged 0.6 points for ARMs and 0.5 points for fixed-rate mortgages. "November's employment report was a letdown, and it brought mild disappointment to the financial markets, causing mortgage rates to recede," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "The lack of any job growth stalls the economic recovery and, in the long run, dampens the potential growth of the housing industry." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 7.09% and 6.57%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 5.19%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found on the Web at http://www.freddiemac.com.

The Mills Corp., Arlington, Va., is planning an offering of two million shares of cumulative redeemable preferred stock at approximately $25 per share.The retail real estate investment trust is filing a preliminary prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the offering, and the REIT said it expects to get the stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The managers for the offering include Deutsche Bank Securities and Legg Mason Wood Walker. The REIT had reported that it might make a common or preferred stock offering to partly finance the recent acquisition of six retail properties for approximately $621 million.

1st Pacific Bank of California, San Diego, has announced that it will begin offering home lending products, including first mortgages and refinancing.Customers can now apply for a home mortgage or a refinancing through 1st Pacific's website or at any of its offices, the locally owned and operated bank said. "Bank customers can receive an approval decision in as little as 48 hours and have their loan funded quickly, in as little as five days for a purchase and 10 days for a refinance," 1st Pacific said. The bank can be found on the Web at http://www.1stpacbank.com.

The long-term ratings on five more commercial mortgage-backed security bonds linked to Alliant Energy Corp. have been lowered from A-minus to BBB-plus by Standard & Poor's.The downgrades of the adjustable-rate revenue refunding bonds -- secured by mortgages on various multifamily developments in Wisconsin -- followed close on the heels of 12 others announced by S&P. The affected bonds were as follows: Marshfield Community Development Authority (Woodlands Project and Tower Hall Project), Pardeeville Community Development Authority (Parkview Senior Apartments Project and Parkview Family Apartments Project), and Verona Community Development Authority (Sugar Creek Project). The downgrades reflect the lowering of Alliant's long-term corporate credit rating from A-minus to BBB-plus, S&P said.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced a $3 billion housing plan that aims to build and preserve more than 65,000 homes and apartments throughout the city over the next five years.Considered the most complex and substantial affordable housing initiative taken by the city in a decade, the new plan will fund the construction of 27,000 new housing units, a 25% increase compared with the last five years, and the preservation of another 38,000 units. Addressing the 29th Annual Awards Luncheon sponsored by the National Housing Conference and the New York Housing Conference, the mayor pledged his commitment to the "fundamental" need for affordable housing "in these difficult budget times." The city plans to use innovative ways of financing to "substantially offset the capital budget cuts in housing," and to redirect funds previously earmarked for the city's so-called "in rem" housing stock. "I'll be happy if, at the end of the day, New Yorkers remember me for the same reason they remember and love [former Mayor] Ed Koch: for his tremendous record of achievement in areas like housing," the mayor said.

The board of directors of Taubman Centers Inc., Bloomfield, Mich., has unanimously rejected the latest cash tender offer of Simon Property Group Inc., Indianapolis, to acquire all Taubman's outstanding shares at $18 per share.Taubman, which is being sued by Simon in federal district court, termed the tender offer "inadequate, opportunistic, and clearly not in the best interests" of Taubman's shareholders. Taubman cited an opinion by Goldman, Sachs & Co. that the offer is inadequate, as well as other factors such as timing, stock performance, and the opposition of the Taubman family and other shareholders with strong voting power. "Our collection of upscale regional mall assets cannot be replicated," said Robert S. Taubman, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of the real estate investment trust. ".... The board's position remains clear -- the company is not for sale." Regarding Simon's lawsuit, Mr. Taubman termed it "a cynical attempt to turn a state anti-takeover statute into a hostile takeover device." The suit maintains that Taubman's board is breaching its fiduciary duty by not giving "adequate consideration" to Simon's previous offer and by accepting "the Taubman family's claimed veto power over the offer." The REITs can be found online at http://www.taubman.com and http://www.simon.com.

Mortgage applications fell 8.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended Dec. 6, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were up 29.5% on the week and 26.6% from the level recorded a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Purchase Index fell from 386.6 to 358.8, and the Refinance Index declined from 4151.9 to 3793.8. Refinancings represented 70.0% of total applications, up from 69.5% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 14.4%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased from 6.09% to 5.95%, and points (including the origination fee) decreased from 1.51 to 1.42 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.

Sallie Mae, the Reston, Va.-based provider of higher education finance, has acquired First Trust Financial, a mortgage banking company headquartered in Weymouth, Mass.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Sallie Mae, formally known as SLM Corp., said the acquisition is intended to supplement the in-house, fee-based mortgage origination operations performed by the company's SLM Financial Corp. subsidiary since 1999. First Trust, which has 18 employees, will continue its operations in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire as a wholly owned unit of SLM Financial. "First Trust Financial will help us to continue to meet our core customers' financial services needs after they have left school," said Sallie Mae senior vice president Joseph Corvaia. "This addition complements the activities currently performed by SLM Financial Corp. and expands our presence in New England." Sallie Mae, now private but formerly a government sponsored enterprise, can be found on the Web at http://www.salliemae.com.

Peter H. Smith has been named vice president and real estate lending officer for the New York office of Miami-based Commercebank.Mr. Smith was most recently with Pearson Partners Inc., where he provided real estate and consulting services. He was previously vice president of the Real Estate Finance Group of Chase Manhattan Bank. Commercebank said Mr. Smith will be responsible for managing finance loans for land acquisitions and the development and construction of owner-occupied and income-producing properties.

Banyan Strategic Realty Trust, Oak Brook, Ill., has announced that its board plans to terminate the liquidating real estate investment trust on Jan. 3.The dissolution will be accomplished by transferring all the REIT's remaining assets and liabilities to the newly formed BSRT Liquidating Trust. Robert G. Higgins, the REIT's first vice president and general counsel, has been appointed the primary liquidating trustee, and L. G. Schafran, its interim president and chief executive officer, has been named the secondary liquidating trustee. Banyan adopted a plan of termination and liquidation on Jan. 5, 2001.

The New York Housing Development Corp. will contribute a $12.2 million tax-exempt bond toward the financing of the Clinton Parkway Apartments in Manhattan, a groundbreaking blend of housing priced for low- to middle-income homebuyers.The financing for the construction of the $19.4 million, 96-affordable-housing-unit development has been arranged in cooperation with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. In contrast to the city tradition of assigning 20% of newly constructed units to low-income households -- known as the 80/20 programs -- up to 70% of the Clinton units have been earmarked for households earning 40% to 60% of New York city's median income. The remaining 30% of the Clinton units will be offered to households earning at 165% of the city's median income. Additional financing for the project comes from federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, a 30-year real estate tax-exemption, land provided by New York City, and an equity contribution by the nonprofit Clinton Association for Renewed Environment.

The Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers has purchased radio advertising time in Washington to run commercials opposing the current proposal to reform the Real Estate Settlement and Procedure Act.The advertisements call on the Department of Housing and Urban Development to reconsider the effect of bundling mortgage closing costs. The FAMB said bundling could lead to higher closing costs and less control over the quality of the services and could create a windfall for larger lenders at the expense of the consumer. The commercials can be heard at http://www.famb.com/samplesoundpage.htm.

Freddie Mac has announced the purchase of a $140 million mortgage from HSBC Bank USA to finance The Caroline, a mixed-use property in New York City.The loan is one of the five largest ever purchased by Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprise said. The borrower elected partial interest-only financing, Early Rate-Lock delivery, and the GSE's new Fixed-to-Float Option. Under this option, borrowers agree to a yield-maintenance provision for the full term of the loan and receive in return a reduced interest rate and the option to extend the loan term for one year, Freddie Mac said. At the end of that year, the rate converts to a floating rate equal to 250 basis points over the one-month Freddie Mac Reference Bill Index. The Caroline, located in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, consists of 431 dwelling units, 105,000 square feet of retail space, and a 278-car parking garage.

SL Green Realty Corp., New York, is acquiring The News Building in Midtown Manhattan for $265 million ($242 per square foot) and “condominium interests” in 125 Broad Street in Downtown Manhattan for $90 million ($172 per square foot).Both acquisitions are being made from affiliates of The Witkoff Group, SL Green said. In connection with the transactions, SL Green, an office real estate investment trust, has closed a $150 million, unsecured, five-year term facility with Wells Fargo Bank. The REIT is accessing a variety of funding sources to buy the 1.1 million-square-foot News Building: the assumption of $186 million of floating-rate debt; the redemption of SL Green’s existing $53.5 million preferred equity investment; and the issuance of up to $13 million of units in SL Green Operating Partnership to Steven Witkoff, president and chief executive officer of The Witkoff Group. The balance will come from the REIT’s line of credit. For the acquisition of the 524,500-square-foot 125 Broad Street, SL Green is assuming $78 million of fixed-rate mortgage financing, issuing up to $2 million of units in the SL Green Operating Partnership, and accessing the REIT’s line of credit.

The Mills Corp., Arlington, Va., is acquiring six retail properties in two different transactions for a total purchase price of approximately $621 million.In one transaction, the retail real estate investment trust is acquiring five mall properties from Cadillac Fairview. In the second, Mills is acquiring Riverside Square, a Hackensack, N.J., mall property, from an undisclosed seller. The properties add approximately 5.3 million square feet to the REIT's portfolio. Mills said it intends to finance the cash portion of the acquisition through a combination of debt and equity financing, including the assumption of existing debt of $62 million on one property and tapping additional mortgage debt of approximately $385 million on the other five properties. For the equity portion of the financing, Mills said it is contemplating several options, including a bridge loan from Deutsche Bank Securities and RBC Capital Markets for the entire balance; a commitment from the company’s private equity source for up to 50% of the balance; and using its $175 million revolving credit facility.

The long-term ratings on 12 commercial mortgage-backed security bonds linked to Alliant Energy Corp. have been lowered from A-minus to BBB-plus by Standard & Poor's.The short-term ratings on the adjustable-rate revenue refunding bonds, which are secured by mortgages on various multifamily developments in Wisconsin, were affirmed at A-2. The downgrades reflect the lowering of Alliant's long-term corporate credit rating from A-minus to BBB-plus, S&P said. The affected bonds were as follows: Kenosha Housing Authority (Windsong Village Project), Marinette Housing Authority (Dunlap Square Project), Antigo Housing Authority (The Depot Project), Berlin Community Development Authority (WPL Apartments Project and North River Block Project), Sheboygan Housing Authority (Balzer Wagon Works Project, Jung Shoe Project, and 8th Street Lofts Project), Dane County Housing Authority (Vandenberg Heights Project and Cottage Project), Brown County Housing Authority (Lawton Foundry Project), and Appleton Housing Authority (The Mills II Project).

Class B-1 of Asset Securitization Corp.'s 1997-D5 commercial mortgage pass-through certificates have been downgraded from BB-minus to D by Standard & Poor's.In addition, the ratings on 11 other classes from the same deal were affirmed. "The downgrade reflects the interest shortfalls of class B-1 due to several severely delinquent mortgages, [including] one of the top 10 mortgages in the pool, the Doctor's Hospital," the rating agency said. ".... Cumulatively, the interest shortfalls total $13.9 million, $602,000 of which affects the class B-1 certificates." S&P can be found online at http://www.standardandpoors.com.