CLEVELAND, OH - Forest City Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: FCEA and FCEB) today announced that its Forest City Washington, Inc. subsidiary is part of a team of advisors that has been selected by the Washington D.C. Deputy Mayor's Office for Planning and Economic Development to provide fee-based development-advisory services related to the Poplar Point project in Southeast Washington. Forest City will assist the District with master planning, entitlements, financial feasibility, phasing strategies, infrastructure financing and disposition of the project. The selection is the latest example of Forest City's expansion into a range of fee-based asset management and third-party services as part of its strategic response to market conditions.
"We're honored to have been selected as part of this team to assist the District in moving this important project forward," said Charles A. Ratner, president and chief executive officer of Forest City Enterprises. The other team members for the project are Wall Development, Strategic Advisory Group, ERA/AECOM and Smoot Construction Corp.
"Across the country, current conditions have created opportunities to leverage Forest City's expertise to deliver fee-based services to assist public and private stakeholders - including governments, land owners, lenders and other sponsors - with high-potential projects that have stalled or face other challenges related to economic and market difficulties," Ratner said. "In response to this growing opportunity, we have created a multidisciplinary asset management and third-party services team that will focus on meeting the specialized needs of these stakeholders and projects."
Poplar Point is a proposed 130-acre, riverfront planning area within the District of Columbia in Southeast Washington that will involve significant office, retail, residential, green space and cultural components. The project will include the creation of a 70-acre waterfront park and the relocation of National Park Services and Park Police facilities. Forest City will have no ownership interest in the Poplar Point project.
The site is located directly across the Anacostia River from The Yards, Forest City's mixed-use, riverfront project that will include 1.8 million square feet of new office space, approximately 2,800 residential units and up to 400,000 square feet of retail space, as well as a world-class riverfront park and marina, upon full build-out.
Forest City's asset management and third-party services range from investment analysis, feasibility, planning and entitlement, to construction management, property management, leasing and marketing, as well as specialized advisory services in such areas as financing, workouts, receivership and asset disposition.
Other recent third-party services engagements for Forest City and its subsidiaries include the following:
In April, the Company announced that it had been selected by BlackRock, Inc., to provide asset and property management, leasing and development services for Southlands Town Center, a major mixed-use lifestyle enter in southeast Denver. Southlands, the largest retail destination in Colorado, features 1.7 million square feet of retail and office space, restaurants, and a community plaza. It is owned by an investment client managed by BlackRock.
As previously announced, Forest City continues to move forward in a public/private partnership with the City of Las Vegas on the fee-based development of a new city hall. The project is a key component of the city's plans to catalyze additional redevelopment of downtown Las Vegas. The City Council recently voted to move the project another step closer to fulfilling the vision of a vibrant downtown.
The Company is providing strategic advisory services in separate engagements with two major lenders to evaluate options to preserve and maximize value, maintain entitlements and evaluate disposition options for partially completed retail projects initiated by other developers. These projects take advantage of Forest City's expertise in planning, government relations, construction and leasing, as well as asset disposition.
Forest City's third-party mortgage banking expertise, particularly in specialized areas such as FHA/HUD and GNMA multifamily programs, includes loan servicing as well as expertise in low-income housing tax credit and subordinated debt structures. Among third-party transactions closed in the first half of 2009 was an FHA/GNMA insured loan for the sponsors of a 192-unit affordable-housing apartment community in Elyria, Ohio.
Forest City Enterprises, Inc. is a $11.7 billion NYSE-listed national real estate company. The Company is principally engaged in the ownership, development, management and acquisition of commercial and residential real estate and land throughout the United States.
Source: Forest City Enterprises, Inc.