The 234 Apartment

December 4, 2011 by: Helen Thomas in New York The estate of bankrupt Lehman Brothers believes that Archstone – the apartment company that Bank of America and Barclays have agreed to sell part of their stakes in – is worth $1bn more in equity value than the price at which the two banks have struck their deal, people familiar with the matter said. The estate is considering mounting a matching bid to derail the banks’ deal with Equity Residential , the real estate company headed by Chicago mogul Sam Zell . EQR said late on Friday that it had agreed to pay $1.325bn in cash for a 26.5 per cent stake in Archstone, which was taken private at the height of the property boom. The deal values it at about $ 16bn including debt . However, the agreement with EQR triggers a right of first refusal for the estate of the investment bank, which filed for bankruptcy in 2008, to buy the stake. People familiar with the matter said that should Lehman exercise its right to match the offer, the banks hav...

Jorge M. Perez and his Related Group are bullish on Tampa Bay. How bullish? Some $350 million worth. That's how much the Miami-based company has invested so far in the area, particularly in the city of Tampa. "We love cities, and this is a can-do city," says Perez, who founded Related in 1979 and built it into one of the nation's largest real estate conglomerates . PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Related Group breaks ground on complex at old Tampa Tribune site Perez was in Tampa on Wednesday for the official groundbreaking of Manor Riverwalk, Related's 400- unit luxury apartment project where the Tampa Tribune once stood; and a visit to the site of Town Westshore, where Related plans 396 apartments in the Westshore Marina District near the Gandy Bridge. The company also expects to start construction in September on the 368-unit Icon St. Petersburg in the city's Edge District, and is lead developer on Tampa's $750- million West River redevelopment . In an interv...

“And suddenly they were able to help us and to buy things that we cannot buy,” he said. “It was like a housekeeper buying your house. That is awkward.” The conditions in both countries created a perfect match: As Portugal reeled from a financial crisis a few years ago, Angolans were enjoying an oil boom that provided enormous opportunities for self-enrichment by the elite, particularly the president’s family and inner circle. Angola is often listed as one of the world’s most corrupt nations. And Portugal has been singled out for its laxness in reining in money laundering and bribery, particularly in its dealings with Angolans, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the research and policy organization of the world’s richest countries. “In Angola, they call Portugal the laundromat,” said Ana Gomes, a Portuguese lawmaker in the European Parliament and a member of Portugal’s governing Socialist Party . “It’s because it is.” But the two nations’ relationsh...

The Riveter: This one was my favorite. Steve Korn S eattle has the fourth-fastest- growing freelance economy in the country, which explains why there are almost as many coworking spaces opening up as luxury apartment buildings . Since I'll never be able to afford a luxury apartment , I thought maybe I can at least work at a place where the sink actually drains and the coffee is always fresh. So I checked out some coworking spaces and brought my laptop with me. I didn't tell them I was coming. I wanted to see what these places were like inside, without any PR hoopla. Clearly, we are living in the age of the remote worker. By 2020, 40 percent of the US workforce will be freelancers, temps, independent contractors, or "solopreneurs," according to a 2010 study by Intuit. According to the 2017 Global Coworking Survey , nearly 1. 2 million people worldwide will have tried coworking by the end of next year, and around 14, 000 coworking spaces will be in operation. Sixt...