Other News in Brief: Beacon Capital Signs 8 Leases at Boston Office Tower; Younan Completes $1.

Beacon Capital Signs 8 Leases at Boston Office Tower

Beacon Capital Partners has entered into eight separate lease agreements totaling 75,300 square feet of office space at 200 State Street in Boston (pictured). The leases include tenants such as Eaton Vance Corp., Allsteel and Knight Securities. Jones Lang LaSalle handled all of the lease negotiations. The 16-story building, 200 State Street, is a 301,896-square-foot Class A office tower with 15,000 square feet of remaining space available for lease.

Younan Completes $1.5B CA Office Divestment

Younan Properties has completed the divestment of the company's $1.5 billion office portfolio in California with the $58 million sale of Pacific Pointe in Gardenia, Calif. The 12-story, 260,000-square-foot
office building was purchased by Transwestern Commercial Services. Younan purchased the property for $34 million in 2004 under a joint venture with Urdang Capital Management.

Titan, Urdang Acquire 525,000-SF Industrial Portfolio

A partnership between Titan Real Estate Investment Group and Urdang Capital Management has purchased a six-building industrial portfolio from Panattoni Development Co. for $22.5 million. The Bakersfield, Calif. properties total 534,051 square feet of warehouse space and are currently 98 percent leased. The Bakersfield industrial market currently boasts a vacancy rate of only 3.5 percent.

SunCal, Southwind JV Buys $23M Santa Ana Multi-Family

A joint venture between SunCal Cos. and Southwind Realty Group has acquired the 121,812-square-foot Palm Terrace apartment complex in Santa Ana Calif. The partnership purchased the 122-unit property from JLLC Palm Terrace Apartment L.P. for $22.6 million. Al Pekarcik, Dan Vittone and Gil Marrero of Voit Commercial Brokerage represented the buyer in the transaction, while the seller was represented by Ken Morgan and Jay Skendarian of Morgan-Skendarian Investment Real Estate Group.

Smurfit-Stone Selects Grubb & Ellis as Sole Leasing Agent

Packaging manufacturer Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. has chosen Grubb & Ellis Co. to serve as its exclusive provider of real estate leasing administration and transaction services in North America. St. Louis-based Smurfit-Stone generated sales of $8.4 billion in 2005, and employs 27,000 people in 200 facilities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Reckson Leases 12 Spaces in White Plains Office Park

Reckson Associates Realty Corp. has agreed to 12 separate leases in the company's Reckson Platinum Mile office park. The leases, which total 91,918 square feet, are with such tenants as The Bank of New York, The New York Times and AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co. Reckson is in the midst of a multi-million dollar capital improvement project at the property, which the company identified as a major factor in the leasing surge.

CUNY Buys Upper West Side Property with $30M Donation

The City University of New York has been given $30 million for the purchase of a building on Manhattan's Upper West Side for use as the permanent home of the CUNY Honors College. The donation by First Reserve Corp. Chairman & CEO William E. Macaulay is the largest in the history of the university. CUNY used the funds to purchase the Steinhardt Building, located on West 67th Street, from its current owner, the 92nd Street Y. CB Richard Ellis arranged the transaction.

Global Real Estate Investment Reaches Record Levels in Year's First Half

Global direct real estate investment reached $290 billion in the first half of 2006, a 30 percent increase over the same period last year, and the highest level ever, according to a report by Jones Lang LaSalle. Significantly, inter-regional investment--investments made by parties from outside the region where the asset is located--now represents 31 percent of total investment ($89 billion), up from 24 percent last year.

Red Bull Park Soccer Stadium to Begin Construction

The Red Bull Park Stadium will officially break ground September 19. The $200 million project includes a 25,000-seat stadium, which will be home to the New York Red Bulls. Red Bull Park is the centerpiece of the $1 billion Harrison MetroCentre development, the largest such renewal effort currently underway in New Jersey, which will feature three million square feet of Class A office space, 300,000 square feet of retail space and approximately 3,500 housing units.