Hering, Jr. Named NBS Financial Finance Officer of the Year for 2010

Blake Hering, Jr. was named NBS Financial Services' 2010 Finance Officer of the Year at an awards banquet Jan. 22.

Blake has originated loans valued at more than $1.1 billion during his 11 years with NBS. In 2010, he arranged 10 loans valued at $64 million. He secured $14 million for the CH2M Hill Center (aka Parkside Center) in Portland. He also arranged $13 million for the Lodges at Lake Salish, a 200-unit luxury apartment property in Fairview, Oregon, and $7 million for the Alder Creek Apartments in Vancouver, Washington.

Blake is an executive vice president and partner in Norris, Beggs & Simpson Companies. He sits on the Advisory Committee for Nationwide Life Insurance Company, and is a board member of the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. He is also active as a coach and board volunteer for youth lacrosse in Beaverton.

NBS Financial had a solid 2010: Our finance officers originated a total of 42 loans valued at just under $200 million, and our loan servicing department serviced $1.6 billion in loans.

NBS Financial Arranges $16M Loan for Sacramento Single-Tenant Office Building

NBS Financial Services' Ken Griggs and Paddy Ryan have arranged a $16 million loan for Granite Park Regional, a 149,000 sf office building in Sacramento, California.

Arranging financing for single-tenant buildings can be challenging, especially for a building as large as Granite Park Regional, as lenders see the risk of the building becoming completely vacant. The tenant is the County of Sacramento, which further complicated the transaction as its credit was recently downgraded due to the many challenges in California.

But Griggs and Ryan structured the deal creatively to satisfy lender ING Investment Management, one of NBS Financial’s correspondent life insurance companies. The loan is a 12-year loan with the rate fixed for the entire term at under 5 percent.

Being able to adequately structure a loan of this size for a challenging building suggests that the market is looking up, Griggs said. ING, like many lenders, temporarily stopped lending during the height of the recession, but has reentered the market and has set aggressive funding targets for 2011. The loan will be serviced by NBS Financial on ING’s behalf.

Positive Signs for PDX CRE During Fourth Quarter

NAI Norris, Beggs & Simpson has released its Fourth Quarter 2010 quarterly reports for office, industrial, retail and multifamily commercial real estate, as well as its economic report.

Office vacancy in Central City decreased to 11.78%, with a few significant leases. Suburban office vacancy fell slightly to 23.88%, with 121,056 sf absorbed. One of the larger leases of the quarter was ACS taking 30,656 sf at Triangle Pointe for a new call center. Vancouver office vacancy rose slightly to 18.7%.

Industrial vacancy fell slightly to 15.01%, with 108,375 sf absorbed. As one recent study showed, the industrial sector is a bright spot in Oregon’s economy, and the Port of Vancouver has recently seen heightened activity with BHP Billiton’s 60-acre lease.

Retail vacancy was stable at 6.4%, with 81,081 sf absorbed. The area’s first H&M opened in November at Pioneer Place, and H&M also leased nearly 20,000 sf at Washington Square. Ross Dress for Less and Dick’s Sporting Goods also signed significant leases during Fourth Quarter.

The Fourth Quarter ended with a flurry of multifamily investment sales. The $79 million sale of Ladd Tower and $70 million sale of the Palladia Apartments were just two of the significant sales of the quarter. Apartment vacancy also fell to 3.09%.

Full reports can be accessed here.

NBS One of Oregon's Most Admired Companies

For the sixth consecutive year, Norris, Beggs & Simpson Companies was recognized as one of Oregon's Most Admired Companies, based on a survey of Oregon CEOs conducted by the Portland Business Journal. NBS ranked third out of the top ten Most Admired Commercial Real Estate Companies. President J. Clayton Hering accepted the award at a luncheon held at the downtown Hilton yesterday. About 1,800 CEOs and top-level managers in Oregon and Southwest Washington were surveyed to determine the Most Admired Companies.

Hering Featured in Oregon Business

Norris, Beggs & Simpson Companies President J. Clayton Hering was profiled in the December issue of Oregon Business magazine. Click here to read the article. Clayton has been with NBS since 1972, and became president of the company in 1993. He is very active in civic organizations and the arts, serving on the board of the Oregon Symphony and on the Young Audiences Advisory Board, among others.

Wood Arranges $23.2M for Seattle Ground Lease

NBS Financial Services Executive Vice President Mike Wood has arranged a $23.2 million loan for a 616,894 sf ground lease in Seattle. John Hancock was the lender.

A ground lease means a tenant leases a piece of land from its owner, usually for a long term, and the tenant is responsible for any improvements. A ground lease isn’t a common way to structure an investment, Wood said, especially not a ground lease of this size, and this loan basically finances the payments to the ground lease owner.