Partner News & Events
These news and events items are for and about MIT/CRE partners. To include a news item, please email us with any relevant links to press releases, news articles, etc.
Partners Meeting 2011 Tackles the Big Ones
Posted June 15, 2011
With over 100 in attendance, including partner representatives from as far away as Mexico, Partners Meeting 2011 went head to head with the big questions, the big indices, and big development in China. Read article.
Partners Meeting 2010 – The Wow of Innovation in Action
Posted April 29, 2010
On March 22-23, Center partners arriving from around the world were treated to a "symphony of innovation" as they saw first-hand the kind of landmark, cross-disciplinary work being done at MIT – from opera sculpture at the Media Lab to the 1K House project at MIT/CRE. Read full article...
Newest Center Partner Offers First 100% Green REIT
Posted December 17, 2008
MIT/CRE is proud to welcome its newest industry partner, Insight Real Estate, a Chicago-based real estate investment firm launching the first-ever 100% green Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). Called Green Realty Trust (GRT), the new investment product is the first REIT to invest solely and exclusively in LEED or EnergyStar certified properties — with a special focus on the conversion of existing buildings. Full story.
Back to the Future: New York Times Highlights Forest City Renewal
August 6, 2008
"Bulldozing entire neighborhoods to revitalize them seemingly went out of fashion decades ago, after the first mid-20th-century efforts at urban renewal were denounced as failures," writes Eugene Meyer in the New York Times. But he describes a current project by onetime MIT/CRE partner and longtime collaborator Forest City Enterprises that will "demolish a neighborhood to save it." Working with Johns Hopkins Hospital, Forest City is creating a technology park in one of Baltimore's most derelict neighborhoods to create "a vibrant 88-acre community." Download article (pdf, 18K) or read it at nytimes.com.
AMB CEO Presents in MIT/CRE's "Learning from Leaders" Series
December 5, 2007
Though his work at AMB Property Corporation keeps him as busy as a Chairman of the Board and CEO should be, Hamid Moghadam keeps his schedule flexible enough to ensure he can regularly present for Professor Gloria Schuck's "Leadership in Real Estate" class. This year, via MIT/CRE's Learning from Leaders series, all area graduate students in real estate were able to hear him speak on the value of flexibility in development. Read synopsis of talk.
RCA President Robert White Quoted by Bloomberg
November 28, 2007
"'Real estate deals are coming apart at the fastest pace since September 2001, when the U.S. economy was shrinking, because banks are tightening standards for loans,' said Robert White, president of Real Capital Analytics, a New York-based research firm. 'About $15 billion of commercial property transactions of $10 million or more are under contract in the U.S., compared with about $70 billion at mid-year,' White said. 'That's unusual because the number usually rises at year-end, he said.'" Read full article.
Boston Globe Profiles Developer Norman Leventhal
August 30, 2007
"Calling Norman Leventhal a developer is like calling Shakespeare a writer. It's accurate, but ridiculously incomplete.... He graduated from Boston Latin School at 15 and was accepted at Harvard but couldn't afford the $400 tuition. Undaunted, he walked down Mass. Ave. and got into MIT. They gave him a loan." Read full story: visit Boston Globe website or view PDF (33K).
Caisse Acquires an Interest in Natural Gas Pipeline Linking U.K. with Continental Europe
June 22, 2007
MIT/CRE partner Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has acquired a 25% equity interest in Interconnector (UK) Limited, a United Kingdom gas transporter, which owns and operates a bi-directional pipeline linking the UK and Belgium. The Caisse acquired the shareholding from BG Group for £ 165 million.
AMB Leases 295,000 SF in Paris Development to General Motors
June 18, 2007
Center partner AMB Property Corporation (NYSE: AMB), a leading global developer and owner of industrial real estate, today announced its lease of 295,000 square feet (27,400 square meters) to General Motors in a Paris development project. GM plans to use the facility, named AMB Gonesse Distribution Center, to enhance the logistics process of its Opel spare parts operations in France.
Jones Lang LaSalle and Trammell Crow Meghraj Agree to Merge India Operations
June 12, 2007
MIT/CRE partner Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE: JLL), the world’s leading integrated global real estate services and money management firm joined with one of the largest privately held real estate services companies in India, formerly known as Trammell Crow Meghraj (TCM), to announce today that they have reached an agreement to combine operations. The merged entity, named Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj, will be the largest real estate services firm in India.
Beijing Capital Land Debuts Chengdu A-Z Town Project
May 28, 2007
Center partner Beijing Capital Land, a leading integrated property developer in the People's Republic of China, today announced the launch of its Chengdu A-Z Town Project, a "Residential plus Commercial" integrated community development of 360,000 square meters (3,875, 007 square feet) in Chendu, China. 420 out of the first 500 units offered for sale have already been sold. Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan province, and is the fifth most populous city in China.
Nichols Parntership Breaks Ground on Tallest Residential Tower between Chicago and Las Vegas
May 15, 2007
MIT/CRE partner Nichols Partnership broke ground on The Spire, a $175 million, 41-story project that will be the tallest residential tower between Chicago and Las Vegas. Opening in Denver in 2009 across from the Colorado Convention Center, the Spire will stand 483-feet tall, and will include 503 condos with 10-foot ceilings, and 602 covered parking spaces. Read more: download article (pdf, 33K) or view online.
Equity Office Properties Trust Closes Merger with Blackstone Group Affiliates
February 9, 2007
Center partner Equity Office Properties Trust (NYSE: EOP), the nation's largest publicly traded owner and manager of office buildings, announced today that it has completed mergers of Equity Office and EOP Operating Limited Partnership, its operating partnership, with affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate Partners, an affiliate of The Blackstone Group. The merger with The Blackstone Group is the largest private equity buyout in history.
MIT and Real Capital Analytics Announce Pioneering Tradable Commercial Property Index
December 20, 2006
The MIT Center for Real Estate (MIT/CRE) and partner Real Capital Analytics, Inc. (RCA) are launching a set of pioneering indexes for tracking commercial investment property prices in the United States, the Center director and RCA president said in a joint announcement today. MIT/CRE developed the new suite of 29 indexes to support derivatives trading such as index return swaps. The indexes are based on comprehensive data on commercial property transactions prices from the New York-based RCA.
CRE Partners Meeting – Powering the Future
April 5-6, 2006
The CRE Partners Meeting was held on April 5 – 6, 2006. Invited speakers addressed the topic “Powering the Future” through topics as diverse as global systems models, energy politics, and the use of energy from coal, hydrogen, and nuclear fusion. Meeting participants learned about new energy technologies by touring the Sloan Automotive Laboratory, the Alcator C-Mod Tokamak at MIT’s Plasma Fusion Center, and the MIT Reactor.
One partner representative who had traveled from China for the meeting commented that the meeting was particularly valuable because it "opened up our horizons and made us think outside of the box" about energy use and how it will affect real estate development. Another participant said that the meeting convinced her that if you "create the right incentives, and innovation will happen."
The meeting concluded with roundtable discussions of what these energy technologies mean for the Real Estate industry, and how they might affect the participants’ organizations over the next five years.
Innovative Class Immerses MIT/CRE Students in the World of Foreign Development
December 2005
A class of 15 graduate students from MIT's Center for Real Estate (MIT/CRE) gained a firsthand view of real estate finance and development in Europe when they visited England and France from January 19 through January 28. The group was the second led abroad by Professor Tony Ciochetti, chairman of the MIT/CRE, and it represents a growing focus at the Center on the globalization of real estate.
Jones Lang LaSalle buys Spaulding & Slye for $150M
Nov. 28, 2005
MIT/CRE partner Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate services and money management firm, said on Monday it had agreed to buy privately held company Spaulding & Slye to boost its resources in the New England and Washington, DC, areas.
