Commercial real estate
* The board of directors of Cedar Realty Trust Inc. received and rejected an "unsolicited and unrealistic" merger proposal from Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc.
In a letter to Jon Wheeler, Wheeler's chairman, Cedar Realty's board noted that the offer, believed to be backed by its shareholder, Snow Park Capital, is not "in the best interest of Cedar and its shareholders."
* EastGroup Properties Inc. is being sued by David Metalonis, a developer who alleges that the company dropped him as a partner in its Gateway Commerce Park project in Miami Gardens, Fla., The Real Deal reported. The lawsuit, filed in the Miami-Dade Circuit Court, claims breach of a nondisclosure agreement, tortious interference with a business relationship and unjust enrichment. It names EastGroup, CEO Marshal Loeb and Executive Vice President John Coleman as defendants in the case, according to the report.
Metalonis claims he and EastGroup had discussed a joint venture for an industrial project at the 61-acre former site of a practice track and stable complex at the Calder Casino & Race Course, before EastGroup unilaterally bought the land for $26.5 million and started pursuing the development without him.
* Mall owners are now trying to lure health clubs to their properties in their latest efforts to tackle declining foot traffic and rising vacancies, The Wall Street Journal reported. GGP Inc. is planning to integrate fitness centers into half of its 115 malls over the next decade, the publication said, citing CEO Sandeep Mathrani, while Phillips Edison & Co. Ltd. already houses gyms in 44% of its more than 340 grocery-anchored shopping centers, CEO Jeff Edison was cited as saying.
About a third of Kimco Realty Corp.'s 507 shopping centers have health club tenants, while Simon Property Group Inc.'s Phipps Plaza in Atlanta is due to house a 90,000-square-foot Life Time health club, the report added.
* Serendipity Labs, a New York-based coworking company, signed a lease for 26,000 square feet at Tishman Speyer and The Blackstone Group's Three Alliance Center tower in Atlanta's Buckhead district, marking the company's entry into the city, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported. The space is set to open in spring 2018 and the lease brings the 30-story tower's occupancy to more than 80%. The owners were reported to have placed the property on the market in October, seeking more than $250 million for the asset.
* Robert Finvarb Cos. has completed and opened a $65 million, 19-story Marriott International Inc.-branded hotel in Miami-Dade County, the South Florida Business Journal reported. The Residence Inn Miami Sunny Isles Beach at 17700 Collins Ave. offers 194 studio suites.
* New Jersey office rents reached $26.86 per square foot in the third quarter, nearing the $26.90 record set in the second quarter of 2001, the Journal reported, citing real-estate services firm Transwestern. The state's vacancy rate fell to 14.8% during the period from 15.5% in the year-ago quarter.
* Drever Capital Management secured $66.7 million of funding from Starwood Property Trust to continue its $380 million redevelopment of the 52-story former First National Bank tower on Dallas' Elm Street, The Dallas Morning News reported. The property is being converted into apartments, hotel rooms and retail space.
* A vacant Sears department store in Santa Monica, Calif., will be converted to accommodate 50,000 square feet of office space upon completion of Kacy Keys' planned $50 million renovation, the Los Angeles Times reported. Kacy Keys oversees development on the West Coast for Seritage Growth Properties, whose 253 Sears and Kmart stores could also be redeveloped, the report noted.
Gaming
* Las Vegas casinos are increasingly looking at new attractions to draw in millennial visitors, who are becoming majority spenders but are not necessarily interested in traditional casino gambling, the Associated Press reported. Caesars Entertainment Corp. is planning to build a 1,050-foot-long zip line above its outdoor promenade across the street from Caesars Palace-Las Vegas, while an e-sports arena is due to be added to MGM Growth Properties' Luxor. Wynn Resorts Ltd. is planning to transform its 18-hole golf course into a development with a 38-acre lagoon, the report added.
* Analysts, industry officials and regulators expect a favorable ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on New Jersey's lawsuit seeking to legalize sports betting to prompt an expansion of online gambling, The Associated Press reported. The court is set to hear arguments Dec. 4, while a ruling could be weeks or months away, according to the report.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng was down 0.60% at 29686.19, while the Nikkei 225 fell 0.24% to 22,495.99.
In Europe as of midday, the FTSE 100 had climbed 0.27% to 7,429.64, and the Euronext 100 was up 0.22% at 1,044.02.
On the macro front
The new home sales report, and the Dallas Fed manufacturing survey are due out today.
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