Interest Rate Pause, Related Jersey City Loan, and Blackstone Diversity Effort

Interest Rate Pause, Related Jersey City Loan, and Blackstone Diversity Effort This week, commercial real estate received a reprieve when the Federal Reserve announced that interest rates would remain unchanged for the second straight meeting; a number of financings have closed of late despite challenging borrowing conditions, including a $58 million acquisition loan from JPMorgan Chase for Related Companies’ planned 750-unit residential tower in Jersey City; and Blackstone targets college sophomores for a new program aimed at boosting diversity in commercial real estate. Federal Reserve Holds on Interest Rates; Continues Pause as 2023 Winds Down Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell elected to pause the benchmark short-term interest rate again on Wednesday, leaving the Federal Funds Rate at 5.25 percent and 5.5 percent for the fourth consecutive month since raising it by 25 basis points in July. [Read More](   Top Deals Of The Week   - Affinius Capital, Bank OZK Make $102M [Construction Loan]( on Philly Industrial Complex - JPMorgan Makes $58M Acquisition Loan to [Related]( for Jersey City Multifamily Debut - PGIM Lends [$115M]( for West Los Angeles Apartment Complex - Bank OZK, PGIM Provide $76M Construction Loan for [Houston]( Cold-Storage Facility - Benefit Street Partners Leads $47M[Refinance Loan]( for Tampa Hotel - Bank OZK Lends $45M on [Standard Residences]( Project in Midtown Miami - Pennybacker Capital [Lends]( $42M on Texas Apartment Property - Mesa West Provides $34M in Acquisition Financing for [Virginia Warehouse]( - Citigroup Refis [Chelsea]( Retail Building With $22M Loan   Guest Column   Real Estate Needs to Start Using the Tax Credits It’s Getting Real estate leaders would be wise to incorporate new federal incentives into their plans starting now, writes Marta Schantz and Kara Kokernak of the Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate at the Urban Land Institute. [Read More](   People Moves   How Dev and Nitin Motwani Diversified Big-Time in South Florida The brothers' Merrimac Ventures has helped power major projects such as Miami Worldcenter and the Four Seasons Fort Lauderdale. [Read More](   Other Stories From This Week   Korean Pension Fund Invests $100M in 3650 REIT Lending Platform 3650 REIT, a national commercial real estate lender for large institutional investors, secured a $100 million commitment from the South Korean Public Officials Benefit Association, a Seoul-based public pension fund, Commercial Observer first reported. [Read More]( Blackstone Real Estate Aims New Diversity Effort at College Sophomores Blackstone Real Estate is taking its diversity efforts to a new level through a program launching this January aimed at college sophomores. [Read More]( Office Vacancies Exceed 22 Percent in Seattle, Austin, but Suburbs Hold Hope: Report The national office market remains imperiled in 2023. However, a glimmer of hope for the beleaguered asset class flickers in the suburbs. [Read More]( Rexford Closes on $245M of SoCal Investments, Including Massive Brewing Site Rexford Industrial Realty acquired the fee simple interest in a fully leased property at 15801 West First Street, in Irwindale, Calif., for $120 million, or $121 per interior square foot. [Read More](   What We're Reading This Week   - The Money Has [Stopped Flowing]( in Commercial Real Estate [WSJ] - HSBC Chief Says Worst Is Over for [China Real Estate]( [Bloomberg] - Treasury Details Plans to Step Up Size of Bond Sales to Manage Growing [Debt Load]( and Higher Rates [CNBC]   [View in Browser]( | [Advertise]( | [Forward to a Friend]( [Manage your email preferences or unsubscribe]( [Share your thoughts: Help us improve with our quick feedback survey!]( [Commercial Observer]( © Copyright 2023 [Observer Media]( 1 Whitehall Street, Floor 7, New York, NY 10004 This newsletter was published 11/02/2023