Below, see top CRE news stories of the week!
WEEK: January 1st, 2019
Biz Journals
Silverstein Properties Looks to Develop Center City Skyscraper
This would be the first acquisition in Philadelphia for the New York real estate firm, which developed the new World Trade Center.
Amenities Become a Centerpiece at Warren Corporate Center
The 20,000 square-foot amenity center solidifies the work/play theme at the Somerset County, NJ, office campus.
Meridian Buys Again in Arlington County
The Meridian Group has picked up its next value-add Arlington County office building as it prepares to part with another property along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor.
GlobeSt.com
Why Snow Storms Aren’t the Only Dangerous Weather Blast Property Owners Should Consider
It’s winter time, and all that owners or developers have on their minds is how snow or icy conditions could affect properties.
Why You Don’t See Eye-to-Eye With Your Proptech Provider
A study finds that there is frequently a lack of understanding on the part of proptech founders when it comes to decision-making processes in the real estate sector.
DSC Partners Pays $167M for Familiar Virginia Portfolio
The 1.64-million-square-foot portfolio was previously owned by First Potomac Realty Trust, which DSC founders and partners Douglas Donatelli and Nick Smith founded in 1997 and ran until 2015.
Griffin Capital Essential Asset REITs To Merge In $4.8B Deal
The all-stock transaction will create a $4.75 billion, self-managed REIT. Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT is focused on acquiring office, industrial and manufacturing assets that are 100% triple- or absolute- net leased to single, creditworthy tenants.
Akridge, STARS REI Buy East End Office for $49M
Akridge and STARS REI have partnered to acquired 1025 Vermont Ave, NW, a 116,000-square foot office in the East End that reportedly traded for $48.5 million. Carr Properties was the seller.
How to Prepare for the New Office Space Trends
JBG Smith Sells CBD Office for $385 Million
What’s Ahead for Proptech in 2019?
One thing is for certain: continued innovations are a given within the proptech world and adoption will continue to accelerate, says Mihir Shah, co-CEO of JLL Spark.
NYT
New Google Campus Accelerates Tech’s March into New York
Google said on Monday it would expand its presence in New York City with a $1 billion campus in the West Village, allowing the company to double the size of its 7,000-employee workforce over the next decade
Log Cabins? No, These Wooden Buildings are High-Rises
Seeking greener projects, builders are choosing timber for offices and apartments, rather than the concrete and steel that dominated construction for decades.
New Yorkers Have a Constitutional Right to Nunchucks, Judge Rules
Thanks to an ardent practitioner, the New York State ban on the martial arts weapon, enacted in 1974, has been struck down in court.
WSJ
Tech That Will Change Your Life in 2019
An annual roundup of the technology that will affect your life in the year ahead: Mobile 5G will finally making its U.S. debut, there will be more reasons than ever to cut the cord, and of course Harry Potter, who will unite wizards and teach us the true meaning of augmented reality.
WEEK: December 17th, 2018
GlobeSt.com
Clarion Partners Buys Blackstone and EQ Office’s Building for $282M
The Bryant Park office and retail asset had been repositioned with $30 million in improvements. The 349,274-square foot building, often referenced as 114W41, repositioned into a mixed-use asset.
Blackstone Expands to $575,000 SF at 345 Park Avenue
With this deal, the Rudin family’s Plaza District tower is 100% leased. Blackstone, one of the world’s largest investment firms, has signed a seven-year lease expansion at 345 Park Ave.
NYT
What Happens When You ‘Reply All’ to 22,000 State Workers
Reply All, the scourge that has afflicted office workers everywhere, has hit 22,000 government employees in Utah.
Page Six
Judge Orders Harry and Linda Macklowe to Sell Their $700M Art Collection
A divorce judge said the real estate magnate’s collection should be sold and the profits split evenly between him and his estranged wife because the parties couldn’t agree on a value for the art.
Electronic Tenant Solutions Blog 
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