| In May 2005, Wellsford/Whitehall completed the sale of a 147,000 square foot building in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, for $31,400,000. Approximately $10,500,000 of the net proceeds and $8,000,000 of restricted cash were used to retire all outstanding mortgage indebtedness, leaving Wellsford/Whitehall without any mortgage debt. Wellsford/Whitehall reported a gain of approximately $10,100,000 on this transaction, of which the Company's share was approximately $3,500,000.
In April 2005, Wellsford/Whitehall completed the sale of a 212,000 square foot building in Needham, Massachusetts, for $37,000,000. Approximately $18,400,000 of the net proceeds were used to pay existing debt. Wellsford/Whitehall reported a gain of approximately $7,000,000 on this transaction, of which the Company's share was approximately $2,500,000.
In January 2005, Wellsford/Whitehall completed the sale of a portfolio of seven office properties and a land parcel for approximately $72,000,000, after selling and other costs. The properties, which aggregate approximately 1,231,000 square feet, are all located in New Jersey. Substantially all of the net proceeds from the sale and unrestricted cash and certain related reserve funds aggregating approximately $5,000,000, were used to retire existing debt. Additionally, in January 2005, Wellsford/Whitehall completed the sale of five retail stores for an aggregate sales price of $17,100,000, after selling costs. The net proceeds from the sale of the retail stores of approximately $1,300,000, after payment of related debt, were available to be used by Wellsford/Whitehall for working capital purposes. During the fourth quarter of 2004, Wellsford/Whitehall recorded an impairment loss provision of approximately $21,069,000 relating to the January 2005 sales (of which the Company's share was approximately $7,419,000).
Debt and Equity Activities
The Company, through its Debt and Equity Activities SBU, primarily makes debt investments directly, or through joint ventures, predominantly in real estate related assets and investments.
At September 30, 2005, the Company had the following investments in its Debt and Equity Activities SBU: (i) an equity investment of approximately $687,000 in Clairborne Fordham, a company initially organized to provide $34,000,000 of mezzanine construction financing for a high-rise condominium project in Chicago, which currently owns and is selling the remaining unsold components of this project; (ii) approximately $6,791,000 invested in Reis, Inc., a real estate information and database company; and (iii) a $630,000 investment in Wellsford Mantua, a company organized to purchase land parcels for rezoning, subdivision and creation of environmental mitigation credits.
Clairborne Fordham
In October 2000, the Company and Prudential Real Estate Investors, an affiliate of Prudential Life Insurance Company, organized Clairborne Fordham, a venture in which the Company has a 10% interest. The Company’s investment in Clairborne Fordham, which is accounted for on the equity method, was $687,000 and $2,190,000 at September 30, 2005 and December 31, 2004, respectively.
Upon its organization, Clairborne Fordham provided an aggregate of $34,000,000 of mezzanine construction financing for the construction of Fordham Tower, a 50-story, 227 unit, luxury condominium apartment project to be built on Chicago's near northside ("Fordham Tower"). The loan was not repaid at its October 2003 maturity and an amended loan agreement was executed extending the loan to December 31, 2004. |