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FLASH!

Louis Cappelli of Valhalla, creator of New Roc City Front Runner in Tishman Speyer Town center bidding.

Tishman Speyer reported to be announcing outright sale or partnership Tuesday of next week with Cappelli the lead developer

The Related Companies and The Georgetown Company of New York City apparently outbid in the hunt.

Due diligence procedures performed by companies at the Planning Department.

Public Relations firms in "no comment mode."

CityLine: April 5, 2001 --CNR NewsLines

WPCNR has learned from a highly reliable source that Louis Cappelli, the Valhalla developer who built New Roc City will be announced Tuesday as either outright buyer or a partnership in Tishman Speyer Town Center property.

It is not clear whether Cappelli is making an outright buy or partnering with Tishman Speyer, or other firms in acquiring the right to develop the property.

City Hall has not been informed by Tishman Speyer as of Thursday afternoon that Tishman Speyer has made a final choice.

Cappelli is a big-time Westchester-based developer demonstrating a solid track record of creating unique inner city energizing developments in Mount Vernon and New Rochelle, emerged as a finalist in the Town Center bid war this week.

Thursday WPCNR was informed by a person with a source close to the Cappelli camp that Cappelli is the developer of choice of Tishman Speyer.

WPCNR's source told us Thursday that this will be announced early next week, perhaps Tuesday.

Cappelli is the builder and owner of numerous commercial sites around Westchester. He is the creator of New Roc City, the cornerstone of the New Rochelle revival. He is also the builder of the Westchester County Airport parking garage, owns a number of commercial office sites in Mount Pleasant and Valhalla, as well as 140 Grand Avenue in White Plains.

Our source also describes Cappelli as an arranger of financing for projects around Westchester. He is reported by our source to be the behind-the-scenes dealmaker who arranged the financing for The Avalon in New Rochelle.

It is not known at this time the terms of the deal, or whether Cappelli will partner with other downtown owners in developing the property. Cappelli has in the past worked with Halpern Real Estate Development of Purchase, which has worked with G & S Investors, the firm that is developing the The Waterfront at Port Chester. The Halpern firm owns buildings across the street from the Main and Mamaroneck property.

Cappelli emerged this week with the names of two other companies going down to the wire in negotiations with Tishman Speyer to acquire the Tishman Speyer Macy's property at the corner of Mamaroneck Avenue and Main Street in White Plains.

The other two companies were according The Related Companies and The Georgetown Company, both of New York City. Forest City Ratner, a fourth company informed WPCNR last week they had withdrawn from the bidding and were no longer actively pursuing the acquisition.

WPCNR has learned Wednesday through a reliable source whose information has been very correct in the past that Mr. Cappelli is in the hunt for the controversial property that is the heart of White Plains downtown. The Commissioner of Planning for White Plains, Michael Graessle, would not confirm or deny that Capelli was involved, referring WPCNR to "the second floor" of City Hall. Paul Wood, City Economic Development Officer did not have knowledge of this.

WPCNR contacted Mr. Cappelli's attorney, Mark Weingarten, of DelBello, Donnellan Weingarten Tartaglia Wise & Wiedeker in White Plains, attempting to confirm the Cappelli bid. Shortly after the call was made a spokesperson from the DelBello firm contact WPNCR to say "I have been instructed to say 'no comment'"

The Related Companies, another bidder in The Final Three, is a prominent New York City Developer, while The Georgetown Company, also a Manhattan-based firm, when contacted for information about their firm said they were a real estate developer, but had no annual report, no fact sheet about the company, and that they would have someone "get back to you."

The Georgetown Company is the company that in January was reported to us to have commissioned Emanuel Caras, an architect and Chairman of the Scarsdale Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Caras is a prominent architect doing business out of Scarsdale specializing in renovation. His actual advertisement in the Yellow Pages says "We Specialize in Historic Restoration Preservations and Detailing."

Mr. Caras had revealed to our source in January that he had been hired to design a revitalization project for a site in a major city in Westchester for the Scores organization in New York.

Calls to Howard Rubenstein & Associates, the Tishman Speyer media relations firm and Thompson & Bender, the Cappelli public relations agency, yielded no further information as to the reported Cappelli coup.

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