MINNETONKA, MN-The 10-year lease at Crescent Ridge Corporate Center II allow Siemens to take over space that had been under lease to Metris Corp. and sign a direct lease with Wells Real Estate Funds.

BLOOMINGTON, MN-Special master Ronald Lund recommends Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group relinquish to Triple Five of Minnesota, the company owned by the Ghermezians family of Canada, the 27.5% stake in the mall that the REIT bought five years ago from the Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association pension fund.

BLOOMINGTON, MN-GMAC Commercial Mortgage, servicer of a $312-million mortgage on the Mall of America, filed a lawsuit recently in federal court in Minneapolis on behalf of investors to give them a say in any transfer of control of the mall. Ownership of the mall is in dispute between Simon Property Group and the Ghermezian family's Triple Five unit.

MINNEAPOLIS-The teleconference training by Claudette Konola, director of training and technical assistance for Community Reinvestment Fund, is geared for industry professionals seeking specialized knowledge related to economic development finance.

OAKDALE, MN-Chicago-based Corus Bank provides nearly $6.9 million in financing for a group affiliated with Des Plaines, IL-based First Hospitality Group to build a four-story Hilton Garden Inn hotel the heavily traveled interchange of Interstates 94, 694, and 494.

BLOOMINGTON, MN-The medical device firm will write down the value of the facility by up to $19 million. The company expanded and improved the facility and once thought it might become the site of its headquarters.

MINNEAPOLIS-May Co.'s purchase of nine Twin Cities Mervyn's stores along with the 62-unit Marshall Fields chain has real estate experts wondering what will happen to some of the most prime retail real estate in the market.

ROSEVILLE, MN-A list of the top 200 restaurant franchises by Restaurant Finance Monitor show sales are up 5.3% to $17.9 billion. Those include Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut outlets.