SEATTLE-Fitch Ratings downgrades $195 million in debt securities tied to the 76-story office tower in Downtown Seattle owned by Equity Office Properties Trust, saying, "The lower market rents, increased vacancy and limited new leasing activity may affect the borrower's ability to refinance the loan at maturity in December 2004.

HOUSTON-A Houston investment group does a one-off buy of adjacent complexes in the far southeast corridor. The plan is to put about $240,000 into rehabbing the assets and then raise the rent, which now averages $437 per month.

LONDON-The redevelopment of the massive Ravenscraig steelworks site to the south of Glasgow was yesterday granted outline approval by North Lanarkshire Council.

WASHINGTON, DC-The H. Carl Moultrie Courthouse, a 654,000-sf facility at Judiciary Square, gets prepared for a $50-million upgrade and expansion. Plans for the project move forward with the General Services Administration's recent selection of Gensler to design the alterations and additions.