ST. ANN, MO-Somera Capital Management LLC, based in L.A., has acquired the 1.8-million-sf Northwest Plaza from Westfield Group. The property is expected to undergo a substantial renovation.

WASHINGTON, DC-The developer's first project in the District--a spec office building--is expected to rent in the high $40s. The 12-story site will have 240,000 sf of rentable space.

HOUSTON-Three months after it opened a Greater Houston shop, Duke Realty takes down its first building block. Ground will break in Q3 on the first spec office space for the 700,000-sf West Sam Houston Business Park.

HOUSTON-A ULI technical assistance panel looks at a four-acre parcel in Midtown. The question becomes whether Midtown, once a blighted area, is the right place for this type of project, though developers like the idea.