How is First Bristol fairing in the current Rhode Island economy?
KARAM: Obviously, we are conservative in our outlook, as most are, however we do have a new programs on the drawing board that include a large retail facility. But it is safe to assume these projects are client-need driven and we are not building on speculation. Our office buildings in Rhode Island – including the 60,000-square-foot Warwick Medical Building, the 100,000-square-foot Service Place building on Service Avenue in Warwick – remain well occupied even during this economic downturn. Our company maintains a low debt-to-value structure and in anticipation of rising debt cost, over the last two years we locked in long-term debt structures, with rates from 5.25 percent to 6 percent that will serve us well over the next five to eight years. We believe the opportunity going forward will be focusing on acquiring existing assets, which will sell for lower than replacement costs. We will continue to seek hotel opportunities based on sites that are reasonably priced [in] markets that are
