It's been a while since we heard anything about the fate of Project Prince and Project Cardinal, two economic development projects that had the potential to bring two major companies to Raleigh.

The companies behind the code-named projects were widely rumored to be Radio Shack (Prince) and Fannie Mae (Cardinal). Radio Shack is currently based in Fort Worth, Tex. while Fannie Mae has headquarters in Washington D.C. and major operations in Dallas.

On today's Highwoods Properties conference call, CEO Ed Fritsch was asked about the two projects by an analyst.

After saying that Highwoods did not know who the mystery companies were, Fritsch said the trail appears to have gone cold.

"We haven't heard much on them lately," Fritsch said.

Fritsch was also asked whether the leasing environment has improved in recent months in the markets where Highwoods operates.

Fritsch said the company is seeing more activity on the leasing front but it's not yet resulting in a lot of deals getting signed.

Fritsch said the Raleigh real estate investment trust believes its strong balance sheet is giving it an advantage in a leasing environment where brokers have become much more worried about a landlord's health and ability to pay out commissions.

Highwoods Properties, the largest suburban office landlord in the Southeast, reported fourth-quarter results late today that met Wall Street estimates for the year.

The Raleigh real estate investment trust's 35 million square-foot portfolio was 88.8 percent occupied at the end of the year, up from 87.8 percent occupied in the third quarter.

Highwoods reported funds from operations, a profitability measure for REITs, of $2.61 cents per share for the year, compared to $2.77 per share for 2008. Funds from operations for the fourth quarter was 42 cents per share, compared to 19 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Ed Fritsch, Highwoods chief executive, said in a statement that the company's balance sheet was strengthened during 2009. The company has focused on paying down debt and using its healthy balance sheet to retain and win new tenants during the downturn.

“Today we have cash on hand, no borrowings on our new $400 million credit facility and only $138 million of debt maturing through year-end 2011,” Fritsch said.

During the fourth quarter, Highwoods added $95 million in office development, including two new buildings built for the federal government. The company sold $88.8 million worth of properties.

Results were released after regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares fell 16 cents to close at 27.53. The stock has fallen 15 percent since the beginning of the year.

DunnWell LLC, a Garner company that performs fire protection inspections and kitchen exhaust cleanings, announced today that it is moving to Durham near Research Triangle Park.

The company has leased 36,500 square feet of office space in Highwoods Properties Sycamore Building in the Creekstone Office Park.

“We’re incredibly excited to be in a new, larger location with such great amenities,” Joe Dunn, CEO of DunnWell, said in a release.

DunnWell services and provides maintenance for fire extinguishers, kitchen fire suppression systems, fire sprinkler systems and emergency lighting.

The 72,124-square-foot Sycamore Building was 77 percent leases as of the end of 2009, according to a Highwoods survey of Triangle market space.

DunnWell currently occupies space along U.S. 70 between New Rand Road and Jones Sausage Road.

Highwoods Properties announced today it has sold its 100th condominium in RBC Plaza, its downtown Raleigh tower.

The real estate investment trust has sold nine condos since it announced its third quarter results at the end of October.

RBC Plaza has a total of 139 residential condos in addition to 292,000 square feet of office and retail space.

Highwoods partnered with Dominion Realty to build the condos atop RBC Plaza. Sales stalled when the economy and the housing market went south.

All but two were under contract by the middle of 2007. But when the building opened in 2008 more than one-third of the contracts had been delayed or canceled.

The sluggish market for downtown Raleigh condos has also snared The Hue, which was expected to begin offering a rent-to-own, or deferred ownership structure soon.

Representatives of CityView, one of the developers behind the 208-unit condo building at the corner of Dawson and Hargett streets, have not responded to requests for an update on the project's status.

The condo building's Web site has a media release dated Jan. 4 that says units are available for purchase and buyers can move in in February.

A bond-research agency upgraded its rating of Highwoods Properties after the Raleigh-based real estate developer secured a $400 million credit line.

The upgrade from Moody's Investors Service reflects Highwoods' "solid liquidity profile and improved asset quality." Moody's boosted its rating to "Baa3" from "Ba1."

"Highwoods' high quality property portfolio should help Highwoods weather what is expected to be a protracted downcycle for the office market," Moody's analysts wrote.

Highwoods is one of the Southeast's largest office landlords, with about 35.4 million square feet of property. The real-estate investment trust worked with 12 banks on its new credit line, which replaces one that was scheduled to mature in May.

The new credit facility "strengthens our ability to capitalize on strategic acquisitions and build-to-suit development opportunities that enhance long-term value for our shareholders," Highwoods CEO Ed Fritsch said in a prepared statement.

The company's shares rose 79 cents to close at $33.65 today, and are up 30 percent in the past year.

Gov. Beverly Perdue is among the salons who are expected to be in attendance when Deutsche Bank holds a ribbon-cutting for its new technology development center in Cary next Monday.

The company has leased 35,000 square feet in Highwoods Properties CentreGreen Office Park.

The company is establishing a new subsidiary, Deutsche Bank Global Technology, that will develop and test software that can be used by the bank at its sites around the world.

Deutsche Bank announced in August that it expects to create 319 jobs in Wake County over the next five years. The German bank will receive a state grant worth up to $9.4 million if it meets those hiring milestones.

The new jobs at DB Global Technology will pay average annual wages of $88,213, or more than double the Wake County average of $43,160.

Raleigh appears to be one of the cities in the running to land a major financial services company that is considering relocating.
In recent months a search team representing a company that could bring as many 1,000 jobs and eventually occupy 200,000 square feet of office space has made several visits to Raleigh.
The visits have been shrouded in secrecy, with the entire operation being dubbed "Project Cardinal," according to several real estate brokers. Those brokers say the mystery company is believed to be the Federal National Mortgage Association, or Fannie Mae, currently based in Washington D.C.
Fannie Mae, which buys loans from banks and sells them to investors, has received billions in taxpayer money since late last year. The company has about 5,800 employees with the large majority based at its headquarters in D.C. It also has a substantial presence in Dallas.
Brian Faith, a spokesman for Fannie Mae, said today that the company has no intention of moving its headquarters.
"I had heard that some people are saying that we're moving the whole company to Raleigh but that isn't the case," he said. "In terms of other staffing decisions and whatnot I'm not at liberty to comment right now."
Raleigh's main competition appears to be Nashville.

The Social Security Administration will employ about 200 people at a new site in Research Triangle Park that will act as the agency's headquarters in the Durham area.
Highwoods Properties announced last week that the SSA had leased 68,000 square feet of office space in its Pamlico office building. Highwoods leased the space to the General Services Organization for use by the SSA.
A spokesperson for the SSA said the agency has been hiring people for the headquarters since 2008 and will continue to fill positions locally and through relocations. The RTP office will provide IT and administrative services for the SSA.
The GSO signed a 10-year lease with Highwoods.

Highwoods Properties announced today that the Social Security Administration has leased 68,000 square feet of office space in Research Triangle Park.
The space is located in Highwoods' Pamlico office building. Highwoods leased the space to the General Services Organization for use by the SSA. The deal was a 10-year lease that brings Pamlico's occupancy to 95.1 percent.
The GSA's Defense Logistics Information Service already has a presence in RTP. The service provides IT solutions for the Defense Department and other federal agencies.

Raleigh-based Highwoods Properties, the largest suburban office landlord in the Southeast, announced this week that is has sold property and land in Winston-Salem and purchased a 220,000-square-foot office building in Tampa.
The Tampa property is located in the city's Westshore area. Highwoods expects its total investment in the project to be $24.7 million.
In addition to the purchase price, that figure includes several million dollars set aside for building improvements. Highwoods now owns or has an interest in 14 office buildings and 2.1 million square feet in the Westshore submarket.
In Winston-Salem, Highwoods sold 39,700 square feet of retail space and 1.9 acres of land for $9 million. The properties were 100 percent leased and included a 30,000 square foot hhgregg and 9,700 square foot of additional retail space.
So far this year Highwoods has sold $78 million in assets at an average cap rate of 8.3 percent. The cap rate is the ratio of a property's annual net income to its purchase price.