27 posts tagged “building”
Globest.com reported Northwest One, a 127,000 sq ft Class B office building in Houston, has changed owners. RPD Catalyst purchased the building less than three years ago and has made some capital improvements. Transwestern's Rudy Hubbard helped broker the deal and disclosed the buyer, Fausset-Neely, paid more than $5 million in cash for the property. According to Rick Fausset, the plan is to offer aggressive rental rates in an attempt to stabilize the building, which is currently 44% occupied.
Fausset-Neely is also in negotiations for a property in Dallas that they expect to close in January 2010. "Our formula is simple," Rick Fausset told GlobeSt.com. "We buy properties substantially below replacement cost in markets that are good for job growth, then sell early. That way, we miss the next down cycle."
For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.
According to a pair of articles by the Tampa Bay and Washington Business Journals, job losses in both areas will further depress regional demand for office space weak. Citing a report from real estate investment services firm Marcus & Millichap, the Washington Business Journal noted white-collar head counts fell by 0.7% and the office vacancy rate increased 250 basis points and is expected to reach 13.5% by the end of the year. Submarkets situated near mass transit are faring best, with the Clarendon-Ballston area's 4.2% vacancy rate coming in as the lowest in the area. Communities located farther from the District are faring far worse, for example Sterling, VA & Greenbelt, MD have a 33.3% and 25.4% vacancy rates respectively.
In the Tampa region, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported regional employment is expected by over 54,000 jobs in December alone, with the office vacancy rate expected to reach 20.5% by the end of the year. According to the Marcus & Millichap report, Property owners and investors are waiting for the turning point that will signal the onset of an economic recovery. Effectives rents are projected to fall 7.9 percent to $17.23 a square foot following a 1.3 percent slide in 2008.
For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.
Savanna Investment Management recently announced the sale of 63 West 38th St in New York City's Garment District. The building, a 12 story office building contains 144,000 sq feet and is only 15% occupied. Savanna initiated its investment in the property in May 2008. According to GlobeSt.com, "Savanna and a hedge fund partner initially invested in the property by originating a senior loan 18 months ago to the prior owners, the release states. Savanna subsequently bought out its hedge fund partner and then negotiated a deed in lieu of foreclosure with their borrower. Once Savanna owned the asset outright, the company then embarked on a two-pronged business plan of repositioning the building and launching an 'aggressive' marketing program to sell it, the release states."
Savanna declined to disclose the name of the buyer, a joint venture between two local entrepreneurs, which acquired the property in an all cash deal for $29.5 million.
For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.
The Wall Street Journal published an article examining the current climate for office building owners who are looking to keep the tenants they have in the face of one of the worst commercial real estate markets in decades. It's noted that while businesses are struggling they're also delaying property decisions and, in some cases, forced to move to cheaper spaces. As leases expire, property owners have to invest -- through rent reductions, building improvements and incentives -- to retain those tenants. "While competitive market occupancies continue to erode, we may be seeing the first signs of what will, with no doubt, be a slow market recovery," said Bill Hankowsky, Liberty Property Trust's chief executive.
Boston Properties Inc. reported this week that new tenants are paying 17% less in gross rents than prior tenants in the same space. SL Green Realty Corp. saw their revenue decline 7% in the third quarter to $249.6 million after adding nearly an extra month of free rent as a tenant incentive; the company said the current average starting rents in Manhattan were $47.31 per square foot, down from $66.78 during the same period last year.
For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.
The Rilea Group, led by Alan Ojeda, has secured one of the largest Miami office space deals of the year in a new lease with Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod, a Miami-based law firm. The new property at 1450 Brickell is a 576,379-square-foot Class A office building scheduled for completion by first quarter of next year; Bilzin Sumberg is taking 80,000 square feet of space marketed at the full-service, gross rate of between $40 and $50 a square foot according to the South Florida Business Journal.
The law firm will be relocating from Wachovia Financial Center toward the end of 2010 with its lease at 1450 Brickell beginning January 2011. 1450 Brickell is precertified gold according to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards, and has floor plates ranging from 24,000 square feet to 25,600 square feet. Bilzin Sumberg will be on the 21st through 24th floors.
For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.
Credit Suisse Asset Management purchased the Independence Wharf building in the financial district of Boston from GE Capital Real Estate for $106.25 million according to a CoStar report. The 14-story, 330,000 square foot building on the waterfront drew 22 bids before selling to the investment bank, its second deal in less than a week after purchasing an 11-story DC building for $90.5 million. The building is currently 90% leased by several large firms, including the insurance firm William Gallagher Associates and Babson Capital Management, a subsidiary of MassMutual Financial Group.
GE Real Estate, a unit of General Electric Co., purchased the building for $82 million in 2002 according to the Wall Street Journal. The property was renovated in 2001 and 2004, creating 28,000-square-foot floor plates and 9-foot ceilings. The wharf outside the building is known as the site of the Boston Tea Party in 1773.
For more news and information, visit Blumberg Capital Parnters.
PCCP LLC, a California property investor, purchased Opus West's largest property at bankruptcy auction for $29.9 million according to a Dallas Business Journal article. Opus West Corporation and some of its subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions in July for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in order to facilitate its "ongoing financial restructuring".
PCCP bought the property for $29.9 million, or approximately $24 per square foot. The industrial property is at 2525 E. State Highway 121 in Lewisville, Texas. The property is comprised of three buildings with the Class A asset totaling 1.25 million square feet and is currently 65% leased. The purchase was made using the buyer’s $746 million investment fund.
For more news and information, visit Blumberg Capital Partners.
The US General Services Administration has renewed its lease at 3100 Clarendon Boulevard in Arlington, Virginia this week, keeping the Department of Defense in the offices its occupied for the past 11 years. The 221,084 square foot lease extends the tenancy through 2018. "We are very pleased that the Department of Defense has chosen to remain in our Arlington property," said Ken Mulrane of Piedmont Office Realty Trust, owner of the property.
Brian Connolly, Robert VeShancey and Marcy Owens Test of Jones Lang LaSalle, along with Ken Mulrane of Piedmont Realty Trust, represented Piedmont in the lease. Henry Chapman of CB Richard Ellis represented the tenant according to CoStar Group.
For more news and information, visit Blumberg Capital Partners.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have selected Turner Construction Company to help expand its current headquarters with a new $93 million office complex. The project, "Building 24", is expected to be completed in 2012 and will sit adjacent to the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, adding 311,000 square feet of space. Building 24 is targeted to achieve a LEED Gold Certification from the US Green Building Council with designs to include featured natural lighting and the utilization of low-emitting paints and flooring materials.
Turner will provide design/build services for the project, to include careful phasing, staging and logistics to provide high levels of security and minimal disruption to ongoing operations on the CDC campus. "Turner is proud to be a partner with the CDC as part of the design/build team for Building 24 to benefit the employees and public served by the CDC," said Dave Butler, VP and GM of Turner's Atlanta office in a CPN article.
For more news and information, visit Blumberg Capital Partners.
Capmark originated $52.5 million for a partnership equity recapitalization and refinance of an existing Capmark Finance loan for Eight Tower Bridge according to a CPN article. The property, a 45,000-square-foot, 16-story Class A office tower with a 1,200-car parking garage in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, is owned by Eight Tower Bridge Development Associates, a group comprised of Oliver Tyrone Pulver Corp., AREA Property Partners' VEF II LLC and Brandywine Realty Trust.
Senior Vice President Jeff Heath of Capmark's Horsham office originated the new loan from Capmark Bank. Capmark Finance provided the original $72 million loan in February 2007 for the property's existing ownership group. Equity investment bankers Scott Crimmins and Paul Taylor of Capmark Securities' New York City office brokered a $21,450,000 investment of new equity into the partnership through a private source.
For more news and information, visit Blumberg Capital Partners.
