FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Behringer Harvard has acquired a nine-building, 691,000-square-foot medical office portfolio. The properties are all located in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area; five of them are located on the campus of hospitals operated by Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. They include:
• Victor Farris Building, a 148,000-square-foot, Class A building located 1411 N. Flagler Drive on the campus of Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach;
• Palmetto Medical Plaza, an eight-story, 72,000-square-foot building located at 7100 W. 20th Ave. on the campus of Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah;
• Gardens Medical Pavilion, a 75,000-square-foot, Class A building located at 3401 PGA Blvd. in Palm Beach Gardens;
• Hialeah Medical Plaza, a five-story, 72,000-square-foot building located at 777 E. 25th St. on the campus of Hialeah Hospital in Hialeah; and
• North Shore Medical Arts, a four-story, 56,000-square-foot building located at 1190 NW 95th St. on the campus of North Shore Medical Center in Miami.
The other four properties are located near the campus of Florida Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale. They are known as FMC Medical Mall, FMC North, FMC Central and FMC East. The buildings total a combined 207,000 square feet. The portfolio also includes an undeveloped 7.8-acre parcel located adjacent to Florida Medical Center.
Behringer Harvard initially closed on the outright acquisition of eight of the buildings earlier this month. This week, the company entered into a joint venture with local firm AW Property Co. in which AW contributed a ninth property to the portfolio and acquired a 10 percent interest in the portfolio. Moving forward, AW will provide property management and leasing services for the buildings.
Behringer Harvard's long-term plan includes holding onto the portfolio while increasing its value. Samuel Gillespie, COO of Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT II, commented, “Our goal is to enhance the value of these properties by increasing the portfolio's overall occupancy rate, which was 84 percent as of September 2010. We plan to invest more than $5 million in renovations and capital improvements designed to increase the buildings' appeal to prospective tenants.”
Earlier this month, REBusinessOnline.com reported of Behringer Harvard's $42 million acquisition of Parrot's Landing Apartments, a 560-unit multifamily community located in North Lauderdale, Fla. The purchase was also made on behalf of the Opportunity REIT II fund. Behringer Harvard acquired it in a 90/10 joint venture with Denver-based Grand Peaks Properties.
— Coleman Wood