COLUMBIA, S.C. — Parkway Properties has sold Capitol Center in Columbia to an undisclosed buyer for $47.5 million.
Parkway Properties acquired the 460,000-square-foot office property 10 years ago. At the time of sale, it was 97.5 percent occupied.
“The asset (Capitol Center) has performed well for us, but we are exiting a few markets, of which Columbia is one,” says Jim Ingram, executive vice president and chief investment officer with Parkway Properties. “We’re deploying the proceeds of those dollars into other markets, such as Phoenix, Houston and Florida.”
In recent months, Parkway Properties has disposed of two other assets: Town Point Center, a 131,000-square-foot office property in Norfolk, Va.; and Wachovia Plaza, a 186,000-square-foot office property in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Ingram says the company is also active in raising discretionary office funds.
“We completed the investment of a $500 million discretionary fund on behalf of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System in February,” says Ingram. “Since that time, we raised a second discretionary office fund with Teacher’s Retirement System of Texas. Teacher’s committed $262.5 million in equity, Parkway Properties committed $112.5 million in equity, and out of that $375 million, we will acquire $750 million worth of properties across the Southeast.”
Ingram says considering recent cloudy financial and economic news, his company is seeking good investments.
“Most of the fundamentals we see are still sound in the office market,” says Ingram.