FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Commercial-stage cell therapeutics company Celularity has signed a full-building, 147,215-square-foot office lease in Florham Park. The property is part of a two-building office campus at 170-180 Park Ave. that totals 368,780 square feet. The lease marks the largest new office lease in New Jersey for the first quarter of 2019. James Postell, Matt McDonough and Dan Ligorner of Transwestern Commercial Services represented the building owner in the transaction. Charlie Hatfield and Ryan Healy of Colliers International represented Celularity in the transaction.
Leasing Activity
TAMPA, FLA. — The Bromley Cos. has signed True Food Kitchen to a 5,000-square-foot lease in Midtown Tampa, a $500 million, 22-acre development in Tampa. This marks True Food’s first west central Florida location. Integrative medicine expert Andrew Weil co-founded the Oprah Winfrey-backed health-driven restaurant that operates several locations in Jacksonville, Naples and Boca Raton, Fla. The Bromley Cos., in collaboration with Casto Southeast Realty Services, Jeffrey Anderson Real Estate Co., Crescent Communities and Concord Hospitality, has already signed Whole Foods Market. Whole Foods will relocate its existing Tampa store and occupy 48,000 square feet at Midtown Tampa in 2020.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — PINSTACK, an entertainment concept that combines bowling with other activities, as well as food and beverages, will open a 50,000-square-foot venue at Tech Ridge Center in Austin. This will be the first location outside of the DFW metroplex for PINSTACK, which is owned by Entertainment Properties Group Inc. In addition to bowling, the Austin center will offer a rock climbing wall, virtual reality games, laser tag, bumper cars and a ropes course, as well as a chef-driven menu featuring craft cocktails, wine and draft beer. The opening is scheduled for late 2019.
NEW YORK CITY — Knotel, a locally based designer and builder of flexible office space, has signed leases to open two locations totaling 70,924 square feet in New York City. Knotel will open a 43,520-square-foot space at 88 Pine Street in the Financial District and a 27,404-square-foot space at 1407 Broadway in Times Square. Elie Reiss of Skylight Leasing represented Knotel in negotiations for the first lease, and Michael Cohen and John Pavone of Colliers International represented Knotel in the second deal, which is a sublease from web hosting company GoDaddy. Jon Wheels and Chris Perry of Aquila Commercial represented GoDaddy in the latter transaction. Knotel, which operates locations in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Berlin, Paris and Brazil, now has a global footprint of more than 3 million square feet across 200 sites.
PITTSBURGH — CBRE has arranged a 20,000-square-foot office lease for the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh at Warner Centre, located at 332 Fifth Ave. in downtown Pittsburgh. The agency will occupy the entire fourth floor of the building. CBRE’s Christopher Koch, leasing agent for Warner Centre, negotiated the lease on behalf of the building’s owner, JJ Operating Inc., a family-owned real estate investment and management company based in New York City. The Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, plans to occupy Warner Centre this summer. The move will provide the agency with the efficiency of operating on a single floor versus multiple floors at its existing Wood Street location. Warner Centre is situated in the center of downtown Pittsburgh, located next to the newly completed Point Park Playhouse. The landlord recently made improvements to the lobby of Warner Centre and plans to make upgrades to the elevators beginning this year. The mission of the Urban League is to enable African Americans to secure economic self-reliance, parity and power, and civil rights. The HUD-certified housing counseling agency offers a wide variety of programs.
SEATTLE — Dropbox Inc. has leased four floors totaling 120,886 square feet at a speculative office tower currently under construction in Seattle’s central business district. Skanska is developing the 38-story building, known as 2+U. Dropbox, a San Francisco-based file storage and sharing company, is expected to occupy the space at 2+U in late 2020. With this new signing, 2+U is now 60 percent leased. Other tenants joining Dropbox include Indeed.com and coworking firm Spaces. The 686,000-square-foot tower is scheduled for completion this summer. Located at the corner of Second Avenue and University Street, the development is adjacent to the Seattle Art Museum and Benaroya Hall. The property is lifted 85 feet off the ground in order to create an outdoor “urban village” underneath the building. The village area will include nearly a half-acre of open space with 17,000 square feet of retail and arts space. Floor plates at 2+U will range from 18,000 to 30,000 square feet. In addition to a rooftop deck, tenants will enjoy unobstructed views of the Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains. Dropbox currently occupies space at the Columbia Center in the city. “We’re thrilled to expand in Seattle,” says Greg Conklin, engineering director and Seattle site …
HOUSTON — Madison Marquette has negotiated 95,883 square feet of lease transactions at Bank of America Center, located at 700 Louisiana St. in downtown Houston. Deal highlights include international law firm Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP leasing 17,519 square feet; asset management firm Carlson Capital LP renewing its 8,774-square-foot lease; and financial services provider BMO Capital Markets Corp. renewing its 30,275-square-foot lease and taking an additional 7,065 square feet of space. John Spafford and Madeline Gregory represented the landlord, Houston-based M-M Properties, in the lease negotiations.
Avison Young Negotiates 56,556 SF Headquarters Lease for Automotive Tech Firm in Charlotte
by Alex Tostado
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Avison Young has negotiated a 56,556-square-foot lease for Transbotics to move its headquarters to 2205 Beltway Blvd. within Westpark85 in Charlotte. The tenant, which specializes in automatic guided vehicles (AGVs), is almost doubling its square footage with the move from its existing facility at 3400 Latrobe Drive in Charlotte. Transbotics expects to move into the space in June when the landlord, Foundry Commercial, completes the interior buildout of the space. Westpark85 is a 1.2-million-square-foot development being constructed in two phases on 107 acres near interstates 85 and 485. Christopher Skibinski, Henry Lobb and Tom Tropeano of Avision Young represented the tenant in the lease transaction. Fermin Deoca and Warren Snowdon of Foundry Commercial internally represented the landlord.
BOLINGBROOK, ILL. — Old World Industries has signed a 354,400-square-foot industrial lease to fully occupy Crossroads Parkway 605 in Bolingbrook. Duke Realty owns the building, which is located at 605 West Crossroads Parkway. Old World Industries is an automotive and chemical company. Britt Casey of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the lease transaction. Jeff Fischer and John Whitehead of NAI Hiffman represented Duke.
PITTSBURGH, PA. — CBRE has arranged an office lease for Kennametal Inc. at an office tower in Pittsburgh’s central business district. Located at 525 William Penn Place, the 900,000-square-foot, 41-story office property is owned by investment group FAC 525. The tower is Pittsburgh’s fourth-largest office building in the CBD. Major capital improvements are nearing completion as part of a rebranding and redevelopment initiative at the property, including a complete lobby renovation, fitness center and reserved tenant parking.CBRE represented FAC 525 in the deal. Avison Young represented Kennametal in the lease transaction, the size of which was not disclosed.