The last five years have seen a lot of shuffling around for Boston’s mainstay industries, with professional service firms moving to the Seaport and tech companies moving to Kendall Square. Although we’ve seen more new residential and commercial development than ever, there will always be space limitations in Boston, which means there will always be more user demand than there is space on the market. The space left behind from tenants on the move will be easily filled by the next wave of tenants — and the cycle continues. Oxford Properties’ latest announcement of its acquisition of 222 Berkeley St. and 500 Boylston St. in the Back Bay is perhaps the best example of the trajectory model in Boston. And similar to the media and finance switcheroo that Manhattan is experiencing (the media mecca is now downtown and FiDi is now midtown), media companies in Boston are now moving into the financial district and finance firms are moving to the Seaport. Boston Globe Media Partners is close to leasing 75,000 square feet of space at 53 State Street. The publishing company will take some of Goodwin Procter’s block that will be vacated once the company relocates to the Seaport District. …
DALLAS — CBRE Global Investors will launch a $19 million capital improvement program for the Galleria Office Towers in Dallas. The three Class A office buildings are located on the corner of the Dallas North Tollway and LBJ Freeway and are directly connected to the Westin Galleria Hotel, as well as the Galleria mall. The assets were built between 1982 and 1991 and total 1.4 million square feet. Renovations will include a new parking system that will be the first of its kind at an office building in North America. The system includes license plate recognition technology that provides in and out access, electronic signs that display the number of spaces available on each level and overhead LED lights to alert drivers of open spots on each row. Other improvements include new tenant lounges at each building, multiple conference centers, an expanded fitness center and renovations to the lobbies, common corridors, restrooms and elevator cabs. CBRE Global Investors owns the buildings, which include tenants such as MetLife, Merrill Lynch and Ryan Cos. Celeste Fowden, Shannon Brown and Kenzie Killgore of CBRE’s Dallas office are the leasing agents for the Galleria Office Towers. The properties are managed by CBRE under the direction of …
NEW YORK CITY — A joint venture between Savanna and Atom Assets, a Hong Kong-based family office real estate investment platform, has received a $40 million acquisition loan for a development site located at 106 W. 56th St. in Midtown Manhattan. The loan was provided by Singapore-based United Overseas Bank Ltd. The partnership plans to develop the site into a 26-story, Class A boutique office building. Located in Manhattan’s West Fifties neighborhood, the new building will offer 90,000 square feet of Class A boutique office space. Kelly Gaines and Aaron Niedermayer of JLL arranged the financing.
CARMEL, IND. — Citimark will develop a 60,000-square-foot, Class A office building in Carmel, approximately 20 miles north of Indianapolis. Wagner Reese LLP, a personal injury law firm, and Blue Horseshoe, a software and technology enterprise service provider, will occupy approximately half of the three-story building that will be located at 11939 N. Meridian St. The building is slated for completion in January 2017, and construction will start this spring. Rich Forslund and Matt Langfeldt of Colliers International will serve as the listing agents for the project.
LIVONIA, MICH. — Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions has arranged the sale of a 109,000-square-foot office building in Livonia, approximately 20 miles northwest of Detroit, for an undisclosed price. CEM Wildcat LLC c/o Miller Investment Co. sold the building, located at 31100 Plymouth Road, to D&E Ventures LLC. Steve Eisenshtadt and Phil Konopitski of Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions represented the seller in the transaction.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Lionstone–Hermes Real Estate Venture, a joint partnership, has purchased University Park, a Class A office building located in central Austin near the University of Texas. The eight-story, 206,657-square-foot building was 94 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants such as Google, WeWork, ESPN and Evernote. Launched in 2014, the primary objective of the Lionstone–Hermes Investment Management joint venture is to invest in office properties in high-growth U.S. markets such as Austin. HFF brokered the sale. Aquila Commercial Properties will continue to manage leasing, and Transwestern will provide property management.
TRUMBULL, CONN. — The Silverman Group has completed the sale of Trefoil Park, a five-building office/laboratory/flex park in Trumbull. 265 West 34th Street LLC acquired the asset for $26.7 million. The park includes a three-story, 54,899-square-foot building located at 35 Corporate Drive; a three-story 47,264-square-foot building located at 55 Corporate Drive; a 44,221-square-foot asset at 126 Monroe Turnpike; a 45,615-square-foot property at 30 Trefoil Drive; and a 40,675-square-foot building at 204 Spring Hill Road. In addition to a mix of office, industrial and flex space, the park features a fitness center and a child care center. At the time of sale, Trefoil Park was 95 percent leased to a diverse roster of 37 corporate and industrial tenants. Tom O’Leary, Gary Gabriel, Andrew Merin, David Bernhaut and Andrew Schwartz of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Alpha Realty has arranged the sales of four apartment and mixed-use properties in Brooklyn neighborhoods. The transactions include a 16-unit apartment building at 354 E. 54th St. in East Flatbush selling for $2.2 million, or $222 per square foot; a 16-unit apartment building at 845 Schenectady Ave. in Flatbush trading for $2.2 million; a six-unit multifamily property at 540 Bainbridge St. in Bedford-Stuyvesant selling for $2.8 million, or $514 per square foot; and a four-story mixed-use building located at 278 Albany Ave. in Crown Heights for $2.4 million. Lev Mavashev and Jacob Aronov of Alpha Realty handled the off-market transactions. The names of the buyers and sellers were not released.
CLINTON, N.J. — Unity Bancorp has acquired its headquarters facility, which is located at 64 Old Highway 22 in Clinton. Clinton Unity Group sold the property for $4.1 million. Built in 1996, the three-story building features 20,000 square feet of office space. Recently the property underwent renovations including new workspaces, flooring and a remodeled lunchroom with new seating and appliances. With this acquisition, Unity Bancorp now owns 12 of its 15 business locations.
CHICAGO — PREMIER Design + Build LLC has completed Phase II of the Chicago Innovation Exchange. The project consisted of renovating the core and shell of the Doerr Building, which houses high-tech facilities for the Chicago Innovation Exchange, an innovation hub for the University of Chicago and other startup companies. The new space features a digital fabrication lab, co-working spaces, new offices and conference rooms. Built Form LLC and Beyer Blinder Belle provided architectural services for the project. TGRWA LLC and Advance Consulting Group International Inc. provided engineering services.