WASHINGTON, D.C. — Capital One has closed a $110 million non-recourse bridge loan for the refinancing of a six-story office building located at 64 New York Ave. in Washington, D.C. Capital One served as sole lead agent, sole bookrunner and administrative agent for the loan. Capital One provided the loan on behalf of the borrower, a property fund managed by Brookfield Asset Management. The office building is primarily leased to the Washington, D.C., government, according to Capital One.
PLEASANTON, CALIF. — Britannia Business Center III, a 191,000-square-foot office and R&D portfolio in Pleasanton, has received $27.4 million in acquisition financing. The portfolio is located at 5870 Stoneridge Drive. The center contains about 125,000 square feet of office space and 66,000 square feet of research and development facilities. This space is situated in three non-contiguous buildings. The R&D portion is fully occupied by contact lens developer CooperVision. The non-recourse loan was secured by Steven Buchwald and Lexington Henn of Mission Capital Advisors’ Debt & Equity Finance Group on behalf of Ridge Capital Investors. The firm’s Will Sledge, Patrick Arnold and Gregg Applefield executed the $35.1 million sale.
In the April 2014 edition of Heartland Real Estate Business, I pointed out that the recovery from the historic 2008 flood was nearing completion in Cedar Rapids, a city of approximately 129,000 residents. The last of the damaged city facilities, a recreation center in the Time Check neighborhood on the city’s northwest side, has been demolished. Taking its place will be a new 17,000-square-foot recreation center currently under construction. In July, the Cedar Rapids City Council approved the $600 million flood protection system alignment on both sides of the Cedar River; all the flood system funding plan is now in place, except for the federal appropriation of $78 million pending approval in Congress. Three sections of flood protection are complete or under construction. The National Civic League recognized this feat in 2014 when it named Cedar Rapids as a recipient of the All-America City Award, which recognizes communities that overcome citywide challenges and achieve uncommon results. (The National Civic League is a nonprofit organization that advocates for transparency, effectiveness, and openness in local government.) The city’s strong recovery following the devastating flood in 2008 is evident by the accolades it has received from a variety of media outlets and interest …
NEW YORK CITY — Savanna, a New York-based real estate private equity and asset management firm, has completed the sale of 31 Penn Plaza to Vanbarton Group LLC for an undisclosed sum. Located at 132 W. 31st St., the 18-story property features 444,000 square feet of office space. Savanna acquired the property in 2011 and completed a $20 million renovation, including redesigning the lobby, security infrastructure and entrance, modernizing the elevators, restoring the façade, upgrading coming areas and adding retail amenities. During the period Savanna owned the property, the firm entered into 260,000 square feet of lease agreements with tenants that included Friedman’s, Pennsylvania Six and Dee Daa. Douglas Harmon, Adam Spies, Joshua King, Adam Donegar and Michael Saclarides of Eastdil Secured represented Savanna in the transaction. Christopher Price and Adam Kopald of Goodwin Procter served as the seller’s counsel for the sale.
HAMDEN, CONN. — Press/Cuozzo Commercial Services has brokered the long-term lease of 2,664 square feet of office space at Hamden Center II in Hamden. FC USA Inc., the parent company of GOGO Worldwide Vacations, will occupy the space at 2321 Whitney Ave. Stephen Press of Press/Cuozzo represented the landlord, while Steve Inglese of The New Haven Group represented the tenant in the transaction.
HOUSTON — Ashford Crossing LLC, an affiliate of Hartman Short Term Income Properties XX, has purchased the Ashford Crossing II office building in Houston. The property is a 158,451-square-foot, six-story office building located at Dairy Ashford Road and Whittington Drive on the southern edge of the energy corridor and the northern border of the Westchase submarket. Ashford Crossing II was built in 1983 and has been institutionally owned and managed since 2002. The property is 87 percent leased to a mix of tenants, including Rignet, a provider of communications, networks and collaborative applications for the oil and gas industry. H. Dan Miller and Marty Hogan of HFF represented the seller in the transaction. Dave Wheeler, Julian Kwok and Russell Turman of Hartman represented the buyer, Hartman Ashford Crossing LLC.
ANNAPOLIS JUNCTION, MD. — St. John Properties Inc., in partnership with Somerset Construction Co., has revealed plans for the development of a new 100,000-square-foot office building at 10170 Junction Drive in Annapolis Junction, roughly 18 miles south of Baltimore. The new four-story property will be located within Annapolis Junction Town Center, a mixed-use transit-oriented development situated adjacent to the Savage Maryland Rail Commuter Rail (MARC) station. The project represents the office component of the development, which will also contain 416 luxury apartment homes, a 150-room hotel, 17,450 square feet of retail space and the recently completed MARC Station with a 700-space commuter parking garage. Southern Management Corp. and Somerset Construction Co. are developing the residential and retail portions of Annapolis Junction Town Center and are seeking a partner for the hospitality component. St. John Properties is constructing the office building to satisfy LEED Silver specifications for Core and Shell. The exterior of the building will comprise brick and glass and will feature 25,000-square-foot floorplates. St. John Properties plans to deliver the property in fall 2016. The company recently assumed control of this project, which was formerly being developed by Corporate Office Properties Trust.
LOS ANGELES — A private Asian investor has purchased a 106,560-square-foot office building in the Los Angeles submarket of Thousand Oaks for $19.1 million. The building is fully occupied by Anthem Blue Cross of California. The property is located at 2000 Corporate Center Drive. Anthem has occupied the building since 1993. There are more than seven years remaining on the lease. CBRE’s Kevin Shannon, Brad Burton, Mike Moll, Ken White, Michael Longo, Tom Dwyer and Michael Slater represented the seller, Gramercy Property Trust.
GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS — AutoWash Services has purchased a 29,480-square-foot office/warehouse space in Dallas’ Great Southwest Industrial District to relocate its headquarters and operations center from downtown Arlington. Casey Tounget and Theron Bryant of Coldwell Banker Commercial Alliance DFW represented the buyer, whose current location at 1305 E. Abrams Road is being impacted by a city project to widen the east-west thoroughfare. Upon completion of the transaction, AutoWash Services will immediately relocate to 2925 114th St. in Grand Prairie, ending nearly one year of searching for a new location in the greater Arlington area. AutoWash Services is a wholesale supplier of car wash equipment and supplies and provides construction/design services. Michael Stanzel of NAI Robert Lynn represented the seller, Ralph McMillan, who owns RAMCO Laundry Machinery Inc. Situated on 1.6 acres, the light-industrial structure features a 3,504-square-foot office space, 24-foot clear heights, four dock doors, one drive-up ramp, a staging bay, 120-foot truck court and 37 parking spaces. The infrastructure includes heavy power and a sprinkler system.
WESTLAKE, TEXAS — Echo Locum Tenens Inc. has leased 34,188 square feet of office space in Solana at 7 Village Circle in Westlake. Josh White and Neal Puckett of CBRE represented Echo Locum Tenens Inc. Chris Taylor, Rodney Helm, Trey Smith and Layne Mayfield with DTZ represented the landlord, Equity Office Properties, an affiliate of The Blackstone Group.