ATLANTA — Jones Lang LaSalle has arranged a 49,293-square-foot lease with Axiall Corp., a chemical and buildings product firm, at Northpark Town Center in Atlanta’s Central Perimeter submarket. Axiall will establish its corporate headquarters in the 586,256-square-foot 400 Northpark building and will move in December. The relocation and expansion is expected to create between 50 and 100 jobs. Eric Vayle and Keene Reese of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the tenant in the lease deal. Richard Nash of CBRE represented the landlord.
HOPEWELL, N.J. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the $90.8 million sale of 1100, 1150 and 1200 Merrill Lynch Drive, a trio of Class A office buildings in Hopewell. A partnership including Fortress Investment Group, Sansome Pacific Properties, Normandy Real Estate Partners and Skyline Pacific Properties sold the 380,000-square-foot complex to American Real Estate Partners. The buildings are part of Merrill Lynch’s 12-building, 1.8 million-square-foot Hopewell campus and house the firm’s global wealth and investment management division. Cushman also arranged $60 million in acquisition financing for the office portfolio. Andrew Merin, David Bernhaut, Gary Gabriel, Brian Whitmer and Grace Braverman of Cushman & Wakefield's metropolitan capital markets group represented the sellers in the transaction. Mark Ehlinger and John Alascio of Cushman & Wakefield's equity, debt and structured finance team arranged acquisition financing on behalf of the American Real Estate Partners.
NEW YORK CITY — RFR has unveiled a $65 million capital improvement plan for its 530,000-square-foot office tower located at 285 Madison Ave. in Manhattan. RFR plans include redesigning the office tower as a green building and achieving LEED-Silver certification. The tower’s infrastructure will get a boost with new elevators and HVAC system, and the entrance and lobby of the 1920s-era building will be redesigned. Additionally, 40,000 square feet of retail space will be offered.
HOUSTON — Hanover Real Estate Partners, a Greenwich, Conn.-based investment company, has sold the Marathon Oil Tower in Houston’s Galleria submarket. The 41-story, 1.2 million-square-foot office building is located at 5555 San Felipe Street and includes an attached 13-story parking garage. CBRE Strategic Partners U.S. Value 6, a fund sponsored by CBRE Global Investors, purchased the asset, which is LEED Silver certified. Hanover assumed management and oversight duties at the tower in 2003, at which time Marathon Oil Co. leased the entire building. Marathon has since reduced its footprint to 650,000 square feet. Other tenants, including Aon Corp., Kanaly Trust Co. and Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations Inc., currently lease space vacated by Marathon.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Investment fund Velocis has acquired a majority interest in two Class A Austin office buildings totaling 173,870 square feet. Arboretum Atrium, located at 9737 Great Hills Trail, is a 91,083-square-foot facility that was 100 percent leased at the time of the sale. Las Cimas I is an 82,787-square-foot property located in the center of the four-building Las Cimas office park, which is situated at the corner of Bee Cave Road and Loop 360 in the Southwest Austin submarket. Moore & Associates sold the interests to Velocis and will retain management and leasing duties in addition to partial ownership.
ALISO VIEJO, CALIF. — AEW Capital Management has purchased a 109,948-square-foot, institutional-quality building in Aliso Viejo for an undisclosed sum. The corporate headquarters building is located at 1 Enterprise Drive. The building serves as the corporate headquarters for Microsemi Corporation. It is one of the only single-tenant, Class A buildings to be constructed in the Orange County submarket after 1999. The building is leased to Microsemi through January 2021.The seller, Global Investment Advisor, was represented by CBRE’s Bob Smith, Paul Jones, Kevin Shannonand Ken White.
ARLINGTON, VA. — Brandywine Realty Trust and APA IV, an affiliate of The Shooshan Co., have formed a joint venture to build a 426,900-square-foot office building in Arlington’s Ballston submarket. The 20-story property, known as 4040 Wilson Boulevard, is the final phase of Liberty Center, an eight-building, mixed-use development two blocks from the Balltston Metro Station. The office building will feature 10,000 square feet of retail, 544 below-grade parking spaces and a rooftop terrace with panoramic views of Washington, D.C. The property is designed to achieve LEED-Gold certification. Brandywine and APA will each own a 50 percent interest in the office building. The Shooshan Co. will oversee development, leasing, property management and construction management for the project. Brandywine will assist Shooshan in project development, marketing and leasing services. Brandywine will also contribute up to $36 million in the project. APA IV contributed the development’s initial equity over an eight-year period.
KEY LARGO, FLA. — Meridian Capital Group LLC has arranged $10.1 million in acquisition financing for the Ocean Reef office property, located at 31 Ocean Reef Drive in Key Largo. Tenants at the office property include Bank of America, Northern Trust, The UPS Store and the local government. Noam Kaminetzky of Meridian Capital Group’s Boca Raton, Fla., office arranged the seven-year loan through a local portfolio lender on behalf of the borrower, a foreign sponsor. The loan includes a fixed interest rate of 3.95 percent and a 25-year amortization schedule.
WESTMONT, ILL. — Centene Corp. has signed a 40,521-square-foot office lease renewal and expansion at 999 Oakmont Plaza Drive in Westmont, about 22 miles west of Chicago. The 117,841-square-foot One Oakmont Plaza is a Class A, six-story office building that includes amenities such as covered parking, a new deli, tenant lounge and conference facility. Patrick Kiefer and Jud Henry with NAI Hiffman’s office services group represented the building’s owner, Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada, in the transaction. Scott Bazoian of Cassidy Turley in St. Louis represented Centene Corp., a healthcare service provider.
MARLBOROUGH, MASS. — Colliers International has arranged $60 million in bridge financing for 200 Forest St., a 527,580-square-foot office building in suburban Boston. The research and development facility is located adjacent to Interstate 495 in the Forest Street Office Park in Marlborough. 200 Forest Street is part of the 109-acre former Hewlett-Packard campus acquired vacant by the Atlantic Management in 2011. Atlantic plans to use the loan to reposition and redevelop the property into a Class A, mixed-used development and pay off the original acquisition financing. Plans for the mixed-use project include the redevelopment of two existing office buildings; 350 units of multifamily housing; a 150-key hotel; and up to 75,000 square feet of retail. A state-of-the art diagnostic lab facility is currently under construction at 200 Forest St. for the property’s first tenant, Quest Diagnostics. Dave Douvadjian, Tom Welch and Brian Gaswirth led the Colliers’ Boston-based capital markets team in the transaction.