MADISON, WIS. — A joint venture owned by Alex Brown Realty Inc. (ABR) and Fulcrum Asset Advisors LLC has acquired the U.S. Cellular Building, located at 5117 W. Terrace Drive in Madison. ABR Chesapeake Fund IV, a value-add real estate fund sponsored by ABR, invested $3.1 million in the venture. Built in 1997, the four-story Class A office building spans 101,925 square feet and is located on the southwest corner of the American Center Office Park. The property was 73 percent occupied at the time of sale. U.S. Cellular leases 74,717 square feet and occupies the first, second and third floors. Saint Paul, Minn.-based Advantus Capital Management provided first mortgage financing for the transaction.
NAPERVILLE, ILL. — K. Hovnanian T&C Homes has signed an 8,820-square-foot lease at One Naperville Plaza in Naperville, located about 30 miles west of Chicago. The new tenant, a publicly traded homebuilder, plans to use the space for its regional office. One Naperville Plaza is a multi-story, 54,109-square-foot building located at 1804 N. Naper Blvd. Dan O’Neill, Adam Johnson and Jud Henry of NAI Hiffman represented the landlord, ROC Inc., in the transaction. Mark Georgas and Paul Diederich of CBRE represented K. Hovnanian.
WESTPORT, CONN. — Ridgebury Tankers LLC has signed a lease for 2,695 square feet of office space at 33 Riverside Ave. in Westport, an eastern suburb of Newport. Riverside Avenue will be the corporate headquarters for the newly founded Ridgebury Tankers, a deep-sea shipping company. Brett Sherman of Angel Commercial LLC represented the tenant in the lease transaction.
SAN FRANCISCO — A fully pre-leased office tower has broken ground in San Francisco. It is located at 350 Mission Street across from the new Transbay Transit Center and Millennium Tower. Salesforce.com will fully occupy the glass and concrete office tower once it’s completed in 2015. The $200-million tower is being developed by Kilroy Realty Corporation.
CHICAGO — Global law firm Dentons has extended its lease at Willis Tower in Chicago for 15 years. Dentons will relocate within the building and occupy 144,000 square feet of new space. Willis Tower is a 4.5 million-square-foot office/retail building in Chicago. The building is home to more than 100 different companies, including the global headquarters of United Airlines. Dentons is the world’s seventh-largest law firm with 2,500 lawyers. Mike Kazmierczak, Derek Rolison and Bob Wislow of U.S. Equities Asset Management represented 233 S. Wacker Drive LLC, the building’s owner, in the transaction. Stuart Eisenkraft, Andrew Sussman, Lewis Miller, Patrick Nelson, Paul Stimpfle, Todd Lippman and Lisa Konieczka of CBRE represented Dentons. U.S. Equities Asset Management has managed leasing at the iconic Chicago building since 2007.
FRAMINGHAM, MASS. — Normandy Real Estate Partners has purchased MetroWest Place, a five-story, Class A office building in Framingham, for $5.5 million. CRCP Pleasant Street LLC sold the 95,000-square-foot property, which is located at 15 Pleasant Street Connector, about 25 miles west of Boston. Genzyme , a developer of transformative therapies for patients affected by rare and debilitating diseases, has fully occupied the building since 2012. Chris Skeffington, John Lashar, Paul Leone and Roy Sandeman of Richards Barry Joyce & Partners represented CRCP Pleasant Street LLC in the transaction. The new ownership has retained Richards Barry Joyce & Partners as the exclusive leasing agent for the building.
SAN FRANCISCO — A fully pre-leased office tower has broken ground in San Francisco. It is located at 350 Mission Street across from the new Transbay Transit Center and Millennium Tower. Salesforce.com will fully occupy the glass and concrete office tower once it’s completed in 2015. The $200-million tower is being developed by Kilroy Realty Corporation.
MORRIS TOWNSHIP, N.J. — China Construction America Inc. has purchased 445 S. St., a 320,274-square-foot, Class A office building in Morris Township, for $71 million, or more than $221 per square foot. The four-story building is located in Southgate Corporate Park, about 23 miles west of Newark. Lead tenants in the building include The Travelers Indemnity Co. (105,698 square feet) and Marsh USA (54,376 square feet). Andrew Merin, Gary Gabriel, David Bernhaut and Brian Whitmer of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction, while Geoff Schubert and Dorothy Chuang of CBRE represented China Construction America.
PHILADELPHIA — Beneficial Bank has signed a 15-year lease for 95,764 square feet on four floors at 1818 Market St. in Philadelphia. The 1 million-square-foot high-rise, owned by Sovereign Capital Management Group, will be renamed 1818 Beneficial Bank Place. Beneficial Bank, one of the biggest and oldest banks headquartered in Philadelphia, will relocate its headquarters from 530 Walnut St. to the new location in February 2014. David Binswanger, Joe Muldoon and Chris Lange of Binswanger represented Beneficial Bank in the transaction.
QUINCY, MASS. — Grossman Cos. Inc. has signed a five-year lease for 7,195 square feet at One Adams Place in Quincy. Constructed in 1986 and renovated in 2004, One Adams Place is a five-story, 124,777-square-foot Class A office building. Sean Teague and Kate McGovern of Cassidy Turley represented the landlord, CommonWealth REIT, in the transaction. Michael Olson of Grossman Cos. represented his company. Reit Management & Research LLC Real Estate Services manages One Adams Place. Grossman Cos. is a commercial real estate investment, management and brokerage company.