HOUSTON — Houston-based ITW Global Brands has opened its new $1 million, 11,000-square-foot Technology Center, a research and development facility located in Houston. The property is being used for product development, testing, evaluation and differentiation. A collection of 10 engineers and scientists staff the property.
ROSWELL, GA. — The 127,342-square-foot Roswell Summit, an office building located at 1080 Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell, has sold for $4.85 million. The property is 50 percent leased. The buyer plans to invest in interior and exterior upgrades. Sean Williams of Bull Realty represented Emcade Acquisitions, the buyer, in the transaction. Kevin Markwordt of Transwestern represented the seller, CSMC 2006-C5 Holcomb Office LP.
CHICAGO — Motorola Mobility, a smartphone maker owned by Google Inc., is relocating its headquarters to Vornado Realty Trust's Merchandise Mart in Chicago. The company, currently based in Libertyville, Ill., has signed an office lease for 572,000 square feet. The 3.5 million-square-foot Merchandise Mart is the world's biggest commercial building, according to a statement by Vornado. Motorola is expected to move to the building in early 2013.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Germany-based Deka Immobilien has sold the 270,158-square-foot The Westory, a Class A office building located at 607 14th St. NW in Washington, D.C. The 12-story building is LEED Gold certified. Savills represented the seller in the transaction. The buyer was a joint venture between a local operator and an insurance company.
AMBLER, PA. — Liberty Lutheran Services has purchased the Whitemarsh Corporate Center East Building at 7002 Butler Pike in Ambler for $3 million. Liberty is a non-profit organization human services agency. The 25,000-square-foot office building will serve as its new headquarters. The property was renovated in 2008. Neil Shupak and Justin Bell of Newmark Knight Frank Smith Mack represented the seller, 7 East Skippack Associates LP, a partnership under the umbrella of Keystone Property Group, in the transaction.
CARLSBAD, CALIF. — A 41,516-square-foot office building in Carlsbad that is triple-net leased to ViaSat Digital Communications has sold to a private California limited liability company for $14.15 million. The property is located at 2530 Campbell Place. ViaSat signed a 10-year triple-net lease for the building in May 2009. The lease permits five percent rent increases every two years. Alvin Mansour of Marcus & Millichap’s San Diego office represented the seller, a California limited partnership.
KANSAS CITY, MO. — Opus Design Build has been selected to design and construct a three-story building that will serve as the Kansas Leadership Center's statewide headquarters and conference center for the Kansas Health Foundation (KHF). Launched by the KHF in 2005, the Kansas Leadership Center promotes civic leadership with the goal of creating healthier communities. The 36,000-square-foot facility will be used to host conferences, group meetings, lectures and training. The building will also feature office and classroom space and a 210-person auditorium. Construction will begin later this month and the facility is slated for completion in July 2013. Opus AE Group is the architect and engineer of record for the project.
NEWARK — Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) has renewed its lease for 825,000 square feet of office space at 80 Park Plaza, a 25-story building in Newark. The publicly traded energy company has occupied the space since 1979 and the renewal ensures PSEG will stay in Newark at least until 2030. PSEG employs about 10,000 people, about 1,650 of whom work in the headquarters building. Wells Real Estate Investment Trust II, the building owner, and PSEG also plan to make significant updates and energy improvements to 80 Park Plaza. Bryn Cinque and Eric Witmondt of Colliers International represented the tenant in the transaction. John Meisel of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the landlord.
EXTON, PA. — Brandywine Realty Trust has completed the sale of Oaklands Corporate Center, an 11 building portfolio totaling 466,719 square feet, in Exton for $52.7 million. The portfolio consists of 10 single-story and one two-story flex/office buildings which are 81.6 percent leased and have a weighted average age of 21 years. The property is located 35 miles west of Philadelphia. The seller is a private investor.
NEW YORK CITY — Amerigroup has signed a lease for 165,000 square feet at 14 Wall St. in New York City to consolidate its operations. The company will take the 11th, 12th, 14th and 22nd floors of the building. Amerigroup is consolidating its 50,000-square-foot office at 21 Penn Plaza, and its two Brooklyn facilities totaling 150,000 square feet at the new downtown location. Zev Holzman and Paul Revson of Studley and Rich Hopen of Hopen Corporate Services represented the tenant in the transaction. Howard Fiddle, Brad Gerla, Jonathan Cope and Evan Haskell of CBRE represented the building owner.
