CHICAGO — Combined Insurance has signed an 11-year lease for 99,204 square feet of office space at 111 East Wacker Drive in downtown Chicago. The provider of accident, life and health insurance will take occupancy of the space on July 1, 2010. Martin Horner, Eric Kunkel and Scott Ohlander of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the tenant; Brian Whiting and Jack McKinney Jr. of J.F. McKinney represented the landlord, Parkway Properties, in the transaction. Additional terms of the lease were not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Aurora Capital Associates has acquired a 49-year master lease to four floors of 483 Broadway, an office building located in New York City, for approximately $150 million. The lease consists of 40,000 square feet of space comprising the building's sub-basement, selling lower level, ground floor and second floor. Currently, retailer Yellow Rat Bastard occupies the lower three floors, and the second floor is vacant. Aurora's immediate plans include leasing the second floor as office space, and its long-term plans include turning all four floors into a major flagship retail space. The third through fifth floors of 483 Broadway, which are occupied by media and fashion companies, were not affected by the transaction. Bobby Cayre and Alex Adjmi of Aurora provided in-house representation for their company. The seller, 483 Broadway Realty Corp., was represented by its in-house consultant, Bruce Kaye of AKB Realty Group.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Brasfied & Gorrie broke ground last month on the 105,000-square-foot GAI Building in downtown Orlando. The seven-story office building is located at the intersection of Summerlin Avenue and South Street. Completion of the $30 million project is slated for the first quarter of 2011, when the development, which was designed by Baker Barrios Architects, is expected to meet LEED Silver specifications. The Orlando division of GAI Consultants will eventually move 200 employees into 62,000 square feet of space in the building. M&I Bank provided construction financing.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Atlanta-based Troutman Sanders has leased 114,000 square feet from Square 407 Limited Partnership in a Washington office building. The space is located on the top two floors and the sixth floor at 401 9th St. The firm's merger with Ross, Dixon & Bell necessitated this expansion. Julie Schuelke, Wendy Feldman Block and Collin Wheeler of Studley represented Troutman in the 16-year lease. Jon Kaylor, Greg Storrs and Garrett Preis served as in-house representation for the landlord, a joint venture between Boston Properties and Gould Property Co.
ROCKFORD, ILL. — Magni Funds, a division of Rockford-based LandMark Cos., has acquired 6000 East State Street in Rockford for an undisclosed price. The Class A building offers 78,000 square feet of office space. The property is fully leased to Chase Bank, Rasmussen College, Rockford Orthopedic and C.H. Robinson. Additional details of the transaction were not released.
NORTHFIELD, ILL. — Reed Construction is currently constructing a 21,000-square-foot office renovation at the Kraft Foods Global headquarters facility in Northfield. Located at Three Lakes Drive, the project includes the construction of partitions and a 3,000-square-foot café with curved maple cabinetry. OTA is providing architectural services for the project.
NEW YORK CITY — Studley has arranged the sale of the majority interest in 515 Madison, a 42-story, 340,000-square-foot office building located in the Plaza District of Manhattan, New York City. The sellers, the Malloy and Scheffer families, sold a majority interest of their fee and senior leasehold positions to a joint venture led by the Gural and Hemmerdinger families, which was the controlling party of the previously existing subordinate leaseholds. While the financial terms of the transaction were undisclosed, the agreement values the building at $150 million. Acquisition financing was provided by Wells Fargo. Occupancy was 96 percent at the time of closing.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Franklin Templeton Investments has leased 80,448 square feet in the former headquarters building of Stiles Realty, located at 300 Las Olas Place in Fort Lauderdale. The LEED Gold building features hurricane-resistant windows. Franklin Templeton has leased the space for 10 years and will move 350 employees to the property. Stiles will move into a neighboring building it already owns. Stiles' Tom Kates served as the firm's in-house representation.
OLATHE, KAN. — Veggie Land has acquired 4,750 square feet of office space at 100 N. Church in Olathe. The company plans to use the space for distribution and office needs. Larry McAferty and Brian Bowers of Coldwell Banker Commercial Fishman & Co. represented the seller, Bank of Blue Valley, in the transaction. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
BETHESDA, MD. — Brookfield Properties Corp. has sold the 167,000-square-foot One Bethesda Center to JBG Cos. for $71 million. The Class A office is located at 4800 Hampden Lane in Bethesda. As part of the sale, JBG also assumed an existing $53 million loan. The building is 99 percent occupied by Boston Consulting Group, AREVA NC and 12 other tenants. Jim Meisel and Dek Potts of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler's Washington, D.C., office represented the seller.