HOUSTON — JLL and Stream Realty Partners have co-brokered the sale of Kirkwood Tower, a 285,682-square-foot office building located in the Energy Corridor area of West Houston. The 16-story building, which was originally built in the early 1980s and renovated in 2015, was about 73 percent leased at the time of sale. Amenities include an executive penthouse, fitness center, sauna, wellness room, rooftop jogging track, a lobby bank, tenant lounge and a deli. Rick Goings and Jeff Hollinden of JLL represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The duo collaborated with Matthew Asvestas of Stream Realty Partners to represent the buyer, David Z. Mafrige Interests (DZMI). Stream has also been retained as the leasing agent.
Office
HOUSTON — Dallas-based brokerage firm STRIVE has negotiated the sale of Washington Plaza, a 44,950-square-foot retail and office complex in West Houston. Built in 2008, the property was 97 percent leased at the time of sale. Jake Dutson and Michael Hill of STRIVE represented the undisclosed seller — and original developer — of the property, in the transaction. The duo also procured the buyer, Dhanani Private Equity Group.
PSRS Arranges $9.2M Refinancing for Historic Office Property in Santa Barbara, California
by Amy Works
SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. — PSRS has arranged $9.2 million in refinancing for The Julia, a historic office building located at 924 Anacapa St. in Santa Barbara. Designed by famed architect Julia Morgan in 1926 initially as a women’s hotel, the 40,000-square-foot property was converted to office use in the 1970s. Seth Ludwick and Thomas Rudinsky of PSRS secured the loan, which features a 25-year amortizing term with rate resets every five years, through one of PSRS’ correspondent life insurance companies.
CHICAGO — CBRE has negotiated a 44,457-square-foot headquarters lease for logistics company TransLoop at 350 N. Orleans St. in Chicago. TransLoop outgrew its prior Chicago headquarters in just over three years, prompting the company to nearly triple its footprint. The new office, secured through a sublease from Gartner, will allow the company to add up to 200 new jobs in Chicago. CBRE’s Brian McDonnell and Bill Sheehy represented the tenant.
NEW YORK CITY — Cerity Partners has signed an office lease expansion in Midtown Manhattan. The wealth management and financial advisory firm currently subleases space on the 16th floor of 99 Park Avenue, a 26-story, 600,000-square-foot building. In 2027, Cerity Partners will transition to direct tenancy and expand its footprint to 48,671 square feet, inclusive of the entire 15th floor. Nicholas Dysenchuk and Rob Lowe of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Paul Glickman, Diana Biasotti, Kristen Morgan and Harrison Potter of JLL, along with internal agents Craig Panzirer and Alex Radmin, represented the landlord, Global Holdings.
ST. LOUIS — The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has opened its new, $1.7 billion campus in St. Louis. The development will serve as the new campus for the NGA, which is relocating from its existing facility in downtown St. Louis. Situated on a 9-acre heart in the St. Louis Place neighborhood, the N2W campus features a 700,000-square-foot office building, two multi-level parking garages, a secure visitor center, delivery inspection facility and multiple secured access points. McCarthy HITT, a joint venture led by McCarthy Building Cos., partnered with the NGA to deliver the project. McCarthy HIIT also includes HITT Contracting, Black & Veatch Special Projects Corp., Gensler and Akima LLC. A joint venture between Black & Veatch and Gensler also served as the architect-engineer of record for the development. The decision to build the new headquarters was announced in 2016, and major construction began in early 2020. According to McCarthy HIIT, N2W marks the largest federal investment in the history of St. Louis. NGA, which has maintained a significant presence in the city for seven decades, currently employs more than 3,000 local workers. — Hayden Spiess
PLANO, TEXAS — Porch Warranty has signed an 11,569-square-foot office lease in Plano. The provider of home protection services is taking space within Assembly Park, a 180,000-square-foot property that is a redevelopment of the former Market Square Mall. Shannon Brown, Julee Amparo and Tommy Nelson of CBRE represented the landlord, Houston-based Triten Real Estate Partners, in the lease negotiations. Clay Vaughn and Olivia McNeel of Savills represented the tenant.
NEW YORK CITY — ING Americas has signed a 30,783-square-foot office lease expansion at 1133 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan. The affiliate of Dutch banking giant ING Group now occupies 153,915 square feet across five floors at the 1.1 million-square-foot building. Robert Stillman, Michael Geoghgan, Ryan Alexander, Paul Stimpfle, Harly Stevens and Marlee Teplitzky of CBRE represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Tom Bow, Rocco Romeo and Nora Caliban internally represented the landlord, The Durst Organization.
PASADENA, CALIF. — Newmark has negotiated the sale of The Chamber of Commerce Building, an office property located at 117 E. Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena. A partnership led by Pasadena-based investor Pete Klutzier and his company, Edgewood Realty Partners, acquired the asset for an undisclosed price. Built in 1904 in the tradition of Beaux-Arts architecture, The Chamber of Commerce Building offers 82,025 square feet of 84 percent leased office space and an adjacent standalone parking structure at 48 N. Raymond Ave. The building has undergone significant upgrades over the years and caters to the needs of small- to mid-sized tenants. Kevin Shannon, Rob Hannan, Ken White, Laura Stumm and Michael Moll of Newmark represented the undisclosed seller in the deal.
By Robert Likes, president, community development lending and investment, affordable housing, KeyBank The nation’s housing crisis has reached a breaking point, pushing developers to rethink how and where new supply can be created. Among the most promising — and debated — solutions is the conversion of underutilized office buildings into much-needed affordable housing. On the surface, the concept seems straightforward: repurpose empty office space into homes in locations where demand is highest. In practice, however, these projects are anything but simple. Converting office buildings into livable, modern and affordable multifamily residences requires far more than reimagining floor plans. Success depends on choosing the right property, assembling a complex capital stack and deploying an experienced team capable of navigating regulatory, design and construction challenges. Done right, these conversions not only add critical housing supply but also breathe new life into urban centers struggling with high office vacancies. The Case for Conversions The United States has too much office space and not enough housing units, particularly for low-income households. Office-to-residential conversion projects help to equalize the supply-demand imbalance in both asset classes. According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, we are short 7.1 million rental homes for extremely low-income households. As a result, many …