HOUSTON — Sheppard Mullin will open a 29,800-square-foot office in downtown Houston. The space is located on the 25th floor of the 47-story Texas Tower building, and the law firm plans to take occupancy in the fourth quarter of next year. Kevin Kushner, William Padon and Sydnee Hilburn of CBRE represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Michael Anderson of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord, a partnership between Hines, Ivanhoé Cambridge and an affiliate of global investor CDPQ.
NEW YORK CITY — The Federative Republic of Brazil has renewed and expanded its office space at 220 E. 42nd Street, a 37-story building in Midtown Manhattan, by 65,331 square feet. The consulate general has renewed and extended its existing 30,030-square-foot lease. In addition, the Brazilian Mission to the United States will occupy 23,066 square feet, and the Brazilian Financial Office will occupy 12,235 square feet. Harry Blair, Tara Stacom, Barry Zeller and Pierce Hance of Cushman and Wakefield represented the landlord, SL Green, in the lease negotiations. Peter Trivelas and Justin Royce, also with Cushman & Wakefield, represented the tenant.
CHICAGO — The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) has signed a 99,421-square-foot office lease at U.S. Cellular Plaza in Chicago. Jonathon Connor, Francis Prock and Jason Simon of Colliers represented the landlord, FCA Partners. The office property totals 637,000 square feet across three buildings. The CDA will occupy floors five through nine in the 8420 building and is relocating from a facility on the O’Hare airport grounds effective immediately. FCA has owned the property debt-free since 2011 and recently completed a $15 million capital improvement campaign. Fred Ishler of Avison Young represented CDA.
MINNEAPOLIS — A joint venture between Cross Ocean Partners, Neuberger Berman Special Situations client funds and Onward Investors has acquired Wells Fargo Center, a 57-story office tower located at 90 S. Seventh St. in Minneapolis’ downtown commercial district. The 1.2 million-square-foot trophy building traded hands for an undisclosed price. Wells Fargo Center is the third tallest building in Minneapolis. Major tenants include a Wells Fargo branch bank, Colliers, the law firm of Faegre Drinker and the local office of accounting firm KPMG. The building contains an indoor pedestrian promenade that houses a 100-foot-high domed ceiling rotunda on one side and a lobby on the other. The building also features The Reserve, which houses amenities such as a fitness center, reservable wellness rooms, lounge with coworking and focus rooms, conference center and catering kitchen on the seventh floor. The property also offers private car and bicycle parking. Wells Fargo Center was 62 percent leased at the time of sale, with up to 110,000 square feet of contiguous availability. The building has averaged roughly 95 percent occupancy since 1988, according to Onward Investors. “This acquisition epitomizes our fundamental value investment strategy of opportunistically capitalizing upon market dislocation and demonstrates Onward Investors’ continued commitment …
HOUSTON — Moelis & Co. will open a 30,400-square-foot office in downtown Houston. The space is located on the 22nd floor of the 47-story Texas Tower building, and the global investment bank plans to take occupancy in the fourth quarter of next year. David Guion and Chris Oliver of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Michael Anderson, also with Cushman & Wakefield, represented the landlord, a partnership between Hines, Ivanhoé Cambridge and an affiliate of global investor CDPQ.
MIAMI BEACH, FLA. — Coworking operator Regus has signed a long-term lease for nearly 46,000 square feet in Miami Beach, committing to occupying an entire Class A, boutique office building. Set to move in before the end of the year, Regus will establish its third and largest space in the submarket at 429 Lenox, where the new location will operate under the firm’s Spaces brand. Designed by Miami-based architect Kobi Karp, the property features modern office spaces, a rooftop deck, an onsite parking garage and multiple signage opportunities. Stephen Rutchik and Ana Paula of Colliers’ South Florida office represented the landlord, Azora Exan, in the lease transaction. JLL’s Adam Bernstein represented Regus in the deal.
CHICAGO — Skender has completed interior construction of the new 35,000-square-foot headquarters for architectural firm SCB in Chicago. The company relocated from 625 North Michigan to the historic AMA Plaza building, which was designed by famed architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. SCB designed its new space on the 25th floor that features a mix of open office, conference rooms, collaboration spaces, a café, library and private executive offices. The build-out also features a shop that enables the firm to create design models for client presentations. A custom 3D model wall in the lobby highlights SCB’s impact on the city’s skyline. The project team also included Syska Hennessy Group as the engineer and JLL as owner’s representative.
WAUKESHA, WIS. — Irgens is underway on the conversion of an office property to healthcare space in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha. The 58,223-square-foot building is part of Stone Ridge Business Park. Irgens recapitalized the project, and construction is set to begin later this month. Renovations will include HVAC upgrades, lobby and common area updates, a new fitness and conference center, and new external signage. EUA is the architect, Catalyst Construction is the general contractor and Summit Credit Union is providing financing. The project, named Stone Ridge Medical Commons, is slated to open in spring 2025. Visage Facial Plastic Surgery and Retina & Vitreous Consultants of Wisconsin have both signed leases at the property and will open offices next year. Ben Anderson of Colliers represented Visage. Markel, the building’s original anchor tenant, is relocating to Research One in the Milwaukee County Research Park.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN), a Philadelphia-based REIT, has sold One & Two Barton Skyway, a pair of office buildings totaling 386,000 square feet in southwest Austin, for $107.6 million. The buildings are located at 1501 and 1601 S. MoPac Expressway within Barton Skyway, an office park that consists of four buildings on a 35-acre site. The City of Austin purchased the properties with plans to utilize them as a consolidated public safety headquarters. Brandywine retains ownership of Four Barton Skyway, which is currently 94 percent leased.
BROOMFIELD AND LOVELAND, COLO. — Prism Places has partnered with McWhinney to develop two separate commercial districts in Northern Colorado’s Broomfield and Loveland. The first project, Center Street, is slated to serve as the business district for Baseline, an 1,100-acre master-planned community in Broomfield. The walkable 312,000-square-foot commercial center will include 80,000 square feet of office space, 116,00 square feet of retail space, 37,000 square feet of grocery space and 78,000 square feet of restaurant space. Additionally, Center Street will offer more than 400 residential units. Michael Hsu Office of Architecture has designed the project, which already has an organic grocer preleased. The second project, Avenue South, will be the business and commercial hub for Centerra, a 3,000-acre master-planned community in Loveland. Totaling 360,000 square feet, Avenue South will include a 128,000-square-foot retail component, a 127,000-square-foot Class A office portion and 1,750 residential units. Architects Orange is designing Avenue South, which has a 37,000-square-foot lease signed with an organic grocer. Center Street is slated to break ground in September 2026, and Avenue South is scheduled to break ground in November 2025.