ALLENTOWN, PA. — Florida-based investment and development firm DLP Capital has opened Grand Plaza, a 254,782-square-foot office building located in the Lehigh Valley city of Allentown. DLP Capital acquired the building, which is located in the downtown area, via auction in 2021 and implemented a capital improvement program. Grand Plaza now features open, full-floor and multi-tenant floor plans, with office spaces ranging in size from 5,000 to 33,600 square feet. Additionally, Grand Plaza offer energy-efficient workspaces, winter gardens and a landscaped roof.
NEW YORK CITY — Los Angeles-based Thorofare Capital has provided a $16.8 million acquisition loan for a 42,500-square-foot office and retail building located at 69-30 Austin St. in Queens. Ross Cumming of Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Capital Advisors placed the financing with Thorofare Capital. The borrower, a partnership between LTNG, Crown Acquisitions and Forest Hills Real Estate Group, plans to use a portion of the proceeds to fund capital improvements.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte Metro Federal Credit Union (CMCU) plans to develop a new primary office building on the corner of Central Avenue and Piedmont Street in Charlotte’s Elizabeth neighborhood for its new headquarters. The two-story, 48,000 square-foot property will house the credit union’s operations and administration staff who currently deliver financial services for over 92,000 members. Designed by Liquid Design & Architecture, the building will have a large terrace on the second floor facing Uptown Charlotte, as well as a two-story atrium space and two underground levels of parking. The building will be directly adjacent to the new CMCU Central Avenue branch that broke ground in March and is expected to be open later this fall. Construction for the new headquarters will begin in the first quarter of 2023 with an expected completion date in the second quarter of 2024. Upon completion of the new headquarters facility, CMCU plans to sell its existing headquarters building at 718 Central Ave. in Charlotte but retain its operations offices in Matthews and Greensboro.
SAN ANTONIO — Total Quality Logistics, a provider of intermodal freight services, has signed a 17,590-square-foot office lease expansion at Exchange Tech Center in San Antonio. Total Quality Logistics now occupies 42,269 square feet at the building. Bryan Sethney of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Shawn Gulley and Rob Gish represented the landlord, Worth & Associates, on an internal basis.
NEW YORK CITY — Shawmut Design & Construction has signed a 27,015-square-foot office lease at 488 Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The lease term is 15 years. The 23-story building was originally designed in 1949 and was known as the “The Look Building” for the defunct magazine that was its primary tenant until 1971. David Hollander and Jared Freede of CBRE represented the tenant represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. David Turino represented the landlord, The Feil Organization, on an internal basis.
PLANO, TEXAS — Newmark has negotiated the sale of HQ53, a 248,661-square-foot office building in Plano’s Legacy submarket that is fully leased to third-party hotel management firm Aimbridge Hospitality. The five-story building was constructed in 2021 and offers a fitness center, conference facility and a tenant lounge. Chris Murphy, Gary Carr, Robert Hill and Chase Tagen of Newmark represented the seller, locally based developer Cawley Partners, in the transaction. San Francisco-based Drawbridge Realty purchased HQ53 for an undisclosed price.
There is no denying in-migration is a driving factor in South Florida. Over 650,000 people moved to Miami at the height of the pandemic — nearly 89,000 came from out of state and a quarter of those came from New York. Year-over-year job growth is up 6 percent and is back at peak levels seen prior to the pandemic, while over 27 percent of employment is in office-using sectors for the first time ever. CBRE’s Spring 2022 Occupier Sentiment Survey revealed that most companies are back to developing long-term plans to expand or contract their office space now that employees are returning — at least some of the time — after two years of mostly remote work. For the second quarter in a row, net absorption in Miami totaled over 200,000 square feet, with the majority occurring in Miami’s central business district (CBD). Driven by expansions, Class A product accounted for approximately 85 percent of total absorption in the first quarter. The growth of Miami is starting to solidify as new-to-market tenants that looked to relocate to Miami during the pandemic are starting to move into their office spaces. Since 2020, over 1.3 million square feet of office leasing activity …
SPRINGFIELD, VA. — Finmarc Management, a real estate investment and management firm based in Bethesda, Md., has purchased an 11-building portfolio from Boston Properties in Springfield for $127.5 million. The portfolio spans 740,000 square feet of industrial, flex/office and data center space in one- and two-story properties. Situated near Fort Belvoir and I-95, the portfolio was 74 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including ADT Security Systems, Avaya, SAIC, The Vomela Cos. and the U.S. General Service Administration (GSA). William Collins and Eric Berkman of Cushman & Wakefield represented Boston Properties in the transaction, and Finmarc was self-represented. Michael Zelin and Marshall Scanlon of Cushman & Wakefield, along with consultant Cliff Mendelson of Met Cap Advisors, arranged acquisition financing on behalf of Finmarc.
DALLAS — Newmark has brokered the sale of Element Towers, a two-building, 673,150-square-foot office complex located at 3010 and 3030 LBJ Freeway in North Dallas. Element Towers sits on seven acres, and both buildings feature newly renovated lobbies, fitness centers, conference facilities and full-service cafeterias. Gary Carr, Chris Murphy, Robert Hill and Chase Tagen represented the seller in the transaction. David Milestone, Brett Green and Josh Francis, also with Newmark, arranged acquisition financing on behalf of the buyer, California-based Stanton Road Capital. Element Towers was 68 percent leased at the time of sale.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Columbia Property Trust has completed the redevelopment of 95 Columbus, a 680,000-square-foot office building in Jersey City. The project centered on the revamping of the lobby to allow more natural light and provide more efficient seating and meeting areas. Columbia Property Trust also augmented the landscaping at the building’s entrance and upgraded the lobby’s windows and flooring, among other features. The developer also modernized various building systems to promote health and wellness, including the installation of touchless doors, bipolar ionization air filtration and destination dispatch elevators. Lastly, Columbia added a bike storage room, additional shower facilities and a 500-space attached garage. Cushman & Wakefield is leasing the building post-renovation.