HOUSTON — JLL has arranged a loan of an undisclosed amount for the refinancing of Memorial Park Place, an 80,349-square-foot office building in Houston. The five-story building was built in 1984 and was 91 percent leased at the time of sale to 33 tenants. Michael Johnson and Kevin McConn of JLL arranged the 10-year, fixed-rate loan through TIAA Commercial Finance on behalf of the borrower, Gupta Partners.
BALA CYNWYD, PA. — Locally based investment firm Keystone Property Group has sold a 132,986-square-foot office building located at 150 Monument Road in Bala Cynwyd, a northeastern suburb of Philadelphia. The six-story building is situated on 6.5 acres and recently underwent a full renovation. Brett Segal and Doug Rodio of JLL represented Keystone Property Group in the transaction. The buyer, FLD Group, purchased the asset for an undisclosed price.
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — USA Triathlon of Colorado has completed the disposition of a three-story office building located at 5825 Delmonico Drive in Colorado Springs. Dormie Capital Partners acquired the asset for $4.6 million. The buyer plans to modernize the 40,084-square-foot building’s common areas and add amenities to serve its tenant roster, which includes USA Triathlon of Colorado. Brian Wagner and Mark O’Donnell Jr. of Newmark represented the seller in the deal.
STOCKHOLM AND CONSHOHOCKEN, PA. — EQT AB, a private equity firm based in Stockholm, has agreed to purchase Exeter Property Group, an industrial real estate owner and developer based in the Philadelphia suburb of Conshohocken. EQT plans to purchase Exeter using $800 million in EQT shares and nearly $1.1 billion in cash for a total acquisition price of nearly $1.9 billion, including the refinancing of Exeter’s existing $300 million in debt. Founded in 2006, Exeter has approximately $10 billion in assets under management. In addition to industrial properties, Exeter also owns life sciences and office space in the United States and Europe. Exeter has 37 offices in North America, Europe and Asia. EQT expects Exeter’s revenue in 2020 to total $135 million. Exeter’s recent acquisitions include Creekview Corporate Center in metro Dallas, a 193,000-square-foot industrial building in Illinois and a new distribution center in Pennsylvania totaling 1.2 million square feet. The company also recently developed a 673,920-square-foot speculative industrial building in the St. Louis suburb of Edwardsville, Ill. Upon completion of the transaction, Exeter will operate as EQT Exeter and will be part of the EQT Real Estate Assets division, which comprises EQT Infrastructure and EQT Real Estate. EQT Exeter …
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US Commercial, Multifamily Construction Starts Down 20 Percent in 2020, Says Dodge Data
HAMILTON, N.J. —The value of commercial and multifamily construction starts in 2020 tumbled 20 percent to end the year at $193.4 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Within the top 20 metropolitan areas that the Hamilton-based research firm tracks, the fall was more severe as that group’s starts fell by 23 percent in value, or $111.1 billion. Overall, commercial real estate starts fell 26 percent in value to $104 billion, while multifamily building activity slid by 11 percent to $89.5 billion. Richard Branch, chief economist for Dodge Data, says that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant negative impact on commercial and multifamily construction across the country with only a few markets seeing year-over-year increases in construction starts compared to 2019. “The construction sector will show signs of recovery in 2021, but, the road back to full recovery will be long and difficult. The effects of the pandemic on the U.S. economy and building markets will be felt for several years,” says Branch. “While some areas stabilized over the summer, the current wave of the virus has further hindered activity.” Only one metro area in Dodge Data’s top 10, Phoenix, reported a year-over increase in construction starts. The No. 7 …
IRVING, TEXAS — A partnership between locally based investment firm Cawley Partners and private equity firm Balfour Pacific Capital has acquired Westpoint I, a 150,000-square-foot office building in Irving’s Las Colinas district. Located at 1255 Corporate Drive, the six-story building sits on 5.3 acres and was 91 percent leased at the time of sale. The new ownership plans to upgrade the building’s common areas and add a grab-and-go food service. Parker McCormack and Andrew Levy of JLL represented the seller, New York City-based Highbrook Investors, in the transaction.
MORRIS PLAINS, N.J. — Rubenstein Mortgage Capital has arranged a $57 million acquisition loan for a 465,000-square-foot office building located at 115 Tabor Road in the Northern New Jersey community of Morris Plains. The property was originally developed as a build-to-suit in 2007 as a headquarters facility for Pfizer. Following Pfizer’s acquisition by Johnson & Johnson, the building was vacant until Honeywell purchased it in 2015 and implemented a full interior renovation. Amenities now include a cafeteria, auditorium, basketball court and a fitness center. Andrew Murray of Rubenstein Mortgage originated the loan through an undisclosed lender on behalf of the borrower, Argent Ventures.
MONTVALE, N.J. — Savills Inc. has negotiated the sale of a 127,000-square-foot office property in Montvale, located in the northernmost part of the state. Private equity firm Tryko Partners purchased the asset from Western Union, which was also the building’s former occupant, for $5.5 million. Gregg Najarian, Slava Vaynberg, Nate Brzozowski and Brendan Fisher of Savills brokered the deal on behalf of Western Union. Tryko plans to convert the building into a nursing home facility.
DURHAM, N.C. — Trinity Capital Advisors has signed cancer research firm Charles River Laboratories Inc. to a 70,639-square-foot lease for life sciences space within Park Point, an adaptive reuse research and development campus in Durham’s Research Triangle Park. The tenant’s North Carolina Oncology Center of Excellence operation will occupy the space at the park’s Edge West Building. In 2019, Trinity Capital acquired Park Point, a 100-acre office campus situated near Duke University. The ownership is investing $160 million to redevelop the property into a 655,800-square-foot life sciences campus. GRAIL Inc., an early cancer detection firm, will anchor Park Point when it moves into its 200,000-square-foot space in March. Park Point’s amenities will include athletic fields, walking trails, a fitness center, conference and training center, gathering areas and a coffee shop/café. Bill Sandridge, Brendan Callahan and Caitlyn Kinnaird of JLL represented Charles River Laboratories in the lease transaction. Doug Cook of Cushman & Wakefield and William Allen of Trinity Partners handle life sciences and creative office leasing at Park Point, respectively. Trinity Capital is part of Park Point’s ownership group with Starwood Capital Group and Vanderbilt Partners.
CHICAGO — JLL Capital Markets has arranged $30.7 million in construction financing for 601-609 W. Randolph in Chicago’s Fulton Market. The project scope includes the renovation of an existing five-story office building as well as the development of a new 15-story office building. Designed by Antunovich Associates, the new building will feature pandemic-related features such as small floorplans with flexible layouts, touchless options and fresh air exchange. Amenities will include a rooftop terrace, fitness room, bike room, business lounge, café and coworking space. A JLL team led by Christopher Knight represented the borrower, Vista Property Group. Bank OZK was the lender. Skender is the general contractor. Completion is slated for early 2022.