CINCINNATI — Neyer Properties has hired Cushman & Wakefield to manage a portfolio of office properties totaling 1.9 million square feet throughout greater Cincinnati. The portfolio includes buildings such as 36 E. 7th Street, Centennial Plaza III, Baldwin 200, Keystone Parke I and Fountain Pointe I and II. Marnie Castleberry of Cushman & Wakefield will serve as account manager for the portfolio. Cincinnati-based Neyer is one of the largest property owners in greater Cincinnati.
DALLAS — Locally based investment firm Ricchi Group has acquired Optima Business Park, a 200,000-square-foot office park located at 8777 N. Stemmons Freeway in northwest Dallas. The property, which previously served as the headquarters for cosmetics firm Mary Kay, consists of an eight-story building that was constructed in 1976 and a five-story building that was added in 1985. Len Wood of American Group LLC represented Ricchi Group in the transaction. Jay Lucas of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Optima Stemmons LLC.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Cushman & Wakefield has negotiated a 218,312-square-foot office lease renewal at 3201 N. Sylvania Ave. in Fort Worth. Rick Hughes of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant, ThyssenKrupp Elevator Corp., in the lease negotiations. James Whitney represented the landlord, Sylvania Industrial Park Inc., on an internal basis.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Q2 Holdings, a provider of cloud-based software, has signed a full-building lease to occupy Aspen Lake Three, a 128,990-square-foot office project under construction in Austin. The developer, a joint venture between Patrinely Group and USAA Real Estate, plans to begin construction on the Class A project this spring. Will Douglas, Russell Young and Harrison Schuhmacher of JLL represented Q2 Holdings in the lease negotiations. Ben Tolson of AQUILA Commercial and Dennis Tarro of Patrinely Group represented the joint venture.
HOUSTON — LandPark Advisors LLC has brokered the sale of a 68,000-square-foot office building located at 397 N. Sam Houston Parkway in Houston. The building is situated on three acres near Beltway 8, Interstate 45 and George Bush Intercontinental Airport and includes a three-story parking deck. Will McGrath and Ryan Burnaman of LandPark Advisors represented the seller, JLC Omni LLC, in the transaction. Other terms of sale were not disclosed.
CHANDLER, ARIZ. — The San Diego office of NorthMarq has arranged a $185 million loan for the recently completed Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems’ campus in Chandler. A life insurance company funded the fixed-rate loan, which amortizes over 23 years. Eric Flyckt, Wyatt Campbell and Casey Allred of NorthMarq secured the loan for Northrop Grumman, an aerospace and defense technologies designer and manufacturer. The campus comprises a three-story, Class A office building totaling 352,545 square feet and a 269,852-square-foot manufacturing facility. The property serves as Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems’ Launch Vehicle Division Headquarters. Designed and manufactured at the campus, the launch vehicles transport cargo to the International Space Station, launch satellites and are used for military functions. The campus is located within San Diego-based Douglas Allred Co.’s Park Place, a 200-acre business park situated at the intersection of Loop 101 and 202 freeways.
BOSTON — Blackstone Real Estate has acquired 179 Lincoln Street, a 221,474-square-foot office asset in the Boston Leather District. Completed in 1899, the building recently underwent a $20 million redevelopment and now offers amenities such as a café, fitness center and a parking garage. At the time of sale, the building was 88 percent leased to tenants including project management software providers Smartsheet and PowerAdvocate, as well as advertising company Outfront Media. Edward Maher, Matthew Pullen and James Tribble led a Newmark Knight Frank team that represented the seller, Invesco Real Estate, in the transaction. The sales price was undisclosed.
WOODBURY, N.Y. — JLL has negotiated the $4.3 million sale of a 26,000-square-foot office building in Woodbury, a city in eastern Long Island. Located at 110 Crossways Park Drive, the building offers 19,500 square feet of office space and 6,500 square feet of warehouse space with one drive-in door and 14-foot clear heights. Max Omstrom of JLL represented the buyer, Computech International, in the transaction. Harris Rousso of Real Estate Strategies Ltd. represented the undisclosed seller.
ST. LOUIS — ElmTree Funds has sold a majority position in a portfolio of predominantly industrial and office properties to Guggenheim Investments. The gross asset value of the 18-property portfolio is approximately $900 million. St. Louis-based ElmTree began acquiring and developing the properties in 2016. The build-to-suit, net-leased assets are located in fast-growing metropolitan areas across the United States. ElmTree will manage the assets for Guggenheim and maintain a small equity portion. Notable properties in the portfolio include a 1.5 million-square-foot industrial facility in Dallas net leased to a confectionary manufacturer and a 500,000-square-foot industrial building in St. Louis net leased to a courier delivery services company.
In the largest office markets of the Northeast, landlords are competing to attract valuable corporate tenants by providing the highest quality work-life balance for the region’s talented workforce. The Boston, New York and Philadelphia office markets are among the most competitive in the country. While factors like salary, commute time and personal fulfilment remain important in deciding where to work, employees are now placing more emphasis on amenities and work-life balance in their final decisions. Consequently, employers are making a point to meet those demands by investing in properties with convenient access to those amenities, in particular fitness, dining and transit. According to Colliers International, Class A office asking rents in Boston rose 9.9 percent in the third quarter of 2019, commanding $100 per square foot in the city’s hottest markets. Lauren Vecchione, senior vice president in the Boston office of Colliers, says that landlords have to provide competitive amenities if they want to command and achieve the asking rents in submarkets with the strongest demand, including the Seaport, Financial District, Back Bay and Cambridge’s Kendall Square. “Larger and smaller tenants alike are focused on finding efficient spaces that allow them to build out a creative office experience for their …
