RICHARDSON, TEXAS — General contractor Hill & Wilkinson has entered into an agreement with landlord Pillar Commercial to extend and expand its office space in Richardson, a northeastern suburb of Dallas. The company will now occupy 58,000 square feet at 2703 Telecom Parkway. James Cooksey, Garrison Efird and Adam Faulk of Newmark Knight Frank represented Hill & Wilkinson in the lease negotiations.
PITTSBURGH — CBRE has arranged a 112,481-square-foot, full-building office lease at Park Place Corporate Center Two in Pittsburgh on behalf of the owner, FAC Park Place Two LLC. Located at 2000 Commerce Drive, the property was fully renovated in 2010. Nick Francic of JLL represented the tenant, energy company Williams Field Services Group, in the transaction.
Managing fixed expenses is the best way to ensure the long-term profitability of investment properties, especially in a flat market. The largest continuing expense for most commercial properties is the property tax bill, and in a market with skyline-defining properties and headline-grabbing sales prices, tax assessors have multi-tenant office properties in the crosshairs. Any reduction in tax burden can drastically improve an investment’s profitability, competitiveness and tenant retention. As another assessment season begins across the Midwest, understanding tax assessors’ common errors can equip property managers and owners with the tools necessary to review the accuracy and reasonableness of the assessments on their office properties and, when appropriate, challenge those assessments. Know the relevant market To an outsider, the office market can appear monolithic. To such people, rent, occupancy and other income characteristics of office properties are consistent throughout the market. But pulling data from the wrong market can lead assessors to an incorrect result. For example, assessors may assume that Class A downtown office towers are the best-performing assets in the market, and value them accordingly. Contrary to this perception, though, Class A properties may not outperform all Class B or Class C properties, and downtown may not be the …
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — BDO has signed a 35,000-square-foot office lease in Grand Rapids. The firm, which delivers assurance, tax and financial advisory services to its clients, will occupy space within 5300 Patterson Ave., a newly renovated office building. Owner Franklin Partners upgraded the lobby and common areas, which include a café, bank, fitness center and shared collaborative spaces. Mary Ann Wisinski of NAI Wisinski of West Michigan, along with Justin Decker and Mark Robbins of Avison Young, represented BDO in the lease transaction. Duke Suwyn of Colliers International represented Franklin Partners. As a result of BDO’s lease, the 140,000-square-foot building is 95 percent occupied. Other tenants include Kellogg Global Service Center, Kellogg Community Credit Union, Maxim Healthcare and Varipro.
BURBANK, CALIF. — Entertainment and media giant Warner Bros. has inked a deal to purchase a portion of The Burbank Studios, a new 35-acre film, TV, broadcast media and new media campus in Burbank formerly known as NBC Studios. The purchase includes office space, eight soundstages, a mill building and a commissary. The seller is Worthe Rea Estate Group, a Los Angeles-based office developer. Additionally, Warner Bros. inked a lease to be the sole and long-term tenant of a planned two-building office campus adjacent to The Burbank Studios. The Los Angeles Times is reporting the combined value of the studio acquisition and new office space exceeds $1 billion. The co-developers of the office campus are Worthe and San Francisco-based Stockbridge Real Estate, which plan to break ground on the project this fall. The office development will be known as the Second Century Project, named in honor of Warner Bros.’ 100th anniversary in 2023, which is the expected completion date of the design and construction phases. Second Century will include a seven-story building spanning 355,000 square feet and a nine-story building spanning 445,000 square feet. “This is an opportunity to reimagine not only our workspace but our future,” says Kim Williams, …
HOUSTON — HFF has negotiated the sale of Ashford on the Bayou, a 126,811-square-foot office building located in between Houston’s Energy Corridor and Westchase submarkets. The five-story property was 55 percent leased at the time of sale. Dan Miller and Johnny Kight of HFF represented the seller, RPD Catalyst LLC, in the transaction. Susan Hill and Steve Heldenfels of HFF arranged fixed-rate acquisition financing through RGA Reinsurance Co. on behalf of the buyer, Hartman Income REIT.
LISLE, ILL. — Briar Meads Capital LLC has purchased a 300,000-square-foot office property located at 2441 and 2443 Warrenville Road in Lisle. The purchase price was not disclosed. Briar Meads plans to rebrand the property as The Westwood and work with Wright Heerema Architects to update amenities. Plans call for upgrades and expansions to the café, fitness center, conference center, lounges and outdoor areas in addition to renovations of the lobby and common area spaces. The asset consists of two office towers built in 1991 and 1997. Currently, 157,426 square feet of space is available for lease. Dan Svachula, Michael Simpson, Adam Showalter and Allyson Yates of Cushman & Wakefield will market the property for lease. NAI Hiffman will manage the property.
ATLANTA — CommonGrounds Workspace has signed a 13-year, 49,506-square-foot office lease at 999 Peachtree St. in Midtown Atlanta. The coworking company will occupy two of the 28 floors and is expected to move in in early 2020. This marks CommonGrounds’ first signed lease in 2019 as part of its $100 million Series A expansion program. Five locations are already open around the country. Amenities at 999 Peachtree include Empire State South restaurant on the ground floor, The Peachtree Club and roof deck on the top floor, parking, a fitness center and a communal green space. Other tenants include AARP, Gensler, Akerman LLP, Ballard Spahr LLP, Meunier Carlin & Curfman LLC, Oxford Industries and Eversheds Sutherland. Charles Roach Jr. and Stephen Clifton of Madison Marquette represented the landlord, Franklin Street, in the lease transaction. Jim Sumber, Andrew Lechter and Matthew Barnes of Savills-Studley represented the tenant.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Commercial-stage cell therapeutics company Celularity has signed a full-building, 147,215-square-foot office lease in Florham Park. The property is part of a two-building office campus at 170-180 Park Ave. that totals 368,780 square feet. The lease marks the largest new office lease in New Jersey for the first quarter of 2019. James Postell, Matt McDonough and Dan Ligorner of Transwestern Commercial Services represented the building owner in the transaction. Charlie Hatfield and Ryan Healy of Colliers International represented Celularity in the transaction.
GRAPEVINE, TEXAS — Construction is underway on a new, 150,000-square-foot office in the Fort Worth metro of Grapevine for Paycom, an Oklahoma City-based provider of payroll and human resources software. The groundbreaking ceremony at the 14-acre site was held on Wednesday, April 10, and the company expects to move in to its new space some time in 2020. Paycom plans to accommodate as many as 1,000 employees at the property, the developer of which was not disclosed.
