GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — NAI Wisinski of West Michigan has arranged a 6,300-square-foot office lease in downtown Grand Rapids. Modustri, a digital precision measurement tool company, will occupy the entire sixth floor at the 35 Oakes building. Mary Anne Wisinski-Rosely and Hillary Woznick of NAI Wisinski of West Michigan represented the landlord, Project 35 LLC, in the transaction. Adam Vranian of North Star Commercial represented Modustri.
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of a five-story loft building located at 51 White St. in Tribeca. 51 White Street LLC acquired the property from R.A Cohen & Associates for $22 million, or $1,064 per square foot. The 20,670-square-foot building features 12.5-foot ceiling heights, oversized windows and a sub-cellar, as well as a roof top with views of the Empire State Building and One World Trade Center. At the time of acquisition, the property was vacant. James Nelson, Will Suarez and David Shalom of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, while David Friedman of Vertex Realty Group represented the buyer.
ATLANTA — Cousins Properties (NYSE: CUZ) and Parkway Properties (NYSE: PKY) have agreed to a $1.95 billion stock-for-stock merger. The deal will simultaneously spin off of both companies’ Houston-based assets, creating a new publicly traded REIT called HoustonCo. The combined company will operate under the Cousins Properties name and continue to own Class A office towers in Sun Belt markets. The combined portfolio will include 41 properties totaling 15.8 million square feet of space in Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Charlotte, N.C.; Phoenix; and Orlando and Tampa, Fla. Although Parkway currently owns properties in Jacksonville, Fla., a Cousins investor presentation about the merger implied those buildings will be sold. Under the agreement, Parkway shareholders will receive 1.63 shares of Cousins stock for each share of Parkway stock they own. The combined company will create HoustonCo via a special dividend distributed to its shareholders once the merger is complete. Jim Heistand, Parkway’s CEO, will head HoustonCo after the spin-off. Cousins and Parkway shareholders will own about 52 percent and 48 percent, respectively, of both Cousins and HoustonCo. Both companies’ boards of directors approved the transactions unanimously. Affiliates of TPG, which own about 21 percent of Parkway’s outstanding common stock, have also agreed to …
DALLAS — Jordan & Skala Engineers Inc. has renewed and expanded its office lease to a total of 16,107 square feet in Briargrove Place. The property is located at 17855 N. Dallas Parkway in Dallas. Emily Hoffman with Cushman & Wakefield represented Jordan & Skala Engineers in the transaction.
TROY, MICH. — Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions has arranged a 16,454-square-foot office lease in Troy, approximately 30 miles north of Detroit. Law firm Dinsmore & Shohl LLP will occupy space at Wilshire Plaza North, which is located at 900 Wilshire Drive. Steve Eisenshtadt and Keith Grebinski of Friedman represented the landlord in the transaction.
MORRISTOWN, N.J. — National Business Parks has acquired a boutique office building located at 10 Madison Ave. in Morristown. Morristown Holdings LLC, a limited liability company managed by WhiteStar Advisors, sold the property for $20 million. At the time of acquisition, the 87,000-square-foot building was fully occupied by nine tenants, including Morgan Stanley, AXA Equitable, Northwestern Mutual and Valley National Bank. Built in 1980, the four-story building was renovated in 2005. Gary Gabriel, Andrew Merin, David Bernhaut, Brian Whitmer and Andrew Schwartz of Cushman & Wakefield’s Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group brokered the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — NYU Langone Medical Center has signed a 30-year lease with Columbia Property Trust Inc. for an entire office property located at 222 E. 41st St. in Midtown Manhattan. The triple-net lease encompasses all 389,522 square feet of Class A office space at the building, including all 25 floors, the lobby, common areas and parking garage. NYU Langone is slated to take possession of the property at year end, following the expiration of the current tenant’s lease for 353,541 square feet. The new tenant plans to convert the property into a combination of medical office, ambulatory care facilities and other ancillary uses. Columbia recently upgraded the property, which it acquired in 2007. Paul Amrich, Neil King, James Ackerman and Jackie Marshall of CBRE represented the landlord, while Bruce Mosler and Mark Mandell of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant. Financial terms of the transaction were not released.
NEW YORK CITY — Equicap has arranged $8.1 million in financing for the acquisition of an office condo in the Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. The 10-year loan features a competitive interest rate and will be used to fund the $10.8 million acquisition price. Additionally, the undisclosed borrower will use proceeds of the loan to build out the 13,000-square-foot office space. Daniel Hilpert of Equicap negotiated the financing.
DALLAS — Uplift Education has purchased a seven-acre tract of land located at the northwest corner of I-30 and Ferguson Road in east Dallas. Horizons Hospitality was the seller. Eddie Liebman with The Weitzman Group handled negotiations for the seller in cooperation with Craig Phelps of JLL, who represented the buyer. Uplift Education, which operates a network of public charter schools serving 14,000 students in under-served areas across north Texas, will develop an elementary school at the site.
DALLAS — Law firm Palmer & Manuel LLP has leased 9,006 square feet of office space in Campbell Centre North Tower, located at 8350 N. Central Expressway in Dallas. Cribb Altman, Robbie Baty and Bill McClung with Cushman & Wakefield represented Palmer & Manuel in the transaction.
