TOMBALL, TEXAS — Northpointe Crossing LLC has purchased 4.3 acres located on Tomball Parkway near Northpointe Boulevard in Tomball. Christopher Winters of Colliers International represented the seller, Eastbourne Northpointe I, and R1 Brokerage represented the purchaser in the transaction. Northpointe Crossing is a local real estate developer specializing in retail and office development.
DEDHAM, MASS. — R.W. Holmes Realty has arranged the sale of a medical office building, located at 910 Washington St. in Dedham. Vision Realty Dedham LLC sold the two-story building to Dedham MOB LLC an entity controlled by Whelan Associates, for $6.4 million. Built in 2012, the 22,388-square-foot building is located off Route 128 within walking distance of Legacy Place and the commuter rail. The main tenant of the building is Greater Boston Urology. Garry Holmes and Dean Blackey of R.W. Holmes Realty represented the seller in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Shutterstock has expanded its lease at the Empire State Building for an additional 25,300 square feet. The global provider of commercial imagery and music will now occupy 105,300 square feet at the building. The company’s headquarters has occupied 80,000 square feet at the building since 2013. Additional tenants at the Empire State Building are LinkedIn, Bulova, Coty, Global Brands Group, HNTB, Expedia, Skanska and Media General Digital. Paul Ippolito of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the tenant, while Ryan Kass, Fred Posniak and Shane Ursini provided in-house representation for the landlord, Empire State Realty Trust Inc., in the transaction.
TAMPA, FLA. — Vision Properties, a commercial real estate operating partner based in northern New Jersey, has acquired a five-building, Class A office campus in Tampa for more than $100 million. The 573,053-square-foot complex is located along Henderson Road, north of Tampa International Airport. In addition to the five office buildings, the property also has a development pad with an active site permit for an additional 111,600-square-foot office building. The office campus is situated within Renaissance Park, a master-planned, 71-acre mixed-use development. Mike Davis, Michael Lerner and Rick Brugge of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction. William Bertolero of Vision Properties will oversee the operations and asset management of the office campus. Fred Arena, founder of Vision Properties, expects to break ground on the sixth office building within the next 12 months.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Urban Investment Partners (UIP) has purchased three Class C office buildings in Washington, D.C.’s Tenleytown neighborhood from American University for $45 million. The portfolio includes a 38,396-square-foot office building at 4000 Brandywine St. N.W., the former home of National Public Radio affiliate WAMU; a 59,996-square-foot office building at 4620 Wisconsin Ave. N.W.; and a 39,299-square-foot property at 4545 42nd St. N.W. CapSource is providing acquisition and construction loans for the Brandywine and Wisconsin Avenue locations. MidCap Mortgage is the lender for the 4545 42nd St. transaction. Bobby Meehling and Scott Frankel of CBRE represented the seller in all three transactions. UIP plans to invest $75 million in order to gut-renovate the Brandywine and Wisconsin Avenue buildings, creating residential apartments, all within a block of the Tenleytown-AU Metro station on the Red Line and with an abundance of underground parking.
RICHMOND, VA. — Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer has brokered the sale of Bank of America Center, a 24-story, 513,479-square-foot office tower located at 1111 E. Main St. in downtown Richmond. The sales price and buyer weren’t disclosed, but some media outlets report the sales price was $42 million and the buyer was an undisclosed private investment group made up of principals from Washington, D.C., and New York City. Eric Robinson of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer represented the seller, an institutional investor represented by Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, in the transaction. The property was 71 percent leased at the time of the sale to tenants such as the Commonwealth of Virginia, Bank of America, Sands Anderson PC, McCandlish Holton and DurretteCrump Law Firm.
CHICAGO — CBRE has arranged the purchase of a 15,000-square-foot office building for $5 million in Chicago. Strategic Assets Associates LLC has acquired the property, located at 1132-1140 W. Fulton Market, with intentions of repurposing the building for retail use. The asset is located several blocks from the Chicago Transit Authority’s Morgan stop. The seller in transaction was undisclosed. Keely Polczynski of CBRE represented the buyer.
SAN DIEGO — Union Cowork has signed a 10-year lease for the Unicorn Building in downtown San Diego. The historic space is located at 704 J St. This will be the cowork space’s fifth location in Southern California, which includes two additional outposts in the San Diego submarket of North Park. David Maxwell and Bill Shrader of Colliers International represented both Union Cowork and the landlord, PREF Unicorn, an affiliate of Paragon Real Estate Investments, in this transaction.
SEATTLE — MetLife (NYSE: MET) has purchased Alley24, a 215,402-square-foot, Class A office building with ground floor retail in Seattle’s South Lake Union submarket, for $129.3 million. HFF marketed the property on behalf of the sellers, Vulcan Inc. and PEMCO Insurance Co. MetLife assumed an existing life insurance company loan as part of the purchase. Alley24 is located at 221 Yale Ave. N. Completed in 2006, the property was one of Seattle’s first mixed-use projects to earn LEED certification and features sustainable elements such as natural daylight, operable windows, energy-efficient water flow fixtures, automatic sun-tracking sun shades and environmentally sensitive building materials. The 85 percent-leased property serves as the corporate headquarters for architectural firm NBBJ. Additional tenants include Skanska and Cole & Weber. Alley24 offers tenants two roof decks and flexible floor plans. Todd Tydlaska, Nick Kucha and Michael Leggett led the HFF team. “Alley24 is one of the only true mixed-use assets in the South Lake Union submarket, a centrally located, high-amenity, pedestrian-oriented location that has maintained historical occupancy of more than 96 percent since it was completed,” says Tydlaska. MetLife’s stock price closed at $37.43 per share on Friday, Feb. 12, down from $50.86 one year prior. — …
HOUSTON — CBRE has arranged a 25,000-square-foot office relocation lease for Hughes Watters Askanase (HWA). HWA, a full-service commercial law firm, has moved from Three Allen Center, located at 333 Clay St., to Total Plaza, located at 1201 Louisiana St. in downtown Houston. Kevin Kushner and Lucian Bukowski of CBRE’s Houston office represented the law firm in the lease transaction. The landlord, Brookfield Office Properties, was self-represented by Clint Bawcom, Jon Dutton and Margaret Sigur. Although the new space is smaller than their previous space, HWA will be able to accommodate more lawyers and staff than it did in its old space by taking advantage of a modern layout designed by Kirksey Architecture. Moderate changes, such as shrinking the size of individual offices, providing more access to natural light, creating spaces that encourage collaboration and interaction and reducing storage and library space will give HWA the ability to grow into their space as needed. CBRE also provided project management services, led by Erin Schultz and Ashley Ramos, which included vendor selection, budget management and timeline oversight to ensure the space was delivered on time and on budget. Total Plaza is a Class A, 843,533-square-foot office building located in downtown Houston. …