CHICAGO — Chicago-based Cohen Financial has arranged $28.2 million in acquisition financing for LLJ Ventures LLC. The California-based buyer has purchased several properties in the state of Illinois and Wisconsin. In the first transaction, Dan Rosenberg of Cohen Financial arranged an $11 million loan with a 10-year term for The Armitage Collection, a portfolio of five retail buildings in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. The buildings in the portfolio are 100 percent leased. In the second transaction, Rosenberg arranged a $17.2 million, 10-year CMBS loan for a 57,000-square-foot medical office, Racine Dental, in Racine, Wis.
Dallas is on a hot streak. This is the best market Dallas has seen in years. Companies are expanding and corporate relocations are driving new development in office, industrial and retail. Based on the healthy, active market of 2015, the momentum should carry over and remain strong through the first half of 2016. Office Dallas has become a headquarters hub in the past few years with companies like Toyota and Liberty Mutual putting down roots in the Metroplex. Companies are doing well financially and are growing, which is great news for the office sector. Leasing activity is at an all-time high with all sizes of companies experiencing growth. Office expansions and mid-term lease extensions are becoming the norm. In November, GEICO’s regional headquarters relocated to a larger facility with the goal of hiring nearly 200 employees before year’s end. The insurance company leased 224,000 square feet at 2280 Greenville Ave. in Dallas, brokered by Tom Lynn and Nick Lee, CCIM, of NAI Robert Lynn and Griff Bandy of NAI Partners in Houston. GEICO’s former headquarters building in the North Dallas area is now on the market. We’re also seeing the employment industry shift from focusing solely on clients to employee …
BEDFORD, MASS. — Integrated Builders has completed the exterior renovation of a 51,502-square-foot flex office building, located at 205 Burlington Road in Bedford, on behalf of Calare Properties. The renovation plan included enhancements to the existing façade through the demolition and reconstruction of two exterior canopies and renovation of the two current entryways. Additionally, Integrated replaced walkways, repainted doors and window frames and installed exterior insulation and finishing systems (EIFS) to provide an insulated, water-resistant, finished surface in an integrated composite material system. Architectural design firm ci design inc. provided architectural services for the project.
MONTVALE, N.J. — Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based Deerwood Real Estate Capital has closed a $9 million non-recourse bridge loan on a multi-tenant office building, located at 50 Chestnut Ridge Road in Montvale. The 100,000-square-foot office building was acquired by the borrower, a private investor group, from C-III, on behalf of US Bank, as a foreclosure. Yaakov Leiser of Deerwood negotiated the financing, which was provided by a regional bridge lender.
TYSONS CORNER, VA. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the $92.5 million sale of Tysons Overlook, a 157,021-square-foot trophy office building in Tysons Corner, a northern Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. The Pentagon Federal Credit Union purchased the asset from Logistics Management Institute. Built in 2014 within a mile from the new Tysons Corner Metro Station, the office building features a 3,500-square-foot fitness center, business lounge, on-site café and a furnished event terrace. Bill Collins, Paul Collins, Paul Darr, Dale Powell, James Cassidy, Jud Ryan and Drew Flood of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction.
DALLAS — New York Life Real Estate Investors and Encore Office LLC have acquired 5005 LBJ Tower, formerly known as Occidental Tower, for $95 million, according to the Dallas Business Journal. The 24-story, 549,170-square-foot office building is located at the northwest corner of the Dallas North Tollway and the newly re-constructed LBJ Freeway in Dallas. Occidental Tower Corp., a subsidiary of Dallas-based Occidental Chemical Corp. (OxyChem) had owned the Class A asset since 1992. The property is 94 percent leased to tenants including Susan G. Komen Foundation, Encore Enterprises and OxyChem, which will remain as a tenant in the building. The top five floors of the property will become available in August. The new ownership team intends to complete a multi-million dollar lobby renovation and make improvements to the overall campus. Renovations are expected to start within a few months and will include upgrades to the building’s amenities. Plans include a new conference facility, tenant lounge and fitness center. Stream Realty Partners will manage and lease the asset. J.J. Leonard, Sara Terry and Chase Lopez of Stream’s office division in Dallas will lead the leasing efforts for the property.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Citrix, a software company that specializes in mobile workspace technologies for on-demand access, has expanded its footprint at its corporate headquarters in Raleigh by 14,000 square feet. The company now fully occupies its 186,000-square-foot headquarters at 120 S. West St. in downtown Raleigh’s Warehouse District. Charlie Coyne and Christina Coffey of CBRE | Raleigh’s retail services team represented the landlord, JMC Holdings, in the lease transaction. Austin Koon and Gardner Gibson of Davis Moore represented Citrix.
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of a development site located at 431 Carroll St. in Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood. Alloy Development purchased the property from MCP President Street LLC, managed by EcoRise Development, for $2.7 million, or $338 per buildable square foot, in an all-cash transaction. Situated in an M1-2 zoning district, the site allows for approximately 8,200 buildable square feet and offers 50 feet of frontage along Nevins Street and 82 feet of frontage along Carroll Street. The buyer plans to develop the corner site into an office building. Winfield Clifford and Brendan Maddigan of Cushman & Wakefield handled the transaction.
MONTVALE, N.J. — JLL has arranged a 15-year lease for FC USA at an office building located at 5 Paragon Drive in Montvale. The company will occupy 70,863 square feet of space at the 119,254-square-foot, Class A office building. FC USA is relocating from 69 Spring St. in Ramsey, N.J., and will occupy a portion of the first floor and the entire second floor at the two-story commercial office building. Phillip Lipper, Thomas Reilly and Scott Lesh of JLL represented the tenant, while Gregory Barkan of CBRE Inc. represented the landlord, Lone Star Funds, in the transaction.
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. — Treeline, a value-add asset developer, owner and investor, has received $106 million in first mortgage and mezzanine financing for its four-building Garden City Plaza office portfolio, located at 100, 200, 300 and 400 Garden City Plaza in Garden City. The loans consist of $86 million in new first mortgage financing provided through Terry Livingston of Wells Fargo, and a $20 million mezzanine loan provided through Robert Dirks of Principal Real Estate Investors. Proceeds of the financing will be used to buy out an existing equity partner and retire construction financing for a new restaurant for Maggiano’s Little Italy, which will open its first Long Island location at the property. The 600,000-square-foot portfolio is 90 percent leased. Robert Turner, Adam Spies and Joshua King of Eastdil Secured arranged the financing for the borrower.