NEWTON, MASS. — Integrated Builders, on behalf of Two Wells Avenue LLC, has broken ground on an expansion at an office building located at Two Wells Ave. in Newton. The new three-story addition will require extensive demolition on the north and west portions of the existing facility and will increase the building’s total size from 69,000 square feet to 127,000 square feet. The updated facility will feature a modern design with a glass exterior, an expanded parking lot, new utilities and an underground storm water infiltration system. Additionally, a 3,162-square-foot common corridor will connect the new and existing buildings. Spagnolo Gisness & Associates is providing architectural services for the project, which is slated for completion in December.
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NORTH BETHESDA, MD. — The General Services Administration (GSA), on behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, has renewed a 347,922-square-foot lease at Two White Flint North, a 10-story office building in North Bethesda. The GSA occupies the entire property as well as its sister property, the 18-story One White Flint North. The GSA inked the lease renewal with Two White Flint North’s ownership group, Lerner Enterprises and The Tower Cos.
CHICAGO — HFF has arranged a $99.5 million loan for a 573,276-square-foot office building in Chicago. Borrowers Blue Star Properties and the Wolcott Group LLC will use the loan proceeds to payoff existing financing and complete building renovations. The building, located at 125 S. Clark St., was constructed in 1907 by Daniel Burnham as the Commercial National Bank Building of Chicago. The property is currently undergoing a renovation and rebranding as The National. The 20-story, steel and concrete building will feature loft office space, an outdoor terrace, an artisanal marketplace and lounge, record shop and fitness center. HFF arranged the floating-rate financing with Brookfield Real Estate Financial Partners and Bank of the Ozarks. Christopher Carroll, Michael Kavanau and Christopher Knight of HFF represented the borrower.
NEW YORK — SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG), New York City’s largest commercial property owner, has reached an agreement with an affiliate of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) to accelerate the sale of the global bank’s office campus at 388-390 Greenwich St. in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood. The early sale is pursuant to the $2 billion purchase option that Citigroup exercised in January. Separately, SL Green announced that it has reached an agreement for the early termination of Citigroup’s lease at the property as a result of the sale acceleration. The sale is now scheduled to close in June. SL Green will realize approximately $1.8 billion in sale proceeds at closing, including the lease termination payment. The REIT plans to repay a portion of its corporate credit facility and retire the $1.45 billion mortgage on the office campus. “We are pleased to reach an agreement on the early sale of 388-390 Greenwich Street. In addition, by retiring approximately $1.8 billion of debt, we further strengthen our balance sheet and enhance our liquidity position to in excess of $1.4 billion,” says Marc Holliday, CEO of SL Green. “Our longstanding, multi-faceted relationship with Citi, one of the world’s leading financial institutions, has been …
VALENCIA, CALIF. — The Automobile Club of Southern California is relocating its insurance claims operation to a Class A office building in the Summit At Valencia on Turnberry Lane. Mark Esses, a broker with California Realty Group who represented the Auto Club, said the company was looking for a new home for six to nine months. Esses represented the Auto Club along with Keith Kleinman. The company’s current operations are situated on Tourney Road. Kevin Fenenbock and John Erickson of Colliers International represented the landlord, Great Point Investors, in this transaction. The Auto Club absorbed the building’s entire ground floor, which equated to 29,000 square feet. The lease represents roughly half of the entire building. AAA is expected to move its regional insurance claims unit and other related groups to the new office by the third quarter of this year, said a spokesperson for the insurance group. The AAA member’s branch will continue to operate on Valencia Boulevard. There is no change for Auto Club members.
ALLEN, TEXAS — Casey Townsend of Cohen Financial, a national real estate capital services firm, has arranged a $6.8 million CMBS loan to acquire the Allen Tech Center. The 84,936-square-foot, one-story office/flex property is located in Allen. Townsend placed the 10-year, fixed-rate loan through Morgan Stanley.
DALLAS — Gerald L. Ray, an investment services firm, has renewed its lease for 11,516 square feet of office space in Fountain Place, located at 1445 Ross Ave. just north of downtown Dallas. Bruce Hecht of Swearingen represented Gerald L. Ray in the transaction. Johnny Johnson and Lauren Napper of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord, Goddard Investments.
DALLAS — Rob Foster has joined Paradigm Tax Group as executive vice president of sales and marketing. The company has added several key managers following the move of its headquarters to Dallas last year. Foster joins Paradigm from tax advisory firm Altus Group, where he was head of North American sales and marketing and U.S. operations. Foster has built his career in the state and local tax advisory business, gaining experience in leadership roles at Deloitte, Burr Wolf and Marvin Poer & Co.
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. — Daiichi Sankyo Inc. has signed a long-term lease for an office property located at 211 Mount Airy Road in Basking Ridge. The pharmaceutical firm plans to relocate its U.S. headquarters to the three-building campus, which was the former Avaya campus. The property features a full cafeteria, state-of-the-art fitness facilities, a 127-seat auditorium and an on-site conference center. After acquiring the property in 2013, Rubenstein Partners and Onyx Equities upgraded and repositioned the facility for modern office needs.
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — GHP Office Realty has acquired an office building located at 140 Huguenot St. in New Rochelle. The asset sold for $6.4 million. The three-story building features 64,000 square feet of Class A office space, a 34-car on-site parking garage and a 26-car parking lot. At the time of sale, the property was 80 percent occupied by a variety of tenants, including Mary Ann Liebert Inc. and Monroe College. The buyer plans to upgrade the property including building systems, security and cosmetic changes to the façade and lobby. The name of the seller was not released. Elizabeth Smith of Goldberg Weprin Finkle Goldstein provided legal representation, and Ray Cohen of Chicago Title Co. provided title services for GHP in the transaction.