PHILADELPHIA — Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co. has signed a 12-year renewal lease for 322,000 square feet at Two Liberty Place in Philadelphia. The renewal stabilizes approximately 34 percent of the building through Oct. 31, 2027. Cigna is expected to vacate the space it did not renew at the end of May 2016. As of July 1, Two Liberty Place was 99.2 percent occupied, or 89.4 percent occupied pro forma for Cigna’s contraction. Parkway Properties Inc. has a 19 percent ownership interest in Two Liberty Place, which is owned in part by Parkway Properties Office Fund II LP.
TAMPA, FLA. — PCCP has formed a joint venture with Banyan Street Capital to purchase Rivergate Tower, a 515,965-square-foot office complex located at 400 N. Ashley Drive in downtown Tampa. PCCP and Banyan Street Capital purchased the property for $70 million, according to Tampa Business Journal. CBRE brokered the sale and arranged acquisition financing for the joint venture. The property comprises a 31-story office tower and an adjacent five-story pavilion office building that houses the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts. Other tenants include Malio’s Prime Steakhouse, an upscale café, full-service bank branch, dry cleaner, two-story parking garage and a fitness center. The office complex was built in 1988 for $150 million.
EMERYVILLE, CALIF. — HFF has arranged $38.5 million in financing for EmeryStation Greenway, a 100,000-square-foot medical office building in Emeryville. The building is located at 5800 Hollis St. in the East Bay biotechnology research and innovation corridor. The newly built space is situated near interstates 580, 880 and 980. HFF’s Bruce Ganong and Jordan Angel secured the fixed-rate loan on behalf of the borrower, Wareham Development. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans provided the capital.
NEW YORK CITY — Madison Realty Capital has acquired The Brooklyn Whale Building, located at 14 53rd St. in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood, for $82.5 million. The seven-story building offers 400,000 square feet of industrial space. Currently 79 percent occupied, the property is nearing the completion of a more than $8 million renovation program to fully reposition the building into a state-of-the-art office hub. The seller initiated the capital expenditure program and Madison Realty plans to add substantially more to the building’s renovation plans as it assumes ownership. Built in 1918 by E.W. Bliss, the property served as the headquarters for the Whale Oil Co. Renovations to the building include the installation of energy-efficient windows, new elevators, a new roof and improved power infrastructure, as well as the addition of a new lobby with concierge desk along with spaces for amenity shops and restroom facilities. Aaron Jungreis of Rosewood represented both the buyer and undisclosed seller in the off-market transaction.
OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — Tower Properties will completely renovate and revitalize the 6601 College Boulevard building, when engineering and consulting firm Black & Veatch vacates the premises at the end of this year. The $20 million project will include a new glass façade, updated mechanical systems and new interior finishes and amenities. The renovation is expected to position the six-story, 101,000-square foot office building constructed in 1979 as one of the upper-echelon properties in the Overland Park office market. Tower Properties has hired RMTA Architects to design the improvements, and Jonkman Construction to renovate the building’s interior and exterior. The building’s mechanical systems will be designed by SNS Engineering and will be completely modernized. Construction will begin in January 2016, and Tower anticipates the renovated building will be available for occupancy in the fall of 2016. Tower Properties has retained Rollie Fors and Adam Tilton, both senior partners with Colliers International, to market the building. New tenants will benefit from the extensive natural light throughout the building and collaborative exterior green space, says Tilton. According to the Kansas City Business Journal, Black & Veatch is consolidating a total of 700 employees into a single 175,000-square-foot space at Overland Park Xchange, …
SOUTHFIELD, MICH. — Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions has arranged an 11,754-square-foot office lease at Nine Mile Crossing, located at 17515 W. Nine Mile Road, Suite 600, in Southfield, a Detroit suburb. The landlord, TNHYIF TRS INC., leased the space to Language Center International Inc. (LCI), which teaches English as a second language. Established in 1987, the private language school provides citizens, immigrants and non-immigrants with language training for academic or personal purposes. Nine Mile Crossing is 12-story, 140,417-square-foot building that was constructed in 1969. Rick Tabbi of Friedman represented the landlord in the transaction.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Capital One has closed a $110 million non-recourse bridge loan for the refinancing of a six-story office building located at 64 New York Ave. in Washington, D.C. Capital One served as sole lead agent, sole bookrunner and administrative agent for the loan. Capital One provided the loan on behalf of the borrower, a property fund managed by Brookfield Asset Management. The office building is primarily leased to the Washington, D.C., government, according to Capital One.
PLEASANTON, CALIF. — Britannia Business Center III, a 191,000-square-foot office and R&D portfolio in Pleasanton, has received $27.4 million in acquisition financing. The portfolio is located at 5870 Stoneridge Drive. The center contains about 125,000 square feet of office space and 66,000 square feet of research and development facilities. This space is situated in three non-contiguous buildings. The R&D portion is fully occupied by contact lens developer CooperVision. The non-recourse loan was secured by Steven Buchwald and Lexington Henn of Mission Capital Advisors’ Debt & Equity Finance Group on behalf of Ridge Capital Investors. The firm’s Will Sledge, Patrick Arnold and Gregg Applefield executed the $35.1 million sale.
In the April 2014 edition of Heartland Real Estate Business, I pointed out that the recovery from the historic 2008 flood was nearing completion in Cedar Rapids, a city of approximately 129,000 residents. The last of the damaged city facilities, a recreation center in the Time Check neighborhood on the city’s northwest side, has been demolished. Taking its place will be a new 17,000-square-foot recreation center currently under construction. In July, the Cedar Rapids City Council approved the $600 million flood protection system alignment on both sides of the Cedar River; all the flood system funding plan is now in place, except for the federal appropriation of $78 million pending approval in Congress. Three sections of flood protection are complete or under construction. The National Civic League recognized this feat in 2014 when it named Cedar Rapids as a recipient of the All-America City Award, which recognizes communities that overcome citywide challenges and achieve uncommon results. (The National Civic League is a nonprofit organization that advocates for transparency, effectiveness, and openness in local government.) The city’s strong recovery following the devastating flood in 2008 is evident by the accolades it has received from a variety of media outlets and interest …
NEW YORK CITY — Savanna, a New York-based real estate private equity and asset management firm, has completed the sale of 31 Penn Plaza to Vanbarton Group LLC for an undisclosed sum. Located at 132 W. 31st St., the 18-story property features 444,000 square feet of office space. Savanna acquired the property in 2011 and completed a $20 million renovation, including redesigning the lobby, security infrastructure and entrance, modernizing the elevators, restoring the façade, upgrading coming areas and adding retail amenities. During the period Savanna owned the property, the firm entered into 260,000 square feet of lease agreements with tenants that included Friedman’s, Pennsylvania Six and Dee Daa. Douglas Harmon, Adam Spies, Joshua King, Adam Donegar and Michael Saclarides of Eastdil Secured represented Savanna in the transaction. Christopher Price and Adam Kopald of Goodwin Procter served as the seller’s counsel for the sale.