SPRING LAKE AND GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — NAI Wisinksi of West Michigan has brokered two leases totaling 4,552 square feet in Michigan. In the first transaction, Kevin B. Megley leased 1,452 square feet of office space at 723 E. Savidge St. in Spring Lake. Megley is relocating his law office to the space. Jason Makowski and Tim Platt of NAI Wisinski represented both the lessee and lessor in the five-year lease transaction. In the second deal, Craft Retail Inc. leased 3,100 square feet of retail space at 678 Front St. SW in Grand Rapids. The United Kingdom-based company plans to use the space to expand its operations. Mary Anne Wisinski of NAI Wisinski represented the tenant, while Makowski represented the undisclosed landlord in the five-year lease transaction.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — John Hancock Real Estate has acquired 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, a 13-story, Class A office building located in Washington, D.C.’s central business district, for $182 million. The 278,916-square-foot office building was 97 percent leased at the time of sale. The LEED Gold-certified property underwent renovations in 2001 and 2014. The property is located between the White House one block to the east and the World Bank headquarters one block to the west. John Hancock is the U.S. division of Manulife Financial Corp., one of the largest life insurance companies in the world.
NEW YORK CITY — A partnership between Jeff Sutton and Aurora Capital has entered into a 99-year triple net lease for 511 Fifth Avenue, a 160,000-square-foot Class A building on the southeast corner of 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan. The 17-story building serves as the New York headquarters for Israel Discount Bank and offers 20,000 square feet of retail space. The partnership will operate the property during the lease term, as well as undertake renovations and assume responsibility for leasing. Bruce Mosler, David Green, Louis Wolfowitz, Peyton Horn, Josh Kuriloff and Nat Rockett of Cushman & Wakefield represented the building’s owner, a group of family trusts, in the transaction. Raymond Sanseverino and Richard Nardi of Loeb & Loeb LLP provided legal representation for the owners, while Chris Smith and Lisa Brill of Shearman & Sterling represented the lessee.
CARROLLTON, TEXAS — Henry S. Miller Cos. has arranged a 5,000-square-foot industrial office lease for WaterCentric at 4720 Dozier Road in Carrollton. Fred Dumlao of Henry S. Miller Cos. worked on behalf of the landlord, Larry Osterman, in the leasing negotiations. WaterCentric provides long-term water strategies, water rights permitting and alternative source implementation for clients.
CHICAGO — KTGY Group Inc. has opened a new office in downtown Chicago to expand its services in the Midwest. Veteran designers Craig Pryde and David Kennedy, both former principals of PPK Architects, will head the new studio. Pryde has designed and managed commercial and residential projects of all sizes, from new construction to renovation, adaptive reuse and expansion of existing buildings, including historical structures. Kennedy has extensive experience in the design of mixed-use residential projects and urban infill development projects, including large-scale commercial and low-, mid- and high-rise residential developments. The new office is located at 343 W. Erie St., Suite 220 in Chicago.
PHILADELPHIA — A joint venture between affiliates of Alterra Property Group and Stockton Real Estate Advisors has acquired an office building located at 1760 Market St. in Philadelphia’s Center City. Located at the corner of 18th and Market streets, the 15-story, 126,000-square-foot property is occupied by Allied Barton, GSA Federal Transit Administration and The Philadelphia Trust Company, among others. The partnership plans to reposition the building as a premier location for Philadelphia’s business community. The repositioning will include retrofitting the exterior with LED lighting and upgrades to the lobby and common areas to give the building a more contemporary look. Stockton Real Estate Advisors will assume on-site leasing and management responsibilities on behalf of the joint venture. The sales price was not disclosed.
HANOVER, N.J. — Vision Realty Estate Partners and Rubenstein Properties have topped off the steel structure for the development of MetLife Investments’ global headquarters at 67 Whippany Road in Hanover. Situated on 14 acres, the 185,000-square-foot office facility has been designed to meet LEED Gold Core and Shell and LEED Platinum Interiors standards. The building will feature an open floor plan with collaborative workspaces and breakout rooms, a town hall with technologically advanced conference facilities, a fitness center, an employee food court with indoor and outdoor seating, and a café. Additionally, the property will offer 4.5 parking spaces per 1,000 feet of rentable area through a combination of surface, structured and underground executive parking. The building, which will house more than 900 MetLife employees, is slated for delivery in the third quarter of 2016.
BOSTON — Localytics, a lifecycle engagement platform for web and mobile applications, has leased 55,000 square feet of office space at Center Plaza in Boston. The company will move into the space in March 2016, relocating from 101 Arch St. in Boston. Center Plaza is a 717,128-square-foot mixed-use complex featuring a 900-foot retail promenade along Cambridge Street, a 575-car parking garage and access to public transit, including the Red, Green and Blue lines. The property will soon undergo a capital improvement program, including new office amenities such as a bike room, conference center and renovations to the street-level interior lobbies, exterior walkway/breezeway areas and rooftop. Boston-based CBT Architects is providing architectural services for the enhancement program. Andy Hoar, John Butterworth, Kevin Kennedy and Suzanne Brown of CBRE/New England represented the landlord, Shorenstein Properties, while Greg Hoffmeister and Jon Frisch of T3 Advisors represented the tenant in the transaction. has a capital improvement program
MONTGOMERY, TEXAS — Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF) has secured $33.5 million in senior financing in conjunction with the recapitalization of Westland Bunker, a 2N data center and office complex located in the Houston suburb of Montgomery. Colby Mueck of HFF worked on behalf of the borrower, Houston Bunker LLC, to place the loan with Sovereign Bank and Hillcrest Bank. Westland Bunker is situated on a 50-acre campus at 550 Club Drive and consists of a 19,116-square-foot, two-story underground data center and a four-story 61,086-square-foot office building. A 2N power redundancy means that the data center has double the amount of equipment needed.
SAN ANTONIO — The City of San Antonio’s Transportation and Capital Improvements Department has begun demolition of several obsolete buildings totaling over 40,000 square feet at Port San Antonio, a redevelopment of the former Kelly Air Force base, to extend portions of 36th Street by an additional half mile toward the south. Upon completion in late 2016, the new road will intersect with General Hudnell Drive, providing the 1,900-acre property with additional road connections in support of growing logistics activity. The road will now end near the aircraft maintenance workshop facilities and Air Force headquarters operations where the majority of the Port’s 12,000 daily commuters work. The road extension will support the future development of industrial and mixed-use sites in the heart of the property.