WARREN AND BRIDGEWATER, N.J., AND WESTBOROUGH AND MARLBOROUGH, MASS. — HFF has arranged $83.4 million in refinancing for a portfolio of office assets totaling 14 buildings and 946,374 square feet in New Jersey and Massachusetts. HFF secured the floating-rate loan through JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Rialto Capital for the borrower, Normandy Real Estate Partners. The properties are a two-building, 228,393-square-foot asset at 20 and 25 Independence Blvd. in Warren; a 40,565-square-foot building at 999 Frontier Road in Bridgewater; the four-building, 105,500-square-foot Flanders Business Park in Westborough; and the seven-building, 571,916-square-foot Marlborough Technology Park in Marlborough. Jon Mikula, Riaz Cassum and Porter Terry of HFF represented the borrower in the financing transaction.
PRICE, UTAH — Utah State Office of Rehabilitation has renewed its lease at the Price Human Services Building. The 38,129-square-foot building is located at 475 West Price River Drive in Price. It is fully occupied by the State of Utah and currently houses three different agencies, including the Department of Human Services, the Department of Workforce Services and the Department of Rehabilitation Services. The lease will extend the office’s lease by five years. The landlord is Fairbridge Properties.
WARRENVILLE, ILL. — CPA:18 – Global has acquired an office building in Warrenville for $34.8 million, excluding acquisition fees, from The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. Warrenville is 34 miles west of Chicago. Constructed as a build-to-suit in 2001, the five-story building offers 146,800 square feet of Class A office space. The property features flexible office space with exterior offices and interior conference rooms and cubicles, parking spaces, a conference center and a fitness center. Exelon Generation has triple-net leased the property on a long-term basis. CPA:18 – Global is one of W. P. Carey Inc.’s managed non-traded REITs.
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.