CHICAGO — Bernard Financial Group has arranged an $18.7 million CMBS loan to refinance a 23-story historic office building in Chicago’s Loop. The 198,698-square-foot property is located at 205 W. Randolph St. The sons of world-renowned architect Daniel H. Burnham designed the building. Dennis Bernard and Kevin Kovachevich of Bernard Financial Group originated the loan for the borrower, Randolph Acquisition LLC, through Deutsche Bank.
SAN ANTONIO — Hartman Energy LLC, an affiliate of Hartman Short Term Income Properties XX Inc., has acquired the Energy Plaza I and II office buildings in San Antonio. The properties total 180,119 square feet and were constructed in the early 1980s. They were renovated in 2013 with upgrades including granite and marble flooring, cherry wood veneer panels and recessed lighting. At the time of sale the buildings were 95 percent occupied and anchored by a long-term lease with the San Antonio Petroleum Club. Todd Mills and Carrie Caesar of CBRE represented the seller, BRI 1841 Energy Plaza LLC, a subsidiary of Accesso Partners LLC, in the transaction. Dave Wheeler, Julian Kwok and Russell Turman represented the buyer.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Grubb Properties has partnered with New York Life Real Estate Investors to acquire a 19-story office building in Uptown Charlotte. The partnership purchased the 405,000-square-foot office tower located at 525 N. Tryon St. from Parkway Properties Inc. for an undisclosed price. The office tower is located adjacent to the new SkyHouse apartment tower that Grubb is developing with Novare Group and Batson-Cook Development Co. The office building features a conference center, café, on-site management, 24-hour security surveillance and a vacant restaurant site.
MIAMI — Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson PA has renewed and expanded its office footprint in Museum Tower, a Class A office building located at 150 W. Flagler St. in downtown Miami. The law firm has increased its office space to 110,000 square feet, a 7,000-square-foot expansion. Carol Brooks and Steven Hurwitz of CREC represented Stearns Weaver Miller in the lease transaction. Kirk Fetter of Gaedeke Group represented Museum Tower’s owner, Gaedeke Holdings Limited.
NEW YORK CITY — RFR Holding LLC, along with Real Estate Capital Partners, has acquired 281 Park Avenue South, a landmark building formerly known as the Church Mission House in Midtown South. RFR purchased the six-story, 45,000-square-foot building from the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies for $50 million. Following upgrades that will include new storefronts, mechanical systems and a new office lobby with entrance on 22nd Street, the building will be repositioned as a showpiece for a single office user requiring 28,000 to 40,000 square feet. The building features approximately 6,700-square-foot rentable floor plates, ceiling heights up to 20 feet, a cooper and terra-cotta roof, marble mosaic flooring, stained glass windows, wood wainscoting and plaster ornamentation.
The Orange County office market continues to experience steady growth as it moves into 2015, with three straight years of positive net absorption under its belt. The county’s unemployment rate has dropped to 5.4 percent over the past 12 months, while the job growth rate has averaged 1.8 percent over the same period. The overall signs for the office market are very positive as we head into the growth phase of this real estate cycle. Orange County’s office market has experienced almost 1.7 million square feet of net absorption in the past 12 months, according to CoStar. This net absorption has been spread out evenly over Class A and B properties. The current vacancy rate of 11.4 percent has steadily declined on an average of 1 percent per year for the past four years. Based on current absorption trends, the office vacancy could dip below 10 percent in 2016, which may usher in significant speculative development. The majority of the tenant activity is home grown, with limited growth from companies outside of Orange County. Net absorption is mainly due to recent larger space transactions. These occupiers include Pacific Investment Management absorbing 380,000 square feet, Belkin International (128,000 square feet), Yokohama …
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Cousins Properties Inc. has sold 777 Main, a 980,000-square-foot, Class A office tower in downtown Fort Worth, for $167 million. Cousins purchased 777 Main for $160 million in September of 2013 as part of its Crescent Texas acquisition, which included the 4.3 million-square-foot Greenway Plaza office complex in Houston. Cousins is a fully integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust. The Atlanta-based company primarily invests in Class A office assets located in Georgia, Texas and North Carolina.
ANN ARBOR, MICH. — Colliers International Ann Arbor has arranged the sale of an 8,662-square-foot office building in Ann Arbor. Sleeping Bear Press purchased the property, located at 2395 S. Huron Parkway, for an undisclosed sales price. The children’s book publisher is relocating its Ann Arbor offices to this location. Jim Chaconas and Brendan Cavender of Colliers International Ann Arbor represented both the undisclosed seller and the buyer in the transaction.
SOUTHFIELD, MICH. — Gerdom Realty & Investment has arranged the sale of a 3,400-square-foot, two-story office building in Southfield. A dental practice in the area purchased the freestanding office asset located at W. 10 Mile Road for an undisclosed sales price. Tjader Gerdom of Gerdom Realty & Investment represented the seller, a private owner, and procured the buyer.
TAMPA, FLA. — Fairlead Commercial Real Estate has purchased Westshore 500, a Class A, 129,728-square-foot office building in Tampa. The asset is located at 500 N. Westshore Blvd. in Tampa’s Westshore submarket. Fairlead Commercial acquired the asset along with equity partner Bridge Investment Group Partners, managers of the ROC Funds, for an undisclosed price. Christian Lee, Dale Peterson, Charles Foschini and Marcos Minaya of CBRE’s capital markets group represented the seller in the transaction. Fairlead has selected Claire Calzon and Joanne LeBlanc of Colliers International to lease Westshore 500.