CHICAGO — The National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago has signed a 30,000-square-foot lease expansion at 55 E. Monroe St. in the Windy City. The independent research organization will now occupy 118,000 square feet at the 50-story office tower. Cushman & Wakefield’s Jeff Lindenmeyer and Chris O’Leary represented the tenant in the transaction. Christian Domin, of GlenStar Properties LLC, represented ownership. NORC operates additional offices at the University of Chicago as well as in the Washington D.C. metro area, Atlanta, Boston and San Francisco. NORC collaborates with government agencies, foundations, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations and businesses to provide data and analysis that support informed decision making in key areas including health, education, crime, justice and energy.
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PONTIAC, MICH. — Bernard Financial Group has arranged a $1.3 million loan to refinance the Oakland Press Building in Pontiac. The 83,265-square-foot office/flex building features 80 parking spaces and one loading dock. Neil Gorosh of Bernard Financial Group originated the loan for the borrower, Twenty Lake Holdings LLC, with a life insurance company. Twenty Lake Holdings is a full-service commercial real estate asset management firm focused on newspaper properties. The company is an owner of commercial real estate occupied by local newspaper companies and serves as a real estate advisor to national media companies.
SAN DIEGO — Moss Adams LLP has signed a 10-year lease for La Jolla Commons Tower I. The lease is valued at $9.4 million. The tower is located at 4747 Executive Drive in San Diego. The public accounting firm will occupy 18,611 square feet. Moss Adams will occupy its new space in the first quarter of 2015. The firm was represented by Duncan Dodd of Cassidy Turley’s San Diego office. The landlord, HSPF La Jolla Commons I Investors LLC, was represented by Matthew Carlson, Eric Northbrook and Chris High of Cushman & Wakefield.
SAN DIEGO – A 2,263-square-foot medical office building in the San Diego submarket of La Jolla has sold to EHOF La Jolla LLC for $2.2 million. The building is located at 7601 Draper Ave. It is currently occupied by La Jolla Animal Hospital. The hospital has occupied the building since 1975. The buyer plans to raze the building so it can develop a townhome complex on the site. The LLC was represented by Trenton Bonner of Trenton Bonner Coastal Real Estate. The sellers, two private individuals, were represented by CBRE’s Paul Lafrenz, Melissa Foster, Reg Kobzi and Brad Chelf.
NORFOLK, VA. — New York-based Eastern Union Funding has provided $11.4 million in acquisition financing for Town Point Center, a 131,259-square-foot, 12-story office building in Norfolk. The asset was 90 percent leased at the time of the sale to regional and local tenants. Marc Tropp and David Merkin of Eastern Union Funding arranged the five-year loan with a fixed 4.56 percent interest rate through an unnamed Wall Street lender on behalf of the borrower, Cohen Investment Group.
NEW YORK CITY — The College Board has completed the sale of its headquarters building, which is located at 45 Columbus Ave. in New York. Fordham University purchased the nine-story, 65,303-square-foot building for $49.5 million. The buyer plans to use the office space for its administrative offices. The College Board is relocating its headquarters to a 165,000-square-foot space within Brookfield Place at 250 Vesey St. David Lebenstein and Graham Stephens of Cassidy Turley, along with Kirk Diamond and Tim Farley of Cassidy Turley’s Atlanta office, represented the seller, while Joe Morningstar of Hudson Realty Capital represented Fordham University in the transaction.
CHICAGO — Aries Capital has secured a $5 million CMBS loan for a nine-property, multifamily portfolio on Chicago’s South Side. The 10-year loan features a 30-year amortization schedule and a 75 percent loan-to-value ratio. The sponsor of the transaction, an affiliate of McKenzie Management, has been acquiring and renovating properties on the South Side of Chicago for the past eight years. By refinancing the properties, McKenzie Management was able to free up its bank lines and personal guaranties, enabling the company to acquire additional properties and grow its portfolio. McKenzie is a full-service property management company focusing on residential and retail properties.
LISLE, ILL. — Morgan/Harbour has completed an office renovation of a 10,466-square-foot building in Lisle for law firm Clingen Callow & McLean LLC (CCM). The property is located at 2300 Cabot Drive. Founded in 1995, CCM has relocated its offices to Lisle from Wheaton, Ill. The firm also operates an office in Geneva, Ill., which it will retain. The new Class A building consists of 24 private offices, open office space, three conference rooms, a copy room and break room. Morgan/Harbour’s construction team included Andy MacMillan, John Becker and Keith Zagroba. ConopCo provided project management services and Whitney Architects provided the architectural services.
BURBANK, CALIF. — Granite Properties has acquired a 150,000-square-foot office building in Burbank for $49 million. The 10-story tower is located at 2600 West Olive in the city’s Media District. The building is currently 87 percent leased to a variety of media-related companies. It was built in 1986. The seller, Legacy Partners Realty Fund I LLC, had previously made improvements to the building’s main lobby, restrooms, upper lobbies and parking areas. Legacy was represented by CBRE’s Kevin Shannon, Tom Bolinger, Ken White and Mike Longo.
BREA, CALIF. — The PRES Companies has acquired a two-project office portfolio in Orange County for $42 million. The four-property portfolio totals 290,657 square feet. The transaction includes the 171,411-square-foot Brea Park Center. The three-building property is located at 2601 Saturn Street, 500 S. Kraemer Blvd. and 2650 E. Imperial Highway. Notable tenants include Citizens Business Bank, General Services Administration (GSA), FIT Electronics and theCalifornia Department of Public Health. The transaction also includes the 119,246-square-foot Brea Corporate Plaza, which is located at 3230 E. Imperial Highway. Notable tenants include Nestle Waters andYellow Box Corp. Both properties are located in Brea near the 57 and 91 freeways in north Orange County. PRES will also assume leasing and management responsibilities for the portfolio. The firm was represented by Dan Vittone and Alan Pekarcik of Avison Young’s Irvine office.