NEW YORK CITY — Colliers International has arranged a 176,121-square foot lease at One New York Plaza for the Macmillan Science and Education group of companies, part of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. This will consolidate approximately 950 of the company’s employees into the Lower Manhattan office building by mid-2015; the company will lease floors 46 through 48 and a portion of the 45th floor. Leon Manoff of Colliers International represented the tenant; Adam Foster and Peter Turchin of CBRE represented Brookfield, the landlord.
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AUSTIN, TEXAS — Westmount Realty Capital LLC has acquired a 13-building, 546,984-square-foot portfolio in Austin. Originally developed in the mid-1980s for light industrial use, the structures are now primarily finished out as office space. Institutionally managed and maintained, the assets were 88 percent occupied at the time of the sale. The portfolio is located within the Braker Center business park, which is situated between I-35 and the MoPac Expressway in the North Central submarket. NorthMarq Capital secured the acquisition financing on behalf of the buyer. Westmount, which is based in Dallas, is planning to invest approximately $1.5 million in an architectural facelift and will rebrand the complex as The Offices at Braker Center. Jack Fraker, Josh McArtor, Jonathan Bryan and Heather McClain Venegoni of CBRE represented the sellers, Dallas-based Granite Properties and Austin-based Endeavor Real Estate Group.
HOUSTON — HFF has brokered the sale of 2900 Weslayan, a 136,698-square-foot office building in Houston. The asset also features a motor bank (drive-thru tellers) with 20 lanes. Bounded by Alabama, Weslayan and Essex streets in the Greenway Plaza/Galleria submarket, the property is in proximity to residential development 2929 Weslayan; retail centers Highland Village and Central Market; and major thoroughfares U.S. Highway 59, the Westpark Tollway and Loop 610. The asset was 73 percent leased to tenants including JPMorgan Chase at the time of the sale. H. Dan Miller and Trent Agnew of HFF marketed the property on behalf of the unnamed seller. PM Realty Group purchased the asset free and clear of debt and plans to invest in capital improvements to the property.
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. – The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) has signed a lease for three floors at Formosa South, a creative office building in West Hollywood. The 98,000-square-foot building is situated within The Lot studios where OWN will have access to sound stages and other production facilities. The Formosa South building is the first in a series of new office buildings being developed at The Lot, an 11-acre studio campus on Santa Monica Boulevard. The Lot was originally founded in 1919 by Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Notable productions such as Guys and Dolls, Westside Story, Some Like it Hot, The Love Boat, Dynasty, The Social Network and True Blood have all been filmed at The Lot. The landlord is CIM Group.
TEMPE, ARIZ. — Dornin Investment Group acquires Agave Center, a five-building office/flex development in Tempe, for $29.5 million. The development includes the 55,221-square-foot Agave Business Center at 8945 S. Harl Ave.; the 86,115-square-foot Agave Corporate Center at 1711 W. Greentree Drive; and the three-building, 78,405-square-foot Agave Executive Center at 17211, 1725 and 1729 W. Greentree Drive. The 219,741-square-foot Agave Center was developed in 2000. The center is collectively more than 90 percent leased. Chris Toci, Chad Littell and Ryan Bartos of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, an entity owned by certain funds managed by Westport Capital Partners LLC, in this transaction.
DULUTH, GA. — RexxHall Realty has acquired a six-building, 250,000-square-foot office portfolio in Duluth, a suburb of Atlanta. The portfolio is located in the Chattahoochee Corners office park. This the first time since 1998 that a single entity has owned Chattahoochee Corners — RexxHall previously acquired 250,000 square feet of office space from The Alter Group at Chattahoochee Corners in August 2013. RexxHall plans to make capital improvements to the park, including a new full-service fitness center, improved running trails, food truck program and completion of its fiber optic network. Including this transaction, RexxHall owns approximately 700,000 square feet of office space in metro Atlanta. Tom Shafer of CBRE represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Bryan Heller, Heather Lamb and Peter McGuone of CBRE have been given the leasing assignment for the park. Alter Asset Management will handle property management services for the park.
DOWNERS GROVE, ILL. —Morgan & Harbour Construction has completed a 10,000- square-foot office build-out for Crist|Kolder Associates in Downers Grove. Crist|Kolder Associates, a C-suite executive recruiting firm, has relocated its offices to 3250 Lacey Road from Hinsdale, Ill. The new space is in a Class A office building. Renovations to the space include new HVAC infrastructure, direct and indirect lighting features, millwork base, porcelain tile, aluminum framing and glass rail/stile doors with oil rubbed bronze hardware. The space was previously unoccupied. Morgan & Harbour’s construction tram consisted of Noah Warriner, Andy MacMillan and Keith Zagroba. Gary Lee Partners provided the architectural services for the project.
SCHAUMBURG, ILL. — MB Real Estate has arranged a 13,391-square-foot lease renewal and expansion for the suburban offices of PPM America, a Chicago-based investment advisory firm. The offices are located at 300 N. Martingale in Schaumburg, a northwest suburb of Chicago. Andrew Davidson and Jay Beadle of MB Real Estate represented PPM America in the lease expansion. Joe Stevens of Transwestern represented ownership in the lease negotiations.
RICHARDSON, TEXAS — Developer KDC will break ground this summer on a three-building, 489,000-square-foot office complex in the Metroplex suburb of Richardson for Raytheon, a technology company serving the defense, security and civil industries. The property will be located on the southwest corner of President George Bush Freeway and Wyndham Lane, within KDC’s CityLine mixed-use development. HKS is serving as architect and Kimley-Horn and Associates is working as civil engineer on the Raytheon’s facilities, which are slated for completion in 2015. Brad Selner, Stephen Holley, Michael Condon and Brendan O’Shaughnessy of JLL represented Raytheon in the negotiations.
SAN DIEGO – A joint venture between Parallel Capital Partners and Equity Group Investments has purchased Wateridge Plaza, a three-building office campus in the San Diego submarket of Sorrento Mesa for $72.5 million. The Class A campus is located at 10201, 10221 and 10241 Wateridge Circle. It totals 278,787 square feet. The campus is currently 72 percent leased. The property also includes the potential to develop up to 168,000 additional square feet of Class A office space. The campus was built in 1984 and renovated in 2012. The seller, a joint venture between Beacon Capital Partners and C-III Realty, invested more than $14 million in campus upgrades between 2009 and 2013. The new joint venture plans to make additional capital improvements. The JV seller was represented by Adam Edwards of Eastdil Secured.