HOUSTON — Cousins Properties, an Atlanta-based REIT, has closed a $189 million non-recourse mortgage for Post Oak Central, a Class A office complex in Houston’s Galleria submarket. Originally purchased by Cousins in February for $233 million, the property comprises three towers totaling 1.3 million square feet. The buildings are currently 94 percent occupied, up from 92 percent at the time of sale. The mortgage, which was announced in conjunction with another closed for an Atlanta-area Cousins property, entails a seven-year term and a fixed rate of 4.26 percent. HFF arranged the terms.
HOUSTON — Colliers International has brokered the sale of Oak Park Plaza, a three-story office building totaling 53,000 square feet in the master-planned Oak Park at Westchase development of Houston. Located at 6051 N. Course Drive and in close proximity to Beltway 8, the property is LEED Silver certified. David Carter and Jay Kyle of Colliers represented the seller, WYAK Investments LLC, in the transaction. The buyer was a financial institution that will also occupy part of the facility.
LAS VEGAS – The 41-year-old former Las Vegas City Hall has completed its transformation into the new Zappos headquarters. The online retailer will now be based at 400 E. Stewart Ave. in Downtown Las Vegas. Zappos purchased the building for $18 million. The company was formerly based in nearby Henderson after relocating to Nevada from San Francisco in 2004. The creative office space was designed to LEED-Gold specifications. The $60-million renovation began in August 2012. It was carried out by The PENTA Building Group.
BLOOMINGTON, MINN. — Ryan Cos. US Inc. has begun construction on a $25 million addition to The Toro Co.’s Bloomington headquarters. The three-story add-on will span 75,000 square feet and be completed by the summer of 2014. Ryan Cos. is leading the construction project, which will give the lawn mower company more office space and additional room for testing and new product development. The facility is located 8111 Lyndale Ave., about 11 miles south of Minneapolis.
PHILADELPHIA — PCCP LLC has provided $80 million in senior loans to a joint venture between Keystone Property Group and Mack-Cali Realty Corp. The loans were for a portfolio of four office properties located in the metro Philadelphia area. Mack-Cali Realty Corp. previously owned and managed the properties and is selling the portfolio to Keystone Property Group. Mack-Cali will retain an equity investment in each of the properties sold, and Keystone will manage future property operations. Properties in the portfolio include 4 & 5 Sentry Park, three buildings totaling 200,000 square feet in Blue Bell; 150 Monument Road, a 125,000-square-foot, Class A building in Bala Cynwyd; Rose Tree Corporate Center, two buildings totaling 260,000 square feet in Media; and 1000 Madison, a 100,000-square-foot office building in Lower Providence.
CHERRY HILL, N.J. —Benefits Consultants Group Inc., has signed a 21,000-square-foot lease at a Class A office building in Cherry Hill. The 100,000-square-foot office building is located at 51 Haddonfield Road. A joint venture between Bergman Real Estate Group and Time Equities Inc. purchased the property in 2012. Since the acquisition, the joint venture has upgraded areas of the property, including the parking lot and lobby. Anne Klein, senior managing director, and Brian Sherlock, director at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, represented ownership in the transaction. Ken Clyman of Ken Clyman Realty and Klein co-brokered the transaction on behalf of Benefits Consultants Group.
FLOWER MOUND, TEXAS — BNSF Logistics, a Berkshire Hathaway company and a subsidiary of railway company Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC, will move its headquarters to the Lakeside Business District of Flower Mound, a northern suburb of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The tenant will relocate from its current facilities in Grapevine to the 38,000-square-foot space in Lakeside Commerce Center, located at 1600 Lakeside Parkway, in November. Transwestern’s Brett Owens and John Fulton represented landlord Exeter Property Group in the negotiations.
CARLSBAD, CALIF. — Drawbridge Realty Trust has purchased Pacific View Corporate Center, an 80,862-square-foot office building in Carlsbad, for $22.3 million. The Class A building is located at 5759 Fleet Street within the Carlsbad Ranch subdivision. It is fully leased to Synteract and RF Micro Devices. Drawbridge was represented by Rick Reeder, Joe Anderson and Dennis Visser of Cassidy Turley. The seller, TA Associates Realty, was represented by Jeff Cole, Ed Hernandez, Michael Roberts and Brunson Howard of C&W Capital Markets Division.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Cassidy Turley has secured $150 million in acquisition financing for Jamestown LP in its $307.5 million purchase of One Metro Center in Washington, D.C. from Clarion Partners. One Metro Center is a 421,235-square-foot, Class A office tower located at 701 13th St. N.W. in Washington's East End, three blocks from the White House. The property is fully leased. John Campanella and Paul Spellman of Cassidy Turley arranged the floating-rate loan through a bank.
NEW YORK CITY — Boston Properties Inc. has entered into an agreement to sell its 45 percent ground-leasehold interest and related tax credits in Times Square Tower for $684 million in cash. An affiliate of Norges Bank will buy the interest. The property is unencumbered by debt. Boston Properties and an affiliate of Norges Bank will form a joint venture upon closing, and Boston Properties will retain property and leasing management for the venture. Times Square Tower is a 1.2 million-square-foot, Class A office tower located in the heart of Times Square in New York City. The 99 percent occupied property was developed by Boston Properties and completed in 2004. The property is subject to a ground lease with the City of New York with 76 years remaining, and it benefits from a Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program through June 2024. The joint venture will hold the contractual right to purchase the fee interest in the property beginning in July 2024.