PHOENIX — Phoenix-based Cole Corporate Income Trust Inc. (CCIT) has acquired three Class A office buildings in Texas and Massachusetts for $160.8 million. Cole Corporate Income Advisors LLC, a subsidiary of Cole Real Estate Investments, served as the external advisor to CCIT in the transaction. The properties include an office campus leased to Allstate Insurance Co. in Plano totaling 458,338 square feet. Allstate will occupy the campus under a 12-year lease through a sale-leaseback transaction. CCIT also acquired a 206,362-square-foot office building in Houston's Westchase District. The property serves as the corporate headquarters of The Men's Wearhouse, which has more than 14 years remaining on its lease. The last property is a 49,250-square-foot medical office building in Concord, Mass. The property is leased for 17 years to Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, a 630-physician medical group. Boyd Messmann of Cole Real Estate Investments represented CCIT in both Texas transactions, and Robert Corry of Cole represented CCIT in the Massachusetts transaction.
PLANO, TEXAS — HFF has secured $120 million in financing for Granite Park I, II and III, three office towers in the mixed-use Granite Park development in Plano. The development is located at the intersection of Dallas North Tollway and State Highway 121. The three office buildings are 95 percent leased and total 873,636 square feet. Trey Morsbach, Jim Curtin, Michael Cosby and Michael George of HFF arranged the 10-year, fixed-rate loan loan through MetLife Real Estate Investors on behalf of the borrower, Granite Properties Inc. Funds from the loan were used to refinance an existing loan.
NEWARK, N.J. — Skanska (STO:SKAB) has signed a contract with Prudential Financial Inc. to build an office tower in Newark. The contract is valued at $117 million. The 20-story office tower, which will span approximately 217,600 square feet, will have an adjoining parking garage and ground-floor retail. The project aims to achieve LEED Gold certification. Construction is underway, with the project slated for completion in March 2015.
PHILADELPHIA — DeMedici II Corp. has purchased an eight-story, 226,890-square-foot Class A office building in Philadelphia for $29 million. Liberty Property Philadelphia Limited Partnership II sold the property, located at 1600 Vine St., to the corporation. The building will house the Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School, which will open in the fall of this year with 350 ninth graders. The school will add a grade each year until 1,400 students are enrolled. Constructed in 1999, the building at Three Franklin Plaza includes eight floors averaging 28,361 square feet. The buyer plans to spend between $10 million and $12 million on upgrades to create a theater, performing arts studios, science labs and an automotive engineering lab. Chris Pennington, vice president in Binswanger’s Philadelphia office, handled the transaction.
SAN DIEGO — CentreWest Plaza, a 116,825-square-foot, Class A office park in the San Diego submarket of Sorrento Mesa, has sold to Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, LLC for $29.2 million. The plaza is located at 9710 & 9740 Scranton Road. The twin three-story buildings were developed in 1990. The seller was Cruzan-Monroe AEW Scranton LLC, a joint venture between Cruzan | Monroe and AEW Capital Management. It was represented by Rick Reeder and Brad Tecca of Cassidy Turley San Diego.
PHILADELPHIA — Cronheim Mortgage has arranged $50 million in refinancing for a three-property, 750,000-square-foot office portfolio located in suburban Philadelphia. A national bank provided the five-year nonrecourse loan. A mix of small professional office, medical, corporate satellite, education and government users occupy the one- and two-story office buildings. David Turley, Anna Westhoff and Janet Proscia of Cronheim Mortgage advised the borrower.
HOUSTON — Construction has begun on Wallis State Bank’s new corporate headquarters, a 67,000-square-foot, Class A office building located on Kempwood Drive and Beltway 8 in Houston. Arch-Con Construction is the general contractor for the property, and Powers Brown Architects is providing design services. Wallis’ headquarters will occupy 25,000 square feet and customer banking will occupy 4,500 square feet. The remaining space will be available for lease.
FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS — Colliers International North Texas has brokered the lease for Texas Industries’ (TXI) new, 44,000-square-foot office lease in the Park West office complex at 1501 LBJ Freeway in Farmers Branch. More than 160 TXI employees will be relocated to the new office in November. Jim Graham and Travis Ewert of Colliers International represented the tenant. Grant Sumner, Joe Pustmueller and Sarah Hinkley of Peloton Commercial Real Estate represented the landlord, Highland Capital Management.
SAN DIEGO — CentreWest Plaza, a 116,825-square-foot, Class A office park in the San Diego submarket of Sorrento Mesa, has sold to Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, LLC for $29.2 million. The plaza is located at 9710 & 9740 Scranton Road. The twin three-story buildings were developed in 1990. The seller was Cruzan-Monroe AEW Scranton LLC, a joint venture between Cruzan | Monroe and AEW Capital Management. It was represented by Rick Reeder and Brad Tecca of Cassidy Turley San Diego.
CHICAGO — A group of investors has acquired the office and parking components of the John Hancock Center, a 100-story landmark skyscraper located in downtown Chicago. The investor group, which includes The Hearn Co., The Lynd Co. and Mount Kellett Capital Management LP, purchased the property for $140 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. Built in 1970, the 3.1 million-square-foot tower is known for its cross-beam steel bracing design that eliminated the need for interior columns, creating a more efficient interior space. In 2012, the building was vertically subdivided, creating multiple components, each of which has been sold. Hearn and its partners purchased the 900,000-square-foot office sector (floors 13-41) and the 710-car parking facility (floors 4-12). The group also acquired most of the common areas including the outdoor plaza, concourse and the entries and lobbies on both Chestnut and Delaware Streets. Jack McKinney Sr., Jack McKinney Jr. and Matt Lerner of J.F. McKinney & Associates have been selected to lease the office space.