PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) has signed a $46 million office lease deal at the Mellon Independence Center, located at 701 Market St. in Philadelphia. Under the 25-year lease, PPA will occupy the fourth and fifth floors, as well as part of the sub-basement. The company plans to move from its current offices at 3101 Market St. in the fall of 2013. Tactix Real Estate Advisors represented the tenant in the transaction. Jay Ruder of Archer & Greiner P.C. served as PPA's attorney. The PPA will join BNY Mellon, the building's largest tenant.
NEW YORK CITY — LinkedIn Corp. has expanded its lease at the Empire State Building to more than 72,000 square feet on two full floors. The social networking website operator originally leased 32,000 square feet on the entire 25th floor in 2011. LinkedIn, which boasts more than 187 million members in 200 countries, plans to occupy the space in 2013. Sacha Zabra of CBRE Group represented the tenant in the transaction. William Cohen and Ryan Kass of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the landlord, W&H Properties.
HOUSTON — HFF has brokered the sale of the 176,799-square-foot 777 Post Oak Boulevard, a nine-story office building located in Houston's Galleria/West Loop submarket. The property was renovated in 1998 and is fully leased. Robert Williamson and Rusty Tamlyn of HFF represented the seller, an institutional owner, in the transaction. Corby Chaffin of HFF also arranged acquisition financing on behalf of the buyer, an international investing real estate fund managed by Switzerland-based Credit Suisse AG. Washington, D.C.-base Lacy Ltd. advised Credit Suisse in the transaction.
SAN ANTONIO — Peloton Commercial Real Estate has arranged the sale of the 38,000-square-foot Brookhollow Atrium, an office building located at 1000 Central Parkway N. in San Antonio. Jason Adkinson and Scott Boynton of Peloton represented the seller in the transaction. Paul Fagan of San Antonio Commercial Advisors represented the buyer. Adkinson and Boynton brought the property to full occupancy prior to the sale.
NEW YORK CITY — A joint venture between Oxford Properties Group and Crown Acquisitions has acquired a significant interest in Olympic Tower, a 380,000-square-foot office building on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The 21-story tower is home to the National Basketball Association and approximately 120,000 square feet of retail, including Cartier and Versace. The seller was Williston S.A., a business operating arm of the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation. Last May, Crown Acquisitions acquired a 49.9 percent interest in Olympic Tower in a transaction valued at $1 billion, according to various media reports. Under the new agreement, the asset will be jointly owned by Oxford Properties, Crown Acquisitions and the Onassis Foundation. JP Morgan assisted Crown Properties with the joint venture.
NEW YORK CITY — JMC Holdings has acquired a 34,722-square-foot office penthouse at 99 Hudson St. in New York City for $18.5 million. The space spans three contiguous floors in the 16-story building and features a private roof deck. The new owner plans to invest $4 million in renovating the space. The seller is NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which occupied the property since 1984. JMC Holding was self-represented by Matt Cassin and David Taylor. Janet Woods of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the seller.
NEW YORK CITY — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has signed a 200,000-square-foot lease at Forest HillsTower, to serve as the agency's New York City headquarters over the next several months. FEMA will utilize the space for administrative offices. There will be no on-site access to the general public. Given the organization's urgent need to oversee emergency-related activities in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, FEMA closed the transaction within a 48-hour period. Ken Siegel of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the landlord, Muss Development in the transaction. Mark Greenspan of CBRE Group represented the United States General Services Administration, which acted on behalf of FEMA.
NEW YORK CITY — The International Gemological Institute (IGI) has inked a lease for 20,400 square feet of office space at 551 Fifth Ave. in New York City. IGI is the largest independent gemological laboratory in the world. The company will take over the entire seventh floor in the base of the 38-story tower this January. Jarod Stem of Studley represented the landlord, The Feil Organization, in the transaction. He also represented the tenant.
AUSTIN — A joint venture between New York City-based Hudson Realty Capital and Pomeroy Investment Corp. has sold the 172,637-square-foot Capitol Tower office building, a Class A tower located in Austin, for $49 million. The 20-story office property is located at 206 E. Ninth St. in Austin's Central Business District and includes a 736-space on-site parking garage. The joint venture launched a comprehensive $10 million renovation program following its purchase in 2006. The property is fully leased to tenants including an advertising agency, legal firms, technology companies and marketing agencies.
TUCSON, ARIZ. – The former Pella Corporation building in Tucson has sold to BH Pella Drive, LLC for $5.2 million. The buyer is an affiliate of BH Properties. The 260,000-square-foot manufacturing and warehouse facility, also known as the Aero Business Park, is located at 6700 South Pella Drive. BH Properties was represented by Steve Cohen and Russell Hall of Picor Commercial Real Estate Services. The seller, Pella Corporation, was represented by Chuck Pawlak of Binswanger.