SAN JOSE, CALIF. – A pair of Class A office buildings in San Jose that are fully occupied by the Echelon Corporation has received $14 million in refinancing. The buildings are located at 550 Meridian Ave. and serve as the firm’s headquarters. Financing was secured by Paul Schroeder of Cohen Financial’s San Francisco office on behalf of a local commercial real estate developer. The fixed-rate, long-term, non-recourse financing was provided by Sun Life Financial.
FORT MYERS, FLA. — Chico's FAS recently opened a new 146,000-square-foot store support center at 11215 Metro Parkway in Fort Myers. The building is located on the 60-acre Chico's National Support Center (NSSC) campus. The support center includes human resources, real estate, e-commerce, technology and store design, and will create as many as 450 jobs. The center will help the company support the nearly 1,400 women's specialty stores it operates across the country and help manage future growth. Brands under Chico's FAS include Chico's, White House | Black Market and Soma Intimates. Gora/McGahey Architects provided the architectural design, documentation and construction administration services for the project.
RUSTON, LA. — Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II has acquired five medical office buildings in Ruston, Greeley, Colo., and Abilene, Texas, for $47 million. Currently, the REIT's portfolio totals 148 buildings valued at $1.4 billion. The portfolio is 96.8 percent leased with a weighted average remaining lease term of approximately 9.4 years. American Healthcare Investors and Griffin Capital Corp. are the REIT's co-sponsors.
CHICAGO — Prudential Mortgage Capital Co. has provided a $300 million loan for 155 North Wacker, a 1.15 million-square-foot office tower located in the Chicago West Loop submarket. The 10-year, fixed-rate loan refinances the property for the borrower, which developed the tower in 2009. Located on the northeast corner of Wacker Drive and Randolph Street, the property is 94.6 percent leased and is within walking distance of major public transportation lines. The 46-story, Class A building is LEED-Gold certified and features a glass lobby, state-of-the-art technology including high-speed “smart” elevators, floor-to-ceiling windows, and conference and fitness centers.
SAN ANTONIO — Stream Realty Partners has arranged a 10,504-square-foot office lease at One Castle Hills, a 157,521-square-foot office property located in San Antonio's North Central submarket. Following this lease, One Castle Hills is 79 percent leased. Ryan Harrison of Stream Realty represented the landlord in the lease transaction. Ben Crawford of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the tenant, Webster University. Webster is a Tier 1, private, nonprofit university with more than 100 campuses across the country. Stream Realty also provides on-site property management for the facility.
CEDAR FALLS, IOWA — GA Keen Realty Advisors, a division of Great American Group Inc., is marketing a 48,250-square-foot office building in Cedar Falls. The property and facilities are being sold as part of a Federal Receiver’s sale, with GA Keen Realty Advisors working with the court appointed receiver, Chicago-based attorney Michael Eidelman, in marketing the building and property. The bid deadline is Friday, May 24 with an auction scheduled for Friday, May 31. Built in 2008, the building design features minimal emissions, water use, waste and indoor pollutants. Located on a 22-acre site at 1 Peregrine Way, the property is designated as a Class A professional office building and includes 108 exterior parking stalls and 43 underground parking spaces. The building is the former headquarters of Peregrine Financial Group owned by Russell Wasendorf Sr., which filed for bankruptcy in July 2012.
NEW YORK CITY —Liberty Mutual Insurance has signed a 130,000-square-foot lease at 55 Water St. in New York City for 10 years. The 3.8 million-square-foot office building stands 54 stories tall and is the second largest privately owned office building in New York City. Liberty Mutual’s new lease doubles its space and spans two floors. Mary Ann Tighe, Brad Gerla, Howard Fiddle and Evan Haskel of CBRE represented the owner, New Water Street Corp., in the deal. Cresa represented Liberty Mutual.
BOSTON — Richards Barry Joyce & Partners has brokered several leases on behalf of Clarion Partners at Waltham Woods Corporate Center, located at 880 and 890 Winter St. in Boston. The leases total more than 55,000 square feet of space and were signed with Fieldwork Boston, Global Advanced Metals, NKT Therapeutics Inc., Windjammer Capital Investors and WinterWyman. Jon Varholak and Ron Friedman of Richards Barry Joyce & Partners represented Clarion Partners in the transactions.
IRVING, TEXAS — UCR Investment Sales has brokered the sale of the 106,647-square-foot Central Park Shopping Center, a grocery-anchored development located at 1706 W. Irving Blvd. in Irving. Terry's Supermarket anchors the shopping center, which includes other tenants such as Auto Zone, Rent-A-Center, Family Dollar, H&R Block, Super Wash & Dry and Metro PCS. The shopping center is 86.5 percent leased. Tommy Tucker of UCR Investment Sales represented the out-of-state seller and procured the buyer, an investment group formed by Steve Gregory, Derek Ferem and the J. Evans Family Partnership.
DORAL, FLA. — The 9250 Doral office building, currently the largest single block of available space in the Doral area, will undergo a multi-million renovation. Amadeus North America moved out of the property one year ago, leaving the 187,000-square-foot property fully vacant. Delma Properties, the building owner, plans to reposition the building into a multi-tenant office property. Delma is spending $1.5 million to refurbish the lobby and other common areas, which is expected to be complete by the end of this month. Exterior work includes upgrades to the entry fountain, pedestrian bridge, facade and parking for a total investment of more than $7 million. The property is located on Doral's main east-west throughway at 9250 N.W. 36th St.