DALLAS — One McKinney Plaza, a 15-story, 256,543-square-foot office building at 3232 McKinney Ave. in uptown Dallas, has earned its LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The owner, Gaedeke Group, has spent 1 year and $5 million in renovating the office building. The renovations included the replacement of 42 toilets with a high-efficiency design, decreasing the gallons per flush by 40 percent. The LEED-EB Operations & Maintenance rating system focuses on a building's physical systems and how it's occupied and operated by its managers.
CORAL SPRINGS, FLA. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of the Towers of Coral Springs, two six- and four-story glass office towers in Coral Springs. The 75,344-square-foot property, which was in foreclosure, sold for $9.7 million. Located at 2855 N. University Dr., the property was 75 percent occupied by national tenants, including Morgan Stanley & First United Bank, at the time of closing. Andy Neiswenter of Marcus & Milichap represented the undisclosed buyer; Marc Strauss and Al Palacios of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a partnership and the original developer, in the transaction.
CHICAGO — Trammel Crow Co. and Insite Real Estate are developing 301 South Wacker, a 1 million-square-foot office tower in downtown Chicago. Located at the corner of West Jackson Boulevard and South Wacker Drive, the 34-story office tower will feature a sustainable, modern design with efficient 30,000-square-foot floorplates. Tenant amenities include parking for more than 200 cars, a health club and a conference center. Additionally, the building is being designed to achieve LEED certification.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Downtown Entertainment LLC has acquired a 4,970-square-foot owner/user building in downtown Orlando. Located at 44 Central Blvd., the freestanding building sold for $1.6 million or $321.93 per square foot. The property is zoned to operate businesses from a daily office to a late-night club or bar. Scott Corbin of Colliers International Central Florida represented the seller, Banco Popular North America, in the transaction.
NORTHFIELD, ILL. — Guardian Home Health & Hospice has acquired Northfied West, a 25,370-square-foot office building located in Northfield. The property was purchased for $1.8 million. Attorney Mort Rubin represented the buyer, while Greg McCormick of Garfield & Merrill represented the seller in the transaction. The building was sold on behalf of a consortium of banks that held the loan. In March 2009, Daniel Hyman of Millennium Partners R/E Inc. was appointed receiver of the property.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Novartis has announced plans to complete a 5-year, $600 million expansion of its research headquarters campus in Cambridge. An additional 400,00 square feet of laboratory, office and retail space will be constructed on 4 acres the company is currently leasing from MIT, which is located adjacent to Novartis' campus. Construction is expected to begin in 2011. Novartis currently occupies 1 million square feet of laboratory and office space; it is the city's largest corporate employer.
MISSION VIEJO, CALIF. — Hanley Investment Group Real Estate has negotiated the $2.9 million purchase of an 11,460-square-foot commercial building located at 27856 Center Drive in Mission Viejo. Built in 1991 and vacant at the time of sale, the freestanding property is situated within Crown Commerce Center, which is anchored by The Home Depot. Hanley’s William Asher represented the Santa Ana, Calif.-based buyer, Fairhaven Memorial, in the transaction, and Marcus & Millichap represented the Fresno, Calif.-based seller, King’s Knight Ventures LLC.
NEW YORK CITY — Sesame Workshop, the educational nonprofit responsible for Sesame Street, has renewed its lease at One Lincoln Plaza in Manhattan. The tenant occupies 140,000 square feet, consisting of the second, third, fourth and eighth floors of the building. As part of the lease renewal, the landlord, locally based Ogden CAP Properties, will complete infrastructure upgrades including new windows and mechanical systems. The Newmark Knight Frank team of Barry Gosin, Moshe Sukenik and Robin Fisher represented Sesame Workshop in lease negotiations. Ogden CAP Properties provided in-house representation.
RICHARDSON — Champion, along with investment partner Fidelity Real Estate Group, has acquired a nine-story, 234,000-square-foot Class A office building at 2600 N. Central Expressway in Richardson, known as One Telecom. It previously housed Southwestern Bell and AT&T. Renovations are planned and Peloton Commercial Real Estate has been hired as the building's leasing representative.
HOUSTON — TNB Properties has purchased a 100,000-square-foot office building at 500 S. Main St. in Houston's Galena Park from Valley Plaza Donaho. Eric Hughes of Centermark Commercial Real Estate represented the buyer in the transaction, while Doyle Toups and Jim Authenreith of NAI Houston represented the seller.