CHICAGO — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the Energy Star designation to 123 North Wacker Drive, a 30-story office tower located in Chicago’s West Loop. Completed in 1987, 123 North Wacker contains 541,000 square feet of trophy office space. It was acquired in 2005 by Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors on behalf of tenant-in-common investors. The Energy Start program was introduced by the EPA in 1992 as a voluntary way for consumer products, homes and commercial buildings to reduce their environmental impact through energy efficiency.
LINCOLN, NEB. — NAI FMA Realty has brokered two leases in Lincoln. In the first transaction, the Nebraska practice of CPA and advisory firm BKD LLP has signed a lease for approximately 15,000 square feet at Wells Fargo Center. The firm plans to move into the space in August. It was represented in lease negotiations by Mike Van Buskirk of Zimmer Real Estate Services • ONCOR International. The landlord, Ameritas Life Insurance Corp., was represented by Richard Meginnis and Tom Graf of NAI FMA Realty. Wells Fargo Center is an 11-story, 260,000-square-foot office tower located in downtown Lincoln. Additionally, Panera Bread has signed a lease to occupy 4,714 square feet at Arbor Day Plaza, located at the intersection of 12th and P streets. The restaurant will open in mid-July. Tom Graf of NAI FMA Realty represented the landlord, the National Arbor Day Foundation. The tenant was represented by Frank Berber of the Lerner Company.
PORT CHESTER, N.Y. — The New York Metro regional office of NorthMarq Capital has secured $1.25 million in first-mortgage financing for a 20,865-square-foot multi-use property located at 225 Westchester Ave. in Port Chester. The property comprises 12,865 square feet of office space, as well as an 8,000-square-foot restaurant. Tenants include Poko Management, Saverio Terenzo, Weissman Management and JRJ Restaurant. The loan includes a 5-year term with a 25-year amortization schedule, as well as a 6.12 percent, non-recourse interest coupon. The loan was arranged by NorthMarq’s Thomas Graf and Bruce Whipple on behalf of the borrower, Weissman Management Corp. The lender was a private, New York-based bank.
FAIRFIELD, N.J. — Bergman Real Estate Group has completed a 37,100-square-foot lease at 155 Passaic Avenue, a Class A office property located in Fairfield. Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) will occupy two of the building’s four floors. John Osborne of Bergman represented the undisclosed landlord in lease negotiations. Steven Fleming of Jones Lang LaSalle represented SAIC. The building contains 88,000 total square feet of office space.
DALLAS — Jones Lang LaSalle has been selected as the leasing agent for a newly renovated Class A office building located at 8435 Stemmons Freeway in Dallas. The 230,000-square-foot building was originally built in 1971 and was completely rebuilt for The First American Corporation in 1997. Dallas-based Staffelbach Design Associates recently completed a major lobby renovation. Jones Lang LaSalle’s James Esquivel and Jeff Eckert are directing the leasing efforts at the property.
SAN DIEGO — Johnson & Jennings General Construction has completed the tenant improvement (T.I.) construction for Carl Zeiss Vision Americas Pacific regional headquarters in San Diego. Improvements for the 33,000-square-foot facility included build-out of two floors of offices, an exterior balcony for company functions, a conference center, and a reception area. Johnson & Jennings was retained by Carl Ziess Vision, a provider of lenses, coatings, Rx Lab services and equipment, for the $2.2 million project. Gensler San Diego provided architectural services for the project.
ORLANDO, FLA. — A joint venture between Duke Realty Corp. and CB Richard Ellis Realty Trust has purchased a joint venture interest in the 100,924-square-foot Celebration Office Center III from Duke Realty Corp. for an undisclosed price. The property is located in the Celebration Office Center adjacent to the Walt Disney World Campus in Orlando. The three-story, Class A building will serve as the headquarters of Disney Vacation Development. Mike Davis and Rick Brugge of Cushman & Wakefield’s Tampa, Fla., office represented the seller.
NORTHLAKE, ILL. — St. Louis-based Ascent Corp. has commenced development of its second Chicagoland data center. Known as CH2, the center will consist of an approximately 250,000-square-foot data center facility. It will feature fully customizable suites divisible from 10,000 square feet. Individual suites can be built out from basic core and shell to fully constructed, turnkey space. Suites also can be built to include separate docks, entrances and lobbies. Users can choose from raised or slab floors, chilled water or air-side cooling, container-based computers or racks, and varying levels of power density and energy efficiency. The new data center will feature its own dedicated utility substation, which is being constructed on-site. Completion is slated for the end of the year. The project is being built near CH1, a 707,000-square-foot data center that was developed by Ascent last year, and subsequently leased by Microsoft Corp. The facility is now known as Northlake Data Center.
BOSTON — Jones Lang LaSalle has completed the interior build out of approximately 300,000 square feet of first class office space for Eaton Vance Corp. at Two International Place in Boston. Comprised of 10 floors, the build out features state-of-the-art trading desks, a full-service café with kitchen, a training facility, reception areas, informal interactive meeting areas, conference rooms, and energy efficient lighting and fixtures. The new office will serves as Eaton Vance’s new world headquarters, a move that consolidates 800 employees from multiple downtown locations. The project was overseen by Jones Lang LaSalle’s Project and Development Services (PDS) team, which is comprised of Alfred Woods and Stephen Senna. Bill Motley and Debra Gould, formerly of Jones Lang LaSalle, represented Eaton Vance during lease negotiations. The corporate interior was designed by CBT Architects. Shawmut Design and Construction served as the construction manager.
NEW YORK CITY — Levien & Company has completed a 20,000-square-foot renovation project at 860 Courtlandt Ave. in the Bronx in New York City, for The Bronx Defenders, a Bronx-based not-for-profit organization that provides holistic criminal and family defense services to the borough’s indigent population. The site, which was a former steakhouse, was redesigned to allow for maximum use of the space. The new design includes walls painted in shades of green, purple and orange, and the installation of a spiral staircase. The restaurant cellar was transformed into offices. Glass blocks were integrated throughout to create better lighting. The lobby features murals painted by elementary school students from the nearby Public School 29, a participant in The Bronx Defenders’ Community Arts Exchange program. The project team included Alta Indleman as the architect, Jack Green & Associates as the engineer and Excel Contracting as the general contractor.