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.
PACIFIC GROVE, CALIF. — The Korda Group has acquired Country Club Gate Center, a two-story jewel-box office building in Pacific Grove. The 21,047-square-foot facility sold for $3.75 million or $178 per square foot. Bob Safai and Ron Jacobson of Madison Partners represented the buyer and the seller, Fowler Properties, in the transaction.
SPARKS, MD. — Fundamental Administrative Services has signed a lease with BPG Investment Partnership VI to occupy a 94,071-square-foot Class A office building. The three-story property is located at 920 Ridgebrook Rd. in Sparks. The company, which is constructing a fitness center in the building, will move into the new space during the fourth quarter. Fundamental will house its consolidated operations in the property, vacating its current location, a 72,406-square-foot office at 930 Ridgebrook Rd. Richie Blue of Timonium, Md.-based Blue & Obrecht Realty represented Fundamental. Hayes Merkert, Athan Sunderland and Danielle Schline of Preston Partners’ Columbia, Md., office represented the landlord.
GLENVIEW, ILL. — The Chicago office of Reed Construction has been selected to complete a 60,000-square-foot office renovation for Aon Corp. in Glenview. Reed will renovate the Chicago-based company’s offices located at 100 Milwaukee Ave. Construction includes a new call center, a mail room and several offices. CB Richard Ellis is serving as the construction manager, with IA Interior Architects providing design services. Completion is scheduled for June.
WALTHAM, MASS. — National Grid has held the grand opening of its New England corporate office, located within Reservoir Woods East office park at 40 Sylvan Rd. in Waltham. The three-story building will contain 312,000 square feet of space and is applying for LEED-Gold certification. Sustainable features include occupancy and daylight level lighting sensors, energy-efficient HVAC systems with carbon dioxide sensors, low-flow fixtures, a rainwater recycling program, a reflective white roof with 20,000 square feet of solar panels, shading devices on south-facing sections of the building, sustainable and low-emitting construction materials, and a construction waste recycling program. National Grid plans to consolidate the company’s New England offices into the new building. The company will begin moving immediately, and will complete the move by July. The project was developed with assistance by Reservoir Woods’ developer, Davis Marcus Partners. The project manager was Jones Lang LaSalle; the building architect was ADD Inc; the interior designer was Sasaki Architects; and the construction manager was John Moriarty & Associates.
MCCANDLESS TOWNSHIP, PA. — Zell Two has begun a multi-million dollar renovation of one of the buildings located within Pittsburgh Office & Research Park, located in McCandless Township. The building, named Two Corporate Center, totals 93,813 square feet and is situated at 5800 Corporate Dr. Construction will include the conversion of the building from single-tenant to multi-tenant use. A new lobby will be built, which will include a hanging sculptured art piece in the atrium, a new seating area and an electronic directory. The elevators will be upgraded, as will the public restrooms. Finally, the mechanical systems and boilers will be upgraded, new energy-efficient lighting will be installed, and the ceiling tiles and carpeting will be replaced. The general contractor for the renovation is A. Martini & Co. and the project architect is Burt Hill. Grant Street Associates is marketing the building for lease. Completion is scheduled for late summer.
ATLANTA — AECOM, a firm that provides professional and technical support services, has leased 51,337 square feet of office space in One Midtown Plaza, located on Peachtree Street in Atlanta. A remodel of the property was completed in December. The space will house the consolidated operations of several of the firm’s local brands, including Earth Tech, Metcalf & Eddy and DMJM Harris. Tishman Speyer brokered the 11-year lease.