HOUSTON — Houston-based Transwestern has leased the top two floors of 1800 West Loop South, a 399,777-square-foot office tower located in Houston’s Uptown Galleria submarket. Advertising agency Fogarty Klein Monroe will use the space, which totals 39,506 square feet, as its Houston office. The lease brings occupancy in the tower up to 95 percent. Michelle Wogan and Monte Calvert of Transwestern represented the landlord, 1800 West Loop South Ltd. Kevin Gardner of CresaPartners’ Houston office represented Fogarty Klein Monroe. The tenant is working with the Houston office of architect PageSoutherlandPage to design the office’s interior.
SAN DIEGO — Denver-based Simpson Parkview LP is developing a 20,300-square-foot for-sale office building in Central San Diego County. Located at 3540 Aero Ct., the property offers access to 163 and 805 freeways, as well as proximity to Sharp Hospital Campus. KTGY Group is providing architectural services for the project, while Wermers Corp. is serving as general contractor. Completion is slated for June 2009. Pat Rohen and Matt Kelly of Cushman & Wakefield are marketing the property, which has a listed sales price of $6.4 million or $315 per square foot.
SAN DIEGO — Voit Commercial Brokerage has completed the $5.58 million disposition of Canyon Creek Design Center, which is located at 4010 Morena Blvd. in San Diego’s design district. The two-story 24,500-square-foot building is currently occupied by Lee Lawrence Ltd., The American Society of Interior Designs, SGO Designer Glass, Arnett Company and Parker’s Posters. John Lanza and James Marsh of Voit Commercial Brokerage represented the sellers; Glen Volk, also of Voit Commercial Brokerage, represented the undisclosed buyer. The sellers were John Lanza, James Marsh, Betty Jo Lanza and John Robert Lanza.
NORFOLK, VA. — An affiliate of Norfolk-based Harbor Group International has acquired the 366,106-square-foot World Trade Center, located at 101 W. Main St. in Norfolk, from an undisclosed party. The purchase price was not disclosed. The nine-story office building, which is 88 percent occupied, features three conference rooms, balconies on the top four floors and a fitness center.
NOBLESVILLE, IND. — Jackson Commercial Real Estate has signed Community Health Network as its first tenant for a new two-story medical office facility, which is being constructed on the southwest corner of 146th Street and Cumberland Road in Noblesville. Hamilton Healthcare Campus will be situated on an 11.5-acre site. Community Health Network will occupy 40,000 square feet on two floors of the 122,000-square-foot building. The medical facility is expected to include primary care services, physician specialists, urgent care, occupational health care, imaging services, a pharmacy, a lab draw station and a community room for patient education and health screenings. Construction of the project, which is expected to cost more than $20 million, began this summer, with occupancy expected in summer 2009.
WILMETTE, ILL. — Summit Design + Build has completed a 5,738-square-foot renovation and build-out of office space for Sarfatty Associates Ltd. Architects. The office is located at 3201 Old Glenview Rd. in Wilmette. Features of the new space include a full height glass entry, reception area, 29 open office cubicles with potential expansion to 42, three private offices and a full kitchen with a dining area. David Brown of Summit Design + Build acted as project engineer II; Tulio Alvarez, also of Summit Design + Build, acted as superintendent for the project. Sarfatty Associates was the project architect. The estimated cost of completion was not disclosed.
SUMMIT, N.J. — Cranbury, N.J.-based Sweetwater Construction Corp. has begun the redevelopment of the former Risk Building, located at 535 Springfield Ave. in Summit. The historic building will be redeveloped into Claremont Corporate Center, a two-story, Class A office building located above two levels of underground parking. The original brownstone and granite building will be preserved as much as possible, and a new addition will be added to it. While preserving the original stone façade, Sweetwater plans to add exterior limestone panels and a glass curtain wall. Inside, the building will include a two-story main lobby with a glass façade, and an atrium with glass and wood railing, as well as new elevators and a slate tile floor. The project owner is Claremont Corporate LLC, and Wesketch Architecture is serving as the architect of record. CB Richard Ellis is the exclusive leasing agent.
HARLINGEN, TEXAS — San Antonio-based Pocket Communications has signed a lease for an 18,000-square-foot building located at 6906 West Expressway 83 in Harlingen. The new location will serve as the company’s flagship customer service center. Pocket currently operates a retail store and a small customer service center at 2617 South 77 Sunshine Strip in San Antonio. The 80 people employed at the location will relocate to the new center; Pocket plans to employ 260 people at the new location by 2012. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.
LEXINGTON, MASS. — GE Real Estate has provided a $70 million loan for the refinancing of the Lexington Tech Park portfolio in Lexington. The portfolio comprises three Class A office and research properties — located at 125 Spring St., 300 Patriot Way and 500 Patriot Way — that total 278,905 square feet. The properties are situated on a 96.5-acre campus and are 89.4 percent leased to two major life sciences tenants. Two of the properties are fully occupied until 2023. The largest tenant is Shire, which is using the space as the global headquarters of its Human Genetic Therapies division. GE led a syndicate that included Worcester, Mass.-based Commerce Bank and Danvers, Mass.-based Danversbank to provide the funding, which also includes a $7.8 million line of credit for additional improvements and lease-up. Other terms of the loan include a 3-year term and a flexible fixed interest rate. David Douvadjian and Tom Welch of Colliers Meredith & Grew brokered the transaction. The borrower is Boston-based Patriot Partners.
PORTLAND, ORE. — Commercial Defeasance LLC has recently facilitated a $63 million defeasance transaction for ScanlanKemperBard Companies, a Portland-based private equity firm. The defeasance enabled ScanlanKemperBard to sell three of its Portland properties: The Mohawk Building, Jackson Tower and American Bank Building. LaeRoc Partners Inc. acquired the properties for an undisclosed price.