HOUSTON — Law firm Brown Sims has signed an 35,198-square-foot office lease at Post Oak Central in Uptown Houston. The national litigation firm will occupy two full floors at the three-building, 1.2 million-square-foot campus. Amanda Nebel represented the landlord, Parkway, in the lease negotiations on an internal basis. Griff Bandy of Partners represented Brown Sims.
SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — A joint venture between Soma Capital Partners and Hazelview Investments has completed the disposition of 925 L Street, a multi-tenant office building in downtown Sacramento. A partnership between Seagate Properties and Cottonwood Group acquired the asset for $55.1 million. Totaling 168,844 square feet, the 13-story building was 94 percent occupied at the time of sale. Additionally, the property is LEED Gold certified. Rob Hielscher, Erik Hanson and Nick Deaver of JLL Capital Markets represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction.
MIAMI — Berkadia has arranged an $11 million construction loan for the redevelopment of Wyncatcher, a former warehouse in Miami’s Wynwood district that was converted into a boutique office property. Knotel, a flexible workspace platform founded in 2015, is slated to occupy the entire 46,072-square-foot property located at 2143 Northwest 1st Ave. Scott Wadler and Mike Basinski of Berkadia’s Miami office secured the financing on behalf of Morabito Properties, a real estate developer based in Miami Beach. Banesco provided the eight-year loan, which features two years of interest-only payments and a fixed interest rate. Morabito has the option to convert the financing to a mini-perm loan for an additional five years. Designed by Arquitectonica, Wyncatcher features double-height, industrial-style windows, a rooftop terrace with views of the neighborhood and over 12,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor restaurant space.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Brookfield Properties has inked a 37,429-square-foot office lease at Fifth + Broadway, a mixed-use development in downtown Nashville. The tenant, law firm Polsinelli, is relocating from nearby Truist Plaza to the 501 Commerce office building. Stewart Lyman of Cushman & Wakefield and Rob Lowe of Stream Realty Partners represented Brookfield Properties in the lease negotiations. Harrison Johnson, Kevin McLennan, Ian Murphy and Brad Serot of CBRE represented Polsinelli. In addition to the 367,000-square-foot 501 Commerce building, Fifth + Broadway also includes a residential tower with over 380 units, approximately 200,000 square feet of retail and dining, including the Assembly Food Hall, and the National Museum of African America Music. Developed by OliverMcMillan before being acquired by Brookfield Properties, Fifth + Broadway opened in 2020.
EVANSTON, ILL. — Energy, engineering and resource consulting firm Grumman/Butkus Associates has signed a 26,000-square-foot office lease renewal at 820 Davis Street in Evanston. The newly renovated building rises five stories and spans 85,985 square feet. The owner, Free Market Ventures, updated the exterior façade, lobby, common areas and amenities. Adam Showalter and Jessica O’Hara of Stream Realty Partners represented the landlord in the lease. Grumman/Butkus has occupied space in the building for the past 20 years.
NEW YORK CITY — CBRE has secured a 30,688-square-foot office sublease at One SoHo Square, a 768,000-square-foot building located at 233 Spring St. in Manhattan’s Hudson Square district. Harly Stevens, Jared Freede and Josh Pernice of CBRE represented the subtenant, e-commerce marketing platform Yotpo, which is relocating from 400 Lafayette Street, in the negotiations. The original tenant was Flatiron Health. Stellar Management owns One SoHo Square.
PHILADELPHIA — UBS Financial Services has signed a 22,625-square-foot office lease at 1735 Market Street, a 54-story building in downtown Philadelphia. UBS will relocate within the building to a space on the 44th floor in August 2023. Jack Meyers of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Internal agents Jeremy Moss and Keith Cody, along with Anthony LiVecchi, Tom Weitzel and Mitch Marcus of JLL, represented the landlord, a partnership between Silverstein Properties and Arden Group.
Elizabeth Barnes, COO of NAI Plotkin, knows property management is always a labor- and people-intensive profession, no matter the day or time of year. In that regard, the pandemic did not change the best practices for the Springfield, Mass.-based full-service brokerage and management company. “The number-one best practice has always been — and remains to this day — to manage the property as if you own it, with the awareness that you don’t,” Barnes says. Treat the Asset as Your Own For Barnes, this means focusing on the asset’s value at all times. “Common area maintenance (CAM) reconciliation, capital planning, value engineering options — they need to be front and center,” she continues. “It’s not just about cutting expenses. Look at how you can add value or reduce upfront costs.” All this should be done, she states, with the owner’s goals for the property in mind. Those goals may differ based on whether the owner is, for example, looking to divest the asset. Or if the tenant’s space has gone dark. Or if a pandemic is occurring. “There is a definite focus on health and safety now, regardless of the product type,” Barnes says. “Many owners wanted HVAC and air-handling …
PLANO, TEXAS — Dallas-based developer Cawley Partners will break ground in December on Phase II of The Parkwood, a project in Plano that will add 120,000 square feet of office space to the local supply. Phase I of The Parkwood, which also comprises 120,000 square feet, is nearing completion and is fully leased to First United Bank. SFMG Wealth Advisors has also leased 22,000 square feet of the second building. Amenities at The Parkwood include a fitness center, pickleball court, conference centers and rooftop terraces.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Locally based developer M2G Ventures has sold The Foundry District, a 98,000-square-foot mixed-use property in Fort Worth’s Cultural District. M2G Ventures acquired the former industrial site in 2015 and redeveloped it to feature office, retail and restaurant space, as well as showrooms and an art gallery. The buyer was Charlotte-based Asana Partners. Cushman & Wakefield’s Chris Harden and Kris Von Hohn brokered the transaction.