HAMILTON, N.J. — Newmark has brokered the $26.5 million sale of a portfolio of six office buildings totaling 237,834 square feet and two land sites totaling 12.8 acres in the Central New Jersey community of Hamilton. More specifically, the holdings comprise two office buildings with excess developable acreage, two parcels within Horizon Center North and one office building plus three office/flex buildings within Horizon Center Business Park. Steven Schultz, Stephen Tolkach, Tony Georgiev and Robert Loderstedt of Newmark represented the seller, Denholtz Properties, in the transaction. The buyer was Cammeby’s International Inc. The buildings were 71 percent leased at the time of sale.
CHICAGO — Google has announced plans to acquire the James R. Thompson Center, an iconic office building located at 100 W. Randolph St. in Chicago’s Central Loop, following renovations. The 1.2 million-square-foot property occupies a full city block. Google plans to begin moving into the building in 2026. The 17-story Thompson Center is the only building in the city of Chicago where six L Train lines converge, connecting to Chicago’s South, West and North sides — a key point of attraction for Google, which is seeking to create an office environment that suits the future needs of its growing workforce that features a hybrid of in-office and from-home employees. In December of last year, the State of Illinois agreed to sell the Thompson Center to JRTC Holdings, a group led by developer Michael Reschke of Prime Group, for $70 million in an upfront cash transaction. Under terms of the deal, the state initially agreed to buy back a third of the property following renovations for $148 million. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker announced a new agreement for the building yesterday morning, in which JRTC will acquire the Thompson Center for $105 million with $30 million paid upfront in cash. As part of …
By Ryan Nierman, Ph.D. and Bradley Meloche, Colliers The tumultuous events of the last two years have brought uncertainty into many aspects of Detroit’s office market. Even as companies emphasize their eagerness to return to the office, many questions remain regarding space designs, required square footage and buildout requirements. Tenant selectivity With increasing vacancy rates and negative net absorption throughout the metro Detroit office market, real estate experts are witnessing tenants becoming more selective in property occupancy. The result has been a slowing demand for Class B and C office product. Tenants have begun targeting Class A assets with improved visibility, signage, modernized color schemes, numerous amenities and flexible floorplan designs. As the need for larger office footprints goes down in reaction to post-COVID considerations, tenants have become willing to pay increased per-square-foot rents, for at or below preexisting rental budgets, due to decreased size requirements. The need for tenants to target Class A facilities has been compounded by the so-called “Great Resignation,” as employees are willing to demand more from their employers. As a result, employers know that a failure to invest in a more modern and amenitized workspace may result in poor employee retention and future talent recruitment. …
By Michael Brumley, Project Executive, Kiewit Building Group AT The pandemic sent ripple effects throughout the construction industry. Along the way, it also heavily influenced and impacted the way employees in the workforce now operate and interact. With COVID prompting a shift in remote work, many are wondering if it’s beneficial to go back to the office full-time, adopt a hybrid approach or forgo investing in office space altogether. There are many justifications for investing in office space when you consider variables like productivity, industry-specific jobs or trades, and overall employee satisfaction and benefits. The distinction is you need to invest in spaces that are successful for employers and employees alike. It’s All About the Benefits The pandemic proved work can be done anywhere as long as Wi-Fi is available. So, how can companies entice employees to work at an office once the investments have been poured into developing the physical space? According to a survey from McKinsey on consumer interest and purchasing power, 79 percent of respondents said they believe wellness is important while 42 percent consider it a top priority. Consumers in each market studied reported a substantial increase in the prioritization of wellness over the past two to three …
DALLAS — A partnership between two locally based firm, Mintwood Real Estate and Woods Capital, will undertake a multifamily conversion project at Santander Tower in downtown Dallas. The project will redevelop multiple floors of the 1.4 million-square-foot office building at 1601 Elm St. into 228 multifamily units, including communal amenity spaces. Units will come in one- and two-bedroom floor plans, and amenities will include a pool, fitness center and other gathering and meeting spaces. Dallas-based architect WDG designed the multifamily units and indoor amenities, and Swoon provided interior design services. TBG Partners designed the exterior amenities. Adolfson & Peterson Construction is serving as the general contractor. Completion is scheduled for fall 2023.
DALLAS — Harwood International has purchased The Luminary, a 169,000-square-foot office building in Dallas. Built in 2019 by Crescent Real Estate, The Luminary is located at the nexus of the company’s Harwood District, the downtown area, the arts district and the Victory Park mixed-use development. Architecture firm Corgan designed the building and serves as its anchor tenant alongside advertising agency Lerma. The Luminary was 67 percent leased at the time of sale. David Roehm and Christopher Cauthen internally negotiated the deal for Harwood. Morgan Staub of Harwood secured acquisition financing through an undisclosed lender.
LAS VEGAS — Greenlite Partners, an affiliate of WG Group, has completed the disposition of an office building located at 9075 W. Diablo Drive in Las Vegas. KB Acquisitions, part of Kingsbarn Realty Capital, acquired the property for $26 million, or $387 per square foot. Originally constructed in 2008, the three-story, multi-tenant property features 67,145 square feet of Class A office space. At the time of sale, the property was 97 percent leased. Marlene Fujita Winkel, Emily Brun and Alex Casingal of Cushman & Wakefield’s Private Capital Group in Las Vegas represented the seller in the deal.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Albany Road Real Estate Partners, an investment firm based in Boston, has purchased Hurstbourne Park & Place, a two-building office campus located off Shelbyville Road in Louisville. The seller and sales price were not disclosed, but Louisville Business First reports that the 344,000-square-foot campus sold for $42.5 million. Hurstbourne Park & Place was 93 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Bank of America, Carewise Health, New York Life, Stantec, DMLO and Central Bancshares, which together boast an average tenure of over 17 years. Patterson Real Estate Advisory Group arranged acquisition financing through First Horizon on behalf of Albany Road. This is the firm’s first investment in the Louisville trade area.
FISHERS, IND. — In a joint venture with a fund managed by DRA Advisors LLC, M & J Wilkow has purchased a 350,000-square-foot office campus in the Indianapolis suburb of Fishers. Known as 11100 USA Parkway, the property is situated near The Yard at Fishers District, a new mixed-use development. The nearly 40-acre office campus, developed in 1990 and 1995, features a cafeteria, auditorium, fitness center and conference space. Tenants include Navient Solutions, First Data Resource and Pendrick Capital Partners. John Robinson, Abby Zito and Kevin Gillihan of JLL represented the seller, Navient, which will remain a tenant in the building. JLL will also oversee leasing efforts on behalf of new ownership.
SEATTLE — CBRE has arranged joint-venture equity and $196.2 million in construction financing for Chapter Buildings I and II, two mixed-use buildings in Seattle’s University District. Seattle-based Touchstone, Atlanta-based Portman Holdings and Houston-based Lionstone Investments comprise the development team. Tom Pehl, Charles Safley, Todd Tydlaska of CBRE Capital Markets West Coast, along with James Scott and Brian Myers of CBRE Capital Advisors, arranged the equity. Brad Zampa, Mike Walker and Megan Woodring of CBRE Debt & Structured Finance arranged the financing. Construction of Building I commenced earlier in 2022 and construction of Building II will begin in late 2022, with expected delivery in 2024. Totaling more than 400,000 square feet, the Chapter Buildings will consist of two assets. Chapter Building I, located at 4530 12th Ave. NE, will rise 12 stories featuring 240,000 square feet of office space and 9,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. The 10-story Chapter Building II will feature 154,000 square feet of life sciences and research & development space above 4,000 square feet of retail space. Greg Inglin, David Abbott and Laura Ford of CBRE are marketing the buildings for lease.