BOULDER, COLO. — Good Investment Partners (GIP) has received a $27 million loan for the acquisition of a light industrial and office portfolio comprising six properties in Boulder. The single- and multi-tenant buildings are located at 6797, 6837 and 6899 Winchester Circle and 4695, 4697 and 4699 Nautilus Court. Completed between 1982 and 2001, the portfolio was 87.8-percent leased to 23 tenants at the time of the loan closing. The buildings offer clear heights ranging from 13.6 to 20.5 feet, high office finishes, 21 grade-level doors, 19 dock-high doors and ample parking. GIP plans to enhance the properties, which total 184,462 square feet, serve small- to mid-sized companies in the market. Jason Carlos and William Haass of JLL Capital Markets arranged the floating-rate loan through Argentic Investment Management.
ATLANTA — Clarion Partners and Westbridge have broken ground on 926 Brady, an adaptive reuse project in Atlanta’s West Midtown district. The project will repurpose a 1930s-era warehouse into 36,000 square feet of creative office space, including a second-floor addition that gives the property a rooftop terrace. Architectural firm ai3 is the design lead for 926 Brady, and Gay Construction Co. is serving as the general contractor. The Transwestern team of Zach Wooten and Stephen Clifton is managing leasing. Construction is currently underway, with an estimated delivery in the second quarter of 2023. 926 Brady sits at the corner of 10th Street and Brady Avenue within Stockyards Atlanta, an adaptive reuse of the former stockyard and meatpacking plant called Miller Union Stockyards. Westbridge redeveloped the campus in 2017 and brought in a diverse tenant base, including Red Bull, Fitzco, Mannington Commercial, Painted Duck, Baffi Atlanta and Nick’s Westside.
MIAMI — JLL has arranged a 75,000-square-foot office lease at Quattro Miami, a four-building office park in the city’s Airport West submarket. The tenant, medical research firm Evolution Research Group (ERG), is relocating its South Florida regional headquarters to Quattro Miami from Hialeah. The move expands ERG’s office footprint by 45,000 square feet, according to JLL. The New Jersey-based firm leased four full floors at Quattro East, located at 700 NW 107th Ave. Doug Okun of JLL represented the landlord, an entity owned by Guy Sharon and Yoav Merary that is doing business as Four 700 LLC, in the lease negotiations. David Herbert, Donna Abood and Joseph Abood of Avison Young represented ERG. Quattro Miami was recently renovated with updated façades, lobbies, common areas and restrooms, a revamped café, new elevator controls and cabs, a renovated fitness center and a new conferencing center. The park’s tenant roster includes Farelogix/Accelya, State’s Title and Alliance for Aging, in addition to other traditional office tenants and medical and research companies.
HOUSTON — JLL has negotiated the sale of One Park 10 Plaza, a 162,919-square-foot office building in Houston’s Energy Corridor area. The eight-story building is located within the 550-acre Park 10 master-planned development and was 76 percent leased at the time of sale. The property includes a 560-space parking garage. Marty Hogan and Kevin McConn of JLL represented the seller, Florida-based investment firm Accesso Partners, in the transaction. Houston-based private equity firm Interra Capital Group purchased the building, which has received more than $ 1 million in capital improvements over the last decade, for an undisclosed price.
HOUSTON — Patrinely Group, in a joint venture with USAA Reeal Estate and CDC Houston, has signed three new office tenants to leases at City Place 1, a 149,500-square-foot office building in Houston. Orion Engineered Carbons leased 10,589 square feet on the third floor. Chemicals provider Evonik Industries inked a deal for 9,617 square feet on the fifth floor, an educational design firm Huckabee & Associates committed to 6,503 square feet on the first floor. Brett Blanchard of CBRE represented Orion in the lease negotiations, while William Padon of CBRE represented Evonik Industries. Anya Marmuscak of JLL represented Huckabee & Associates. Chrissy Wilson and Matt Pruitt of JLL, along with Phillip Moore and Dennis Tarro of Patrinely Group, represented the landlord in each deal. All three users expect to move in before the end of the year.
WILMINGTON, DEL. — 3650 REIT, a Miami-based direct lender, has provided an $85 million loan for the refinancing of WSFS Bank Center, a 371,000-square-foot office building in Wilmington, about 30 miles south of Philadelphia. Developed by Buccini/Pollin Group in 2006, the property serves as the corporate headquarters of WSFS Bank. David Strongwater of Lantern Real Estate placed the loan, which carries a 120-month term, with 3650 REIT on behalf of Buccini/Pollin.
PLANO, TEXAS — J.C. Penney has signed a 318,067-square-foot office headquarters lease at CalWest, a 1.8 million-square-foot office building located within Legacy West in Plano. The 86-acre campus offers a full-service fitness club, conference center, daycare facility and a food court/dining hall. According to The Dallas Morning News, the campus served as J.C. Penney’s headquarters from 1992 until 2020, at which point the company vacated the premises while dealing with bankruptcy proceedings. The retailer expects to take occupancy of its new space this fall. Michael Brigance and Teddy Childers represented the landlord, Capital Commercial Investments, in the lease negotiations on an internal basis.
BELMONT, CALIF. — CBRE has arranged a $75 million loan for the acquisition and redevelopment of Shoreway Innovation Center in Belmont. The property will be redeveloped into a new life sciences campus. The borrower is Four Corners Properties. Mike Walker and Brad Zampa with CBRE Capital Markets’ Debt & Structured Finance group arranged and secured the three-year, floating-rate financing through a private equity firm. The nonrecourse loan carried two extension options. Four Corners Properties will use the financing to fund a portion of the predevelopment costs for 1301 Shoreway Road, which was acquired in December 2021 for $90.2 million. The future redevelopment will likely include construction of two Class A life sciences buildings totaling approximately 500,000 to 600,000 square feet. The new development will also include a multi-story parking structure with approximately 1,500 parking stalls.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Private equity investment firm Crestlight Capital has purchased SouthPark Towers, a two-building office campus in Charlotte’s SouthPark submarket totaling 534,263 square feet. The sales price and seller were not disclosed. The transaction represents Crestlight’s first office investment in Charlotte and fourth investment over the past 16 months, totaling over $500 million of enterprise value. The firm, which has regional headquarters in Detroit and New York City, partnered with an unnamed institutional investor for the acquisition. Crestlight plans on executing a significant renovation of both buildings, including cosmetic improvements, new building amenities and an overhaul of outdoor space. Crestlight has tapped Joe Franco, Kris Westmoreland and Stephanie Spivey to handle leasing at SouthPark Towers.
It’s safe to say office space design has been transformed over the past two years in large part due to COVID-19 and the work-from-home experience. It has changed for now, the foreseeable future and maybe forever. Though many people are still working from home, others have returned to the office, even if only for a few days a week, and many of the office spaces are looking entirely different. While this may be happening in other markets, it is a trend we are seeing in the Milwaukee office market. The idea of the design and aesthetic of the office has changed. Current trends in office design are focusing on safety and comfort, while also creating a sense of home at the office. Tenants are being more thoughtful about their space layout and design. Instead of trying to fit as many people as possible into the space, tenants are occupying roughly the same size, or even slightly smaller spaces, but focusing on making those spaces more welcoming to help ease those workers coming back into the office, as well as recruiting new employees. Bring home into the office This design trend has the goal to provide comfort and safety at every …