NEW YORK CITY — Newmark has negotiated a 26,000-square-foot office lease at The Devlin Building, located at 459 Broadway in Manhattan’s SoHo District. Howard Kesseler and Alexander Kesseler of Newmark represented the landlord, The Chetrit Organization, in the lease negotiations. Sinvin Commercial Real Estate represented the tenant, F. Schumacher & Co., a designer of luxury textile products.
By Cecilia Hyun, Siegel Jennings Co. Since early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended lives and disrupted the normal course of businesses, including those in the commercial real estate market. As in many other sectors, however, this public health crisis has not affected all commercial properties equally. Real estate occupied by essential businesses such as grocery stores, sellers of household goods and warehouse clubs, for example, have weathered the pandemic well. A few have even increased their market share. By contrast, many office buildings, hospitality and non-essential retail properties have suffered severely. Taxing jurisdictions and assessors have responded to the crisis with varying degrees of success. The Ohio Legislature passed special legislation (spearheaded by Siegel Jennings Managing Partner Kieran Jennings) to allow a onetime, 2020 tax year valuation complaint for a valuation date of Oct. 1, 2020, since the usual tax lien date of Jan. 1 would not have shown the effects of COVID. Other assessors applied limited reduction factors to account for the sudden pandemic-induced decrease in property values. As values recover, it is important for taxpayers to monitor still unfolding consequences as they review their property tax assessments. Initially, hotels and experiential property uses suffered the steepest losses …
By Mark McAdams, Vice President, JLL While the Inland Empire is more well-known for its industrial real estate, the region’s office market has continued with its own success and stability pre- and post-COVID. As employees of office buildings seek refuge from high home prices in neighboring Los Angeles and Orange counties, occupiers equally appreciate the accommodating office rental rates while supporting their employee’s draw to the region. The current office market is in nearly the same place it was at the end of the first quarter of 2020 when COVID appeared on the scene. The overall market vacancy rate stands at 7.8 percent. Some of the submarkets have lower vacancies today than in the first quarter of 2020. Some smaller submarkets have seen even lower vacancy rates down to unprecedented levels at 3 percent to 5 percent. Only one submarket, San Bernardino, has a double-digit vacancy rate at 12.6 percent, and that is still considered healthy. Anything sub-10 percent is generally considered a landlord’s market. These are historically low vacancy rates that have rarely been seen since the area started developing the bulk of its office inventory in the mid-1980s. The pandemic put a hold on rental rate increases that had …
Confluence Cos. Sells Lydian Mixed-Use Building in Denver to Cohen Rojas Capital Partners for $66.2M
DENVER — Confluence Cos. has completed the disposition of The Lydian, a Class A mixed-use property located at 2590 Welton St. in Denver. Cohen Rojas Capital Partners acquired the asset for $66.2 million. Built in 2018, The Lydian features 129 apartments; 8,176 square feet of ground-floor retail space occupied by a yoga studio and upscale cocktail lounge; 14,500 square feet of designated co-working office space; a rooftop lounge and pool; fitness center; coffee bar; underground parking; and bike storage. Twenty-two of the apartments are rent restricted for those earning up to 80 percent of area median income. Dan Woodward, Dave Potarf, Matt Barnett and Jake Young of Walker & Dunlop Investment Sales completed the sale on behalf of the seller. Justin Nelson and Jay Thomas of Walker & Dunlop’s Capital Markets Group arranged the acquisition financing for the buyer.
LOS ANGELES — CMCT has purchased the Rolf K. McPherson building, an eight-story office property located at 1910 W. Sunset Blvd. in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Foursquare Church sold the asset for $51 million. Situated on 1.2 acres, the building features 99,761 square feet of office space, ground-floor retail and on-site parking. Built in 1965, the property features floor-to-ceiling windows offering 360-degree views of Echo Park and downtown Los Angeles. CMCT plans to upgrade the property into a creative office space catering to entertaining, media and technology companies. Lee Black and Veronica Black of Keller Williams Commercial represented both the buyer and seller in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Commercial design firm Spectorgroup has signed a 15,000-square-foot office lease at 200 Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The tenant will relocate from its current headquarters at 183 Madison Avenue to the 19th floor of the 750,000-square-foot building in the third quarter. Andrew Conrad and Matt Coudert internally represented the landlord, George Comfort & Sons, which owns the building in partnership with Jamestown and Loeb Realty Partners, in the lease negotiations. Ben Shapiro and Andrew Sachs of Newmark, along with Adam Spector of JLL, represented Spectorgroup.
FORT WAYNE, IND. — Swiss Re, a provider of reinsurance and insurance, has signed a 24,772-square-foot lease to occupy the second and third floors of The Riverfront at Promenade Park in Fort Wayne. The office property is still under development but is slated for completion by the end of the year. Swiss Re will relocate its regional office, which employs nearly 200 people, from 1670 Magnavox Way in Fort Wayne. Brad Sturges, Neal Bowman and Philip Hagee of Sturges Property Group represented the undisclosed developer.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — CBRE has arranged the $7 million sale of a 42,442-square-foot office building in Fort Lauderdale known as the 5100 Building. The buyer, medical office user Hall Consolidated Group LLC, plans to eventually occupy the property. Benjamin Silver with CBRE represented the seller, an entity known as 5100 Realty LLC, in the transaction. The seller is an affiliate of Cambridge Security, the property’s anchor tenant that plans to eventually vacate the office building. Originally built in 1972, the four-story office building received several capital improvements last year, including a new roof, exterior waterproofing, lobby upgrades and the replacement of several air conditioning units. The buyer plans to make further improvements Located at 5100 N. Federal Highway, the property is situated close to the area’s largest medical provider, Holy Cross Hospital, a 557-bed healthcare facility. The property also has nearby access to Interstates 95, 441 and Florida Turnpike from East Commercial Boulevard.
PHILADELPHIA — French investment bank Natixis has provided a $162.5 million loan for the refinancing of 1600 Market, a 39-story office tower in downtown Philadelphia. The building was originally constructed in the early 1980s and spans 825,968 square feet. PNC Bank houses its regional headquarters within 1600 Market as the anchor tenant. Ryan Ade of JLL, in conjunction with Cary Abod of Abod Capital, arranged the five-year, floating-rate loan with Natixis. The borrower, American Real Estate Partners, acquired the asset in 2018 and subsequently implemented a $15 million capital improvement program.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Locally based investment firm Argent Ventures has acquired White Plains Plaza, a 715,365-square-foot office complex located north of New York City, for $105 million. The two-building complex was 76 percent leased to a roster of 74 tenants at the time of sale. Kevin Welsh, Brian Schulz, Jason Emrani, Evan Layne, Brett Siegel, Alex Foshay and Glenn Walsh of Newmark represented the seller, a partnership between Ivy Realty and DW Capital, in the transaction. Anthony Orso and Ari Schwartzbard of Newmark arranged acquisition financing on behalf of Argent Ventures.