NEW YORK CITY — Cedar, a locally based healthcare financial technology firm, has signed a 66,753-square-foot office lease at 32 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood. The lease term is five years, and the space encompasses the entire 18th and a portion of the 17th floors of the 1.2 million-square-foot building. Cedar is quadrupling its 17,000-square-foot footprint at 95 Morton Street and plans to take occupancy of its new space in the fourth quarter. Mitti Liebersohn and Evan Foley of Avison Young represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Robert Steinman represented the landlord, The Rudin Family, on an internal basis.
MetLife, Norges Bank Acquire One Memorial Drive Office Tower in Cambridge, Massachusetts for $825.1M
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — MetLife Investment Management, the institutional asset management business of MetLife Inc., and Norges Bank Investment Management, the asset management division of Norges Bank, have acquired One Memorial Drive, a Class A office building in Cambridge, for $825.1 million. Oxford Properties Group and a fund advised by J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives sold the property for over $2,000 per square foot. Located on the Charles River about 0.7 mile from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, One Memorial Drive is a 17-story building with 409,422 square feet of leasable space. Built in 1986 and renovated in 2018, the fully occupied property has two long-term tenants, InterSystems Corp., a Cambridge-based data technology provider, and Microsoft Corp., a Redmond, Wash.-based computer software and electronics retailer. In 2017, the previous owner increased the leasable area of the building by more than 10 percent by converting an entire floor of underutilized parking into office space. The new transformed office space was then leased to InterSystems. “We continue to see significant areas of opportunity within the commercial real estate sector despite the challenges posed by the pandemic over the last 18 months,” says Robert Merck, global head of real estate and agriculture at MetLife Investment …
SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Grosvenor Americas has acquired Orchard-Trimble, an office and R&D campus located at Orchard Parkway and West Trimble Road in North San Jose’s Golden Triangle. The acquisition price and name of the seller were not released. Toshiba America Electronic Components, the U.S. storage and semiconductor division of Toshiba Corp., occupies the 218,645-square-foot property, which features R&D lab space. The campus is near San Jose International Airport and provides access to downtown San Jose via the VTA Light Rail.
HOUSTON — Accounting firm Weaver has signed a 60,000-square-foot office lease for its new headquarters at Five Post Oak Park, a 28-story building in Houston’s Galleria district. Weaver will relocate from a 43,000-square-foot space at Wesleyan Tower beginning in May 2022. CP Group, a developer and operator of mixed-use projects throughout the Southern United States, recently purchased the building in partnership with Miami-based Rialto Capital.
MILWAUKEE — Herzing University has unveiled plans to move its national headquarters to The Avenue in downtown Milwaukee. Herzing expects to move from its current suburban location to The Avenue by the first quarter of 2022 and will occupy nearly 22,000 square feet. The Avenue is a 333,000-square-foot mixed-use project by Hempel Real Estate and Interstate Development Co. Herzing is a private nonprofit institution with 10 campuses across seven states as well as an online division. The university offers degrees in professions such as nursing, technology, business and healthcare. Colliers International represented Herzing in its new lease and will also market Herzing’s Menomonee Falls property for sale. Founders 3 Real Estate Services represented ownership of The Avenue.
NEW YORK CITY — Chicago-based real estate consulting firm Project Management Advisors Inc. (PMA) has signed a lease for approximately 5,000 square feet in the Empire State Building. The new office — the company’s seventh across the country — will bring together PMA’s existing New York staff and the team from LPE Management Services, which PMA recently acquired. The office is scheduled to before the end of the month.
MEMPHIS — Calidus has acquired One Memphis Place, a 219,194-square-foot office building located at 200 Jefferson Ave. in downtown Memphis. The seller, GPT Properties Trust, sold the property for an undisclosed amount. Built in 1984, One Memphis Place is a 15-story office building featuring attached garage parking, 24/7 security, onsite property management and its own green space across from the building. The property is located close to major thoroughfares such as Interstates 240, 40 and 55. Calidus plans to invest in common area improvements in the future. Ron Kastner, Don Drinkard and Pratt Rogers of CBRE are the exclusive marketing agents for the property. Liz Edmundson of CBRE will be handling the property management assignment. Currently, the property offers approximately 30,000 square feet of space available for lease.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Commercial developer and operator Unico Properties has sold Bouldin Creek, a 170,000-square-foot office building in South Austin to San Francisco-based DivcoWest for an undisclosed price. Unico Properties developed the five-story building in partnership with Manifold Real Estate and OakPoint Real Estate. Amenities include a 2,500-square-foot coffee shop, rooftop terraces, fitness center and two acres of green space.
DALLAS — Locally based investment firm August Real Estate Co. has acquired Lakewood Tower, a 120,000-square-foot office complex in East Dallas. The nine-story building was 97 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants such as Wells Fargo, Briggs Freeman and Baylor Scott & White. Evan Stone of Goodwin Advisors represented the seller, a partnership controlled by Caddo Holdings, in the transaction. Adam Mengacci with Hamilton Realty Finance arranged acquisition financing through Veritex Bank on behalf of August Real Estate.
WAUWATOSA, WIS. — Irgens has acquired 10701 Research Drive in Wauwatosa for an undisclosed price. The five-story, 130,000-square-foot office building is located at the intersection of Mayfair Road and Research Drive. Completed in 1995, the property was the inaugural development within the Milwaukee County Research Park. Irgens is planning to make substantial improvements to the facility, including new common area finishes and an amenity package. Blueprint’s medical office building team represented the seller, a REIT.