Office

ORANGE, CALIF. — Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT Inc. has sold City Tower, a 435,000-square-foot Class A office tower in Orange County, for $150.5 million. Opal Holdings, a New York City-based real estate investment firm, was the buyer. The 20-story property is located at 333 City Blvd. in Orange, about three miles north of Santa Ana and 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles. The building was 90 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants such as UC Irvine Medical Center, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Sedgwick and Spaces. Developed in 1988, City Tower recently underwent a $3 million renovation that included upgrades to the lobby, a state-of-the-art fitness center, conference center and new building entryway. The property is certified LEED Gold. “We increased occupancy by almost 15 percent over the past three years and are proud of the improvements and value we created during our ownership,” says Michael Potter, senior vice president with Pacific Oak, which purchased City Tower for $147.2 million in March 2018 when it was 78 percent occupied. Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT is a public, non-traded corporation headquartered in Los Angeles. The REIT manages a portfolio valued in excess of $2 billion comprised primarily of office, apartment, …

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DENVER — NorthMarq has secured nearly $60.1 million in acquisition financing through a credit union for a two-property office portfolio in the Denver Tech Center submarket. The office portfolio includes the 273,963-square-foot Stanford Place I, financed for nearly $37. 7 million, and the 202,158-square-foot Yosemite, financed for $22.4 million. Stanford Place I, located at 8055 E. Tufts Ave., is a 14-story building that is approximately a quarter mile from I-25 and I-225. Yosemite, located at 6455 S. Yosemite St., is a 10-story office building within walking distance of a light rail system and several retail amenities. The 10-year, fixed-rate loan includes three years of interest-only payments followed by a 30-year amortization schedule. NorthMarq secured the loan for the borrower, Alturas Capital Partners LLC.

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ROSEVILLE, CALIF. — Global health care company Penumbra has expanded into an additional 96,505 square feet of Class A office and lab space at Roseville Innovation Park in Roseville, approximately 16 miles northeast of Sacramento. The new lease at 620 Roseville Parkway will bring Penumbra’s total occupancy within the business park to over 254,000 square feet of Class A space. Penumbra initially leased approximately 157,000 square feet in the neighboring 630 Roseville Parkway building in 2018. Cushman & Wakefield’s Sacramento office represented the landlord in the transaction. Roseville Innovation Park is jointly owned by Farallon Real Estate Partners and Strada Investment Group. The business park is a Class A campus offering numerous amenities, including retail, entertainment and residences within a short distance. Penumbra also has exclusive access to a newly installed outdoor recreation, dining, and break-out space at its 630 Roseville Parkway address. Headquartered in Alameda, Calif., Penumbra is a healthcare company focused on innovative therapies. Penumbra designs, develops, manufactures and markets novel products and has a broad portfolio that addresses challenging medical conditions in markets with significant unmet need.

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Legal aid

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Legal Aid of North Carolina Inc., a nonprofit law firm, is redeveloping a 40,000-square-foot, single-story office building located at 5525 Albemarle Road in east Charlotte. MPV Properties represented Legal Aid on the purchase of the building and is marketing the remaining 23,000 square feet of vacant space for lease. The seller and sales price were not disclosed. In partnership with Lakemont Property Investors LLC, Legal Aid has recently completed demolition of the interior of the building. The firm expects to finish the full interior renovation in the next couple months and plans to occupy approximately 40 percent of the building once complete. A separate non-profit legal organization, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, also has plans to renovate and occupy an adjacent two-story office building located at 5535 Albemarle Road. MPV Properties is a Charlotte-based commercial real estate firm that offers landlord and tenant representation. Legal Aid of North Carolina is a Raleigh-based law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income clients.

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NEW YORK CITY AND CHICAGO — Global coworking provider WeWork has entered into a strategic partnership with Cushman & Wakefield to provide flexible workspace solutions by leveraging WeWork’s proprietary platform with the Chicago-based real estate giant’s asset and facilities services network. In addition, Cushman & Wakefield, WeWork and special purpose acquisition company BowX Acquisition Corp. are in discussions regarding a potential transaction where Cushman & Wakefield would provide up to $150 million in a backstop equity facility to New York City-based WeWork. Earlier this year, BowX Acquisition Corp. agreed to acquire WeWork and take the company public in a deal that was valued at approximately $9 billion. The deal is scheduled to close in the current quarter. “Partnering with Cushman & Wakefield will create a solution that helps both landlords and businesses meet the demand for flexible workplaces to fit the changing needs of today’s workforce,” said Sandeep Mathrani, CEO of WeWork “With flexible workspaces being an important component of the hybrid workplace, we’re excited to partner with WeWork to demonstrate how global occupiers and investors will benefit from two global leaders providing unmatched accessibility to flexible offerings, best-in-class technology and a seamless tenant experience,” added Brett White, CEO and …

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CHICAGO AND DENVER — NexCore Group, a national healthcare real estate developer and owner, has teamed up with global investment management firm Nuveen Real Estate to acquire a portfolio of 27 medical office and two life sciences buildings spanning nearly 1.2 million square feet. IRA Capital, a private equity firm based in Southern California, sold the portfolio in two transactions totaling $620.4 million. The portfolio spans 13 states: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. The medical office properties comprise ambulatory surgery centers, micro-hospitals, freestanding emergency departments and single- and multi-tenant clinics. The properties were 99 percent leased at the time of sale to 38 tenants, the vast majority of which are well-established healthcare systems. The medical office buildings sold for about $463 million, according to NexCore, which will manage the facilities moving forward. Allianz Real Estate provided $234 million in acquisition financing on behalf of NexCore and Nuveen for the medical office portfolio. The financing is structured on a seven-year term with both a fixed-rate tranche totaling $163.8 million and a floating-rate tranche totaling $70.2 million. Chicago-based Nuveen is using equity for the medical office assets via its newly launched U.S. Cities …

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River-Park-Austin copy

By Travis Albrecht, design director, AIA, Gensler Austin is bursting at the seams — just ask anyone who is currently trying to buy a home here. According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau figures, the city’s population has increased by 22 percent since 2010. The city will continue to grow and evolve, but people are attracted to its longstanding welcoming and laid-back culture. How does that translate into design and urban planning for this expanding, vibrant metropolis? Here are the major trends impacting design across commercial real estate in Austin that we have seen in our work as architects and designers, as well as insights gleaned from clients. Experiential Office Buildings As we adapt to a hybrid lifestyle where the workforce is split between the office and home, the role of the workplace and the office building will be to strengthen relationships, teach others and build community, culture and purpose. People want to work in dynamic, activated environments, which is why today’s successful office buildings and workplaces are now included within mixed-use developments, rather than as standalone campuses or office parks. Ground floors must be activated with retail space, service amenities, artwork, community or public gathering areas, even when workers …

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IRVING, TEXAS — Multiview, a national business-to-business (b2b) marketing firm, has signed an 82,093-square-foot office lease renewal at One Panorama Center in Irving’s Las Colinas district. The building spans 208,448 square feet, rises eight stories and offers amenities such as a newly renovated lobby, new fitness center and an outdoor lounge. Robert Blount and Scott Hage of JLL represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Nathan Durham of Transwestern represented the landlord, Los Angeles-based Regent Properties.

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PHILADELPHIA — Keystone Property Group has landed a new life sciences tenant at The Curtis, the metro Philadelphia-based developer’s 912,245-square-foot facility in Philadelphia that is a redevelopment of a former printing press. Aro Biotherapeutics Co., a developer of genetic medicines, has committed to an undisclosed amount of space at the 12-story building. Bob Zwengler, Anthony Pell, Matt Knowles and Paul Touhey of CBRE represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Tim Conrey, Lisa Berger Baskin and K.J. Kulik of Scheer Partners represented Keystone.

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AURORA, ILL. — Peak Construction Corp. is underway on a build-to-suit office remodel for Phoenix in Aurora, about 40 miles west of Chicago. Phoenix is a packaging company dating back to 1890. Peak demolished approximately 65 percent of the office building at 975 Meridian Lakes Drive. The 41,375-square-foot project will incorporate modern and high-end finishes. Completion is slated for the third quarter. Jeff Blake of Paine/Wetzel represented Phoenix in the acquisition of the property. Indianapolis-based CSO Architects is the project architect.

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