Richmond continues to solidify its position as a high growth Mid-Atlantic market and one of the top secondary markets in the country for inbound corporate and real estate investment. The Richmond MSA, totaling nearly 1.4 million people, has been one of the true beneficiaries of the COVID-19 pandemic due to its historical performance during economic distress, in-bound millennial and corporate migration from larger peer markets, quality of life and affordability, diversified economy, educated workforce, pro-business environment and the city’s central East Coast location. With such broad and fundamentally important characteristics, Richmond will continue to attract both domestic and global corporations and capital alike. The continued growth of Richmond’s diverse economy and workforce, fueled by its core industries including healthcare, manufacturing, industrial and technology, and further supported by its federal (Federal Reserve Branch and 4th Circuit Court) and state capital underpinnings, has generated a bullish sentiment on the economic growth prospects for 2022. As of fourth-quarter 2021, Richmond’s unemployment currently sits at 4 percent, representing a consistent decrease since the start of 2021 and well below the national average of 5 percent. City’s Industrial Sector is Taking Off Richmond’s highly coveted Interstate 95 corridor location and $300 million Port of Richmond …
HOUSTON — A partnership between locally based real estate giant Hines and Ivanhoe Cambridge has opened Texas Tower, a 47-story office building in downtown Houston. Designed by Pelli Clarke & Partners, the 1 million-square-foot building is already about 50 percent leased to a tenant roster that includes Hines, as well as law firms Vinson & Elkins, McGuireWoods and DLA Piper. Amenities include a full-service conference facility, fitness center and multiple terraces to maximize access to fresh air and the outdoors. Texas Tower also houses an 18,000-square-foot flexible workspace known as The Square, which is a product of Hines.
DRAPER, UTAH — Arden Group, in partnership with Vesta Realty Partners, has purchased a portfolio of office properties in Draper. Collectively known as 136 Center, the two-building portfolio features 318,831 square feet of office space spread across two adjacent, six-story buildings. The transaction also includes a land parcel that allows for additional development. The portfolio includes 13693 South 200 West, a built-to-suit office building for Dealertrack, a provider of digital solutions to the automotive retail industry. Dealertrack leases 112,900 square feet of the 163,725-square-foot building and the remaining space is occupied by a diverse mix of tenants, including Gold Standard Automotive, Summit Sotheby’s International and NAV Technologies. The second building, located at 13707 South 200 West, is a 155,106-square-foot property that serves as the corporate headquarters for Divvy, a financial technology company. Walker & Dunlop served as exclusive advisor to Arden Group and Vesta Realty Partners and brokered the financing for the transaction.
BOTHELL, WASH. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of Thrasher’s Corner Professional Center, an office property in Bothell. A private investor sold the asset to another private investor for $2 million. John Marks, Stren Lea and Matthew Herman of Marcus & Millichap’s Seattle office represented the seller and the buyer in the deal. Located 1729 208th St. SE, the 7,275-square-foot property was fully occupied at the time of sale. Built in 1987, the property serves a variety of professional tenants and prominent local dental clinic anchors the asset.
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — NAI Charter has brokered the sale of an office building located at 505 Riverfront Parkway in downtown Chattanooga. Trident Transport, a Chattanooga-based freight brokerage and logistics business, purchased the office building for $6.2 million. Robert Maclellan of NAI Charter arranged the transaction. Previously occupied by hotel operator 3H Group, the 23,000-square-foot office property will serve as Trident Transport’s new headquarters as the company relocates from its current office on Chestnut Street. This year, Trident added about 150 people to its staff, and the company plans to hire approximately 125 more people next year.
ST. LOUIS — The office and industrial team at Cresa St. Louis and its parent company Pace Properties will be affiliating with Avison Young, effective Jan. 1. The affiliation strengthens Avison Young’s presence in the St. Louis market by adding a team of experts with a strategic focus on office, industrial, project management and property management services. The retail brokerage and retail property management segments of Pace Properties will continue to operate as Pace Properties.
NEW YORK CITY — CBRE has negotiated the $1 billion sale of Hudson Commons, a 697,958-square-foot office tower located at 441 Ninth Ave. in Manhattan. The 25-story building, which is a redevelopment of a warehouse, occupies a full city block in between 34th and 35th streets at the nexus of the Hudson Yards and Manhattan West neighborhoods. The building includes 16,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The seller, a partnership between locally based developer Cove Property Group and Boston-based The Baupost Group, acquired the warehouse in 2016. The partnership added 18 stories as part of the office conversion project. Other building features include 16,000- to 50,000-square-foot floor plates and 14- to 28-foot ceiling heights. A CBRE team comprising Darcy Stacom, Bill Shanahan, Doug Middleton and Alana Bassen represented the seller in the transaction. The buyer was Los Angeles-based CommonWealth Partners. At the time of sale, Hudson Commons was about 75 percent leased, with fitness provider Peloton and rideshare giant Lyft serving as the anchor tenants. The property features 30,000 square feet of amenities, including a conference facility, multiple tenant lounges, a bike room and 14 separate outdoor terraces. “This transaction is a bellwether for the resurgence of the office …
Louisville’s office market is certainly a representative example of a typical office market in a mid-sized city. As expected, Louisville experienced the impact of COVID-19 and the remote work trend. Downtown had to endure the social unrest during summer 2020 that created a perception of a lack of safety. Our community has work to do to get things back to “normal,” but things are slowly starting to move in the right direction. As has always been the case, the downtown and suburban markets face different trends. Typically, the suburban market has outperformed the central business district (CBD) with higher average rents and lower vacancy. Presently, the downtown Class A market has average rents in the $19.11 per square foot range and vacancy around 22 percent. The suburbs are seeing $22.16 per square foot in rent and 14.6 percent vacancy. Recently, the CBD posted 480 square feet of negative net absorption for the second quarter. After taking large hits throughout most of the pandemic, this looks to be a sign that downtown may finally be turning the corner. The suburban market took a big hit this past quarter due to vacancies and downsizing of two large companies. Even so, suburban markets …
CORAL GABLES, FLA. — Amerant Bancorp Inc., a Coral Gables-based bank holding company, has sold its Coral Gables headquarters to an entity doing business as FNLI Audax LLC in a sale-leaseback deal totaling $135 million. Located at 220 Alhambra Circle, the Amerant Center spans approximately 177,000 square feet of office space and 134,000 square feet in structured parking. Built in 1997, the property will have 402 parking spots and was 82 percent occupied at the time of sale. As part of this transaction, Amerant’s subsidiary, 220 Alhambra Properties LLC, entered into an 18-year triple-net leaseback agreement for about $43 per square foot during the first year. Stream Capital Partners represented Amerant on this transaction.
WEST VALLEY CITY, UTAH — Montecito Medical has acquired Granger Medical Clinic, a medical office building located in West Valley City, a suburb of Salt Lake City. Terms of the transaction were not released. Built in 2020, the asset features nearly 95,000 square feet of space. Granger Medical Clinic fully occupies the property. Physicians at the property provide a variety of medical services, including urgent care, cancer care, endocrinology, ENT, audiology, family medicine, gastroenterology, internal medicine, ophthalmology, orthopedics, sports medicine, pediatrics and urology. The building also includes an imaging center, lab and pharmacy.