NEW YORK CITY — Realtor Keller Williams has subleased 20,000 square feet of office space at 99 Park Avenue in Manhattan from Gould Paper Corp. Helmsley Spear owns the Class A building, which is located between 39th and 40th streets in the Midtown area. Kent Swig, Andrew Simon and Brett Zelner negotiated the sublease for Helmsley Spear on an internal basis. Edward Kalisvaart represented Keller Williams, also on an internal basis. The sublease term runs through December 2023.
CHICAGO — SVN | Chicago Commercial has brokered the sale of a redevelopment site in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood for $8.2 million. The multi-building property sits on 6.5 acres at 1334, 1330 and 1030 N. Kostner Ave. The buyer, 1334 Kostner Owner LLC, is a subsidiary of IBT Group LLC. IBT plans to undertake an extensive office redevelopment project at the site. Jennifer Hopkins and Olivia Czyzynski of SVN represented the buyer. John McDermott of SVN represented the undisclosed seller along with outside broker Amy Van Hook.
CHICAGO — Mosaic Construction LLC has completed a renovation of the Novel Coworking space on the top floor of the four-story 420 West Huron Street in downtown Chicago. The 4,500-square-foot project includes a large open area with dedicated space for two private offices, a huddle room and a phone booth for private calls. It also features a full-size private kitchenette. Mosaic worked with Novel’s team of architects and mechanical engineers to install the latest electric and data features.
BROOMFIELD, COLO. — Baltimore-based St. John Properties has acquired 81 acres of land in Broomfield for the development of Simms Technology Park, a $95 million mixed-use business park project. Brocade Communications Systems sold the development site for an undisclosed price. Located at the intersection of North Simms Street and West 112th Avenue, the 600,000-square-foot Simms Technology Park will comprise two multi-story, Class A office buildings offering 200,000 square feet; five single-story office buildings totaling 150,000 square feet; six R&D/flex buildings totaling 220,000 square feet; an 8,000-square-foot retail building; and four pad sites suitable for multiple retail tenants. St. John Properties plans to initially break ground on the single-story office and R&D/flex buildings in early 2021, with delivery of the first building slated for late 2021. The rest of the development will be delivered in phases.
By Chandler A. Larsen, Principal, Avison Young This year started off where 2019 finished for the Los Angeles office property sector – and that’s red hot! During the first two and a half months of the year, office space absorption was on pace to beat 2019. Rents were steadily increasing past $39.84 per square foot on an annual gross basis, record-high (psf) sales prices were recorded across product types and rising construction costs were complemented by a construction pipeline of more than 8 million square feet of office space. Suddenly, by mid-March, COVID-19 had taken hold in the U.S. and abruptly halted all the momentum the Los Angeles office sector had built up. However, the emergency interest rate cuts proposed by central banks across the globe have flooded markets with liquidity, helping to avoid contagion throughout the financial sector. This, in conjunction with the $170 billion in commercial investor relief included in the current stimulus package, points to the potential for a short downturn. Nevertheless, the jury is still out on just how long and how deep this slowdown will be as previously unimaginable unemployment numbers continue to be reported and economic forecasts are trending in the wrong direction. In …
CLAYTON, MO. — McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. has broken ground on Forsyth Pointe, an office and retail development in the central business district of Clayton, just west of St. Louis. Developed by US Capital Development, the project will include two Class A office towers with more than 20,000 square feet of street-level retail space. The office portion will rest atop a seven-story parking structure, bringing the project’s total square footage to nearly 1 million square feet. A 10-story, 265,000-square-foot east tower will occupy the corner of Forsyth Boulevard and Meramec Avenue. An eight-story, 210,000-square-foot west tower will reside at Brentwood and Forsyth boulevards. In addition to a 45,000-square-foot garden terrace, amenities will include a 10,000-square-foot fitness center and an arts and entertainment venue. Completion is slated for summer 2022. Project costs were not disclosed. “Forsyth Pointe will add prime office space and innovative retail space, increasing street vitality and the pedestrian experience on a prominent corner across from Shaw Park, one of our city’s crown jewels,” says Clayton Mayor Michelle Harris. Established in 1935, the 47.5-acre Shaw Park is the city’s oldest and largest park. The Forsyth Pointe project team includes Christner Architects, Cedergreen LLC, Alper Audi, Stock & Associates, …
ORLANDO, FLA. — The Orlando office market’s vacancy rate has exceeded 10 percent for the first time since year-end 2016, according to CBRE. The vacancy rate stood at 11.2 percent at the end of the second quarter, up from 9.1 percent the previous quarter. With the novel coronavirus causing the economy to halt in mid-March, many office players in the country hit the pause button on sales and leases. Orlando, like several other markets nationwide, was not able to escape the downturn as large swaths of space were given back quicker than they were absorbed. Alight Solutions vacated its 147,000-square-foot space in the University/Research submarket, and Hartford Insurance downsized by 27,000 square feet in Lake Mary. Orlando ended the second quarter of 2020 with 352,000 square feet of negative absorption, the biggest dip the market has taken since first-quarter 2018 when the absorption was minus-22,857 square feet, according to CBRE. CBRE also notes that development has not slowed in the market, with deliveries reaching an 11-year quarterly high. Five office buildings totaling 339,000 square feet came on line in the second quarter. There are another seven projects underway totaling 279,700 square feet, the largest of which is a 120,000-square-foot building …
MONT BELVIEU, TEXAS — Colliers International has arranged the sale of Midstream Business Park, a 23,657-square-foot flux building in Mont Belvieu, about 30 miles east of Houston. Judd Harrison and Jason Tangen of Colliers represented the seller, Bellwether Interest LLC, in the transaction. Hart Schleicher of Capital Real Estate Commercial represented the buyer, Kimberlee Partners LP. The property was fully leased at the time of sale.
NEW YORK CITY — Insurance giant American International Group (AIG) will relocate its global headquarters to 1271 Avenue of the Americas, a 48-story office building in Manhattan that was recently redeveloped. The move calls for AIG to consolidate its two regional offices at 28 Liberty St. in Manhattan and 30 Hudson St. in nearby Jersey City. The company plans to take occupancy of its new space, which will span eight floors and 325,000 square feet, in 2021. Rockefeller Group owns 1271 Avenue of the Americas.
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — Ramshorn Investments has purchased Tech V, an office property located in Colorado Springs. Tech V LLC sold the asset for $7.9 million. Located at 5475 Tech Center Drive, Tech V features 54,174 square feet of office space. Taylor Stamp of Quantum Commercial Group represented the seller, while Michael Palmer and Paul Palmer, also of Quantum Commercial, represented the buyer in the deal.
