NEW YORK CITY — Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has negotiated a 19,358-square-foot office lease for mental healthcare provider AbleTo Inc. in the Garment District of Manhattan. The space is located on two floors at 230 West 37th St. AbleTo’s previous headquarters was located on two non-contiguous floors in the same building. Fred Smith, Thomas Burrus and Elizabeth Ughetta of NKF represented AbleTo in the lease negotiations. The landlord, Sioni Group, was self-represented.
There is a widely held belief that investing in the Chicago office real estate market in 2020 is potentially a bad bet. While some investors are concerned by headlines decrying the fiscal health of Illinois, the supposed overvaluing of Cook County tax assessments and softening of the Chicago market, our experience tells us those fears will create opportunities for contrarian investors willing to dig deeper. Because these misperceptions are scaring away some institutional investors, the time is ripe for continued investment in Chicago office properties to take advantage of opportunities that more cautious investors are passing up. Municipal realities At the state level, much has been written about Illinois’ fiscal health. In a report released in September 2019, government watchdog Truth in Accounting labeled Illinois a “Sinkhole State” and ranked it 49th in the nation for its financial condition. After failing to raise enough revenue by hiking taxes to fund the state’s debt, leaders from Illinois have said that massive pension reform — not tax hikes — is the way out of our current debt crisis. Consequently, office real estate investors should not be overly concerned that the state of Illinois will potentially shift the state’s tax burden onto their …
ROGERS, ARK. — Cawley Partners has broken ground on a three-story, 150,000-square-foot office building in Rogers that will serve as a regional operations center for Transplace, a provider of logistics technology and services. The Frisco, Texas-based firm will occupy the entire building upon completion, which is slated for May 2021. The property is situated at 4909 W. Magnolia St., three miles west of downtown Rogers. Atlanta-based Corgan designed the building that will include courtyards, lighted pedestrian walkways, a retention pond and more than 1,000 parking spaces. Cawley Partners will serve as owner-developer. Robbie Baty, Bill McClung and Marshall Saviers of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the leasing negotiations.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Toronto-based Slate Office REIT has agreed to acquire Cypress Financial Center in Fort Lauderdale for $45.5 million. The 201,305-square-foot building is situated at 5900 N. Andrews Ave., adjacent to Cypress Creek Transit Station and Interstate 95 on the city’s north side. The property was 93 percent leased at the time of sale. The publicly traded REIT expects the deal to close in May. The seller was not disclosed.
DULUTH, GA. — NXT Capital has provided a $19 million refinancing loan for Sugarloaf VI and VII, two office buildings comprising 160,000 square feet in Duluth. The property is situated at 2905 and 2915 Premiere Parkway, 29 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta in Gwinnett County. Property amenities include large lobbies and an outdoor greenspace. C.J. Kelley of CBRE originated the loan on behalf of the undisclosed borrower. Further details of the loan were not disclosed.
DALLAS — Locally based investment firm Mohr Capital has purchased a 200,000-square-foot office building located at 4851 LBJ Freeway in Dallas for $34.5 million The 12-story building was 90 percent leased at the time of sale. Rodrigo Godoi and Kyle Campbell represented Mohr Capital, which will implement $2 million in capital improvements to the property, on an internal basis. Gary Carr, John Alvarado and Robert Hill of Newmark Knight Frank represented the undisclosed seller.
SOUTHPORT, CONN. — Four tenants have signed office leases totaling 37,500 square feet at Southport Crossing, an office building located approximately 25 miles west of West Haven. Savills represented Counseling service Discovery Practice Management Inc., which leased 6,453 square feet. Angel Commercial LLC represented retail mortgage lender Guaranteed Rate Inc. and Professional Physical Therapy, which leased 2,600 square feet and 5,168 square feet, respectively. Newmark Knight Frank represented Lincoln Healthcare Information Co., which leased 8,400 square feet. All tenants will move into their new spaces immediately. Jon Angel of Angel Commercial LLC represented the landlord, a private investor, in the lease negotiations.
SEATTLE — San Francisco-based Gantry, an independent commercial banking firm, has secured $40 million in permanent financing for the Ainsworth & Dunn (A&D) Building and newly constructed 10 Clay Apartments in Seattle. The mixed-use residential and historic office project is located at 10 Clay St. and 2815 Elliott Ave. in Seattle’s Waterfront neighborhood. The multifamily component consists of a six-story, 62-unit, mid-rise apartment complex with more than 7,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The redeveloped A&D Building is a three-story historic landmark property with 32,615 square feet of commercial office space. The two buildings are connected by one level of subterranean parking and a ground-level breezeway between the properties. Mike Taylor and Mike Wood of Gantry’s Seattle office co-brokered the financing. The pair arranged the 13.5-year term financing through Principal Global Investors on behalf of A&D Partners.
WESTERVILLE, OHIO — Arch Street Capital Advisors and VEREIT (NYSE: VER) have acquired DHL Supply Chain’s North American headquarters in Westerville, a northeastern suburb of Columbus. The purchase price was undisclosed. The newly completed, build-to-suit office building spans 145,000 square feet and is located within Westar Place Business Park. The acquisition is part of Arch Street and VEREIT’s partnership focused on the acquisition of long-term leased, single-tenant office assets.
EAST POINT, GA. — Trammell Crow Co. has delivered a 341,041-square-foot office headquarters and distribution center for Atlanta Community Food Bank in East Point. The new facility includes 84,953 square feet of corporate office space, 69,931 square feet of cold storage and 186,157 square feet of warehouse space. Energy-saving features of the building include high-efficiency LED lighting and windows with low-energy tinted glazing. The property is situated on 65 acres at 3400 N. Desert Drive, about four miles west of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Of the 71.7 million pounds of food and grocery product the company distributed in fiscal year 2019, 22 percent was fresh produce. The food bank works with more than 700 partner agencies that directly distribute food to 29 counties within metro Atlanta and North Georgia.