MILWAUKEE — Andrus Intellectual Property Law LLP has signed a lease to occupy 7,248 square feet at BMO Tower in Milwaukee. The intellectual property law firm will occupy the space on the 22nd floor. The company was founded in Milwaukee in 1939. BMO Tower is a 25-story Class A office development under construction. Approximately 160,000 square feet of office space and 12,000 square feet of retail space remain available for lease. Anchor tenants include BMO Harris Bank, Michael Best & Friedrich and Heartland Advisors. David Pudlosky and Michael Streit of JLL represented Andrus in the lease transaction. Mike Wanezek of Colliers International represented the landlord, Irgens.
CARLSBAD, CALIF. — Peregrine Realty Partners has acquired Carlsbad Airport Plaza, an office asset in Carlsbad. Swift Real Estate Partners sold the property for $14 million. Located at 5963 La Plaza Court, the three-story, 64,817-square-foot building features newly renovated common areas and restrooms, balconies for select units and new landscaping. At the time of sale, the property was 86 percent occupied by a diverse tenant roster, including technology, healthcare, finance and engineering firms. Louay Alsadek and Hunter Rowe of CBRE represented the seller, while Peregrine was self-represented in the transaction.
CHICAGO — Net absorption in office markets across the United States exceeded new construction in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to Cushman & Wakefield. This enabled the national office vacancy rate to drop to 13.2 percent. Nationwide absorption during the fourth quarter totaled 20 million square feet and marked the 33rd consecutive quarter of positive absorption since 2010. The total volume of space under construction increased slightly to 114.2 million square feet in the fourth quarter, up from 113.2 million in the third quarter. A total of 13.7 million square feet of new office projects delivered in the fourth quarter, bringing the total for 2018 deliveries to 52.7 million square feet, the second-highest amount of new space completed since 2010. Relative to inventory, the markets with the highest construction figures are San Mateo, Calif.; Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; Seattle; and Midtown Manhattan. On the west side Office markets in the Western United States performed the strongest in 2018 and accounted for 22.6 million square feet of net absorption, the highest volume since 2015. The lowest vacancy rates were seen in tech-driven markets like Seattle (6.2 percent vacancy) and San Francisco (6.4 percent). According to Cushman & Wakefield, the western …
ARLINGTON, TEXAS — Albany Road Real Estate Partners, a Boston-based investment firm, has acquired Centerpoint I, II and III, a portfolio of three office properties totaling 285,000 square feet in Arlington. The property was 94 percent leased at the time of sale, with the North Central Texas Council of Governments accounting for more than half the occupancy. Creighton Stark and Chris Boyd of Colliers International represented the seller, a German investment firm, in the transaction. Other terms of sale were not disclosed.
IRVING, TEXAS — Coworking firm WeWork has signed a lease to occupy a 77,000-square-foot collaborative office space at The Towers at Williams Square within the 12,000-acre Las Colinas business district in Irving. The space will span three floors and represents WeWork’s first site in a suburban market in North Texas. WeWork expects to being occupying the space during the third quarter. Bill Brokaw of Hillwood Urban represented the landlord, a partnership between Apollo Global Real Estate, Vanderbilt Partners and Hillwood Urban, in the lease negotiations.
OAKLAND, CALIF. — A joint venture between Harvest Properties and True North Management Group has completed the disposition of Tribune Tower, an office property located at 409 13th St. in Oakland. Highbridge Equity Partners purchased the property for an undisclosed price. The historic 20-story building features 95,350 square feet of office space, an original 1920s-era clock and its namesake “Tribune” sign. Steve Golubchik, Tyler Meyerdirk, David Hosler and Jack Phipps of Newmark Knight Frank represented the sellers, while John Dolby and Dane Hooks of Cushman & Wakefield represented Harvest and True North on the leasing of the building.
GLENDALE, COLO. — Centre Point Properties LLC has purchased The Forum at Cherry Creek, a multi-tenant office building located at 425 S. Cherry St. in Glendale, a suburb of Denver. 425 LLC sold the property for $13.6 million, or $165 per square foot. Aaron Johnson and Jon Hendrickson of Cushman & Wakefield Denver’s Capital Markets Group listed the property to sell on behalf of Denver-based Millice Group. The Forum at Cherry Creek is a 10-story, 83,268-square-foot office property. At the time of sale, the property was 88 percent leased to a tenant roster of office and medical office users, with approximately 40 percent of the existing tenants having some medical use.
IRVINE, CALIF. — Taco Bell Corp. has renewed its corporate headquarters lease in Irvine through 2030. The five-story, 180,000-square-foot office building is located at 1 Glen Bell Way, about 42 miles south of Los Angeles. The facility houses 800 corporate and contracted employees, is LEED certified and offers amenities such as on-site child care, a dining center, salon, gym, game room, dry cleaning services and a car washing services. The Irvine property serves as one of three restaurant support centers for the Yum! Brands Inc, the parent company of Taco Bell. Specifically, the support center includes a test kitchen for new Taco Bell food innovations. Cushman & Wakefield’s Irvine office arranged the lease between Taco Bell and landlord LBA Realty. Glen Bell founded Taco Bell in 1962. The restaurant chain has been headquartered in Southern California since then, including 40 years in Irvine. Taco Bell has occupied its current headquarters since 2010. “As a brand with Southern California in our DNA, we’re excited to remain in Irvine and continue to grow where we have deep roots,” said Frank Tucker, chief people officer of Taco Bell Corp. “The unrivaled talent and culture at our Restaurant Support Center make this a great …
RICHMOND, VA. — RMR Office Property Fund, a real estate investment fund managed by a subsidiary of The RMR Group Inc., has purchased a 355,449-square-foot, Class A office building located at 9954 Mayland Drive in Richmond for $56 million. The asset was 98 percent leased at the time of the sale. The building is situated about 12 miles northwest of downtown Richmond and recently underwent $16 million in renovations to add a new four-story parking garage, new roof, new fitness center and a cafeteria, as well as updated lobbies, elevators and building mechanical systems. The seller was not disclosed.
PEACHTREE CITY, GA. — Logistics firm SMC3 has broken ground on its future 80,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in Peachtree City. The new headquarters is situated about 36 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta and is expected to deliver in March 2020. SMC3 is a shipping logistics company that specializes in LTL (less than truckload) shipping. Jefferson Browne Gresham Architects designed the building and South-Tree Enterprises will build it. The site will feature a three-story atrium, smart glass, acoustical metal decks to improve sound absorption and extensive natural lighting.