From large publicly traded companies to mid-size tech companies and small professional services firms, companies are taking notice of the office development and vibrant live-work communities being built in the Lehigh Valley. Located one hour north of Philadelphia and 90 minutes west of New York City, the Lehigh Valley is a two-county region in eastern Pennsylvania consisting of 62 municipalities and the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton. It is the 69th largest metropolitan region in the United States, with a $39.1 billion GDP larger than that of both Wyoming and Vermont. The Lehigh Valley’s total office market inventory currently stands at 26.8 million square feet. There have been 281,250 square feet of office market deliveries in 2018 so far, and another 329,000 are currently under construction. A total of 669,832 square feet of office space was under construction in the Lehigh Valley as of the first quarter of 2018, with the majority of that development in the region’s urban centers. Ninety-six percent of the office buildings constructed in the Lehigh Valley so far this year have been built in either Allentown, Bethlehem, or Easton and all of the 329,000 square feet of office space currently under construction are in …
SEATTLE — Amazon has decided to split its second headquarters (HQ2) location between two cities, instead of creating one HQ2 facility, according a source who spoke to The Wall Street Journal. According a person familiar with the company’s plans, the driving factor behind the new decision to create two equal offices is the ability to recruit the best tech talent from various geographical regions. Additionally, the decision will ease the potential community issues regarding housing and transit for potentially thousands of new employees in one specific city. Under the new plan, Amazon will create two equal HQ2 facilities, each with approximately 25,000 employees. While Amazon has not announced its final decision, it is in late-stage discussions with several cities — Crystal City in Northern Virginia, Dallas and New York City as front runners — according to The Wall Street Journal, and a decision may be announced as early as this week. Amazon plans to view all three of its main U.S offices as headquarters with similar executive and back-office functions, notes a person familiar with the decision. However, the split means the company is creating two smaller offices than its 45,000-employee Seattle headquarters.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Zydeco Development Corp. has broken ground on Phase II of MetCenter, an office project in central Austin that will feature 410,000 square feet of office space. The property offers proximity to both the downtown area and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Onsite amenities will include hiking and biking trails, as well as basketball and tennis courts. Completion of Phase II is slated for April 2019. JLL is leasing the project.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — HFF has negotiated the sale of Las Cimas II and III, a 313,716-square-foot office property in Austin. Completed in 2000 and 2001, the two buildings are located at the intersection of Loop 360 and Bee Cave Road on the city’s southwestern side. Amenities include a Whole Foods Market deli, fitness center and a conference room. HFF represented the seller, international investment firm GLL Real Estate Partners, and procured the buyer, Boston-based Rockpoint Group LLC.
HOUSTON — A robust American economy is strengthening the fundamentals of the country’s office market, keeping vacancy in check and driving asking rents up, according to a new report from Houston-based Transwestern. Strong job growth resulting in a 3.7 percent unemployment rate in October, coupled with a 3.5 percent increase in GDP during the third quarter, propelled the U.S. office market to nearly 23 million square feet of positive net absorption. Year-to-date absorption in the office market has now increased by 17.1 percent compared to the first three quarters of 2017, per the report. Year-over-year, the national vacancy rate has held steady at 10.1 percent, nearing its lowest mark during the current cycle. Asking rents have increased by 4 percent year-over-year to a national average of $26.03 per square foot. Transwestern’s report tracked competitive single- and multi-tenant office buildings in 49 select U.S. markets. Owner-occupied, medical offices and government-owned buildings were not included in the analysis. According to Ryan Tharp, director of research in Transwestern’s Dallas office, the combined momentum from quarterly job and GDP growth was strong enough to offset soft wage gains, which would otherwise have dampened the sector’s performance. Despite a tight labor market, wages increased by …
NAPERVILLE, ILL. — Franklin Partners has unveiled its redevelopment plans for the former OfficeMax headquarters in Naperville. Known as The Shuman, the five-story office building, located at 263 Shuman Blvd., will include a 30,000-square-foot amenity space. This includes a dining hall, in-house barista, game room, golf simulator and bike room. Franklin Partners acquired the 350,000-square-foot building in a joint venture with Bixby Bridge Capital in April. The building had been vacant since 2014 when OfficeMax, now a subsidiary of Office Depot, moved its headquarters to Boca Raton, Fla. Francis Prock and David Florent of Colliers International will market the renovated property for lease. Wright Heerema Architects is the project architect. Construction is underway, but a timeline for completion was not disclosed.
BOTHELL, WASH. — A joint venture between PCCP and SteelWave has purchased Canyon Park Business Center, a 17-building office/flex property located in Bothell, an eastern suburb of Seattle. A venture between SteelWave and Colony NorthStar sold the office park for an undisclosed price. Totaling 632,591 square feet, the campus features 13 Class A flex/office buildings, totaling 450,961 square feet, and four Class A life science lab and data center buildings, totaling 181,630 square feet. At the time of sale, the portfolio was 99 percent occupied. Canyon Park Business Center was built between 1985 and 1997. Kevin Shannon, Nick Kucha, Ken White, Michael Moll, James Childress and Bill DeLacy of Newmark Knight Frank represented the sellers, while the buyers were self-represented in the deal.
FORT COLLINS, COLO. — LNR Partners, also known as MSCI 2006-HQ10 East Harmony Road LLC, has completed the sale of Preston Center, an office building located in southeast suburban Fort Collins. Brinkman Capital acquired the property for $9.6 million. Located at 2809 E. Harmony Road, the property features 57,287 square feet of Class B+ office space. At the time of sale, the property was 85 percent leased. David Tilton, Rick Egitto and Sam Crowe of Avison Young represented the seller in the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — CIT Group has provided a $35 million loan for the construction of an office building in Manhattan. The six-story, 74,000-square-foot project is located at 323 E. 61st St. CIT provided the senior secured loan. The developer is a joint venture between The William Macklowe Company and LaSalle Property Fund. The designer is Daniel Goldner Architects. The completion date for the project has yet to be announced.
PHOENIX — Hines has acquired a 1.5-acre site and received zoning approval from the City of Phoenix for the development of a 379-unit multifamily tower located on the northwest corner of Jefferson and Third streets in downtown Phoenix. Construction of the 25-story, 480,000-square-foot tower is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2019, with completion scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2020. The development will be Hines’ first multifamily project in the Phoenix area. Located near Talking Stick Resort Arena, the development will feature 75 studio, 179 one-bedroom and 125 two-bedroom residences. Amenities will include an outdoor, Olympic-size swimming pool; 2,800-square-foot fitness center; indoor great room with private and group seating; private conference areas; and community kitchen. Additional offerings will include elevated outdoor courtyards with an outdoor kitchen, firepits with group and private seating and landscaped gardens; a dog spa; bike storage; a coffee bar; concierge service; and 4,500 square feet of street-level retail or restaurant space. The site currently features three levels of underground parking, which will be used for residential parking. Hines also plans to renovate 10,000 square feet of existing office space and lease it. Hines represented itself in the site acquisition, while Jim Fijan at …