Office

XTO-Energy-Fort-Worth

Over the last 15 years, the office market of Fort Worth, as well as that of the metroplex as a whole, has experienced steady growth in both development and absorption of new product. DFW’s office vacancy rate currently sits at 15 percent, according to CoStar Group, indicating the ceiling for new growth has not yet been hit. The traditional drivers of job and population growth have fueled new construction and strong leasing velocity for office properties in Dallas. But in Fort Worth, particularly the downtown area, the growth is more visibly tied to the live-work-play trend embodied by millennials and other young members of the workforce. The health of Fort Worth’s multifamily, restaurant and hotel markets are all contributing to the growth of the office sector. Office developers consider a number of factors when constructing new space. But much like any project, location is key. As Fort Worth’s need for more housing, dining and hotels has grown, the walkability factor in the office sector has only increased in importance. As such, it’s not only the employees that are drawn to properties that are located within walking distance to residential buildings and entertainment destinations. Developers are also coveting these sites. Entertainment …

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NEW YORK CITY — Fisher Brothers has signed GoldPoint Partners to a 29,768-square-foot lease at 299 Park Ave. in Midtown Manhattan. The property is one of Fisher Brothers’ signature buildings. GoldPoint Partners, a global financial firm, signed a 15-year lease to occupy the entire 37th floor of the 42-story building. The tower was constructed in 1967 and occupies the full block between 48th and 49th streets. Richard Bernstein, Steve Braun and Christine Colley of Cushman & Wakefield represented GoldPoint Partners in the transaction. Fisher Brothers was represented in-house by Marc Packman and Clark Briffel, as well as by Andrew Sachs and Pete Shimkin of Newmark Knight Frank.

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DARIEN, CONN. — Normandy Real Estate Partners has sold Darien Green, a 79,287-square-foot, two-building office campus in Darien for $4.9 million. Darien is located five miles east of Stamford. Fletcher Development and Silver Heights Development acquired the property and, following a capital improvement project, will rebrand the campus as Darien Crossing. The campus was built between 1976 and 1978 and consists of a 50,182-square-foot office building at 320 Boston Post Road and a 29,105-square-foot office building at 330 Boston Post Road. Stamford-based commercial real estate firm RHYS has been appointed as the exclusive leasing agent for the property.

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FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS — Transwestern has arranged the sale of Spring Valley Tech Center, a 61,139-square-foot flex property located at 4200-4288 Spring Valley Road in Farmers Branch, a northern suburb of Dallas. The property was built in 1979 and includes industrial features such as 12- to 18-foot clear heights and three dock-high loading doors. Steve Rowland and Timothy Veler of Transwestern represented the buyer, LCG Spring Valley LLC, in the transaction. Hal Pollard, also with Transwestern, represented the seller, 669 Fairway LLC.

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The most exciting story in Michigan’s overall recovery from the Great Recession has been the revitalization of downtown Detroit. For locals and out-of-towners, Detroit’s development boom is surprising, exciting, refreshing, and at times, hard to believe. This real estate cycle may go down as the most important and consequential in 50 years. Indeed, the numbers and the anecdotal evidence demonstrate that we are not just witnessing a hot market — we are witnessing a once-in-a-generation shift in Detroit’s office market. Where we were What makes Detroit’s renaissance so amazing is how far the city has come in just eight years. For decades, downtown Detroit’s office market was effectively in the Detroit River. The central business district (CBD) continuously bled tenants to suburban markets, and heavy concessions along with incentives were required to lure office users to the city. Office tenants tended to be law firms, city, county and federal government agencies, non-profits, and city contractors — generally users that had to be downtown for proximity to the courts and City Hall. While the real estate statistics were not strong, the larger issue was the overall look and feel of the setting. Many buildings sat ominously vacant, the restaurant scene was …

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Natixis has provided a $52.8 million loan for the refinancing and lease-up of 1000 F Street N.W., a 93,465-square-foot office building in Washington, D.C.’s East End submarket. The loan was provided on behalf of the building developer and owner, Douglas Development Corp., which completed construction on the property in 2016. The D.C.-based developer will use the loan to refinance an existing construction loan and fund tenant improvements to continue leasing the property. The LEED Gold-certified building, which was approximately 30 percent leased at the close of financing, features 7,282 square feet of ground-floor retail space and two levels of below-grade parking.

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AUSTIN, TEXAS — Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN) will convert IBM’s Broadmoor campus in Austin, which spans more than 65 acres and houses more than 1 million square feet of office space, into a mixed-use, transit-oriented development. The first phase of the redevelopment, which is expected to be complete by early 2019, will revamp two office buildings. The overall project will create more public green space, walking trails and recreation areas to leverage the property’s proximity to The Domain, a shopping and entertainment destination that connects to the campus. Brandywine acquired Broadmoor, which has been discussed as a potential site for Amazon’s HQ2, about three years ago. The campus was developed as a build-to-suit for IBM, which still occupies most of the space, in the early 1990s.

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KANSAS CITY, MO. — Brain Development Group has purchased Belletower, a five-story, 80,615-square-foot office building in Kansas City. The purchase price was not disclosed. The property is located in Country Club Plaza, five miles south of the city’s central business district. The property, built in 1986, includes a 180-space, four-level parking garage beneath the building and an additional 41-space surface parking lot. At the time of sale, Belletower was 67 percent leased to tenants such as MidCountry Bank and Reynolds Law Firm LLC. Two new tenants have since boosted occupancy to 76 percent, according to the Kansas City Business Journal. Amenities include a fitness center and tenant storage. Gina Anderson, Gary Carr and Robert Hill of CBRE represented the seller, Advent Belleview LLC.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged a $95 million construction loan for 1050 17th Street, a 154,000-square-foot office building that will be located in Washington, D.C.’s central business district. Currently occupying the site is a 145,000-square-foot office building that was developed in the mid-1970s and will be demolished. The new property will be developed on a speculative basis, with construction slated to begin later this year. A timeline for completion was not released. The new property will also feature ground-floor retail space and below-grade parking, as well as proximity to nearby public transportation lines. The location also puts the building within walking distance of The White House and the U.S. Treasury Building. Maryland-based EagleBank provided the loan, specific terms of which were not disclosed. Philip Mudd and Brad Geiger of Cushman & Wakefield placed the debt on behalf of The Lenkin Company, a full-service construction and management firm that developed the existing building. “There were several lenders interested in financing this project,” says Mudd. “This was due to the quality, design, ownership and extraordinary location.” — Taylor Williams

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Park Center is the largest ground-up corporate office project in metro Atlanta’s history. In early 2017, KDC broke ground on Park Center Phase II, which consists of two office towers totaling 1.1 million square feet, including approximately 40,000 square feet of retail space. The office towers will be leased by State Farm, which also leased the 21-story office tower in Phase I. Phase II of Park Center started with the implosion of the existing 240,000-square-foot, 10-story Hammond Exchange building on March 4, 2017. The remainder of 2017 was spent removing the debris from the implosion, blasting and removing over 300,000 cubic yards of rock, site grading, relocation and placement of utilities, and installation of tower cranes. In addition, construction started on the parking structure and building pad for Building 2. Several large culverts were constructed for a new road that will connect Perimeter Parkway in Dunwoody to Peachtree Dunwoody Road in Sandy Springs. Today, seven of the 11 parking levels of Building 2 have been poured, including the lobby level and vehicular-pedestrian plaza in front of it. Completion of the 660,000-square-foot, 22-story Building 2 is slated for the end of 2019. Work is also taking place on Building 3, including …

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