GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — Service Express Inc. has signed a 60,361-square-foot office lease at Bridge Pointe Office Park in Grand Rapids. The computer support company will occupy 39,617 square feet on the first floor, while holding an additional 20,744 square feet on the second floor for future expansion. The six-story property, located at 3855 Sparks Drive Southeast, is now fully leased. Nate Scherpenisse and Blake Rosekrans of CBRE represented the landlord, Bridge Pointe Office Equities LLC.
Over the past 12 months, a surge in out-of-market activity has stabilized Richmond’s downtown office market, which had faced a seemingly insurmountable glut of space just last year. For years, Richmond’s Central Business District (CBD) struggled to retain tenants as many sought more affordable locations in the suburbs, while other tenants shed space as they optimized their footprints. However, with a steady flow of high-profile inbound operations into Richmond’s CBD, the momentum has since shifted and the re-urbanization trend, an established facet of many of the nation’s major markets, has now taken hold in Richmond. Out-of-Market Demand Swells After five consecutive quarters of securing a sizable new-to-market operation, the cumulative direct impact of this inflow climbed to over 300,000 square feet. This surge in inbound activity played a pivotal role in stabilizing the CBD, which captured 94 percent of these inbound operations. Much of this activity has been driven by the explosive 14.9 percent growth in Richmond’s millennial population from 2010 to 2015, per a recent study by the Urban Land Institute for Time magazine. According to the study, Richmond is the second fastest growing city for millennials in the country, only behind Hampton Roads. Similarly, Virginia shot up in …
ATLANTA — Anthem Inc. has unveiled plans to locate its information technology hub to a new 21-story tower in Midtown Atlanta’s Technology Square. The health insurance company has entered into a build-to-suit agreement with Portman Holdings, which will develop the 352,000-square-foot building. The new facility will be a hub for approximately 3,000 IT professionals and will create 1,800 new jobs upon completion in 2020. Anthem Technology Center will rise at the corner of 4th and West Peachtree streets, near the Georgia Institute of Technology and Portman’s neighboring 645,000-square-foot Coda building currently under construction. Architectural firm John Portman & Associates designed Anthem Technology Center, which will include more than 14,000 square feet of terrace space and will be LEED- and Fitwel-certified. David DiPietro, Kelly Givens and Liron Nelik of Savills Studley represented Anthem in the lease transaction, and Travis Garland of Portman Management Co. represented the landlord.
BURLINGTON, MASS. — Spear Street Capital has purchased The Center at Corporate Drive, a four-building office campus located at 10, 25, 30 and 35 Corporate Drive in Burlington. The Davis Companies, in a joint venture with Principal Real Estate Investors, sold the 487,000-square-foot campus for an undisclosed price. At the time of sale, the property was 94 percent leased. The sellers originally purchased the property in September and implemented a $8 million capital improvement plan at the property. Along with architectural firm CBT, the joint venture renovated the park into a Class A office campus featuring a state-of-the-arts amenities hub and extensive outdoor green space and patio area. On-site amenities include a 7,850-square-foot cafeteria with flexible conference space; a 2,100-square-foot fitness center with yoga room, new showers and locker facilities; and a 4,500-square-foot outdoor patio with green space and numerous collaboration areas with Wi-Fi connectivity.
TRUMBULL AND STRATFORD, CONN. — Jacobson Properties and RE/MAX Right Choice have arranged the sale of Fairfield County Medical Office Building Portfolio, a two-building medical office portfolio in Trumbull and Stratford. A private healthcare REIT acquired the portfolio for an undisclosed price. Advanced Radiology anchors the 80,000-square-foot portfolio. Additional tenants include Yale New Haven Health and Ascension Health. At the time of sale, the portfolio was 94 percent occupied. Lisa Menin of Jacobson Properties and John LaBella of RE/MAX Right Choice represented the undisclosed sellers in the deal.
TEMPE, ARIZ. — Benchmark Electronics has announced its plans to relocate its new headquarters to Rio 2100, a new 52-acre office park in Tempe. The Class A property is situated at the southwest intersection of the Loop 101 and 202 freeways. Rio 2100 will eventually feature office, retail, restaurant and multifamily space, as well as two hotels within the Rio Salado corridor. Groundbreaking for the new site is expected to begin before the end of the year for completion in early 2019. Benchmark’s current headquarters is at 4141 N. Scottsdale Road. The global design, engineering and manufacturing company was previously based in Angleton, Texas. JLL’s Andrew Medley represented Benchmark. CBRE’s Bryan Taute represented the landlord, Boyer, in this transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Columbia Property Trust Inc. (NYSE: CXP) has purchased two office properties in the Chelsea submarket of New York for $514 million. The acquisition includes two adjoining office buildings that total 281,294 square feet at 245-249 W. 17th St., as well as a 165,670-square-foot office building at 218 W. 18th St. The seller was not disclosed. Twitter’s New York headquarters occupies the majority of the boutique buildings on 17th Street. The adjoining buildings include a six-story western tower and a 12-story eastern tower that serves as a showroom for the high-end modern furniture chain Room & Board. The nearby 12-story building on 18th Street houses the New York City headquarters of beverage and lifestyle company Red Bull, along with several other office tenants. This acquisition has allowed Columbia to increase its New York presence to a total of 2.6 million square feet of Class A office space spread throughout seven assets. This represents 44 percent of the trust’s overall portfolio. “Our acquisition of these prime Midtown South buildings allows us to expand within New York, where we already held the largest concentration in our portfolio, and will further establish Columbia as a significant player in Manhattan’s most dynamic …
The border economy of the United States and Mexico is complex and deeply intertwined, to say the least. As such, the sister cities of El Paso and Juarez should be viewed as one economy. The region ended 2016 on a high note. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, El Paso’s total nonfarm employment rose 1.7 percent during the year, besting the state average of 1.6 percent. The city added more than 5,000 jobs, with strong gains in service-providing sectors offsetting losses in the manufacturing sector. Leisure and hospitality led the way, according to the Fed, adding more than 1,700 jobs. At the same time, employment in Juarez’s manufacturing sector was up 5.4 percent from the previous year for a projected total of 263,000 new jobs. The downtown El Paso office market currently totals about 3.2 million square feet across 65 buildings. It breaks down into about 1.1 million square feet of Class A space, 1.2 million square feet of Class B space and 900,000 square feet of Class C space. For years, vacancy in the city’s Central Business District hovered around 20 percent, with virtually no new construction. But lately, conditions have dramatically improved. According to CoStar Group, …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A joint venture between Allianz Real Estate of America Inc. and Columbia Property Trust has acquired 1800 M Street, a 580,930-square-foot office building in Washington, D.C. CoStar reports PGIM Real Estate, an affiliate of Prudential Financial, sold the asset. Andrew Weir, Jim Meisel, Stephen Conley and Matt Nicholson of HFF represented PGIM Real Estate in the transaction and procured the buyer. Columbia acquired a 55 percent interest, and will manage the property and handle leasing activities. Allianz acquired the remaining 45 percent interest. The 10-story building is located at the corner of 18th and M Streets in D.C.’s Golden Triangle area, and is within walking distance of three Metro stations. The property recently underwent renovations, including modernization of the façade, construction of a new dual-entry lobby, creation of a 9,000-square-foot fitness center and roof deck, as well as upgrades to the elevators, restrooms and multi-tenant corridors. At the time of sale, the building was 94 percent leased to 34 tenants including Berkeley Research Group and Zuckerman Spaeder. The acquisition marks the fourth asset owned by the joint venture of Columbia and Allianz, which was formed in July.
FLAGSTAFF, ARIZ. — The Shoppes at Osgood LLC has acquired a 27,711-square-foot office building in Flagstaff for $7.3 million. The two-story building is located at 399 S. Malpais Lane. The Class A asset was built in 2014 just west of Northern Arizona University. It is about 85 percent leased to tenants like CollegeAmerica, NextCare Urgent Care and Arizona Arthritis & Rheumatology Associates PC. Matt Olson of Property Resource Group represented the buyer. CBRE’s Andrew Fosberg, Dylan Brown and Jeffrey Pion represented the seller, Anthem Boise LLC, in this transaction.