HOUSTON — NAI Partners has negotiated a 21,263-square-foot office lease renewal at Brookhollow Central II, located at 2900 N. Loop West in Houston. Dan Boyles and Liz Westcott-Brown of NAI Partners represented the tenant, Houston-based law firm Lorance & Thompson PC. Brian Strait of Lincoln Property Co. represented the landlord, Parmenter Brookhollow LLC, during the negotiations.
FARMINGTON HILLS, MICH. — ElmTree Funds has acquired a 116,824-square-foot office property in Farmington Hills. Upon acquisition, ElmTree oversaw a $7 million renovation at the property, which is occupied by Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems Inc. As part of the same sales transaction, ElmTree acquired eight other buildings in various states totaling 312,974 square feet for $74.1 million. Each property is 100 percent leased. Other properties acquired in the Midwest include a 16,668-square-foot healthcare building in West Des Moines, Iowa, and a 16,694-square-foot healthcare building in O’Fallon, Mo. BioLife Plasma Services LP occupies both properties.
CHICAGO — 4C Insights has signed a 14,394-square-foot office lease expansion at 1 E. Wacker Drive in Chicago. The data science and media technology firm previously occupied 4,785 square feet in the building. This expansion more than triples the firm’s footprint. Bill Sheehy and Mark Cassata of CBRE represented 4C in the lease transaction. John Beason and Monica Moore of JLL represented the undisclosed landlord.
PLANO, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of Interface Security Systems Office, a 30,100-square-foot, Class B office property situated on 2.5 acres at 6340 International Parkway in Plano. Built in 1999, the property was 100 percent leased at the time of sale. Ron Hebert of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller and procured the buyer, both private investors, in the transaction.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has arranged $165 million in permanent financing for two office buildings in Washington, D.C. Known as The Executive Building, the 332,000-square-foot office building located at 1030 15th St. Northwest features 12 office floors and three ground-level retail spaces. The 11th and 12th floors include outdoor corner balconies. The Colorado Building, located at 1341 G St. Northwest, features 121,701 square feet. The building features ground-floor retail space and a fitness center. Michael Keach and Hugh Hall of KeyBank arranged the loan for the borrower, UNIZO Holdings US. New York Life Real Estate Investors provided the seven-year, first mortgage loan. Cleveland-based KeyBank is a provider of commercial real estate finance. New York Life Real Estate Investors is a division of NYL Investors LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Co. — Kristin Hiller
SUGAR LAND, TEXAS — JLL has negotiated a 37,715-square-foot office/industrial lease at 13000 Executive Drive in Sugar Land for INOVA Geophysical, a Houston-based seismic equipment and systems provider. The property offers 42,000 square feet of office space and 12,000 square feet of warehouse space, as well as 15-ton crane capability and 24-foot clear heights. David Buescher and Jeff Venghaus of JLL represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Ryan Wasaff of The Welcome Group represented the landlord. The space will serve as INOVA Geophysical’s new headquarters.
HOMEWOOD, ALA. — Patriot Equities LP has acquired 200, 210 and 220 Wildwood Parkway, three office buildings totaling 590,000 square feet in Homewood, roughly five miles south of Birmingham. The Class A buildings are situated on a 45-acre campus at the corner of Interstate 65 and Lakeshore Parkway. Patriot Equities purchased the portfolio from Wells Fargo for an undisclosed price. As part of the transaction, Wells Fargo agreed to a long-term leaseback for a portion of the campus whereby the company will occupy all of Building 220 and 50 percent of Building 200. The portfolio features conference facilities, a cafeteria and a 1,600-space parking deck, in addition to surface parking. Renamed Patriot Midtown Park, Patriot Equities has plans for capital improvements including lobby upgrades, restroom renovations, exterior enhancements and construction of a fitness center.
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Charlotte, N.C.-based firms Insite Properties and Eastern Federal Corp. have acquired two office buildings in Charleston: the 74,000-square-foot Albemarle Point Center, located at 176 Croghan Spur Road, and an adjacent 11,000-square-foot flex-space property located at 238 Albemarle Road. The sales price was not disclosed, but The Post and Courier reports the buildings sold for $19.5 million and $2 million, respectively. The companies will implement renovations to the buildings, including updating the building exterior and internal common areas.
Rapid growth in the tech sector is dramatically impacting the St. Louis office market. The city boasted an increase of 6,220 high-tech jobs during the last four years, over 2,000 of which were generated in the past year alone. Given the total number of tech jobs in St. Louis is 57,300, this amounts to a healthy growth rate of 10.9 percent. From well-known companies like Square Inc., Yurbuds and Answers.com to newer ones such as LockerDome, Aisle411 Inc. and MediBeacon Inc., the St. Louis region is a growing hot spot for innovative, new and expanding companies. These companies include leaders in the areas of plant and life sciences as well as financial services, information technology, advanced manufacturing and even rapidly growing pet care industries. Significant healthcare and biotechnology institutions in the region include Pfizer, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Solae Co. and Sigma-Aldrich. As capital injections slow in the coastal markets, St. Louis’ startup scene is thriving, attracting talent, new companies and investors from across the globe. According to Forbes, the city was named the fastest-growing metropolis for startups in 2016. Analytical website fivethirtyeight.com reaffirmed St. Louis’ increased appetite for startups, attributing the uptick in part to a combination of …
PHOENIX — A joint venture between an institutional investor and Everest Holdings has purchased Foothills Corporate Centre II, a 145,000-square-foot office building in Phoenix, for $18.4 million. The center is located at 14601-14605 S. 50th St. The property is 72 percent leased to three tenants: Level 3, DirecTV and ExhibitOne. It is situated just north of the future South Mountain Freeway, which is a 22-mile extension of the Loop 202 Freeway. JLL’s Brian Ackerman and Dan Postal represented the seller, Fort Properties Management, in this transaction. The firm’s Dave Seeger, Mark Gustin and Karsten Peterson will head up the project’s leasing efforts.