SANTA MONICA, CALIF. — A joint venture between Douglas Emmett and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has purchased two office buildings in Santa Monica for $352.8 million. The assets include a 206,000-square-foot building at 1299 Ocean Ave. and an 87,000-square-foot office building at 429 Santa Monica Blvd. The same consolidated joint venture also acquired 12100 and 233 Wilshire Blvd. in 2016. A portion of the purchase price was provided by a $142 million secured, non-recourse, interest-only loan to the joint venture that matures in July 2019 and bears interest at LIBOR plus 1.55 percent. Douglas Emmett provided 20 percent of the equity capital and manages the joint venture.
YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, N.Y. — James Houlihan of Houlihan-Parnes Realtors has secured a $17.5 million first mortgage for an office property located at 2649-2651 Strang Blvd. in Yorktown Heights. The current owners acquired the property in October 2014. The seven-year, fixed-rate loan features a 50 percent loan-to-value ratio and includes an option to extend for another five years. Elizabeth Smith of Goldberg, Weprin, Finkel, Goldstein LLP was the attorney representing the borrower at closing. The property includes two buildings consisting of 200,000 square feet along with 695 on-site parking spaces. Tenants include Putnam County Savings Bank, ENT & Allergy Associates, Mercy College and New York-Presbyterian Medical Group-Hudson Valley Hospital.
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — HFF has brokered the sale of 1125 Route 22, a 95,620-square-foot office building in Bridgewater. HFF marketed the property on behalf of the seller, KBS Realty Advisors, and procured the buyer, a partnership of Atkins Cos. and Capital Solutions. 1125 Route 22 is located along Route 22 West just off of Interstate 287. The property consists of two separate wings and is occupied by Bank of America and MidJersey Health Corp. The HFF investment sales team representing the seller included Jose Cruz, Kevin O’Hearn, Stephen Simonelli, Michael Oliver and Marc Duval.
HARTSDALE, N.Y. — Ariel Property Advisors has arranged a $1.3 million loan on an office property located at 210 N. Central Ave. in Hartsdale. Ariel arranged the 4.5-year recourse loan at 4.4 percent for the 17-unit, 46,000-square-foot office property. Situated near White Plains, the building — originally an elementary school — was owned free and clear by a family and leased to Empire State College as its anchor tenant. Currently 55 percent occupied, Ariel also negotiated the option for an additional $1.6 million in proceeds once the property reaches a predetermined occupancy threshold.
NORTHLAKE, TEXAS — Farmers Brothers Coffee, a wholesaler and distributor of coffee, tea and culinary products, has opened a $90 million, 538,000-square-foot headquarters in the Fort Worth suburb of Northlake. Located at 1912 Farmers Brothers Drive, the headquarters includes a 125,000-square-foot roasting plant with the capacity to roast 24 to 28 million pounds of coffee per year and a 258,000-square-foot distribution center. Stream Realty Partners developed the facility, which will house approximately 175 employees as the company begins its complete relocation from California to Texas.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — GLL Real Estate Partners, a Germany-based investment firm, has purchased Capital Ridge, a seven-story, 216,511-square-foot office complex in Austin that is currently 100 percent leased to Apple, for approximately $96 million. A joint venture between Denver-based investment firm Miller Global Properties LLC and Austin-based Riverside Resources sold the Class A property, which is situated on 38 acres at 320 S. Capital of Texas Highway in the West Lake Hills area. Apple has leased space at Capital Ridge since early 2015, the year the complex was built.
SAN DIEGO — Azusa Pacific University (APU) has leased 48,000 square feet of office space at Mission Center in San Diego. The space is located at 5333 and 5353 Mission Center Road. It will continue to serve as the university’s San Diego regional campus. CBRE’s Greg Nassir and Scott Kincaid represented APU. JLL’s Richard Gonor, Tony Russell and Brandt Riedman represented the landlord, Kearny Real Estate, in this transaction.
MIAMI — Boston-based Rockpoint Group has purchased 1221 Brickell, a 408,423-square-foot office building located at Brickell Avenue and Coral Way in Miami’s Brickell Financial District. The sales price was undisclosed, but the South Florida Business Journal reports that the property traded for $155 million. The 26-story tower’s tenant roster includes Lydecker Diaz, Regus, Banco Do Brasil, Safra National Bank of New York and Clyde & Co. Tenant amenities include various restaurants, a conference facility, 24-hour security, dry cleaning services, a 5,000-square-foot daycare center, parking and a car wash facility. Hermen Rodriguez, Manny de Zarraga, Ike Ojala, Tracey Good and Christina Kong of HFF represented the seller, The Blackstone Group. HFF also brokered the sale of the office tower in 2006 on behalf of the previous owner, Equity Office Properties Trust, prior to Blackstone’s acquisition of the REIT later that year.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — UNIZO Holdings Co. Ltd. has acquired two Class A office buildings in Washington for $259 million. The buildings, 1325 and 1341 G St., total 440,419 square feet and are located two blocks from the White House. Built in 1969 and renovated in 2017, 1325 G. St. consists of 307,705 square feet. Originally built in 1903 and also known as The Colorado Building, 1341 G. St. consists of 132,714 square feet of office and retail space. Andrew Weir, Stephen Conley, Jim Meisel, Dek Potts and Matt Nicholson of HFF arranged the sale on behalf of the sellers, Westbrook Partners LLC and TIER REIT Inc. HFF also procured the buyer. In June 2015, HFF arranged the joint venture between Westbrook and TIER REIT. The partners repositioned the properties with a lobby renovation. Westbrook is a real estate investment management company with more than $14 billion of equity in over $50 billion of real estate transactions. TIER REIT (NYSE: TIER) is a real estate investment trust based in Dallas with a focus on owning quality office properties. With this sale, TIER REIT has announced its exit from the Washington, D.C. market. UNIZO is a real estate company based in Tokyo. …
PHOENIX — Cypress Office Properties has begun renovation work on the Renaissance Square office building in Phoenix. The building is located at 40 N. Central Ave. The $50 million renovation will span both towers. The first tower will feature a “tech” atmosphere that contains a lobby with a live plant wall and integrated technology for digital signage. The second building will feature boutique-style interior finishes with a warm hospitality feel. The first phase of the renovation will include a $10 million investment that will upgrade both buildings’ lobbies, the lower level lobby and elevators. It will also include the creation of a 7,000-square-foot, multi-purpose conference facility and multiple office suites. Wespac Construction is acting as the general contractor, while Craig Coppola of Lee & Associates Arizona will serve as the leasing agent.