Large blocks of space in the Connecticut office market have typically been associated with financial services firms and the wide open trading floors found in investment bank offices. However, for a new breed of tenant looking for sprawling, open and contiguous office space, the state of Connecticut currently offers a myriad of choices across multiple submarkets — from Trumbull to Norwalk to Stamford. And recent leasing figures suggest that prospective tenants are taking note. TAMI — or technology, advertising, media and information — tenants are no longer a Manhattan-only phenomenon. CBRE’s Westchester/Fairfield Counties office is increasingly seeing these tenants joining financial services tenants in cherry picking from an abundant group of large spaces. These TAMI tenants often favor the open spaces and giant floorplates that have become known for increasing collaboration and productivity among their employees. They can also offer consolidation and cost savings for companies. One of the most notable recent examples was 2014’s largest lease transaction for Fairfield County, which saw information technology firm Datto lease 100,398 square feet of space at Norwalk’s Merritt 7 Corporate Park. CBRE’s Paul Jacobs, Colin Reilly and Barbara Segalini represented Datto in the lease at the 22-acre campus, which Datto said it …
SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — Clevron Commercial has closed escrow on three sites located in Sacramento, Fairfield and Danville. The company plans to develop new retail centers on each site, with groundbreakings set to occur in the next 30 to 40 days. The properties include 1229 Howe Ave., a former TGI Fridays, in Sacramento; a vacant lot at 2700 N. Texas Ave. in Fairfield; and a site at the intersection of Railroad Avenue and Church Street in Danville. Ariel Fox at Retail West is handling leasing for the Sacramento and Danville locations, while Adria Giacomelli of Newmark Cornish and Carey will handle leasing for the Fairfield project. Clevron Commercial is a co-venture of Urban West, Tate Diversified Development and Pegasus Development.
LOS ANGELES — 11305 West Moorpark LLC has purchased a 9,689-square-foot retail center in Los Angeles for $4.1 million. The center is located at 5581 Huntington Drive North. It is situated on 25,807 square feet of land. Andrew Awaida of Re/Max Optima represented the buyer. Randy Stevenson, Stephen M. Baker and Kris Hons of Stevenson Real Estate Services represented the seller, Sandale LLC.
PHOENIX — Bixby Land Co. has purchased the Tharco Freeport Distribution Center, a 108,287-square-foot industrial distribution center in Phoenix, for $8.1 million. The institutional-quality center is located at 640 S. 51st Ave. The building is fully leased to Tharco, one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of unprinted corrugated stock boxes in the U.S. It was built in 1994. DTZ’s Will Strong, Mike Haenel, Andy Markham and Phil Haenel executed the transaction.
WILSONVILLE, ORE. — McLellan Estate Co. has purchased a 76,000-square-foot industrial project in Wilsonville for an undisclosed sum. The project is located at 27929 SW 95th Ave. The two contiguous buildings are situated on about four acres of land at the northwest corner of Boeckman Road & SW 95th Avenue. It is currently 85 percent occupied by Amcor Packaging, Nitroheat LLC and Pack Edge Development. Scott Finney and Nick Chessar of Norris & Stevens represented both McLellan and the seller, Rippey Investments, in this transaction. Norris & Stevens will continue to handle both the leasing and facilities management for the project.
CARLSBAD, CALIF. — Miller Global Properties has purchased Ocean Ridge, a 75,000-square-foot office building in Carlsbad, for an undisclosed sum. The building is located at 5796 Armada Drive. It is currently 77 percent occupied. Notable tenants include MorganStanley, Charles Schwab, West Development and Maketa Investment Group. CBRE’s Louay Alsadek, Larry Cambra, Roger Carlson and Hunter Rowe represented both the buyer and seller, an institutional pension fund advisor, in the transaction.
CARROLLTON, TEXAS — Japan-based Daiso will be opening its first Texas location Carrollton Town Center, which was developed by NewQuest Properties. The 11,000-square-foot store will open to the public at noon on Friday. Daiso currently operates 3,300 stores worldwide with a total of 44 stores in the United States. The company plans to open 20 stores throughout Texas. Carrollton Town Center is located at 2540 Old Denton Road in Carrollton, a suburb of Dallas. The grand opening will be a weekend-long event. Carrollton Town Center is undergoing a $7 million facelift and will be anchored by a new 99 Ranch Market. In addition to Daiso, the development will feature other prominent Asian restaurants and retailers, such as Gen Korean, Kung Fu Tea and Dan Sung Sa.
HOUSTON — Regis Property Management has acquired 770 S. Post Oak Lane, a mid-rise office building located seven miles from downtown Houston and 24 miles from Houston Intercontinental Airport. The six-story building is located in the Galleria area, surrounded by restaurants, hotels and other amenities. Regis Property Management is an affiliate of Pillar Income Asset Management and manages 34 commercial properties comprising more than 6 million square feet of office, warehouse, industrial and retail space. Regis was selected to manage the property portfolios for three publicly traded companies as well as several affiliated and non-affiliated private companies.
HOUSTON — NAI Partners has arranged lease negotiations for 18,442 square feet of new industrial space at 5175 Ashley Court in Houston. Chris Kugle of NAI Partners represented the tenant, Smart Sensors Inc., a manufacturer of temperature sensors, during the negotiations, while John Ferruzzo represented the landlord, Marwell Properties.
RICHARDSON, TEXAS — Q Real Estate Holdings, the real estate affiliate of Fort Worth-based Q Investments, has purchased 2400 N. Glenville in Richardson. The property is now open for tours and new leases for the first time in its history. It opened in 1989 as a build-to-suit for Verizon, then known as MCI, and is located in the heart of Galatyn Park Urban Village, a mixed-use development in Richardson’s Telecom Corridor. Verizon will remain in the property until the fourth quarter of 2016 when Q Real Estate plans to begin renovations to reposition the property for new tenants. DTZ’s Trey Smith and Clint Madison will oversee leasing services for the 388,600-square-foot facility. Comprising four interconnected 100,000-square-foot buildings, 2400 N. Glenville is one of the largest contiguous blocks of available office space in the Dallas market.