CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Lincoln Harris’ Charlotte office has arranged two leases totaling 62,075 square feet at Capitol Towers – South Tower, a 236,250-square-foot, Class A office tower located at 4350 Congress St. in Charlotte. Campbell Walker of Lincoln Harris’ Charlotte office represented the landlord, Capitol Towers LLC, in both lease transactions. The deals included Sterling Capital Management LLC leasing 22,075 square feet and Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP leasing 40,000 square feet. Jim Thorp of JLL represented Sterling, and Barney Earles of CBRE represented Dixon Hughes Goodman.
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has awarded Liberty Tower, a 214,000-square-foot office building in Chattanooga, LEED Gold certification, making it the largest LEED Gold-certified core and shell project in Tennessee. Additionally, the USGBC has awarded Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel PC LEED Gold certification for its commercial interiors. The company is the only law firm in Tennessee to have earned LEED Gold certification. Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel PC is a tenant at Liberty Tower, making the pair the only project to achieve dual LEED certification in Chattanooga. The law firm’s sustainable features include Energy Star-rated equipment, an open office layout, reuse of 60 percent of its furniture and low VOC paints and carpet tiles. Liberty Tower’s sustainable features include bike racks and showers, new LED light fixtures, low-flow toilets and faucets, solar controlled windows and modern HVAC equipment.
PHOENIX — Lowe Enterprises Investors (LEI) has purchased three office buildings at the Phoenix Gateway Center office complex for an undisclosed sum. The properties are located in the North Airport/44th Street corridor area of Phoenix. The transaction included the 107,755-square-foot Gateway I; the 107,963-square-foot Gateway II; and the 221,885-square-foot Gateway III buildings. LEI plans to improve the properties’ common areas and public spaces. The overall occupancy at the buildings is 94 percent. Peter Morgan led LEI’s acquisition team. CBRE’s Barry Gable and Kevin Shannon represented the seller, a partnership of Pearlmark/Transwestern and Oaktree Capital.
MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIF. — West Ridge Rentals LLC has purchased a 35,911-square-foot medical office complex in Manhattan Beach for $15.6 million. The three-building complex is located at 500 S. Sepulveda Blvd. The buildings include small retail elements that house related businesses. The complex was built in 1976. Eric Lastition and Geoff Ludwig of Colliers International represented the seller, Manhattan Beach Mall LP.
SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF. — The Pool Corporation has leased a 184,646-square-foot building in San Bernardino. The space is located at 1410 E. Central Ave., within Carson Alliance, a newly developed, two-building industrial park at the Gateway of the Master Alliance of California project. Chris Barbieri of ANR Asset Management and Ron Barbieri of Coldwell Banker Commercial represented Pool Corporation. JLL’s Ruben Goodsell, Peter McWilliams and Mike McCrary represented the landlord, Carson Companies.
DENVER — A local multifamily investor has purchased a 20-unit apartment building in Denver for $2.8 million. The community is located at 833 Dexter St. The new investor also owns a few other properties within the same neighborhood. Matt Lewallan and Kevin Calame of Pinnacle Real Estate Advisors represented the buyer.
TORRANCE, CALIF. — Grocery chain Fresh & Easy is relocating its executive and administrative hub from El Segundo to nearby Torrance. The hub will be located at 20101 Hamilton Place. NGKF’s David Kluth and Joel Smith negotiated the lease.
CHICAGO — Geller Investment Co. has closed on its acquisition of the iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel on Chicago’s Gold Coast. Sam Zell’s Zell Equity Group Investments completed the sale, but will maintain a minority stake in Waldorf. The 189-room hotel at 11 E. Walton St. sold for a record-breaking $111.9 million, according to a Cook County transfer tax form. The purchase equals just over $592,000 per room, well above the previously held record of $505,000 per room paid by Zell for the Elysian hotel. Geller plans to add 26 hotel rooms in the 60-story tower, which also features 52 private residences. The new owners also plan changes to the hotel’s food, drink and public areas.
RIVERWOODS, ILL. — Milton Podolsky, founder of Podolsky|Circle CORFAC International, passed away this past weekend at the age of 94. Born in 1921, Podolsky attended DePaul University and studied at John Marshall Law School before serving in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946. He first considered a career in commercial real estate in 1957 when a frequent customer of his family’s drug store encouraged him to do so. Over the next five years, he worked at two commercial real estate firms in the Chicago market doing primarily industrial brokerage. Then he began developing and managing buildings in what later became known as the O’Hare market. In 1962, Podolsky co-founded his first entrepreneurial firm. In 1971, he established Podolsky and Associates Ltd., which evolved into the company now known as Podolsky|Circle CORFAC International based in Riverwoods. His accomplishments include the development of seven industrial parks and myriad individual industrial and office buildings, as well as Westbrook Corporate Center, a 1.1 million-square-foot office complex in Westchester, Ill. He is survived by his wife, Lois; his brother, Jerry; his three children, Steven, Bonnie and Randy; and seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
TROY, MICH. — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap, has completed the sale of Somerset Park Apartments, a 2,226-unit, garden-style apartment community, for an undisclosed price. The apartment complex is located at 1911 Golfview Drive in Troy and is adjacent to Somerset Collection, a 1.4 million million-square-foot mall with more than 180 specialty stores. Major employers in the area include Bank of America, Delphi Corp., and ThyssenKrupp. All the apartments feature spacious kitchens with frost-free refrigerators and dishwashers, ceramic-tiled baths, large closets, window treatments, private patios/balconies, air-conditioning and individual alarm systems. Steve Witten and Victor Nolletti of IPA Northeast and Florida, along with Paul Davis and Andrew Daitch of Marcus & Millichap’s Detroit office, represented the seller and procured the buyer.