ATLANTA AND CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Parkway Properties has taken control of three distressed office properties and subsequently sold them to one of its investment funds. The three buildings total 561,000 square feet and sold for $33 million. They include Carmel Crossing, a 326,000-square-foot property located in Charlotte; Lakewood II, a 128,000-square-foot property located in Atlanta; and Falls Pointe, a 107,000-square-foot property also located in Atlanta. The portfolio has an average occupancy rate of 75.7 percent. In July, Parkway Properties purchased the first mortgage note for the three properties from its joint venture with Rubicon US REIT. Earlier this month, Parkway foreclosed on the two Atlanta buildings and has closed on the sale of them to Parkway Properties Office Fund II, an investment fund controlled by itself and joint venture partner Teacher's Retirement System of Texas. The sale price was $8 million. Last week, Parkway Properties foreclosed on Carmel Crossing and is under contract to sell it to the fund for $25 million. The anticipated closing date is November 10. Parkway expects that an additional $7.3 million will be invested to cover closing costs, building improvements, leasing costs and tenant improvements. Parkway controls a 30 percent equity interest in the investment …
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — Los Angeles-based Newmark Realty Capital has arranged a total of $527 million in construction and permanent financing for a portfolio of four construction projects currently under development for the General Services Administration (GSA). The financing breaks down to $271 million in construction loans and $256 million in permanent loans. The largest project is the National Personnel Records Center, a new facility for the National Archives that is being built in St. Louis. Upon completion, which is expected in 2012, the 474,690-square-foot building will be the largest national archives facility outside of Washington, D.C. In addition to the National Archives, 14 other civilian and defense federal agencies will keep offices in the building. The GSA will lease the building for a 20-year term at a rate of $19.50 per rentable square foot. The project will seek LEED certification. The owner is a subsidiary of the Molasky Group of Companies. The project team includes Dallas-based architect HKS and general contractors Hardin Construction of Atlanta and Tarlton Corp. of St. Louis. The other three projects, which are also being developed by Molasky, are regional field offices for the FBI. The first one is a 90,000-square-foot field office located in …
OMAHA, NEB. — NorthMarq Capial has arranged a $95.81 million tax-exempt bond securitization for a bond portfolio owned by America First Tax Exempt Investors (Nasdaq: ATAX). The deal was arranged through Freddie Mac's Tax-Exempt Bond Securitization (TEBS) program. The portfolio is secured by 15 multifamily properties totaling 2,500 units. The properties are located in Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, South Carolina and Texas. In this complex transaction, ATAX wished to lever its bond portfolio. It deposited the bonds into a trust and, in exchange, was loaned the $95.8 million. The company received a very favorable interest rate of 2.15 percent and also purchased an interest rate cap of 4.9 percent. “Right now, it's a tremendous time to execute a TEBS transaction. Rates are amazing,” says John Reed, a vice president with the Omaha office of NorthMarq and the person who arranged the deal. Half of the proceeds will be used to pay bank a loan with Bank of America that was set to come to term at the end of the year. The other half of the proceeds will be used by ATAX to invest in new bonds. “The availability of a program like TEBS enables tax-exempt bond managers to lock …
HACKENSACK, N.J. — Construction is complete for the expansion of the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center. The $130 million project brings all of the center's 14 divisions under one roof in a 155,000-square-foot, sustainably constructed building. The building's highlights include a four-story lobby atrium that features abundant daylighting, Murano glass-blown birds suspended from the ceiling, and a living wall that contains a 24-foot waterfall and more than 30 plant species hydroponically growing up the wall. Other features inlcude walking gardens, a green roof with a vegetable garden, and tranquility rooms. A demonstration kitchen will allow patients to learn how to manage their appetites while undergoing treatment. A business center/patient library, a cyber café and a fitness center will be available to patients and caregivers. The new facility will also feature ample space for research. The Theurer Cancer Center is already the largest center of its kind in New Jersey and one of the top-10 largest centers in the country. So far, the Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation has raised $65 million for the project, including a $10 million donation from Helena Theurer in memory of her late husband John Theurer, who the cancer center is named …
HOUSTON — Locally based Fuller Realty Partners has entered into a joint venture with PCCP LLC, a real estate private equity firm, to acquire a distressed office portfolio. The portfolio includes two Class B buildings located in Houston's Galleria submarket. The first property totals 281,590 square feet and is located at 2425 West Loop. It was constructed in 1980. The second property, which is located approximately 1 mile away at 1001 West Loop, totals 222,340 square feet and was built in 1978. Currently, 2425 West Loop is 58.5 percent occupied, and 1001 West Loop is 43.4 percent occupied. This is in contrast to an average occupancy rate of 87.5 percent for office product in the Galleria submarket. Anchor tenants for the two buildings include Blue Cross Blue Shield and Xerox. Fuller Realty previously owned both buildings and sold them in 2007, during which time both were stabilized. “The investment provides PCCP the opportunity to purchase a distressed two-building office portfolio through a lender-facilitated short sale,” saud Jed Lassere, senior vice president of PCCP, in a statement. “Fuller Realty, our locally based partners, is confident that it can achieve market occupancy in this prestigious submarket. Fuller has a long ownership history …
DENVER AND NEW YORK CITY — Denver-based ProLogis has entered into a definitive agreement to sell several assets to New York City-based Blackstone Real Estate Advisors for $1.02 billion. The assets include an industrial portfolio, its interest in a hotel property and its interests in three property funds. The portfolio includes approximately 180 industrial properties totaling approximately 23 million square feet. The properties are located across the nation in such major markets as Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, Phoenix and San Francisco. The portfolio is 95 percent leased with an average lease term of 34 months. The weighted average age of the properties is 23 years. ProLogis will retain a preferred equity interest of approximately $190 million in the Blackstone entity acquiring the portfolio. The hotel, which is being acquired by Blackstone affiliate Hilton Worldwide, is the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. ProLogis is selling its 25 percent interest in the hotel and an indirect interest in an adjacent land parcel for approximately $100 million. Following the closing, Hilton Worldwide will wholly own the property. Finally, Blackstone is acquiring a 20 percent interest in ProLogis North American Property Funds VI through VIII. The three …
IRVINE, CALIF. — Construction is complete for Phase III of the East Campus Student Housing Project at the University of California at Irvine. The phase added a total of 1,762 beds of housing to the school's on-campus inventory — allowing it to now house 45 percent of the student population on campus. Camino del Sol is a 1,198-bed residence hall that caters to undergraduate students. It consists of two- and three-story townhomes that can house up to four students each. The units have private bedrooms and the option of private bathrooms. Puerta del Sol contains 563 beds in a mix of studios and one- and two-bedrooms units that cater to graduate students. The units have upgraded finishes including carpet tile in bedrooms and hardwood-style flooring in living rooms and kitchens. Both dorms share amenities, which include a large pool area with a hot tub, a cabana and an outdoor kitchen with televisions. Other amenities include a community center that has a game room, a fitness center, social and study lounges, and a computer room. The project also included the addition of 1,800 parking spaces. The two communities were was also constructed with sustainability in mind. The construction process included the …
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Behringer Harvard has acquired a nine-building, 691,000-square-foot medical office portfolio. The properties are all located in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area; five of them are located on the campus of hospitals operated by Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. They include: • Victor Farris Building, a 148,000-square-foot, Class A building located 1411 N. Flagler Drive on the campus of Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach; • Palmetto Medical Plaza, an eight-story, 72,000-square-foot building located at 7100 W. 20th Ave. on the campus of Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah; • Gardens Medical Pavilion, a 75,000-square-foot, Class A building located at 3401 PGA Blvd. in Palm Beach Gardens; • Hialeah Medical Plaza, a five-story, 72,000-square-foot building located at 777 E. 25th St. on the campus of Hialeah Hospital in Hialeah; and • North Shore Medical Arts, a four-story, 56,000-square-foot building located at 1190 NW 95th St. on the campus of North Shore Medical Center in Miami. The other four properties are located near the campus of Florida Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale. They are known as FMC Medical Mall, FMC North, FMC Central and FMC East. The buildings total a combined 207,000 square feet. The portfolio also includes …
FAIRFAX, VA. — Construction is complete for The Mason Inn, a $50 million hotel and conference center located on the Fairfax campus of George Mason University. The 179,000-square-foot project features 148 guest rooms. It also contains Boxwoods, a full-service restaurant that specializes in using seasonal ingredients, and a bar known as The Well. The hotel also contains a lounge that features floor-to-ceiling bookcases, hardwood floors and leather club chairs. Additional amenities include a 24-hour fitness center. The conference center component of the hotel totals 20,000 square feet. It consists of 10 meeting rooms and two ballrooms that can be subdivided into smaller spaces. The project, which was designed by Gensler, is applying for LEED-Gold certification with the U.S. Green Building Council. Additional project team members include master developer Concord Eastridge and general contractor Balfour Beatty Construction. ARAMARK Higher Education will be operating the hotel and conference center. — Coleman Wood
BELLEVUE, WASH. — Bravern Office Commons, a 750,000-square-foot office complex located in Bellevue that is wholly leased to Microsoft, has traded for $410 million. The seller was a joint venture between the U.S. arm of Investcorp and Schnitzer West. The buyer was a client advised by Principal Global Investors. Bravern Office Commons comprises two high-rise towers and an adjacent parking lot. The Investcorp/Schnizter West venture developed the Class A buildings in 2007 as part of an $800 million mixed-use development known as The Bravern. In addition to the office component, the project contains two luxury residential towers and 305,000 square feet of retail space occupied by Neiman Marcus, Jimmy Choo, Hermes, Louis Vuitton and other luxury tenants. The office and multifamily components were not included in the deal. This sale marks the third large transaction Investcorp has been a part of this year. Last month, the firm sold its stake in Washington, D.C.'s Maritime Plaza office complex to Corporate Office Properties Trust for $119 million. The office complex, which was acquired by Investcorp in 2005 in a joint venture with Brickman Associates, comprises two Class A buildings totaling 362,000 square feet that are located adjacent to the Washington Naval Yard. …