LOS ANGELES — An affiliate of KBS Cos. has acquired Los Angeles' trophy Union Bank Plaza from Hines for $208 million. KBS REIT II, the acquiring entity, is funding the purchase with a $119.3 million loan, which carries a 5-year term with interest-only payments and an interest rate fixed at 3.44 percent. The 40-story, 627,334-square-foot office tower is located at 445 S. Figueroa St. in the Bunker Hill section of downtown Los Angeles. It was constructed in 1967 and originally served as the West Coast headquarters for Connecticut General Life Insurance Co. Currently, Union Bank is the anchor tenant, occupying 55 percent of its leasable space through 2022. Overall occupancy is 96 percent. Amenities at the property include a two-level, 19,817-square-foot retail plaza, a large outdoor plaza and a 914-space parking garage. Michael Zietsman and David Doupé of the Los Angeles office of Jones Lang LaSalle represented Hines in the deal. KBS Capital Advisors represented KBS REIT II. “When we acquired Union Bank Plaza in 2005, it represented one of the largest investments made in our U.S. Office Value Added Fund,” said David Congdon, senior vice president and fund manager for Hines. “By renewing and expanding the property's anchor tenant, …
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BROKEN ARROW, OKLA. — The Haskell Company has completed construction for St. John Broken Arrow Hospital in Broken Arrow. The $100 million project included the construction of the six-story, 189,000-square-foot hospital as well as a four-story, 110,000-square-foot medical office building. The hospital's owner is Tulsa, Okla.-based St. John Health System. The hospital, which is located on 17 acres of the 68-acre development, currently contains 68 beds. It has the option for future expansion that includes an additional 24 beds on the sixth floor and 12 additional beds on each patient floor, which brings the hospital's potential capacity to 140 beds. The facility also contains a surgery suite that features six operating rooms, two procedure rooms and two shell operating rooms. Its emergency department features five fast-track rooms, two resuscitation rooms, nine treatment rooms and two triage rooms. The hospital also contains a full-service radiology department and the Tulsa Bone & Joint Associates orthopedic center. The medical office building is connected to the hospital. It provides a variety of services including primary care, laboratory work, cardiology, neurosurgery, podiatry, and colon and rectal surgery. The medical office building is already serving patients, and the hospital is expected to open this fall. In …
ORLANDO, FLA. — Liberty Property Trust has acquired a 713,585-square-foot warehouse/distribution facility in Orlando for $23.6 million. The property is located at 8201 Chancellor Drive in the South Orlando submarket. The property is fully leased to CVS Caremark Corp. David Murphy of CB Richard Ellis' (CBRE) Orlando office partnered with the CBRE Atlanta team of Frank Fallon, Chris Riley and Brian Budnick to represent the seller, Pacific Life Insurance Co. “This asset fit into our strategy of owning high-quality office and industrial properties,” said Stephen Whitley, senior vice president of Liberty Property Trust, in a statement. “We think this might be the best location for a distribution center in Florida, and it is leased to a great company.” According to CBRE, the trade of the CVS distribution facility marks the largest single industrial building sale in Central Florida in over 10 years. With the acquisition, Liberty's Orlando portfolio now totals more than 4.5 million square feet of space. — Coleman Wood
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CALIF. — Hyundai has announced the $150 million expansion of its Fountain Valley campus. Over the next two years the Korean automaker will more than double the size of its 220,000-square-foot headquarters. Plans call for the construction of more than 500,000 square feet of floor and garage space. Groundbreaking for the project, which will be seeking LEED certification, is expected in mid-2011, with completion to follow by the end of 2012. The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. expects the project to create as many as 1,530 construction jobs. Upon completion, the number of full-time employees at the campus will increase from 700 to approximately 1,400. “This investment ensures that Orange County will remain Hyundai's U.S. hub, with our headquarters in Fountain Valley, for the foreseeable future,” said John Krafcik, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America, in a statement. “The new building will gives us the flexibility to grow with our brand, reflect our modern design sensibility and showcase our commitment to sustainability.” In addition to its Fountain Valley campus, Hyundai has several facilities spread across Southern California. Its technical center is in Chino, and its logistic operations are kept in Costa Mesa. In addition, the company's …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — New York-based Paramount Group has acquired a trophy office building located within blocks of the White House. The building totals 11 stories and 190,000 square feet, and is located at 1899 Pennsylvania Ave. It is part of a three-building campus located along Pennsylvania Avenue between 18th and 19th streets. Law firm WilmerHale anchors the campus, leasing a vast majority of all three buildings including 87 percent of 1899 Pennsylvania. The property was originally built in 1915 and renovated in 2002. It features a floor-to-ceiling glass façade, below-grade parking, a marble lobby and a rooftop terrace. Paramount's near-term plans for the property include investing to achieve LEED-Gold certification. In a statement Paramount President and CEO Albert Behler said, “Trophy asset quality and location along with a superb tenant such as WilmerHale make this acquisition a winning combination that complements the rest of our portfolio.” The seller and purchase price were not released. — Coleman Wood
PRINCETON, N.J. — Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF) has arranged the $81.5 million refinancing of a Princeton office portfolio. The trophy property of the four-building portfolio is University Square. The Class A building totals 324,000 square feet and was completed in 2008. The other three properties are single-story office buildings totaling 132,000 square feet that are located at 100, 104 and 115 Campus Drive. The portfolio was 95 percent leased at the time of closing by a tenant roster that includes Blackrock, Axis Insurance and Otsuka. It benefits from a prime location at the intersection of Route 1 North and Alexander Road, which is adjacent to Carnegie Center and 2 miles east of downtown Princeton. Mike Tepedino, senior managing director of HFF's New York City office, and Jon Mikula, who holds the same position at the company's New Jersey office, represented the borrower, a joint venture between RXR Realty and affiliates of Marathon Asset Management. The financing carries a 5-year term with a fixed interest rate. The lenders were Cigna Investments and AIG Global Investment Group. In a statement Tepedino said, “University Square is one of the preeminent office assets in the Princeton market and was designed to capture the 'best …
DENVER — Denver-based UDR Inc. has announced its plans to acquire six multifamily communities for a total of $455.1 million. The properties include two communities in Southern California, two communities in the Boston metropolitan area, one community in Baltimore and one community to be built in suburban Boston. Three of the communities were developed and previously owned by The Hanover Company. They include 1818 Platinum Triangle, a 265-unit property located in Anaheim, Calif.; Ridge at Blue Hills, a 186-unit property located in Braintree, Mass.; and Domain Brewers Hill, a 180-unit community located in Baltimore. The Hanover Company is also responsible for the development project, a 240-unit community to be located in Stoughton that will be known as The Lodge at Stoughton. The other two properties in the deal include Marina Pointe, a 583-unit community located in Marina del Rey, Calif.; and Garrison Square, a 160-unit community located in Boston. Both California properties include amenities such as fitness centers, theater rooms and landscaped courtyards. Marina Pointe has a resort-style swimming pool and spa, while 1818 Platinum Triangle has a rooftop pool and outdoor kitchen with views of Angels Stadium and Disneyland. Marina Pointe is located adjacent to a multifamily community UDR …
TULSA, OKLA. — The leaders of auction firms Williams & Williams and Auction Network have announced the merger of the two companies. Dean Williams, co-founder and CEO of Williams & Williams, and Pam McKissick, founder of Auction Network and current president of Williams & Williams, have entered into a definitive agreement to form Williams, Williams & McKissick Holdings, which will oversee both auction companies. Tommy Williams, co-founder of Williams & Williams, will join Dean Williams and Pam McKissick on the new company's board of directors. Williams & Williams is one of the country's leading auction firms and operates in all 50 states. Auction Network is a 24-hour Internet television network that allows viewers to remotely participate in auctions in real time. The network is also in 18 million cable households. — Coleman Wood
OXNARD, CA — A joint venture between Kennedy Wilson, RECP/Urban Partners and Capri Capital Partners has acquired a luxury apartment community in Oxnard for $81.5 million. Serenade is a 400-unit complex located within the RiverPark master-planned community. It contains 14 buildings with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom residences. Amenities include a resort-style pool with a spa, a sun deck, barbecues and an outdoor fire pit. The community also contains a clubhouse with a large-screen television, and a fitness center with a cardio theater, weight machines, and areas for yoga and pilates. Serenade also contains a 1.3-acre public park on its grounds. The seller in the deal was California Urban Investment Partners. “Serenade is an institutional-quality, well-designed core asset that is located in a market with significant barriers to entry,” said Kenneth Lombard, a partner with Capri Capital Partners, in a statement. Development in Oxnard and Ventura County is subject to a number of slow growth initiatives, which prevents projects such as RiverPark from being developed for a minimum of 18 years without voter approval. The acquisition of Serenade marks the second major joint venture between Kennedy Wilson and RECP/Urban Partners, which is also the developer of Serenade. In …
LEAWOOD, KAN. — Leawood-based Mariner Real Estate Management has closed a deal with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) in which Mariner will acquire a stake in a limited liability company created by the FDIC that holds an approximately $760 million real estate loan portfolio. The portfolio contains approximately 1,100 loans from 20 failed banks. The portfolio contains acquisition and development loans for both commercial and residential properties. Under the terms of the agreement, Mariner will acquire a 40 percent managing member interest in the portfolio for approximately $52 million. It will fund the purchase through two of its funds, Mariner Real Estate Partners LLC and Mariner Real Estate Partners II LLC. The FDIC will control the other 60 percent. The government agency will provide the newly formed ownership entity 1:1 leverage through the issuance of approximately $105 million in non-recourse, zero percent interest financing and a $25 million advance facility for working capital needs. Chicago based Cohen Financial will provide the loan administration and asset management services for the deal. In a statement Cohen Executive Vice President Tim Mazzetti said, “We are very excited to be working with the joint venture on this transaction. We have been building out …