TORRANCE, CALIF. — Costco has acquired a 23-acre parcel in Torrance where it plans to expand one of its local stores. The sales price was not disclosed. The land is located at 2740 Lomita Blvd., between Crenshaw and Hawthorne boulevards. Costco plans to break ground on a new 164,000-square-foot store in the first quarter of 2015. It is slated for completion by the end of the year. The wholesale warehouse first opened its 148,000-square-foot Torrance location in 1998. Costco was represented by Steve McArthur of Northwest Atlantic Partners. The seller, the Rockefeller Group, was represented by Todd Taugner, David Prior and Frank Schulz of the Klabin Company.
The Phoenix metro office market continues to show signs of growth and recovery despite a high level of economic uncertainty that businesses around the country are experiencing today. Besides this being an election year, there is uncertainty over healthcare costs, the regulatory environment, minimum wage, taxes, government spending, entitlement programs, political gridlock, and on and on. The Phoenix metro area has absorbed 1.1 million square feet of office space year-to-date, bringing overall vacancy down to 18.6 percent, according to Colliers. Most of the larger, contiguous office spaces that are in demand by larger companies have been absorbed. However, uncertainty has caused postponement in investment, hiring, expansion and relocation, especially for small- to medium-sized businesses. Much of the vacant office space is composed of small, noncontiguous spaces that these firms would occupy. Certain submarkets enjoy vacancy rates in the single digits. Chandler’s Price Corridor and downtown Tempe have been consistently attractive to larger office users given their amenities and concentration of technology firms, financial institutions, software developers, insurance, and many other industries and institutions. Rental rates are beginning to inch up in these submarkets as supply is absorbed and new construction begins to take shape. Excessive economic uncertainty has kept the …
SOCIAL CIRCLE, GA. — Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the sale of General Mills Distribution Center, a 1.5 million-square-foot facility located in the I-20 corridor in Social Circle, about 44 miles east of Atlanta. The Class A facility is fully leased to General Mills. An affiliate of Welsh Property Trust purchased the asset from Rockefeller Group Development Corp. and Reus GM Inc. for an undisclosed price. Stewart Calhoun, David Meline, Samir Idris and Casey Masters of Cushman & Wakefield represented the sellers in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — White & Case LLP, a global law firm with operations in 26 countries, plans to relocate but will remain on Sixth Avenue. The firm has signed a 440,000-square-foot long-term lease at 1221 Avenue of the Americas, which is owned by The Rockefeller Group. The leased space includes the top floors in the building, as well as below-grade space. The firm will move to the 2.5 million-square-foot property in 2017. The tenant was represented by Ken Siegel, Tom Doughty and Lisa Kiell of Jones Lang LaSalle. The Rockefeller Group was represented by an in-house team led by Ed Guiltinan, along with a Cushman & Wakefield brokerage team led by John Cefaly. The lease brings total new leasing activity at 1221 Avenue of the Americas to more than 700,000 square feet over the past 18 months.
BOSTON — The Rockefeller Group Investment Management Corp. and Mitsubishi Estate New York have closed on the acquisition of 28 State Street in Boston from The Blackstone Group. The 40-story skyscraper features more than 570,000 square feet of office space and 7,000 square feet of retail at the northeast corner of State and Congress streets. The purchase price was not disclosed, but the Boston Business Journal reported the tower was last assessed at $177 million. Designed by Emery Roth & Sons and built in 1968, 28 State Street was completely renovated in the late 1990s. Enhancements were made to the building’s infrastructure and systems, lobby and outdoor spaces. Blackstone acquired the property in 2007.
The answer to that question is both yes and no. For some institutional investors and developers, perception is all that matters. And their perception of the metro Phoenix office market is “we’ll pass – for now.” Driving this perception is the 23 percent office vacancy rate reported by major brokerage firms in their recent quarterly market reports. But perception and reality are not always the same. Drilling down into the data reveals that certain submarkets have vacancy rates in the low single digits, and the size of available vacant space differs from what users in the market want. What cannot be determined from quarterly market reports is just how much space suffers from functional obsolescence. Numerous buildings sit vacant – even during good economic conditions – due to poor location, not enough parking, inadequate power, deferred maintenance and numerous other deficiencies. Most office brokers believe that at least 5 percent to 7 percent of vacant space is in obsolete buildings. Assuming that is true, why are good, quality buildings still 16 percent to 18 percent vacant? The majority of office vacancy is composed of smaller, non-contiguous, spaces. Due to lingering uncertainty in the overall economy, most small- to medium-size businesses …
SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Century Plaza II, a 99,126-square-foot, Class A office building in San Jose, has sold to Grosvenor Americas for an undisclosed sum. The six-story building is located at 560 S. Winchester. It is fully occupied by the Rockefeller Group Business Centers, Cushman & Wakefield and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.
SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Century Plaza II, a 99,126-square-foot, Class A office building in San Jose, has sold to Grosvenor Americas for an undisclosed sum. The six-story building is located at 560 S. Winchester. It is fully occupied by the Rockefeller Group Business Centers, Cushman & Wakefield and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A joint venture between New York City-based The Rockefeller Group and New York City-based Mitsubishi Estate New York has acquired a 347,608-square-foot office building, located at 1100 First St. NE in Washington, D.C., from Eastdil Secured. According to CoStar, the sale price was $180 million. The 12-story building is LEED Gold certified, and is 95 percent leased to tenants including the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Mathematica Policy Research. Both parties were self-represented in the transaction.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Rockefeller Group has partnered with Mitsubishi Estate New York to acquire 1101 K Street Northwest in Washington, D.C. A joint venture between JBG Companies and Rockwood Capital sold the Class A office for an undisclosed price. Built in 2006, the 10-story, 291,480-square-foot property is currently 80 percent occupied. The property features a two-story lobby, 9- to 10-foot ceiling heights, floor-to-ceiling windows, a rooftop deck, a fitness center, state-of-the-art building systems, underground parking and a restaurant, Brasserie Beck.