NEW YORK CITY — Shutterstock has expanded its lease at the Empire State Building for an additional 25,300 square feet. The global provider of commercial imagery and music will now occupy 105,300 square feet at the building. The company’s headquarters has occupied 80,000 square feet at the building since 2013. Additional tenants at the Empire State Building are LinkedIn, Bulova, Coty, Global Brands Group, HNTB, Expedia, Skanska and Media General Digital. Paul Ippolito of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the tenant, while Ryan Kass, Fred Posniak and Shane Ursini provided in-house representation for the landlord, Empire State Realty Trust Inc., in the transaction.
LOS ANGELES — Stockdale Capital Partners has acquired a 140,054-square-foot medical office building in Los Angeles for an undisclosed sum. The building is located at 2100 W. 3rd St. The space was built in two phases between 1991 and 2007. It includes medical office, laboratory and general office space. Notable tenants at the property include UCLA, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, ViraCor-IBT Laboratories and the House Ear Clinic. Bob Safai, Matt Case and Brad Schlaak of Madison Partners represented the seller, a joint venture between Watt Investment Partners and Rockpoint Group, in this transaction.
STOCKTON, CALIF. — Hanley Investment Group has arranged the sale of Hammer Plaza, a 20,388-square-foot retail center located at 2701 E. Hammer Lane in Stockton. A Tracy, Calif.-based private investor acquired the property from a Stockton-based investor for $1.4 million. Built in 1980 and situated on 1.5 acres, the property was 55 percent vacant at the time of sale. Eric Vu of Hanley Investment Group represented the seller and buyer in the transaction.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Stockbridge Capital Group and Trinity Capital Advisors have sold Toringdon Office Park, a 519,698-square-foot office park in Charlotte, to an unnamed buyer for $114.4 million. The six-building park is located at 3420, 3430, 3440, 3426, 3436 and 3530 Toringdon Way in the Ballantyne submarket, about 10 miles south of Charlotte’s Central Business District. The buildings were constructed between 2001 and 2008. The park is 87 percent leased. Notable tenants include Selective Insurance, Crown Castle, Heartland Payment Systems and TIAA-CREF. HFF’s Ryan Clutter represented the seller in the transaction. HFF’s Travis Anderson and Cory Fowler also arranged a $79 million acquisition loan through CIBC Capital Markets for the buyer. Clutter notes this was the first core office asset to be marketed and sold in the Ballantyne area since its inception more than 18 years ago. “The Toringdon transaction is a compelling sale for the Charlotte market as larger, non-CBD office trades have been less frequent in most U.S. office markets since the downturn in the economy,” he says. “Institutional capital was drawn to the compelling growth of the area, the considerable rise in rents and the strong leasing activity currently taking place in the park.” San Francisco-based Stockbridge …
RESTON, VA. — Comstock Partners LLC has signed a roughly 10,000-square-foot lease with Farmers Restaurant Group (FRG) for restaurant space at Reston Station, a transit-oriented, mixed-use development located in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Reston. FRG’s Founding Farmers, an American eatery serving farm-to-table food, plans to open its new restaurant at Reston Station in late 2016. Currently under construction, Reston Station will serve as the gateway to the Wiehle Reston-East Metro Station and the terminus of Phase I of Metro’s new Silver Line.
SPRINGFIELD, MASS. — China Railway Rolling Stock Corp. has broken ground on its 200,000-square-foot facility in Springfield. Situated on 40 acres, the $60 million facility will be used to manufacture 284 subway cars for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). MBTA awarded the China-based company a $566 million contract to supply care for Boston’s Red and Orange subway. The company purchased the former Westinghouse-owned land for $12 million. China Railway Rolling Stock Corp. was recently formed through a merger between China North Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry Corp. and the China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corp. The company plans to begin production next year and deliver its first cars in 2018.
CHICAGO — Blackstone Real Estate Partners VIII LP and Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: BEE) have entered into a definitive agreement in which Blackstone will acquire all outstanding Strategic common stock, in a transaction totaling approximately $6 billion. Blackstone will acquire the shares in cash at a share price of $14.25. The transaction will also include all outstanding membership units of Strategic’s subsidiary, Strategic Hotels Funding LLC, for the same cash price. “We believe this transaction capitalizes on our unique portfolio, strong asset management platform and continued operating outperformance over the past several years,” said Raymond “Rip” Gellein, chairman and CEO of Strategic Hotels. “The board thoroughly considered various alternatives over the course of the past few years, and this all-cash offer from Blackstone creates significant stockholder value with a high degree of execution certainty.” The transaction is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2016, and is contingent upon customary closing conditions, including the approval of Strategic Hotel’s stockholders, who will vote on the transaction on a date to be announced. Strategic Hotels’ board of directors has unanimously approved the merger agreement. The offer price represents a premium of approximately 13 percent over the unaffected intra-day …
Despite recent volatility in the international stock markets, commercial real estate performance remains high, according to a recent report by Marcus & Millichap. The recent devaluation of China’s currency, coupled with the collapse of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, struck U.S. equity markets, driving down the S&P 500 by nearly 10 percent in one week and pushing the S&P’s Volatility Index to its highest level since 2011. Commercial real estate, however, the report says, continues to outperform due to increased investment, a tightening unemployment rate and generational trends. According to Marcus & Millichap’s special report, the U.S. economy has added nearly 1.5 million jobs through June of this year, and falling gas prices and rising wage pressure will continue to increase discretionary income. Additionally, rising consumption and emergence of Internet retail will boost industrial demand for storage and supply-chain management in major hubs and local markets. Vacancy rate nationwide for industrial properties has reached its tightest level since 2000, according to the report, contracting to 6.9 percent on steady quarterly absorption in excess of 50 million square feet. Office vacancy, too, edged lower to 15.3 percent in the second quarter, as the sector benefited from still-limited construction. The retail vacancy …
PRINCETON, N.J. and NEW YORK CITY — Chambers Street Properties (NYSE: CSG) has agreed to buy Gramercy Property Trust Inc. (NYSE: GPT) in an all-stock deal valued at about $5.7 billion. The merger will create the largest industrial and office net lease REIT, according to the firms. The Board of Trustees of Chambers Street and the Board of Directors of Gramercy have unanimously approved the merger agreement and the transaction. Per the agreement, Gramercy shareholders will receive 3.18 shares of Chambers Street for each share of Gramercy common stock they own. Upon closing, Chambers Street shareholders will own about 56 percent and Gramercy shareholders will own about 44 percent of the combined company. The stock-for-stock transaction is expected to be tax free to shareholders. The combined portfolio includes 288 properties and 52 million square feet of space in major markets throughout the U.S. and Europe. About 85 percent of the merged company’s real estate assets will be in target markets such as New York/New Jersey, Dallas, Baltimore/Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and South Florida. The portfolio will have an average lease term of more than seven years, with 43 percent of the tenants being investment grade. “This strategic combination is the …
LOS ANGELES – A local private investor has purchased a 31,242-square-foot building in Los Angeles that is net leased to Stock Building Supply Holdings for $15.7 million. The building is located at 3860 Grand View Blvd. Stock Building Supply had occupied the building for more than 20 years before deciding to sell the property in late 2014. The lease was restructured into a 15-year term after the building was purchased. This space is the builder’s West Coast flagship property. Stock Building Supply was represented by Chris Sands of Sands Investment Group.