Radiant/Landmark wheels and deals with First Union REIT
New York-based Radiant Partners and Simsbury, Conn.-based Landmark Partners have entered into a joint venture to acquire a $205 million portfolio from Charlotte, N.C.-based First Union Real Estate Equity and Mortgage Investments. The portfolio includes 12 properties in three separate asset classes in locations across the United States. The deal is Radiant Partners' first acquisition and is a continuation of Landmark's strategy of re-capitalizing existing asset portfolios.
The Radiant/Landmark portfolio includes: four office properties, the 55 Public Square Building and CEI Building in Cleveland; North Valley Tech Center in Thornton, Colo.; and Two Rivers Business Center in Clarksville, Tenn.; two retail properties, Pecanland Mall in Monroe, La., and Westgate Shopping Center in Abilene, Texas; and six parking facilities in the Midwest and Southeast.
Plenty of sublease space, but Brookfield lands a big one
Like most any city riding the New Economy wave, New York has its share of sublease space, but one lucky developer, Brookfield Properties, has signed a gem of a prelease with Toronto- and New York-based CIBC World Markets. CIBC preleased the entire 1.2 million sq. ft. 300 Madison Ave. Class-A tower for 30 years. The transaction is valued at $800 million.
Brookfield plans to break ground on the 35-story tower this spring with construction expected to take about 30 months. When CIBC World Markets moves into the building in 2004, 300 Madison will house up to 3,000 employees, bringing all of CIBC's New York staff under one roof for the first time. The company's offices are now spread among four Manhattan office buildings, including space in Brookfield's One World Financial Center that was recently forward-leased to New York-based Lehman Brothers.
On the sublease side, locally based Insignia/ESG represented owner Orda Management, also of New York, in the sublease of 113,235 sq. ft. at 225-233 Park Ave. South. Institutional Investor, New York, subleased the space that was originally taken by dot-com casualty MarchFirst.
Institutional Investor will occupy floors six through nine in 225 Park Ave. South as well as a to-be-determined additional floor at 233 Park Ave. South. The company is vacating 82,000 sq. ft. it occupies in its namesake building at 488 Madison Ave.
Approximately 150,000 sq. ft. of space originally taken by Chicago-based MarchFirst remains on the market.
Speaking of giant preleases: Reliant kick-starts 1000 Main
Century Development of Houston will begin construction of 1000 Main, a 1.4 million sq. ft. downtown Houston office tower, with a 525,000 sq. ft. prelease in hand. Reliant Resources Inc. will move its headquarters to 1000 Main, which is 70% preleased.
Century serves as general partner and developer for the Main/Lamar Partnership, which will own the building. The developer expects construction to take 24 months, with initial occupancy beginning in March 2003. Century Development also will relocate to 1000 Main.
San Francisco's 701 Gateway goes for $317 per sq. ft.
HMS Gateway Office LP, a partnership between Houston-based Hines and The Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds, New York, recently sold 701 Gateway Blvd. in South San Francisco to Consolidated Farms, a group of Bay Area investors. Consolidated Farms paid $54 million for the 170,000 sq. ft., multi-tenant office building, which is fully leased.
A team of brokers from both the local office of Los Angeles-based CB Richard Ellis and locally based BT Commercial Real Estate represented both the buyer and seller.
HMS Gateway developed the building in 1999. The partnership has developed more than 600,000 sq. ft. within the Gateway Commercial Center. HMS Gateway also is developing a 135,000 sq. ft. Class-A building adjacent to 701 Gateway and The Cove, a 600,000 sq. ft. office and hotel mixed-use campus on the South San Francisco waterfront.
Prentiss, Brandywine trade East Coast properties
Dallas-based Prentiss Properties Trust and Newtown Square, Pa.-based Brandywine Realty Trust have entered into a property exchange agreement whereby Prentiss will exchange all of its assets in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey for Brandywine's assets in Northern Virginia.
The Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware properties currently owned by Prentiss consist of 1.6 million sq. ft. in 30 buildings; a 206,000 sq. ft. office development, of which the first phase of 103,000 sq. ft. is under construction; and 6.9 acres of developable land. The total estimated valuation of Prentiss' properties is $220 million.
Brandywine's Northern Virginia holdings consist of 657,389 sq. ft. in four buildings along with joint-venture interests in two additional buildings totaling 451,561 sq. ft. The estimated valuation of Brandywine's Northern Virginia portfolio is $132 million. The balance of the amount paid to Prentiss will be in the form of secured debt assumed by Brandywine, as well as cash.
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