Rosemont Buys Houston's Kirkwood Tower

Rosemont Realty, the Santa Fe-based commercial real estate agency, announced this week that it had purchased Kirkwood Tower in Houston, Texas. A joint venture between Denver-based Amstar and Dallas-based Frontier Equity sold the 286,000-square foot Class A 15-story tower for an undisclosed price. HFF's H. Dan Miller, senior managing director, Robert Williamson, senior managing director and Martin T. Hogan, director, brokered the transaction, with assistance from Wesley Hightower, real estate analyst. Susan Hill, senior managing director with HFF, assisted in financing the project.

Amstar, in partnership with Frontier Equity, acquired the 70% leased property in 2012 off-market with the objective of stabilizing the property through an aggressive leasing and capital expense campaign. During the partnership's ownership, more than $1.2 million of renovations were completed including upgrades to the common areas and curtain wall. Occupancy increased to more than 90% to a roster of high quality tenants, some of which have been in the building since construction.

"The addition of Kirkwood continues our overall strategy of expanding in key markets where we have a substantial presence," said Michael Mahony, chief executive officer of Rosemont Realty. "Adding Kirkwood to our portfolio bolsters our existing footprint in Houston, where we have the support and infrastructure in place to provide first class, full-service asset and property management, and leasing services."

"Kirkwood was a textbook value-add investment for Amstar where a property in need of proactive management and aggressive leasing was identified in a fundamentally improving market," said Amstar Managing Director Daniel Cohen. "Frontier was instrumental to our success and a great partner to work with from beginning to end. Now we are able to sell at a time when demand for stable office investments is arguably at peak levels."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

KBS REIT III Buys McEwen Building for $40M

KBS Real Estate Investment Trust III announced this week that it had completed the purchase of The McEwen Building in Cool Springs, Tennessee from Denver-based Amstar for $40 million. The Nashville Business Journal first reported on the sale early last month, after KBS disclosed its plans to buy the 175,000-square-foot building in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Amstar was represented by Don Albright of Cushman & Wakefield/Cornerstone in Nashville, while KBS represented itself in the transaction.

"From an asset perspective, The McEwen Building 'out-leased' several competitor buildings due to its quality, superior amenities and proximity to Interstate 65," said Stephen Evans, KBS Mid-Atlantic Region senior vice president and director of acquisitions and dispositions. "From a location perspective, the area has had positive net absorption for the past 10 years, and office vacancy stands at six percent and unemployment is low at seven percent. The building and the market have all the characteristics we are seeking."

The McEwen Building is a LEED-designed six-story office building 15 miles south of downtown Nashville. Amstar, in partnership with Southern Land Company, began developing the property in 2008 on a 10.7-acre site at the intersection of West McEwen Drive and Mallory Lane. The property is currently 97% leased to credit tenants, including Renal Advantage, Mars Petcare, Raymond James, Carlisle Companies, Inc. and Cisco Systems, Inc.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Hilton Alexandria Sold for $121M

Crow Holdings, a privately-held firm based in Dallas, Texas, has purchased the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center for $121 million according to a GlobeSt.com article. Crow Holdings, which manages real estate investments for the Trammell Crow family, bought the 30-story, 496-unit Hilton from Denver-based real estate investment manager Amstar. Amstar originally bought the property in June 2006 for $93.2 million.

Amstar launched a comprehensive $9.3 million renovation on the property during 2006. After the renovation and having improved operations, Amstar refinanced the hotel during June 2007, allowing a full return of equity to its investors. Davidson Hotel Company will reportedly continue to manage the hotel. Adam Minnick, executive director of Amstar, said: "The Hilton Alexandria has been a case study of Amstar's hotel strategy. Acquiring the property at an attractive basis, improving the physical asset and streamlining the operations were key enablers of adding value, while the refinancing allowed our investors to hold the asset until BRAC became a reality and catalyzed the sale."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.