Intercontinental Buys Canal Park Complex for $304M

Boston-based Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation, a national real estate investment, development and management firm, has purchased the Canal Park portfolio, a recently renovated office and retail campus in East Cambridge, for $304 million. The property was sold by Beacon Capital, which placed the campus up for sale in 2015, expecting it to fetch bids of up to $315 million. Beacon originally acquired the property in 2014 via separate transactions totaling $169, then invested another $11 million in upgrades to reposition the property as a Class A office campus.

"This investment represents every characteristic we seek in a 'core' investment: primary market, high quality construction, transit friendly location, and high quality occupancy," said Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation CEO Peter Palandjian in a press release. "Plus, this investment is directly in our 'backyard.' We have invested successfully in Cambridge going back 5 decades." Intercontinental bought the 426,000-square-foot complex through the firm’s United States Real Estate Investment Fund, a $5.6 billion fund that invests in a range of commercial properties across the country.

Built between 1987 and 1999, Canal Park overlooks the Charles River with easy access to Harvard Square, Downtown Boston, the Back Bay, and within a block of an MBTA station that connects to North Station in Boston. The three-building complex, most recently renovated in 2015, includes:

One Canal Park is a 4-story, 101,128 square foot building with 85,460 square feet of office space and 15,668 square feet of retail space;

Two Canal Park is a 5-story, 202,567 square foot building with 197,397 square feet of office space and 9,170 square feet of retail space; and

Ten Canal Park is a 6-story 118,035 square foot building with 107,650 square feet of office space and 10,385 square feet of retail space.

The property was 97% leased when it was put up for sale, with major tenants including Blackbaud, CarGurus, HubSpot, Kayak, Philips and Symantec.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

City Center Bellevue Sold for $229M

American Assets Trust, a self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT), announced this week that it had entered into an agreement to acquire City Center Bellevue in Bellevue, Washington for approximately $229 million. The seller, Beacon Capital, listed the property earlier this month with Eastdil. Full terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but the transaction is being structured to accommodate a possible tax deferred exchange pursuant to the provisions of Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and applicable state revenue and taxation code sections.

"The greater Seattle area, Bellevue in particular, has been a target investment region for the Company and its predecessor for many years. We are extremely pleased with the pending acquisition of City Center Bellevue and our eventual entry into this highly constrained market. We expect that our efforts will enable us to continue to expand our presence in the area," said John W. Chamberlain, American Assets Trust's Chief Executive Officer and President.

City Center Bellevue consists of approximately 497,000 square feet over 27 floors, located in the heart of Bellevue's Central Business District at 500 108th Avenue NE, and is currently managed by Wright Runstad & Company. American Assets expects that the property will be roughly 92% leased at the time of closing with major tenants including HDR Engineering, Intelius, Sucker Punch Productions, Global Scholar, Cisco Systems and Morgan Stanley.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Tishman Picks up VA Office Tower for $205M

Beacon Capital Partners sold a Class A office tower in Arlington, Virginia this week to Tishman Speyer for $205 million, or $523 per square foot, according to a CoStar report. While no brokers were disclosed for Tishman, Beacon Capital was represented by Cassidy Turley Commercial Real Estate in the deal. Tishman said that they plan to launch improvements on the property including renovations to the lobby and elevators along with adding a fitness center.

The 19-story property at 1300 N. 17th Street was built in 1980 in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor outside of DC and features a full service cafe and five levels of underground parking. "We're very pleased with this opportunity to increase our presence by acquiring this attractive property in one of the nation's strongest office submarkets," said Tishman Speyer Co-CEOs Jerry Speyer and Rob Speyer. "With the availability of convenient, Class A space in short supply, Tishman Speyer is well positioned to take advantage of the emerging local marketplace opportunities."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.