RedSky Buys Esperanté for Record $126M

Brooklyn-based RedSky Capital, a real estate investment firm under the leadership of Benjamin Bernstein and Benjamin Stokes, has paid $125.75 million for the Esperanté Corporate Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. The office tower was sold by Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers and Crocker Partners, which bought Esperanté for $71 million in 2013 when the property was only 60% leased; the sale at $491 per square foot is a record high for Esperanté. CBRE arranged the deal and found the buyer, 222 Lakeview LLC, which is controlled by RedSky and is an affiliate of a RedSky/JZ LLC.

“Downtown West Palm Beach is a dynamic market, with growing demand for high quality corporate quarters. We were able to add significant value at Esperanté, backfilling space while the market was in recovery,” Angelo Bianco, Crocker Partners partner, said in a statement.

Built in 1989, Esperanté Corporate Center at 222 Lakeview Avenue is one of only three Class A office properties in the market, and was the first in West Palm Beach to achieve the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) EB Gold O&M certification. Cornerstop and Crocker recently completed a $8 million renovation of the property to include WiFi-enabled common areas, a 24/7 lobby attendant, valet parking and a six-story atrium ideal for corporate events. The 20-story building was 98% leased at the time of sale with major tenants including Cole Scott Kissane, Bank of America and the headquarters for Chatham Lodging Trust and Island Hospitality.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

JV Building New Seattle Office Tower

Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers has formed a joint venture with Seattle-based development company, Schnitzer West, LLC, on behalf of an unnamed institutional client to build a new 36-story office tower in Seattle's Central Business District. Simultaneously with the joint venture formation, Cornerstone and Schnitzer West closed a $225 million construction loan with Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies and Bank of the Ozarks, arranged by Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. The tower, dubbed Madison Centre, was designed by Seattle-based NBBJ and features a glass rotunda, which anchors an urban environment framed by the historic U.S. Federal Courthouse, a public green, and the Seattle Public Library.

"Seattle's solid economic fundamentals, strong job market and appeal from a lifestyle perspective have created an ideal environment for a thriving office market. The optimal location and sophisticated design have positioned Madison Centre to become one of the most iconic office developments in Seattle, making it a highly attractive investment for our client," said John Kennedy, western regional director of Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers. "We are excited to partner with Schnitzer, whose excellent track record and depth of local market knowledge will help us successfully bring this development to market."

"Madison Centre is a leading-edge office work and collaboration environment designed to enhance productivity and redefine tenant and employee expectations in the Seattle CBD," added Pam Hirsch, managing partner, investment and development, at Schnitzer West. "We are very pleased to align with Cornerstone on this game changing investment."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

101 Independence Center Sold for $108M

A corporation affiliated with Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, one of the largest global real estate investment managers and member of the MassMutual Financial Group, picked up the 20-story 101 Independence Center office tower in uptown Charlotte for $107.75 million this month, according to public records. HFF orchestrated the sale on behalf of KBS Real Estate Investment Trust and asset manager Gramercy Property Trust Inc., which originally put the property on the market in December 2014 seeking to get $120 million for the building. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"101 Independence Center received very strong interest from the marketplace attracting a deep bench of investors. Charlotte has truly evolved into a dynamic market for institutional capital," said Ryan Clutter, senior managing director with HFF. "Charlotte has truly evolved into a dynamic market for institutional capital. Given the strong investor appeal of Charlotte currently, we anticipate a very active selling environment through the remainder of 2015 with many notable institutions seeking quality investments in the city."

Located at 101 N. Tryon St., the building houses about 565,000 square feet of office space and is 83% leased, with Bank of America as the largest tenant. Northeastern University opened a satellite campus in the building in 2011. The construction of the building was completed in 1983 and sits on the site of the former site of the Independence Building at Charlotte's Independence Square.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Prudential Sells Mission Ridge Complex

Prudential Real Estate Investors, the real estate investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc., sold the Mission Ridge office complex in Mission Viejo, California to Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, a subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, on behalf of an institutional investor, purchased the asset free and clear of existing debt. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, experts familiar with the Orange County market valued the Mission Ridge deal in the mid-$50-million range, according to a Los Angeles Times article. HFF marketed the property on behalf of Prudential Real Estate Investors.

"In the last real estate cycle we had the perfect storm of the subprime meltdown, a lot of new construction coming online and then the national recession," said real estate broker Ryan Gallagher of HFF. "This time we have a very balanced recovery from a tenant perspective."

Originally developed in 2000, the two-building Mission Ridge Class A office campus totals 231,065 square feet of rentable space. The property was 90% leased at the time of sale with major tenants including Ensign Facility Services, McAfee, Pulte Homes, Wells Fargo, Charles Schwab and Premier Office Centers.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.