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.

LNR Partners Sells Freedom Commerce Center for $27.8M

Miami Beach-based LNR Partners, a firm that specializes in defaulted commercial real estate loans, completed the sale of Freedom Commerce Center in Jacksonville, FL for $27.8 million this week. Crocker Partners, a real estate investment firm headquartered in Boca Raton, purchased the Baymeadows office park in a deal with seller representation by Cushman & Wakefield. According to a Jacksonville Business Journal article, LNR had taken title to the property in March 2011 after the previous owner, New York-based DRA Advisors, defaulted on its commercial mortgage-backed security loan.

Freedom Commerce Center is a a seven-building Southside office park south of Baymeadows Road and adjacent to Interstate 95. The nearly 752,000 square feet of space at Freedom Commerce Center was about 50% vacant at the time of sale, with major tenants including ING, the Social Security Administration's office of Hearings and Appeals, JP Morgan Chase and Strayer University. Freedom Commerce Center features include restaurant on-site and numerous other restaurants and stores in the immediate vicinity along Baymeadows Road.

"I think initially we'll be offering some very advantageous market deals, or better-than-market deals, to get the momentum going," said Louis Nutter, a senior vice president with CBRE in Jacksonville. Nutter is listing the property for Crocker Partners.. "[The owners are] going to spend some money on the common areas, upgrading the buildings themselves."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Fort Lauderdale's One Financial Plaza Sold for $44M

One Financial Plaza in Fort Lauderdale was sold to a joint venture between Crocker Partners and Westcity Realty for $44 million according to a Sun Sentinel article. The price is a 25% discount on the $58.7 million mortgage; in June 2009 the previous owner, One Financial Center LLC, agreed to a $64.2 million foreclosure judgement on the property. The developer had originally purchased the property for $65 million in 2007.

The 28 story property at 100 SE Third Ave. is home to the Tower Club and Regions Bank. At the time of sale the 236,000 square foot building was roughly 80% leased. One Financial Plaza was initially opened in 1972 and in 2009 construction was completed to rebuild a storm-grade curtain wall and modernize the facade in accordance with post-Hurricane Andrew building codes.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

KBS Acquires City Place Tower in West Palm Beach

KBS Real Estate Investment Trust II has completed the acquisition of City Place Tower in West Palm Beach, FL for $126.5 million, plus closing costs, according to a South Florida Business Journal article. City Place Office 1 LLC, a joint venture of co-developers Crocker Partners and the Related Companies, sold the $110 million property at $427 per square foot. According to a public filing, the building is expected to generate nearly $73 million in rent from 2011 to 2015.

"City Place Tower is the newest office tower in the Central Business District and the only one built to current ‘hurricane resistant’ code and to offer full back-up power capabilities," said Shannon Hill, KBS Realty Advisors senior vice president, director of acquisitions and dispositions.

City Place Tower includes 8,390 square feet of retail space, plus the first six floors of the building contain 270 parking spaces. The tower was 86% leased at the time of sale with major tenants including Intech (Janus Funds), Cleveland Clinic, Carlton Fields, Edwards Angell, Novak Druce, Shutts & Bowen and Regions Bank.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.