Highwoods Buys One Alliance Center in Atlanta for $143.4M

Raleigh-based Highwoods Properties, a publicly traded REIT, announced today that it had purchased One Alliance Center in Atlanta for $143.4 million, or $259 per square foot. The acquisition means that the company now owns both One and Two Alliance Center, having acquired Two Alliance Center last September for $146.7 million from Tishman Speyer. Dallas-based mortgage servicer ORIX Capital Markets sold One Alliance Center in a deal marketed by CBRE. In March, previous owner Tishman Speyer negotiated the transfer of ownership in One Alliance to ORIX, according to an Atlanta Business Chronicle article.

"The acquisition of One Alliance more than doubles our presence in Buckhead where we now wholly-own over one million square feet of contiguous Class A office space," said Ed Fritsch, president and chief executive officer of Highwoods. "This is a rapidly tightening submarket and we forecast leasing at One Alliance to exceed 93% within three years. In addition, we see opportunities to 'Highwoodtize' the property and expect to garner operating and leasing synergies by owning both Alliance Center towers through shared parking, shared amenities, shared vendor agreements and customer expansions to name a few."

The 20-story One Alliance building was 67% leased at the time of sale. Both towers stand over Georgia 400, an artery for intown office workers to the Atlanta suburbs, and across from Phipps Plaza, a ritzy mall owned by Simon Property Group.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Colonial Place Buildings in Tampa Sold for $56M

Raleigh, North Carolina-based Highwoods Properties, a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT), announced this week that it had purchased Colonial Place I and II in Tampa, Florida for $56 million. While the seller's information was not disclosed, CBRE is known to have marketed Colonial Place I and II for lease.

Ed Fritsch, President and CEO of Highwoods Properties, said, "This acquisition further enhances the strength of our position in the highly desirable Westshore submarket where the majority of our Tampa assets are concentrated. It also creates the opportunity for value-creation through growing occupancy. We are also excited about "Highwoodtizing" and repositioning these assets, as we did with 4200 Cypress where we spent $2.4 million in building improvements, and rebranding this entire block in Westshore with our approximately 1,300 linear feet of frontage on I-275. This transaction is immediately accretive to FFO and reflects the synergies that will be achieved among these three properties through the sharing of staffing, procurement and parking resources."

The Class A office properties were 87% leased at the time of sale and include 371,726 rentable square feet of space with an adjacent covered parking garage. Highwoods noted that it will rebrand the two Colonial Place assets, along with 4200 Cypress, as Meridian One, Two and Three. According to a Triangle Business Journal article, Highwoods assumed no new debt in connection with the deal. It is funding the acquisition with proceeds from its ATM program, proceeds from its recent sale of other buildings, and borrowings under its revolving credit facility.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Tishman Speyer Sells Two Alliance Center for $146.7M

Raleigh-based Highwoods Properties, Inc. announced that it had purchased Two Alliance Center in the Buckhead submarket of Atlanta for $146.7 million. According to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, real estate developer Tishman Speyer sold the iconic Buckhead office tower to Highwoods, which plans to spend about $800,000 in renovations to improve the building.

Ed Fritsch, president and chief executive officer of Highwoods, stated, "This investment garners us one of the best Class A office buildings in the southeast, a new building with a well-diversified rent roll that we acquired at a 10% discount to replacement cost. The building has an average remaining lease term of ten years and no lease expirations until 2017, when less than 24,000 square feet is scheduled to expire."

Completed in 2009, the 29-story, 492,000 square foot office tower at 3500 Lenox Road NE was designed by Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates, Inc. Two Alliance Center is within walking distance to both Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square Mall, two upscale malls, as well as a number of luxury hotels, including the Ritz-Carlton and the Mandarin Oriental. The property was roughly 90% leased at the time of sale with major tenants including Novelis Inc. and Marsh & McLennan Cos.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Highwoods Properties Acquires PPG Place

PPG Place in Pittsburgh, a six-building Class A office complex, has a new owner this week as Highwoods Properties acquired the property from Mark Associates LP, an affiliate of The Hillman Company, for $214.1 million according to a CoStar Group report. Highwoods will open an office in PPG Place and handle all onsite management functions and CB Richard Ellis will run point on leasing.

"We are thrilled to enter the dynamic Pittsburgh market through the acquisition of the iconic PPG Place office complex," said Ed Fritsch, President and CEO Highwoods Properties. "Pittsburgh has an enviable economy, and is home to eight Fortune 500 companies, two of which are headquartered in PPG Place. Unemployment is equal to that of Washington, well below the national average, and the city boasts a highly skilled, highly dedicated work force."

PPG Place takes up approximately 1.54 million square feet in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh and includes six towers on a three-block site. The buildings were 81% leased at the time of sale with major tenants including PPG Industries, H.J. Heinz, Deloitte & Touche, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, and Ernst & Young.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.