John Hancock Buys One South Wacker for $344M

John Hancock, the U.S. division of Manulife Financial Corporation, announced the purchase of One South Wacker in Chicago's Central Business District's West Loop, a $344 million acquisition. The 40 story Class A office building was sold by Norfolk, VA-based Harbor Group International, which originally purchased the tower in December 2012 for $221 million, and implemented complete property renovations in 2014. Terms of the deal and representation were not disclosed.

"One South Wacker represents the type of high quality assets we acquire in key gateway markets where we do business," said Kevin Adolphe, President & Chief Executive Officer of Manulife Real Estate, which operates as John Hancock Real Estate in the U.S. "The acquisition is consistent with our strategy to seek out complementary, core office towers that can provide long term value for our global portfolio. We are proud to strengthen our commitment to the Chicago market with the acquisition of One South Wacker." Other Chicago properties owned or managed by John Hancock include 55 West Monroe, 191 N. Wacker, 200 S. Wacker and 150 N. Michigan Avenue.

One South Wacker was originally constructed in 1982 and designed by Murphy/Jahn, Inc. Architects (now JAHN), inspired by Gothic cathedrals with buttress-like setbacks and arch patterns in black glass. The building's central section has three small private atriums at the top of each setback, each encased with pink glass. The lobby connects Wacker Drive and Madison Street, and is unusual for its dark black color. Helmut Jahn's original design was altered in a remodeling project around 2000. The property was 86% leased at the time of sale to unlisted tenants. Anecdotally, the tower was also featured in the Daft Punk music video "Burnin" - a loose take on the film "Towering Inferno".

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Harbor Group Sells Broadway Tower for $250M

Harbor Group International, the Norfolk, Virginia-based commercial real estate investment firm, has sold 1412 Broadway in New York City for $250 million to various entities controlled by Isaac Chetrit. The sale price marks a windfall as Harbor Group originally purchased the property from MHP Real Estate Services in December 2010 for $150 million, with another $10 million invested in property renovations. CBRE represented Harbor Group in the transaction; terms of the deal were not disclosed. Harbor Group also recently entered contract to buy the 361,000-square-foot office building One Exchange Plaza in the Financial District from Broad Street Development for $157 million, as The Real Deal reported Monday.

"Harbor Group did a tremendous job repositioning the asset to benefit from the escalating demand in the area from fashion and TAMI tenants," said Darcy Stacom, Vice Chairman and Partner at CBRE Group, Inc.

"When we purchased the property, our investment thesis was based on the projected rapid growth of the Times Square submarket," Harbor Group President T. Richard Litton said in a release. "Our predictions proved accurate, as the market lived up to our expectations."

The 24-story, 415,135-square-foot office tower was 97% leased at the time of sale, with major tenants including Jones New York, One Step Up, Escada USA, OuterStuff, Securitas Security Services and Provident Bank. The tower is one block from the Times Square subway and close to Penn Station, Grand Central Terminal, and the Port Authority. The buyer has retained CBRE to handle leasing at the building.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

100 Plaza Drive in Secaucus Sold for $47M

Hartz Mountain Industries, Inc. announced this week that it had sold 100 Plaza Drive in Secaucus, New Jersey for $47 million to Virginia-based Harbor Group International. CBRE's New York Institutional Group represented Hartz in the transaction and arranged the sale, which follows the June purchase of 200 Plaza Drive in Harmon Meadow by Gaia Real Estate for $56 million, according to a NorthJersey.com report.

"The 100 Plaza Drive acquisition provides Harbor Group International with a well located, recently renovated office building with excellent access to Midtown and an unmatched amenity base," said Jeffrey Dunne of CBRE. "Harbor Group International was attracted to the Property's strong credit tenancy and minimal near term rollover, and should fare well with the investment."

The property is located within the Harmon Meadow complex, a 4.4 million square foot mixed-use development, which includes numerous tenant amenities such as restaurants, parking, hotels and retail – all within walking distance of the property. Developed by Hartz in 1981, the 265,000-square-foot building at 100 Plaza Drive is primarily occupied by NBA Entertainment and Scholastic Corp., the company said in a news release. Hartz renovated 100 Plaza Drive between 2008 and 2011, with improvements including a new facade, roof and air-conditioning-heating system, an upgraded four-story atrium and entryways along with a newly constructed adjacent parking deck.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Chicago's Burnham Center Sold for $95M

Harbor Group International announced that it had sold The Burnham Center in downtown Chicago for $94.63 million to the Shidler Group. Terms of the deal for the 579,778-square-foot office tower were not disclosed.

"When Harbor Group invests in a property, we have a business plan that... will allow us to sell the property in a four- to six-year period," said T. Richard Litton Jr., the company's president. "Our goal was to improve leasing on the larger floor plate, lower floor portion of the building. We generally succeeded in our business plan on the lower floors and felt that market conditions warranted a sale at this time."

The 22-story historic building at 111 West Washington Street was originally built in 1914 and designed by Daniel H. Burnham. Major tenants include Flashpoint, Cook County and GrubHub. Harbor Group originally purchased the property in March 2007 for $79.5 million.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

CNN DC Headquarters Sold for $107M

Norfolk-based Harbor Group International announced this week that it had acquired 820 First Street, NE in Washington, DC for $107 million from Baltimore-based Greenebaum & Rose Associates. Harbor Group International's investment partners in the property include affiliates of Capstone Equities and Image Capital. Cassidy Turley served as the seller's broker for the transaction.

"Washington D.C. has always been one of the strongest markets for investment real estate," said Jordan Slone, Chairman & CEO of Harbor Group International. “The abundance of government jobs in the area keeps the economy stimulated. Unemployment and office vacancy rates outperform most other metropolitan areas in the United States.”

Designed by Koubek Architects, the building was constructed in 1990 and is located across from Union Station, Washington, D.C.'s largest transportation hub, in the Capitol Hill North submarket. The 11-story, 298,533 square foot Class A office building houses the Washington DC Bureau of CNN, and is 99% leased with other tenants including Accenture and various entities of the United States Government.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Harbor Group Acquires Nashville Portfolio for $130.5M

Harbor Group International (HGI) announced this week that it had acquired a four-property multifamily portfolio in Nashville, TN for $130.5 million. According to the Nashville Business Journal, affiliates of Norfolk, Va.-based Harbor Group International purchased the four apartment communities from a Lehman Brothers subsidiary in a deal brokered for the seller by Jones Lang LaSalle. The portfolio includes:

Cherry Creek, 627 units
Arbors of Brentwood, 346 units
Cambridge at Hickory Hollow, 360 units
Preakness, 260 units

"The acquisition of the Portfolio continues HGI's proven strategy of acquiring well-located apartment portfolios with value add and operational upside in improving markets," said T. Richard Litton, Jr., President of HGI. "All four properties have occupancy levels above 90% and are poised to realize increased revenues as we implement our capital program and the Nashville market continues to improve," he further commented.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.