Sumitomo Buys Miami Tower for $220M

Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA), the largest subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, one of the world’s leading traders of goods and services, has closed on the purchase of Miami Tower in the city's central business district for $220 million. HFF marketed the property on behalf of the seller, LaSalle Investment Management’s LaSalle Income & Growth Fund V, and procured the buyer. The deal more than doubles LaSalle's investment on the office building, which it purchased in December 2010 for $105.5 million from Wealth Capital Management, Inc. Prior to that, the building was purchased in 2003 for $85 million by Blue Capital.

Robert Obringer, vice president of Sumitomo Corporation of Americas Commercial Real Estate Unit, sees solid value in this latest acquisition. "We are excited to add Miami Tower to our portfolio of commercial properties here in the U.S.," explains Mr. Obringer. "As part of our constant management of assets, we are always looking for opportunities that will maximize return on investment, and this property offers a strong upside potential for in-place cash flow and the opportunity to increase value."

"Miami Tower is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the exciting renaissance of the Miami CBD, which has been ranked as top U.S. metro for job growth in 2015 and sixth most important city in the world for ultra-high net worth individuals" Hermen Rodriguez, senior managing director with HFF, said in a prepared statement.

Previously known as the CenTrust Tower, the iconic Miami Tower was originally built in 1987 and designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect, I.M. Pei. The 47-story tower located at 100 SE 2nd Street ranks in the top ten tallest skyscrapers in Miami and in Florida. The property consists of two separate structures: a 10-story parking garage owned by the city and the 47-story office tower built upon the air rights of the garage. The tower's three tiers allow it to have multiple color schemes in tribute to certain holidays and seasons. Major tenants include Carlton Fields, TotalBank, UBS Financial Services, Genovese Joblove & Battista, Ver Ploeg & Lumpkin and the General Services Administration.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

San Diego's Procopio Tower Sold for $122M

LaSalle Investment Management, an independent subsidiary of Jones Lang LaSalle, has purchased the Procopio Tower in San Diego's B Street Corridor for $122 million from a venture of Hines US Core Office Fund and Sumitomo Life. Formerly known as Golden Eagle Plaza or the Union Bank Building, Hines acquired the 449,184-square foot, 22-story Class A office building and attached six-story garage in 2005 on behalf of its U.S. Office Core Fund for $116.3 million. Full terms and representation for this month's deal have not yet been disclosed; it was marketed for sale by October of 2015.

Hines Vice President Paul Twardowski has said of the Class A office building in the heart of downtown San Diego, “The business story this building tells is a compelling one for tenants, owners and investors alike: older buildings can be rehabilitated to Class A quality by applying best engineering practices and through modest investment in more sustainable building infrastructure.”

Designed by Langdon and Wilson, 525 B Street was originally constructed in 1969 and renovated in 1998 (designed and developed by Mark Krukiel in collaboration with RTKL Los Angeles) and again in 2007. The property underwent numerous sustainability measures and capital improvements spearheaded by Hines, including a new cooling tower, new efficient transformers, and upgraded building control systems, earning the property a Gold LEED rating. While vacancy rates were not released, the building only show three office spaces currently available, with major tenants include Procopio, Elsevier Inc., and Barrister Executive Suites.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Ivanhoe, Blackstone Buy Stake in Australian Office Tower

Ivanhoé Cambridge announced this week that in partnership with Blackstone Property Partners Asia the company has acquired a 25% interest in Liberty Place, a 42-story office tower in the heart of Sydney's Midtown. According to a Bloomberg Business report, Canada’s Ivanhoe Cambridge has made its first direct investment in Australia, joining with Blackstone Group LP to buy a stake in a Sydney office complex for A$240 million ($182 million). Ivanhoé and Blackstone are buying their stake from LaSalle Investment Management on a yield of about 5.6%, according to the Australian Business Review. It is the first major office tower deal in Sydney to be struck this year without a development angle, the publication said.

"We are enthusiastic about the opportunity to invest in Australian real estate", explained Rita-Rose Gagné, Executive Vice President, Growth Markets, for Ivanhoé Cambridge. "Blackstone's strong knowledge of the Australian market and its established presence in Australia have been key to the success of this transaction. Ivanhoé Cambridge continues to explore the possibilities of increasing our investments in Australia and in other parts of the Asia-Pacific region in 2015."

Christopher Heady, Senior Managing Director and Head of Real Estate Asia at Blackstone said: "This is our first investment in Asia as part of Blackstone Property Partners' Core+ strategy. Liberty Place fits the Core+ strategy extremely well as a high quality, well-leased asset in a global gateway city. We are pleased to have partnered with Ivanhoe Cambridge on this transaction."

Completed in 2013, 161 Castlereagh Street is the Sydney headquarters of the ANZ Bank, and was 97% leased at the time of sale. Liberty Place was developed on the site behind the Sydney Hilton, spreading from Pitt Street to Castlereagh Street. It occupies 60,176 square meters of office space and 4425 square meters of retail area.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Twining Properties Replaces Related Beal in $1.6B Quincy Center Redevelopment

The New Quincy Center, a $1.6 billion redevelopment project in Quincy, MA that broke ground five weeks ago, has shifted ownership as Related Beal withdraws from the build and is replaced by Twining Properties. Ken Narva, managing partner at Street-Works Development, told The Patriot Ledger that Related Beal's recent restructuring has led the Beal company in a different direction. "They're a bigger entity now, and refocusing more on metropolitan Boston rather than Greater Boston," Narva said.

Terms of the transition were not disclosed, but WSJ did report that Street-Works is financing and building the project in chunks, with the first block at roughly $130 million being financed with $56 million in equity investment from LaSalle Investment Management and about $9 million from Street-Works and the Quincy Mutual Fire Insurance Co. Street-Works has said that it has a preliminary agreement to obtain a $65 million construction loan.

Street-Works originally partnered with Related Beal last year the build 3.5 million square feet of urban development anchored by shops and restaurants and offering space to office workers, college professors and students and modern health and wellness options. According to the Wall Street Journal report, the plan for Quincy is to tear down many low-rise buildings in the city's core and replace them with 1,400 residential units, 1.2 million square feet of office space, 650,000 square feet of retail space and two hotels.

"The city of Quincy, along with their development partners Beal/Street-Works, is setting a precedent for city redevelopment, after the recession, across the United States," said U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch. "This project has received national recognition for its creativity and will be used by cities across the nation as a model for city development."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

LaSalle and Bell Planning New Ashby House HQ

LaSalle Investment Management announced this week that, in a development partnership with Bell Hammer, the group had obtained planning consent for the construction of a new 86,500 square foot HQ office building to replace the existing Ashby House in Staines town centre. Knight Frank is advising on the project that will develop a new building aimed at national and international HQ occupants.

Mark Beckham of LaSalle Investment Management believes tenants will be attracted by the prominent town centre location, low running costs, large flexible floor plates and close proximity to Heathrow and the M25.

Joel Hawkins of Bell Hammer has targeted Staines as a priority location for new development in the Thames Valley as supply is restricted, rents have held up well and it attracts occupiers from the UK and overseas.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

15 Properties in Japan Sold for $1.6B to JV

Global Logistic Properties Limited (GLP) and China Investment Corporation (CIC) have entered into a 50-50 joint venture to acquire 15 modern logistics facilities in Japan from LaSalle Investment Management for JPY122.6 billion (or $1.6 billion) in one of the biggest-ever property deals in Japan according to a Wall Street Journal report. This purchase marks the first collaboration between GLP and CIC with each company initially investing about $272.9 million. GLP will act as the asset manager of the acquired properties.

In a statement, LaSalle Investment Management said the deal marked the sale of all but two properties held by its US$1.6 billion Japan Logistics Fund, and reaps "strong returns" for the fund's institutional investors. "Global money has returned to Japan in a big way," said Masahiro Mochizuki, an analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG in a Businessweek article. "This transaction means that real estate prices in Japan have fallen to an attractive level."

GLP chief executive Ming Z Mei said: "Demand in Japan continues to come from companies working to become more competitive and are focused on ensuring they have more efficient warehouses. Companies are also rethinking how their supply chains are managed so they can minimise any risk of disruption. As a result, demand for quality modern warehouse space is on the rise, while there remains a lack of supply of modern warehouses. The properties we are acquiring come with a strong tenant profile - 67% of the space is utilised by large third-party logistics service providers and 13% is leased by e-commerce companies."

The portfolio of 15 properties to be acquired will have a Gross Floor Area (GFA) of 770,989 sqm with more than 90% of the GFA located within the Greater Tokyo and Osaka areas. The current occupancy of the properties is 98.3% with a weighted average lease expiry of 5.6 years. The portfolio comprises modern facilities with a weighted average building age of only 6.9 years.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

One Washingtonian Center Sold for $90M

CB Richard Ellis Investors successfully acquired One Washington Center in Gaithersburg, MD from LaSalle Investment Management Inc. this month for a purchase price of $90 million, or roughly $285 per square foot, according to a Washington Business Journal article. LaSalle originally purchased the property in 2000 for $59.25 million as reported in tax records. Cassidy Turley represented LaSalle in the transaction; the buyer's representation was undisclosed.

One Washingtonian Center,built in 1989, is a 315,929 square foot Class A office building located at 9801 Washingtonian Boulevard just off of Interstate 270 in Gaithersburg. In July 2010, the building received LEED Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance Green Building Rating System. The building was reportedly 88% leased at the time of sale with Sodexo, Inc. as its anchor tenant occupying over half of the property as its North American headquarters.

"Our commitment to sustainability, coupled with our interest in amenity-rich, pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use properties, make this an ideal fit for the Strategic Partners U.S Value 5 portfolio," Vance Maddocks, president of CBRE Strategic Partners U.S., said in a press release. "We are thrilled to acquire such a high-quality, well-located building in this market and believe that our capital campaign, coupled with our strength of ownership, will give One Washingtonian Center a distinct competitive advantage in the market."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

CalPERS Transfers $1.9B Portfolio

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has transfered its CalEast Global Logistics industrial real estate portfolio, valued at $1.9 billion, to GI Partners and RREEF according to a CoStar report. "We have confidence in GI Partners and expect excellent performance from the CalEast portfolio going forward, given their strong returns since they joined our real estate program in 2001," said Ted Eliopoulos, CalPERS Senior Investment Officer, Real Estate. "RREEF's success with CalWest and their global breadth and expertise will be valuable in managing CalEast's European assets."

CalPERS made the transition as part of a strategy to restructure its real estate and shift assets to managers. CalEast was previously managed by LaSalle Investment Management while RREEF has managed CalWest Industrial Properties for CalPERS since 1998.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.