Trammell, Principal Break Ground on The Brickyard

Trammell Crow Co., the Dallas-based real estate development, investment and operations company, and joint venture partner Principal Real Estate Investors broke ground this week on The Brickyard, a Class A industrial project in Compton, CA. The two-building project, one of 525,400 square feet and the other 481,600 square feet, will be constructed simultaneously and is scheduled for completion in July 2016. The project is being marketed jointly by John Schumacher, Bret Quinlan, David Stromath, and Dean Haney of CBRE; the cost of The Brickyard development was not disclosed.

"We are excited to be working with Mayor Aja Brown and Councilmember Janna Zurita on this industrial opportunity in Compton," said Brad Cox, Senior Managing Director with Trammell Crow's Southern California – Los Angeles Business Unit in a press release. "This is a rare and unique property situated in the epicenter of Los Angeles County, surrounded by more than 14.8 million people within a 50-mile radius. The Brickyard is the ideal site to develop a distribution/logistics or manufacturing center and bring economic growth to this area."

"I am excited to see Trammell Crow take on such a grand project," added Mayor Aja Brown. "From day one they have been committed to the city of Compton and transforming this site. They have been very responsible and giving corporate partners who believe in Compton and have shown that through their investment in us. Promises made and promises kept."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Buchanan Acquires Richardson Office Center I & II

Newport Beach, CA-based rest estate investment management firm Buchanan Street Partners announced this week that it had acquired Richardson Office Center I & II in Richardson, TX. The two-building office campus was purchased in partnership with CarVal Investors from Principal Real Estate Investors. Gary Carr and Robert Hill of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction, and Buchanan Street Partners was self-represented. The acquisition marks the second Dallas market purchase this year for Buchanan; terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"The Far North Dallas submarket has been experiencing strong positive absorption and growth in rental rates causing a wider-than-normal price gap compared to Richardson," said Matt Haugen, assistant vice president at Buchanan Street Partners. "Given that trend, the location was one of the main reasons we were attracted to the property. Companies in search of a better real estate value have moved to Richardson because of its affordability and projected growth."

Built in 1999, Richardson Office Center at 3001 & 3101 E. President George Bush Highway are twin, 120,000 SF first class office buildings located off of President George Bush Turnpike and Renner Road in Richardson, Texas. The property was 90% leased at the time of sale with major tenants including Boeing, Genpact and Avnet. Richardson's average lease rate is $19.26 per sf, which is affordable compared with lease rates in the Far North Dallas submarket with an average lease rate of $22.46 per sf, according to CBRE research. The average lease rate in Dallas is $21.68 per sf.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Brookfield Sells 49% Portfolio Interest to AustralianSuper

Australia's largest pension fund, AustralianSuper, has entered the Washington, DC market with the acquisition of a 49% interest in a portfolio of office buildings valued at $1.32 billion. Brookfield Property Partners, which will realize net proceeds of $349 million from the transaction, will retain management and leasing responsibilities at the eight buildings under terms of the joint venture deal. AustralianSuper was represented by Jim Halliwell and Dan Thornton at Principal Real Estate Investors.

"We continue to see healthy demand from investment partners in core, stabilized office properties in major markets, and took this opportunity to bring AustralianSuper into Washington, DC as part of our ongoing capital recycling initiative," said Ric Clark, CEO of Brookfield Property Group. "We are committed to maintaining our presence in Washington and are pleased with our growing relationship with AustralianSuper."

Jack McGougan, Head of Property at AustralianSuper, added "We are pleased to further strengthen our partnership with Brookfield Property Partners, whom we consider to be among the premier office asset managers globally. This transaction allows AustralianSuper to substantially increase its direct holdings in offshore property, in line with its strategy of investing in established assets with strong long-term growth potential."

Five of the assets are located in the East End, the premier submarket in the region, with additional diversity in other core submarkets. The eight buildings totaling 2.2 million square feet are currently 96% occupied. AustralianSuper took a similar stake in a $600m office tower in Boston earlier this year and has also bought property in London and is chasing opportunities in Europe, in line with its strategy, according to an article from The Australian.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

JV to Build Mixed Use Complex on 58 Acres Near Denver

United Properties, in a joint venture with Principal Real Estate Investors, announced that it had recently acquired 58 acres of land near Denver to develop Dry Creek Corporate Center, a mixed-use office, industrial, hotel and residential campus located just east of Interstate 25 and East Dry Creek Road in Centennial. United Properties plans to develop approximately 650,000 square feet of single and multi-tenant office and industrial buildings, with the residential and hospitality portions of the campus to be sold to outside developers.

"This is one of the largest fully-entitled parcels of land in the heart of the southeast suburban market," said Kevin Kelley, vice president, United Properties. "With improving market conditions and low supply, we’re excited to bring this new Class A product to the market."

United Properties purchased the land for Dry Creek Corporate Center in a joint venture with Principal Real Estate Investors. David Lee, Jason Addlesperger and Mike Wafer of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank will lease the property on behalf of the ownership. Powers Brown Architecture is the lead architect for the vertical development.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

New Generation Office Tower Breaks Ground in Bellevue

Construction began this week on 929 Office Tower, a 19-story Class A office building being developed by Trammell Crow Company with its joint venture partner Principal Real Estate Investors in Bellevue, Washington. The 462,000 square foot tower at 929 108th Avenue North, expected to deliver in December 2015, is the first to be built under the new energy code in Bellevue, incorporating a broad range of sustainable design features and will achieve LEED Gold certification. According to a Puget Sound Business Journal article, the new building systems will lower operating expenses versus less responsive, older inventory and will create a more comfortable and productive workspace.

"Companies considering our building will find meaningful improvements in their work environment," said Craig Dobbs, Principal of Trammell Crow Company's Seattle Business Unit. "929 Office Tower is full of modern amenities including a welcoming and functional lobby with causal work areas to full featured meeting rooms, elite club level work out facilities and building control systems that enhance the work place experience."

"We are excited to be partnering with Trammell Crow Company on 929 Office Tower to expand our investment base in the Bellevue CBD where we have enjoyed recent and long term success," said Jay Fisher, Assistant Managing Director of Principal Real Estate Investors and head of asset management and investments for the Pacific Northwest region. "This development is attractive because it will be the first new Class A building delivered into an expanding Eastside market and offers an abundance of tenant focused amenities including many first to market engineering advances."

Tom Bohman, Senior Vice President, Pete Hollomon, Senior Vice President, and Lennon Atteberry, Associate with CBRE's Bellevue office have been appointed to lease and market the project. LMN Architects will serve as lead architect and Lease Crutcher Lewis as general contractor.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Twitter Adds to Sunnyvale Space

Twitter, the San Francisco micro-blogging social network, announced this week that it was expanding its office space with the lease of an additional 10,000 square feet at Sunnyvale Business Park, at 400 West California Ave. The company first established its presence at Sunnyvale in May of this year with the lease of 8,000 square feet of space, along with the commitment from property owner Principal Real Estate Investors to construct a 107,000-square-foot office building next to the existing building for additional Twitter space.

Dave Sandlin, a Colliers International senior vice president who represents Twitter's Sunnyvale property, said some San Francisco tech companies are realizing they need to have a presence further south. After all, while the city might be the hot talent market right now, the greater San Jose metro area also carries some advantages. "If you look at the housing situation in San Francisco, trying to put all your workers up there is very difficult, " said Sandlin.

The emphasis on San Francisco signifies how Silicon Valley, an area extending south from just below San Francisco to San Jose, California, no longer has a grip on technology companies, as reported by a New York Times article this month. About 18 months ago, tech companies started moving or expanding here to be closer to their employees. According to reports, Twitter is looking to add 320,000 square feet to its footprint in San Francisco, bringing its total to about 600,000 square feet.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.