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.

Chicago's Three First National Plaza Sold for $348M

Hines announced this week that its U.S. Core Office Fund sold the 57-story Three First National Plaza in Chicago for $349.3 million to a joint venture according to a GlobeSt.com article. The joint venture of the Korean Teachers Credit Union, the Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives and Hong Kong-based Gaw Capital Partners has engaged Hines to continue as the property and leasing manager for the tower. Wells Fargo Securities Asia represented the buyer in the transaction, while Eastdil Secured represented Hines. Financials on the deal were not disclosed.

"Ongoing upgrades and enhancements to the property have enabled Three First National Plaza to continue to perform in the upper tier of Chicago buildings," said Hines Senior Vice President Tom Danilek. "We look forward to our new alliance with Downtown Properties as we continue our commitment to superior tenant service at the building."

"Three First National Plaza has been an excellent performer for our Hines U.S. Core Office Fund investors," said Charles Hazen, president of the fund. "We are pleased with this sale as we balance our portfolio holdings to meet future objectives."

Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Three First National Plaza at 70 West Madison Street was developed by Hines in 1981. In 2005 Hines sold the building for $245.3 million to its office fund, a partnership with Osaka, Japan-based Sumitomo Life. The 1.4 million square foot sawtooth tower is currently 92% leased with major tenants including Madison Dearborn Partners, K&L Gates, Kaye Scholer, The PrivateBank and Fitch Ratings.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.