Tishman Buys 183 Madison for $185M

Tishman Speyer Properties, together with the Cogswell-Lee Development Group, has entered into an agreement to purchase 183 Madison Ave. in New York City for $185 million, or $674 per square foot. The Argentinian real estate development firm IRSA is selling the art deco building known as the Madison-Belmont Building on East 34th and Madison. According to a New York Post article, Tishman is expected to target the building toward tech, advertising, media and Internet (TAMI) companies. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. IRSA and Rigby Asset Management purchased the building in 2010 for $85.1 million before IRSA took over full ownership of the building, as the Post noted.

The 274,413-square-foot building was designed by Warren & Wetmore, which also designed Grand Central Terminal, and was completed in 1925 for the Merchants & Manufacturers Exchange of New York as office and showroom space for silk companies in the developing Silk District of Manhattan. According to a press release from Tishman, the property is currently 95% leased.

"183 Madison Avenue, a magnificent property in the heart of one the world's leading magnets for technology, media, design and entertainment firms,” Tishman Speyer Co-CEOs Jerry Speyer and Rob Speyer said in a prepared statement. "Along with Tishman Speyer's recent acquisition of nearby 175 Varick Street, this continues our strategy of investing in New York City's fastest growing submarkets, including Midtown South, Hudson Yards and Long Island City."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Tishman to Sell Three Bay Area Office Complexes

Tishman Speyer Properties is planning to sell three San Francisco Bay Area office complexes this year, hoping to capitalize on demand from investors and the recent rise in rental rates. According to a Bloomberg report, Tishman is seeking $430 million for the properties, a $135 million profit as the complexes were purchased for $295 million in transactions dating back to 2005.

The properties to be marketed include:

350 Rhode Island Street in San Francisco was originally developed for dot com tenants and designed by Pfau Long Architecture/Gordon Chong, with later development and renovation to accommodate the California Culinary Academy by Forell/Elsesser. The 260,000 square-foot, two-building office complex on a Potrero Hill was previously owned by SKS Investments. Tishman purchased the property in 2011 for $42 million and is said to expect $60 million in the sale.

Dublin Corporate Center in Alameda County is a Class A office campus comprised of three office buildings alongside Interstate 580. The current vacancy rate of the 18.6-acre Class A office campus is unknown, but Oracle Corp. is the lead tenant at the complex. Tishman is hoping to bring in $110 million for its sale, after reacpitalizing the property in 2010 by buying back all of the property's debt at a discount and committing new capital used to fund capital expenditures and leasing costs.

Sunnyvale Office Park in Sunnyvale comprises of three, 4-story Class A office buildings located in the heart of Silicon Valley. The 424,825 square-foot project is 100% leased to Juniper Networks, Inc. and serves as their world headquarters. Tishman acquired Sunnyvale Office park in 2005 for $174 million and is seeking a sale price of $260 million.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Tishman Takes Over 16 US Office Buildings

Tishman Speyer Properties announced that it would take over 16 office properties in the United States from its affiliated Australian REIT, Tishman Speyer Office Fund. According to a CoStar report, the fund owns 99.9% of four office buildings totaling 893,000 square feet and 45.9% ownership in another 12 totaling 7.46 million square feet. The Australian Fund agreed to sell the properties for $1.5 billion, plus an expected $48.5 million for transaction costs.

"The consequences of becoming a U.S. domestic reporting company are significant and burdensome, with consequential increases in costs to meet enhanced reporting and compliance obligations," the Australian company said.

The properties in the takeover include: 300 Park Ave. and CitySpire in New York; Greenwich American Centre in Greenwich, CT; Bala Plaza in Philadelphia; 227 West Monroe and 222 West Adams in Chicago; Plaza East I and II in Milwaukee; 520 Pike Tower in Seattle; One Bush Street and 595 Market Street in San Francisco; Bayside Towers in Foster City, CA; 400 Castro Street in Mountain View, CA; Lakeside in Northern Virginia; and Maples Plaza, 407 North Maple Drive and Beverly Mercedes Place in Beverly Hills, CA.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Tishman Speyer Buys DC Metro Office Building

Tishman Speyer Properties purchased 1300 N. 17th St., a 19-story office building in Rosslyn, VA, from Beacon Capital Partners for about $200 million reports a Wall Street Journal article. According to the article, the $500 per square foot price for the property is among the highest on record for an office building purchase in the District's Virginia suburbs.

"They've righted their ship to concentrate on what they do best, which is the office sector," said Ben Thypin, director of market analysis at Real Capital Analytics in Manhattan, regarding Tishman. "That makes sense. It reflects how forgiving the real estate market can be."

Beacon originally purchased the property in 2007 as part of its acquisition of an Equity Office Properties portfolio from Blackstone Group. Blackstone subsequently sold a 9.8 million square foot chunk of that portfolio in Washington DC and Seattle to Beacon.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.