Mesirow Buys Verizon's Dallas HQ for $344M

Chicago-based Mesirow Financial announced this week that it has acquired the 1.15 million square foot regional headquarters for Verizon in Irving, Texas in a sale-leaseback deal worth $344 million, one of the largest real estate deals in North Texas this year. Mesirow Financial’s Sale-Leaseback Capital group in partnership with Kawa Capital financed the purchase in collaboration with Mesirow Financial’s Credit Tenant Lease and Institutional Sales and Trading groups. Under the terms of the deal, Verizon will lease back the full property for 20 years with optional extensions. Cushman & Wakefield served as Verizon's real estate adviser on the transaction.

"This transaction once again signifies the strong collaboration between our capital markets businesses. We continue to enhance our full-service platform in acquiring single-tenant properties on a national basis, complemented by our strong capabilities in mezzanine and senior debt placement," said Richard Price, chairman and chief executive officer of Mesirow Financial, in a press release.

"This transaction provides our company with immediate financial benefits and does so in a way that supports our continuing interests in the development of Las Colinas. The extension of our tenancy through a sale and restructured lease affirms the value we see of having located in such a dynamic area for so many years," added John Vazquez, senior vice president and head of global real estate for Verizon.

The 51.2 acre campus on Hidden Ridge Drive near State Highway 114 was built in 1991 and sits adjacent to a planned $1 billion mixed-use project dubbed Hidden Ridge, to be developed by KDC and include offices, a new commuter rail station, shops and a hotel. Mesirow Financial plans to invest $20 million to upgrade the parking and facilities at Verizon in the next three years, according to a Dallas Business Journal article. Last May, Mesirow Financial acquired Verizon's campus in New Jersey, which was valued at $650 million, which are among the two largest non-government single asset credit tenant lease deals ever consummated, said Stephen Jacobson, a senior managing director of Mesirow's credit tenant leaseback and structured debt products group.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Blackstone Selling Bryant Park Tower

The Blackstone Group, a NYC-based multinational private equity, investment banking, alternative asset management and financial services corporation, is preparing to sell New York's 1095 Avenue of the Americas, a 42-story office tower that may fetch one of the highest prices ever for a U.S. skyscraper, according to a GlobeSt.com report. Blackstone has reportedly hired Eastdil Secured to market the tower, which serves as the headquarters of Verizon Communications Inc. The 1.2 million-square-foot tower was purchased in 2007 by Blackstone as part of its takeover of Sam Zell's Equity Office Properties Trust. According to a Bloomberg report, Blackstone is seeking as much as $2.25 billion for the 42-story office tower.

"If they were to hit this number, it would show the market is still extremely strong for these assets," commented Ben Thypin, director of market analysis at Real Capital Analytics. "If you want to buy an office building of this size, you only have so many choices." A spokesperson for Blackstone declined to comment on the Bloomberg report.

Constructed from 1972 to 1974 as headquarters of New York Telephone, 1095 Avenue Of The Americas received a $260 million renovation which upgraded the office space from Class B+ to Class A office space from 2006 to 2007. Originally, restoration was intended to be limited to structural maintenance, but later the building's developer, Equity Office Properties Trust, decided to upgrade the Class B+ property to Class A office space. The tower holds primarily office space, but some of the upper floors contains telecommunications equipment.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

JV Secures $23M Loan for DC Office Condo

In December of last year, Monument Realty and Angelo, Gordon & Co. bought 2055 L Street NW in Washington, DC in an all-cash deal; this month, they've secured a 23.2 million senior loan commitment from PCCP LLC for the acquisition and re-development financing of the property. With this loan in place, the joint venture will now commence a six-month rehabilitation to the owned 102,000 square foot condominium office portion of the 237,000 square foot building.

"The owner plans to renovate the property to position it as a quality Class A asset," said John Randall, senior vice president at PCCP, LLC. "The overall competitive vacancy rate in the CBD is approximately 6.4 percent. Once the renovation is completed, its quality and key location will be desirable to high-profile law firms, lobbyists, and non-profit organizations and associations."

Verizon sold the property, represented by Cushman & Wakefield, to the JV for $12.75 million. The JV plans to move forward in the coming months with a full renovation of 2055 L that will improve the now Class B building’s common areas, facade and building systems and add ground-floor retail space.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.