BioMed Picks Up University Towne Center Buildings for $55M

BioMed Realty, a San Diego-based self-advised REIT, announced that it has purchased a two-building laboratory and office property in San Diego's University Towne Center (UTC) market for $55 million. W.P. Carey, a leading global net-lease REIT, sold the buildings. While terms of the deal and represenation were not disclosed by either company, Jones Lang LaSalle has both properties listed on their marketing website. The transaction marks BioMed's first acquisition since being acquired by affiliates of New York-headquartered Blackstone Group in an $8 billion transaction that closed in January.

"This acquisition in the UTC life science hub of San Diego greatly expands our presence within one of the most vibrant innovation communities anywhere," said Tracy Murphy, senior vice president, west coast leasing at BioMed Realty. "We strive to provide our tenants with the best opportunities to grow and collaborate, and acquiring these premier buildings in the heart of UTC allows us create a true campus environment with our 4570 Executive Drive building in order to attract and retain more of San Diego's leading biotech companies here."

The acquisition of 9360 and 9390 Towne Centre Drive adds another 144,300 square feet of presence for BioMed in the UTC life science market, where it already owns another two buildings in the 9800 block of Town Centre Drive. The UTC Campus offers companies a mix of office and lab space situated around a reflecting pond, with ingress and egress access points to both the I-5 and I-805 freeways. Originally built in 1989, 9360 Towne Centre Drive features 71,390 rentable square feet of space with an existing 100% office build-out, while 9390 Towne Centre Drive offers a 65% office/35% lab split across 72,921 square feet. Each three-story building contains its own lobby area, secured underground parking, a commercial kitchen, fitness center and large conference rooms.

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W. P. Carey Affiliate Buys MN Office Building for $34M

CPA®:17 – Global, one of W. P. Carey Inc.'s managed non-traded REITs, has purchased a Class A office building in Plymouth, Minnesota for $34 million. The name of the seller, broker representation or terms of the sale were not disclosed; however, W. P. Carey did note in a press release that the building will be leased to Smith's Medical commencing in February 2015.

"Having recently acquired an asset in the submarket on behalf of another of our managed REITs, we are pleased to add this asset to CPA®:17 – Global's portfolio," said Gino Sabatini, managing director and co-head of global investments for W. P. Carey. "Plymouth, which is recognized as the healthiest submarket in the Twin Cities, is an area comprised of 25.5-million-square-feet of office space with a reported 7.2% vacancy rate."

The 182,000 square foot building at 6000 Nathan Lane N. was constructed in 1999 as part of a mixed-used development comprised of retail, residential and restaurant space. Smiths Medical, a leading supplier of specialist medical devices, consumables and equipment that operates in over 30 countries, has selected the building as its future headquarters as part of a broader initiative to reduce costs.

"This facility will allow us to consolidate our global headquarters functions and personnel, as part of a broader initiative to improve co-location, collaboration, cost and productivity," said Jeff McCaulley, president and CEO of Smiths Medical, in a press statement. " The new facility will allow us to create a modern and engaging work environment, while the decision to consolidate in the Twin Cities allows us to capitalize on the great talent and business environment in the region."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Regent Buys Atlas at Carlsbad for $16M

LA-based Regent Properties announced this week that it had purchased the former Upper Deck Headquarters in Carlsbad, CA for $16 million. Regent acquired the 246,668-square-foot building at 5909 Sea Otter Place from WP Carey; terms of the deal were not disclosed. Aric Starck, Managing Director with Cassidy Turley's Carlsbad office, represented both the buyer and seller.

"Regent Properties plans to reposition the property to serve growing tenant demand in the market, which has a scarce supply of large blocks of contiguous space," said Starck. "This facility is the former headquarters location of the Upper Deck trading card company and considered a single tenant corporate headquarters building. Regent has begun redeveloping the building to allow for a single tenant or multiple office and R&D tenants."

Improvements under way by Regent Properties include interior renovation and modernization, new exterior glazing, new landscaping, additional parking and site work, according to a GlobeSt.com article. "Carlsbad currently has no new spec construction," Starck told the publisher. "This project will be well positioned to capitalize on an environment where we are seeing significant net absorption and decreasing vacancy year after year."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

WP Carey Picks Up QBE Holdings Building for $43M

W. P. Carey Inc., the New York-based net-lease REIT, announced this week that it had purchased 2700 Frye Road in Chandler, Arizona for approximately $43 million. The Class A office building was sold by Regent Properties of Los Angeles; terms of the deal were not disclosed. Neil Glassmoyer, senior vice president; Tivon Moffitt, vice president; and Peter Bauman, senior associate; all of Colliers International in Greater Phoenix, served as brokers for the buyer and seller.

"This acquisition represented an opportunity to secure a well-located new Class-A office facility leased to a credit tenant on a site that also offers the possibility for additional development," said W. P. Carey Managing Director and Co-Head of Global Investments, Gino Sabatini. "Located in the Price Road Corridor, one of the most desirable areas of the Phoenix submarket, the investment provides attractive current cash flow."

Regent Properties completed the building’s construction after purchasing the property in 2011 and then fully leased the building shortly thereafter. QBE FIRST, part of QBE Insurance Group Limited, signed an 11-year lease at the property in 2012 providing them with a significant QBE FIRST call center operating as its West Coast regional headquarters.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

WP Carey Closes Two Sale-Leaseback Transactions

W. P. Carey Inc., a publicly traded REIT, announced that one of its publicly held non-traded REIT affiliates had acquired two properties for $26 million. CPA®:17 - Global acquired a 272,000 square foot manufacturing and office facility in Portage, Wisconsin and the 62,000 square foot House of Blues entertainment venue and restaurant facility in Dallas, Texas.

The Wisconsin property, sold for approximately $10 million, will be leased to Penda Corporation under a 20 year net lease. Gino Sabatini, managing director and co-head of global investments, said the Penda transaction is an example of enabling portfolio companies of private equity firms to pay down debt, strengthen their balance sheets and access the capital value of their real estate assets to fund operations and growth strategies.

The Dallas House of Blues property is leased to a subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., which also guarantees the lease. The purchase price was approximately $16 million.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

KBR Tower in Houston Sold for $174.6M

Downtown Houston's KBR Tower has a new owner this week as Brookfield Office Properties, along with joint venture partner KBR Inc., sold the office building to Corporate Property Associates 17-Global, a public non-traded REIT affiliate of W. P. Carey Inc. for $174.6 million. Brookfield originally acquired its stake in the tower as part of the Trizec portfolio in 2006. A team led by Richard Rudd and Kent Peters of Allied Advisors represented Brookfield on the building sale, according to a Houston Chronicle article. The company also represented the buyer in negotiating and structuring acquisition financing with UBS Real Estate Securities.

"These dispositions continue our active capital recycling program over the past two years in which we have sold seven mature or non-strategic assets and reinvested proceeds into higher-yielding strategic opportunities," said Dennis Friedrich, chief executive officer of Brookfield Office Properties.

"Houston's Central Business District's major office towers are a very much sought-after investment for all types of investors," said Richard Rudd, president of Allied Advisors. "KBR Tower represents investment maturity. Investors want quality, stability and security of cash flow. The fact that the building is located in Houston is a very good thing right now."

Located at 601 Jefferson Street, KBR Tower boasts over one million square feet of headquarter and office space, with KBR occupying about 900,000 square feet in the tower, along with an adjacent 1,500-space parking garage. At the time of the sale, which closed Nov. 16, the property was 99.8% leased to seven tenants, according to a Houston Business Journal article.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

W.P. Carey Acquires 6 Logistics Centers for €155

C1000 B.V., a Dutch supermarket company, sold six logistics properties located across the Netherlands to W. P. Carey & Co. in a €155 million ($207 million) long term sale leaseback deal according to the Wall Street Journal. W. P. Carey, a global investment management company specializing in long term sale leaseback and build to suit financing, finalized the deal under a long term triple net lease. Reed Smith LLP & NautaDutilh N.V. served as legal advisors to W. P. Carey, while C1000 was represented by Lexence N.V.

"W. P. Carey's investment has allowed us to convert illiquid fixed assets into cash," said Tom Heidman, CEO of C1000. "Our ability to reinvest this capital in our retail business supports our growth initiatives, including re-branding to the new ‘C1000 Red' store format as well as allowing us to pay down debt and optimize our capital structure."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.