One Loudoun Project Revived with New Team

One Loudoun, a mixed-use project proposed in September 2007 when Miller & Smith held a groundbreaking ceremony, was a project that found itself in trouble with the real estate downturn when the company and its partners stopped construction on the project after falling deeply underwater on a loan from Goldman Sachs. This week, however, Sekisui House Ltd. — headquartered in Osaka, Japan and one of the world's biggest homebuilders — is partnering up with Miller & Smith to buy the Goldman Sachs note and foreclose on the previous ownership group, kickstarting the massive project in Ashburn, Virginia, just outside the Beltway from Washington, DC.

The new development is a 358-acre master-planned community in Loudoun County that will feature 1040 residential homes, 702,000 square feet of retail space, 3,000,000 square feet of office space, a community center, and an amphitheater -- all surrounded by approximately 150-acres of public land and miles of walking trails. One Loudoun will also be home to the World Trade Center Dulles Airport, projected to generate up to 14,000 new jobs.

Satoshi Yoshimura, president and Chief Operating Office for Sekisui House's North American unit, said the Washington area was one of the American markets the company had targeted because of the federal government's expansion and the diverse range of the area's employers in a Washington Post article. "D.C. is not so much damaged by the financial markets crisis," he said.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

IRS Moving to 999 N. Capitol

The Internal Revenue Service will be moving from 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue in DC to 999 North Capitol Street, a recently renovated project from the CIM Group and managed by Akridge. The IRS is expected to occupy 100,500 square feet in the Union Square office complex by January 2012 under a new 10-year lease according to a Washington Business Journal article. CIM bought Union Square, which also includes 899 N. Capitol and future development rights, from J. P. Morgan in 2007. The lease marks Union Square‘s second major government lease – the DC Department of Health claimed 150,000 square feet in the development’ssouthern building, 899 North Capitol, last Spring.

Union Square consists of two Class A office buildings in the North of Massachusetts Avenue ("NoMa") district of Washington DC. Together the buildings provide 609,540 square feet. of office space. The two 9-story buildings are linked by a common center plaza. The property offers convenient access to transportation, including Metro, Amtrak, bus, and commuter rail, as well as ample underground parking. The buildings were constructed between 1969 and 1973 and fully renovated in 1999. A third building of more than 260,000 square feet could be built on the plaza in the future.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Google Buys Tallest Building in Dublin

Google purchased the Montevetro Building this week, the tallest building in the city of Dublin, for €99.9 million (roughly $136 million U.S. dollars) from Real Estate Opportunities (REO) and The National Asset Management Agency (Nama) according to a Wall Street Journal article. Google bought the 15 story, 210,000 square foot Montevetro development on Barrow Street to house about 2,000 staff members and accommodate new business activities that are currently in development. Real Estate Opportunities redeveloped the building, and its chairman, Ray Horney, said the sale is one of the largest commercial real estate deals Ireland has ever seen reported the San Francisco Chronicle. Nama, which acquired the Montevetro building as security for a loan that transferred from a participating institution in April 2010, advance the necessary working capital to complete the development.

"We are at capacity in our EMEA headquarters in Barrow Street and the additional space will allow us to relocate some teams to Montevetro and to create an even more spacious working environment for Googlers in our existing building," said John Herlihy, head of Google in Ireland.

Nama chairman Frank Daly comment that "the successful completion of the Montevetro development and its sale again reflects the positive potential of Nama to support the commercial property market in Ireland without compromising its objective of recovering monies owed to the taxpayer."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Duke Realty Unloads Portfolio for $97M

A joint venture managed by Smith/Hallemann Partners has purchased a five-building office portfolio for $97.5 million from Duke Realty Corporation according to a Cincinnati.com article. The portfolio includes two Cincinnati Class A buildings with about 609,275 square feet of space and three Nashville Class A buildings covering around 379,264 square feet. Duke Realty is reportedly repositioning its portfolio with these disposals and has exited certain markets in an attempt to concentrate in areas where it already has a strong presence. The JV includes individual investors and a fund managed by Harbert Management Corporation.

The Nashville properties include a three-building plaza near the airport and known as One, Two and Three Lakeview Place in the Century City Office Park. Current tenants of the plaza include Thomas Nelson Publishers, CNA Insurance, Vista-Pro, Amerigroup and Hartford Insurance. The Cincinnati properties includes The Enquirer Building and an additional building in the city's central business district; tenants include Mitsui Marine, The General Services Administration and Harland Financial Solutions.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

CBRE Buying ING Real Estate for $940M

CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. and ING announced this week that CBRE would be acquiring most of the real estate investment management business of ING Group NV for $940 million in cash according to a Boomberg report. The acquisitions include substantially all of the ING Real Estate Investment Management (ING REIM) operations in Europe and Asia, as well as Clarion Real Estate Securities (CRES), its U.S.-based global real estate listed securities business. CBRE will also acquire approximately $55 million of CRES co-investments from ING and potentially interests in other funds managed by ING REIM Europe and ING REIM Asia.

"ING REIM, when combined with our existing Global Investment Management operations, will provide us with a significantly enhanced ability to meet the needs of institutional investors across global markets with a full spectrum of investment programs and strategies," said Brett White, CB Richard Ellis’ chief executive officer. "Our firms fit together well and our investment program offerings are highly complementary. The combined enterprise will further diversify our revenue sources and as the global market leader, we will redefine success in real estate investment management."

In a separate transaction, ING has agreed to sell the private market real estate investment manager of its US operations, Clarion Partners, to Clarion Partners management in partnership with Lightyear Capital LLC for $100 million.

"We are pleased to have found in CB Richard Ellis, and Clarion Partners management together with Lightyear, dedicated and solid partners to build on the leading positions of these REIM businesses and ensure continuity of investment teams in managing client assets in their best interests," said William Connelly, CEO of ING Commercial Banking.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

KBS Pays $54M for Carlson Center Tower

KBS Real Estate Investment Trust II has closed on the purchase of 601 Tower at Carlson Center, Minnetonka, Minnesota for $54.4 million plus closing costs according to a GlobeSt.com article. CB Richard Ellis represented the seller, New York-based TIAA-CREF; the transaction officially closed on February 3. According to Hennepin County property records the property's market value was $42 million in 2009.

"The 601 Tower at Carlson Center is widely recognized as one of the most prominent suburban trophy assets in the Minneapolis market … and expect its unique blend of quality, location, architectural significance and park-like amenities to result in strong long-term tenant retention," said KBS' Bill Rogalla.

The 15-story, 288,458 square foot property is part of a master-planned office park along Interstate 394. At the point of sale the building was reportedly 90% leased with major tenants including One Beacon Insurance, Conopco, Wachovia, RBC Capital Markets, Robert Baird, Pine River Capital and HQ Global Workplaces. Built in 1989, 601 Tower was the recipient of the 2009 BOMA International Building of the Year award.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

PWC Takes 140,000 SF in Atlanta

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC US) has announced that it will be moving its Atlanta office to a new midtown location at 1075 Peachtree, assuming 140,000 square feet of space at the 18-story building. PwC signed a 16 year lease deal for the office space at the mixed use development of 12th & Midtown and expects to move in mid-2012 according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article. The company currently occupies roughly 112,000 square feet at the Millennium in Midtown located on the northeastern corner of 10th and West Peachtree Streets, less than five minutes from its new location. The full terms and costs of the lease were not disclosed, but it was noted that PwC will be represented with marquis signage at the top of the 1075 building. Other major tenants include The Boston Consulting Group Inc. and Seyfarth Shaw LLP.

"Our business and culture are based on building relationships, delivering value and winning in the global marketplace. 1075 Peachtree supports those elements locally for both our clients and our people," said PwC Market Managing Partner Gary Price. "The new building's impressive amenities and features, stunning architecture and prime Midtown location were too compelling to pass up," Price added.

"PwC embodies the international leader we envisioned occupying the space in 1075 Peachtree," said Doug Guedry, vice president of office leasing for Daniel Corp. "The firm's reputation for outstanding performance and exceptional innovation is in line with our mission to bring value to Midtown, and we look forward to collaborating with PwC as they build out a world-class office environment."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.