Keystone Picks Up Moorestown Corporate Center for $20M

Moorestown Corporate Center on Strawbridge Drive in Moorestown, New Jersey traded hands this month as Mack-Cali Realty sold the complex to a fund sponsored by Keystone Property Group for approximately $19.9 million. "The sale of these buildings continues our plan of recycling our capital out of non-core assets," said Mack-Cali chief executive Mitchell Hersh.

Moorestown Corporate Center includes three buildings at:

224 Strawbridge Drive (74,000 square feet)
228 Strawbridge Drive (74,565 square feet)
232 Strawbridge Drive (74,258 square feet)

According to a NASDAQ report, the property was 61.4% leased at the time of sale. Mack-Cali was represented by Jones Lang LaSalle in the transaction, with Shaw Environmental, an engineering firm, occupying all 74,565 square feet of space in the building at 228 Strawbridge.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Chicago Approves New $150M Office Tower

The City of Chicago has approved the construction of a 20-story office building at 625 West Adams Street in Chicago's West Loop on land owned by Old St. Patrick's Church. The project, being developed by The Alter Group in partnership with White Oak Realty Partners, is expected to cost about $150 million and will be the first office building constructed in downtown Chicago in two years, according to a REJournals.com article.

Matthew Ward, senior vice president with The Alter Group, said in the statement that there are no large blocks of office currently available in the area. "The building is uniquely positioned to attract the sophisticated, cost-effective corporate user that understands the numerous economic benefits of being in a high-performance office building with large floor plates," he said.

"The project will include a 400-car parking garage and a community center serving Old St. Pat's, which will have the potential to seat as many as 800 people on the first two levels. The involvement of Old St. Pat's Church – a neighborhood landmark that survived the Chicago Fire of 1871 – assures a high profile for this project that is likely to appeal to prospective users," said Tom Saletta, Principal, White Oak Realty Partners. The building was designed by Martin Wolf, FAIA, Design Principal/Senior Vice President with Solomon Cordwell Buenz and Associates in Chicago.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Granite Westchase I and II Sold for $154.75M

Franklin Street Properties Corp., a Wakefield, MA-based investment firm specializing in real estate, announced this week that it had acquired Westchase I and II in the Westchase submarket of Houston, TX for $154.75 million. Franklin purchased the properties from Granite Properties Inc., which was represented by Russell Ingram of CBRE in the transaction according to a CoStar report.

Located at 10370 and 10350 Richmond Avenue, the two 14-story office buildings total approximately 629,022 square feet of rentable space on roughly 6.5 acres of land. Set equally between the residential growth corridors of I-10 and US 59 along the Beltway, the buildings were completed in 1983 and 2008, with Granite Westchase II designed by Kirksey. According to the Franklin press release the properties were approximately 95% leased at the time of sale.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

ARCT IV Acquires FedEx and CVS Locations

American Realty Capital Trust IV, Inc. (ARCT IV), a publicly registered, non-traded real estate investment program, announced this week that it had purchased two FedEx Ground distribution facilities and a CVS pharmacy for $8.6 million. The Independence, Kansas and Ottumwa, Iowa FedEx Ground distribution facilities contain approximately 23,400 and 29,300 rentable square feet and are 100% leased to a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, which carries an investment grade credit rating as determined by major credit rating agencies. The CVS pharmacy contains approximately 10,000 rentable square feet and is 100% leased to CVS Caremark Corporation, which carries an investment grade credit rating as determined by major credit rating agencies.

Michael Weil, ARCT IV's President and Chief Operating Officer said of the deals, "ARCT IV has added two more national credit tenants to its portfolio during its initial acquisition phase." Mr. Weil continued, "We couldn't be more pleased with these acquisitions as we build a strong net lease portfolio that is firmly in line with our investment objectives." The company acquired its first property last month with the purchase of build-to-suit Dollar General store located in Buchanan Dam, Texas for $1.1 million.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

City Center Plaza in Bellevue Sold for $375M

CommonWealth Partners, a fully integrated private real estate investment, development, management and operating company based in Los Angeles, California, has purchased City Center Plaza in Bellevue, WA for $374.7 million, or roughly $655 per square foot. According to a Seattle Times article, the purchase price is the highest ever on the Eastside and similar to what Amazon.com is paying Vulcan Real Estate for its 11-building South Lake Union office complex. Cole Real Estate Investments sold the 583,000 square foot office tower on behalf of Cole Credit Property Trust III, Inc. The trust had purchased the property in July 2010 for $310 million from Beacon Capital Partners of Boston.

"When our experienced real estate team brought this opportunity to us in the summer of 2010, despite industry naysayers, we felt this acquisition would be an excellent fit for our growing portfolio of mission-critical corporate properties," said Marc Nemer, Cole's president and chief executive officer. "Today, not only have we seen a 21% increase in the property's value, but we were able to deliver a return of 38% on the equity invested, creating significant value in the portfolio for the benefit of our shareholders."

Located at 555 110th Avenue NE, City Center Plaza was completed in 2008 and designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership. The 26-story Class A office tower serves as the headquarters for Microsoft Bing, which occupies 96.3% of the building.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

SF Financial District Building Gets $126M Loan via Starwood

Starwood Property Trust announced today that it had originated a $126 million first mortgage loan and mezzanine loan for 100 Montgomery in San Francisco on behalf of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII. Blackstone Group agreed to buy a 25-story building in downtown San Francisco for $165 million last month from a joint venture of Houston-based Hines and Sterling American Property Inc., which previously purchased the tower in January 2006 for $67.5 million from Equities Office Properties Trust. Starwood has said that it will sell the first mortgage "in the near term" to increase its investment returns. The total financing will have an initial funding of $115.5 million with $10.5 million of future funding for tenant improvements and leasing commissions.

"We are excited to complete another complex financing transaction with Blackstone," said Boyd Fellows, President and Director of Starwood Property Trust. "Similar to the $61 million Glendale transaction we announced earlier this quarter, we funded the entire capital stack with a flexible structure which meets Blackstone's exact financing needs. Our ability to act as a 'one stop financing solution' for borrowers looking to finance large transitional assets is a significant strategic advantage."

As of last month, the office building was 84% occupied, with the U.S. General Services Administration as its largest tenant, according to the people. Situated on the corner of Sutter and Montgomery Streets in the Financial District, the building offers more than 420,000 square feet of space including retail storefronts. 100 Montgomery, also known as the Equitable Life Building, has undergone $54 million in capital improvements redesigned by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, including a comprehensive renovation in 2009 that added a new glass facade and lobby.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Parkway Properties Buying NASCAR Headquarters for $100M

Parkway Properties, Inc. announced this week that it had entered into a purchase agreement for NASCAR Plaza in Charlotte, NC for a purchase price of approximately $100 million. A joint venture between Trinity Capital Advisors and Rubenstein Partners is selling the 390,000 20-story office tower located in the central business district, according to an Orlando Business Journal article. Parkway will own 100% of the asset and plans to assume the first mortgage secured by the property, which has a current outstanding balance of approximately $42.3 million with a current interest rate of 4.7% and a maturity date of March 30, 2016; Parkway intends to amend and restate the loan upon assumption to current market terms. Closing is expected to occur by the end of the fourth quarter 2012 and is subject to customary closing conditions.

James R. Heistand, Parkway's President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "The purchase of NASCAR Plaza represents another off-market transaction that enables us to expand in one of our key, target submarkets with a high-quality asset. NASCAR Plaza has a strong tenant base and is the headquarters for several well-known companies, and we expect to create additional value through leasing and rent growth in a submarket that we believe will outperform during a recovery."

Walker Collier, Partner at Trinity Capital, notes that while it's bittersweet to sell the building after less than two years of ownership, he is proud of Trinity Capital's work that created such value for the asset. "Rubenstein Partners and Trinity Capital‘s partnership worked tirelessly with our leasing and property management stakeholders to shift NASCAR Plaza from the tremendous distress it was under before it was purchased, creating the stabilized asset it is today," Collier said. "NASCAR Plaza will serve as a good case study for Trinity Capital and the value creation that we work towards for our investors and partners." Anne Vulcano and Jessica Brown of CBRE handled the building's leasing duties and Trinity Partners managed the property for the ownership group.

NASCAR Plaza, created by renowned Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and built in 2009, sits adjacent to the NASCAR Hall of Fame and serves as the headquarters of NASCAR. The building is currently 88% leased, with 139,000 square feet leased to NASCAR through May 2021.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.