Twitter Adds to Sunnyvale Space

Twitter, the San Francisco micro-blogging social network, announced this week that it was expanding its office space with the lease of an additional 10,000 square feet at Sunnyvale Business Park, at 400 West California Ave. The company first established its presence at Sunnyvale in May of this year with the lease of 8,000 square feet of space, along with the commitment from property owner Principal Real Estate Investors to construct a 107,000-square-foot office building next to the existing building for additional Twitter space.

Dave Sandlin, a Colliers International senior vice president who represents Twitter's Sunnyvale property, said some San Francisco tech companies are realizing they need to have a presence further south. After all, while the city might be the hot talent market right now, the greater San Jose metro area also carries some advantages. "If you look at the housing situation in San Francisco, trying to put all your workers up there is very difficult, " said Sandlin.

The emphasis on San Francisco signifies how Silicon Valley, an area extending south from just below San Francisco to San Jose, California, no longer has a grip on technology companies, as reported by a New York Times article this month. About 18 months ago, tech companies started moving or expanding here to be closer to their employees. According to reports, Twitter is looking to add 320,000 square feet to its footprint in San Francisco, bringing its total to about 600,000 square feet.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Kaneohe Ranch Selling Hawaii CRE Portfolio for $262M

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. has entered into an agreement to purchase Kaneohe Ranch's Hawaii commercial real estate portfolio for $262 million in a deal expected to close by the end of the year, according to a petition filed by a beneficiary seeking to postpone a vote on the sale scheduled for next week, as reported by a Pacific Business Times article.

Kaneohe Ranch Co. LLC and the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation put the entire Kaneohe Ranch commercial real estate portfolio in a listing with Eastdil Secured, which includes the town center in Kailua in Windward Oahu, on the market in May of this year. The Hawaii portfolio also includes the land beneath the Windward City Shopping Center and Servco Windward Toyota in Kaneohe, and three properties in Honolulu. The portfolio was being marketed in its entirety, or as two geographic sub-portfolios.

The Mainland portfolio, which is reportedly not included in the sale, includes five leased fee land interests, three single-tenant retail and office assets and one multifamily asset located in San Francisco, Seattle, Miami, Dallas, Phoenix and Portland, Ore. Tenants in those properties include Lowe's in San Jose, Calif., a Kohl's department store in Phoenix, the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay and the U.S. government.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Pomfret Buys Pleasanton Building for $6.5M

Pomfret Estates Inc. finalized its purchase this week of a 23,076-square-foot medical office building in Pleasanton, California for $6,550,000, or $282 per square foot. Pleasanton-based Bernal Associates sold the building with representation from Ian Thomas, senior vice president of Colliers International, while Pomfret was represented by Transwestern Managing Director Ed Del Beccaro. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The medical services building at 5000 Pleasanton Avenue was originally listed for sale in April 2013 and marketed by Colliers. Built in 1999, the building offers approximately 3,556 rentable square feet on the ground floor, along with building signage opportunities and an excellent central location near Amtrak, Highways 580 and 680 and downtown Pleasanton. Del Beccaro and Transwestern Vice President Sonny O'Drobinak have also been retained to lease the two-story medical office.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Griffin Capital Picks Up $521.5M Office Portfolio

El Segundo, CA-based Griffin Capital Corporation, on behalf of Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT, Inc., announced this week that it had acquired an 18 building office portfolio for $521.5 million, bringing the REIT to over $1.3 billion in total capitalization. Griffin Capital purchased the portfolio from Atlanta-based Columbia Property Trust, which was represented by CBRE, while Barclays served as financial advisor for Griffin Capital. Financing for the acquisition was provided by a $300 million term loan led by Key Bank, of which $282 million was initially drawn and the remaining $18 million held back for future specific releasing costs.

"We have been very proactive in repositioning our portfolio with a focused market strategy to invest in premier office properties in growing markets with solid fundamentals," said Nelson Mills, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Columbia Property Trust. "This transaction substantially increases our concentration in our top 10 markets, reduces our exposure to suburban markets and raises our percentage of multi-tenant properties.

The portfolio includes the following assets:

ATLANTA: 2500 Windy Ridge, 4100, 4200 & 4300 Wildwood
CINCINNATI: 4241 Irwin Simpson Road and 8990 Duke Boulevard
COLUMBUS: Chase Center Columbus and Sterling Commerce Center I and IV
DALLAS: 4300 Centreway Place and One MacArthur Ridge
DETROIT: 333 & 777 Republic Drive
INDIANAPOLIS: College Park Plaza
MILWAUKEE: 11200 W. Parkland Ave.
NASHVILLE: One Century Place
NEW JERSEY: Eagle Rock Executive Office Center IV
PHILADELPHIA: 1200 Morris Drive
SEATTLE: 15815 25th Avenue West and 16201 25th Avenue West
ST. LOUIS: 13655 Riverport Drive

Major tenants include Coca Cola Refreshments USA, General Electric Company, IBM, JP Morgan Chase, Aetna Life Insurance Company, Comcast Corporation, WellPoint and Wells Fargo Bank. Griffin Capital's chief investment officer Michael Escalante said the strategy behind the Essential Asset REIT is to own properties that serve as "essential assets" for the tenant, such as national and regional headquarters buildings, primary research & development facilities, and key business servicing centers, according to a CoStar report.

"With over 80% of the rents paid by investment grade-rated companies or corporate guarantors, and the vast majority of the buildings leased to iconic, blue chip1 tenants, this is an ideal fit for Essential Asset REIT," said Kevin Shields, Griffin Capital's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in a statement. "With this transaction, this REIT almost doubles in size, but far more important is the high quality assets and increased diversification this portfolio provides. Essential Asset REIT now includes tenants representing 33% of the DOW 30."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

NAIOP Report on Commercial Real Estate's Economic Contributions to the Economy

The NAIOP Research Foundation has released its report on How Office, Industrial and Retail Development and Construction Contributed to the U.S. Economy in 2012 which shows that commercial real estate is on the rise. The report quantifies the economic impact of new commercial real estate development and construction in the U.S. and states for 2012, including jobs created, income generated, GDP and the effect of multipliers. According to the report, development and construction of new commercial real estate – office, industrial and retail buildings – continued its climb in 2012, supporting approximately 2.3 million American jobs and contributing $303.4 billion to the nation’s economy, marking the second year that the sector posted gains since 2007.

Some key hilights from the report include:

• Commercial real estate alone supported at least 2.3 million American jobs in 2012
• Commercial real estate contributed $303.4 billion to U.S. GDP, a 16% increase from 2011
• Construction and development spending grows nearly 10% from 2011
• 307.5 million square feet built in 2012, a 29% increase from 2011

This video produced by the NAIOP Research Foundation further explains how commercial real estate development positively impacts the economy.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Westport Capital Affiliate Buys Corporate Plaza

Corporate Plaza, a highly recognizable office development within the St. Louis West County submarket, traded hands this month as Invesco Real Estate sold the property to an affiliate of Westport Capital Partners for an undisclosed price. Transwestern's Chicago office brokered the deal on behalf of Invesco with representation from Gary Nussbaum, Thomas Gorman, and David Matheis. Westport Capital Partners represented itself in the transaction.

"We are thrilled to have completed this acquisition," said Sean Armstrong, a principal of Westport. "Mercy plays a vital role in providing healthcare to more than three million people annually. We look forward to supporting its mission as its landlord."

"There was significant interest in the property due to the credit of the anchor tenant and the location in the Highway 40/West County office market, which is highly sought after by investors," said Gary Nussbaum, managing director of Transwestern.

The 210,409 square-foot, five-story office building at 14528 S. Outer 40 in Chesterfield, Missouri was 98% leased at the time of sale, with the not-for-profit healcare provider Mercy occuping 89% of the property, according to a Sacramento Bee article.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Toronto's Avison Young Acquires McShea & Company

McShea & Company, a full-service real estate services company founded in 1983 and operating throughout the Washington metropolitan area, has been acquired by Avison Young, a a Toronto-based commercial real estate firm seeking to expand its presence in the region. The change in ownership adds 150 employees to Avison Young's Suburban Maryland operations, and makes Avison one of the largest real estate firms in Suburban Maryland and the Washington Metropolitan Area. According to a Washington Business Journal article, Avison Young has been seeking to beef up its D.C. presence for past few years through a mixture of acquisition and recruitment, hiring former Grubb & Ellis Managing Director Keith Lipton in 2009 to help it open a new office in the District.

The acquisition means that McShea & Company founders Tim McShea and Jack McShea, along with Len Mongeon, Laurie Craft, Steve Lynch and Bob Dickman become Principals of Avison Young. Tim McShea and Mongeon also become Co-Managing Directors of the Suburban Maryland office and will manage the day-to-day operations of the office and service new and existing clients. Craft also becomes Director of Commercial Property Management, and Lynch becomes Director of Residential Management. Jack McShea's and Dickman's responsibilities will include client relations, new business development and brokerage transactions.

"We are very excited about the acquisition of McShea & Company, Inc. The acquisition of this highly regarded company represents the next step in our expansion strategy and will serve to create a deeper local presence in our rapidly growing DC Metro Region," Avison Young CEO Mark Rose said. "Tim, Jack, Len and the whole organization have a collaborative culture consistent with Avison Young's philosophy; our firms are an excellent fit culturally. Moreover, this acquisition is another example of a highly regarded independent firm that was heavily pursued by others, but recognized Avison Young's culture and structure as the right home for their clients and employees."

"We are thrilled to be joining a firm that places such a strong emphasis on being client-centric and culture-driven, and I am confident that our team's industry relationships and experience will support the company's growth objectives in the Washington, DC area," added Jack McShea. "We are looking forward to our new venture and working in this expanded platform with like-minded individuals."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.