Discovery Corporate Center Building Sold for $36.5M

Drawbridge Realty Trust, a San Francisco-based real estate investment and development company, announced that it had acquired the Discovery Corporate Center Building A in San Diego, California for $36.5 million. Menlo Equities sold the property, originally developed by Bernardo Technology Partners, which was formed in June 2004 to develop, own and operate a 242,526‑square‑foot office technology campus built in two phases. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"Building A is the third building we've acquired in the Discovery Corporate Center campus," said Mark Whiting, CEO of Drawbridge Realty Trust. "It's the flagship property on the campus, and serves as Broadcom's regional headquarters."

Adjacent to Rancho Bernardo Road and the I-15 freeway, Building A at 16340 West Bernardo Drive is a three-story Class A office building with 90,610 square feet of space on just over four acres. The property was 100% leased at the time of sale to Broadcom Corporation.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Square Mile Sells Spring Garden Tower for $184.5M

Square Mile Capital Management, a New York-based diversified real estate investment firm, completed the sale this week of the office tower at 1500 Spring Garden St. in Philadelphia, PA for $184.5 million, or about $171 per square foot. According to a CoStar report, a joint venture of The Nightingale Group LLC and Carlton Associates, Inc. purchased the building, which was put up for sale this summer. Jones Lang LaSalle arranged the transaction with the buyers handling the sale in-house, the terms of which were not disclosed.

1500 Spring Garden Street, also known as the SmithKline Beecham Headquarters Building, was originally built in 1947 and underwent renovations in 2002 to accommodate offices, operations centers and a major television studio with master planning from Bruce E. Brooks & Associates. The 12-story, 1.08 million-square-foot, 4-Star office tower was reportedly 90% leased at the time of sale with major tenants including Sungard Availability Services, Thomson Reuters, Independence Blue Cross, Day & Zimmermann, and CBS Broadcasting.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Bixby Developing Gen2, New OC Creative Office Space

Bixby Land Company, an Irvine, CA-based privately-held REIT, has begun developing a new project in Orange County to redesign office space at a two-story office building at 18231 West McDurmott in Irvine. Bixby has engaged the architect firm LPA to help create a contemporary work environment, dubbed Gen2, to accommodate three tenants of approximately 15,000 square feet each when completed by the middle of next year. Bixby purchased the 45.6k square-foot property earlier this week for an undisclosed sum.

"The redesign of this building will provide a compelling niche for tenants seeking creative space in the airport area," said Bill Halford, president and CEO of Bixby Land Company. "There is a great deal of demand for creative office space that has not been met in the local market."

Gen2 will feature natural and sustainable materials, dramatic entry points with horizontal wood elements and the signature Bixby Retreat™, an outdoor gathering area that serves as a natural extension of the collaborative interior spaces.

"We have been able to create an exciting, progressive environment by incorporating a new outdoor deck that is easily accessed from the tenant space," said Dan Heinfeld, president of LPA. "By adding a series of folding doors that open to the deck we have created a true indoor outdoor connection that takes full advantage of Southern California's temperate climate. The seamless connection to the exterior will give tenants a variety of ways to connect with the outdoors," added Heinfeld.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Tryperion Partners Buys St. Louis Portfolio

The suburban St. Louis headquarters of Energizer Holdings and Panera Bread were among six properties acquired by Tryperion Partners in a St. Louis suburban office portfolio purchase announced this week. While the transaction amounts and terms of the deals were not disclosed, Tryperion did reveal that the acquisition was completed in two separate transactions – two buildings totaling 252,000 square feet in the prominent Maryville Centre office campus in Town and Country were acquired with financing from John Hancock Life Insurance Company, and four buildings totaling 385,000 square feet in Sunset Hills and Maryland Heights were acquired with financing from Wells Fargo. CBRE has been engaged to manage the portfolio, with Tom Ray and Art Kerckhoff of CBRE selected as listing agents for the Maryville assets, and Jay Holland and Piers Pritchard of Cassidy Turley for the Sunset Hills and Maryland Heights assets.

"We are excited about this move into St. Louis. This acquisition fits our strategy of investing in cash flowing assets in secondary markets with strong fundamentals," said Tryperion partner Eliot Bencuya of the acquisition. "The caliber of tenants, and the investments they have made in their headquarters locations, is an affirmation of the quality of this portfolio."

According to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, Tryperion acquired the properties through its Tryperion RE Fund 1 LP, a $50 million fully discretionary commingled fund closed in May. The portfolio was over 90% leased at the time of sale, with long-term leases including the national headquarters for Energizer Holdings and Panera Bread, and regional headquarters for Equifax and New Balance.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Eight El Camino Real Corridor Redevelopment Sites Sold

Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services announced this week that it had facilitated the sale of eight key Silicon Valley redevelopment sites along the El Camino Real corridor in separate transactions for a total of $71.1 million. Last month, the company arranged the $12.35 million sale of a 2.5-acre redevelopment site located at 302 North Fair Oaks Ave., 318 North Fair Oaks Ave., 617 Arques Ave. and 627 Arques Ave. in Sunnyvale, California. Since March 2012, Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services has facilitated the sale of six additional El Camino Real corridor properties totaling $43.9 million. In August, they arranged the sale of a 1.6-acre parcel at 881 East El Camino Real and a 0.6-acre parcel at 865 East El Camino Real in Mountain View, California.

"The employment gains and flow of venture capital dollars that returned in earnest to Silicon Valley in 2010 created a strong combination of factors that brought about double-digit multifamily rent growth, robust demand for office space and contributed to the ongoing recovery in the hotel sector," says Steve Seligman, vice president and regional manager of Marcus & Millichap's Palo Alto office. "This growth also initiated a flurry of construction in the region and investors continue to pursue development opportunities in the area's under-utilized locations."

"Marcus & Millichap's Palo Alto office is closely acquainted with this submarket and two of our senior investment specialists, Kirk Trammell and J.J. Taughinbaugh, have been particularly successful in identifying redevelopment project sites for clients," added Seligman.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

ASB Acquires Manhattan Mixed Use Property for $61.9M

ASB Real Estate Investments (ASB), a division of ASB Capital Management, LLC, announced this week that it had acquired 164-168 Canal Street in Manhattan on behalf of ASB's Allegiance Fund in a joint venture with George Comfort & Sons for $61.9 million. The six-story mixed use building first came to market in August, being marketed by Massey Knakal Realty Services with an asking price of $63 million. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Robert Bellinger, President and CEO of ASB Real Estate Investments, said: "This is a high-quality asset in a premier, Class A+, Manhattan retail location. Driven by the growth in Chinese wealth, this area of Canal Street has emerged as a thriving bank corridor and we expect the property to continue to experience strong investment grade tenancy that provides a steady income stream."

The 49,951 square-foot red brick building was originally constructed in 1910 at the corner of Canal and Elizabeth Streets. Nearly all of the current leases in the building are set to expire by the end of the year, with roughly 70% of the property occupied by credit tenants, including CitiBank and NY Life & Co.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Carlson Sells AZ Portfolio for $52.6M

Newport Beach, California-based Buchanan Street Partners announced this week that it had purchased a 446,000-square-foot portfolio from Carlson Real Estate Company for $52.6 million, or $118 per square-foot. Buchannan purchased the 10-building portfolio in four separate sale transactions which were represented by Eastdil Secured.

Carlson, which is affiliated with the family-owned Carlson Cos., announced in early 2012 it was planning to shed some of its 5.5 million square feet of commercial real estate holdings as part of a plan to move Carlson family wealth to new generations. The properties in this portfolio were 74% leased at the time of sale, and includes a mix of office, industrial, office flex and retail properties, eight of which are located in the Cotton Center, one of the most desirable master-planned business parks in Phoenix.

"Cotton Center provides tenants with abundant amenities, a central location and high-quality buildings," said Brian Payne, vice president at Buchanan Street Partners. "This is another example of Buchanan Streets' ability to identify investment opportunities and close in a timely fashion."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.