Monmouth Pays $30.7M for Burlington Industrial Property

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation, a Freehold, NJ-based real estate investment trust, announced that it has purchased a new industrial building in Burlington, WA for $30,662,080. The transaction was completed on April 8, though transaction details beyond the company's disclosure are unknown. Fisher Construction Group lists the facility on its website as a 10-month fast track project delivered for Jones Development, a Kansas City, MO-based second generation commercial development firm.

"This acquisition represents a new territory for Monmouth and it expands our geographic footprint from coast to coast," said Michael Landy, Monmouth Real Estate President and CEO, in a press release. "This large 42 acre site is situated right off of Interstate 5 and is in close proximity to one of the largest airplane assembly plants in the world, owned by Boeing in Everett. We are very pleased to enter the Seattle market and hope to expand our presence here over time."

Located at 2000 South Walnut Street, the industrial building is situated on approximately 42.4 acres and includes 210,445 square feet of space. The full property is net-leased to FedEx Ground Packaging System, Inc. for 15 years.

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Cook County Hospital Mixed Use Redevelopment

Civic Health Development Group (CHDG) has been selected to redevelop Old County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois with a private redevelopment and land lease agreement to be presented to the Cook County Board of Commissioners on April 13. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle's office unveiled the $550-$700 million development plan for the vacant and historic building, with a design to restore the old hospital's historic Beaux Arts façade as part of the project. The redevelopment will transform the former hospital into an office, residential and retail space, with a hotel to be built on a grassy field in front of the old hospital. After review by the Cook County Board's Commissioners and Finance Committee, the full Board may vote on the redevelopment agreement at a May 11 meeting.

Preckwinkle said that CHDG will invest $600 million and pay at least $2 million annual rent under a 99 year lease to the county, which will retain ownership of the land. Rent would go up as the years go on, and the county would have two 25-year options. Officials say the county won't have to make a capital investment or offer a subsidy to the developer. "I think that renovation of this facility will have a transformative effect on the Illinois Medical District," Preckwinkle said. The county also plans to build a new office building and clinic nearby, at a cost of about $113 million to taxpayers.

If the plans are approved, redevelopment construction would begin in 2017 and completion of the new building is anticipated in mid-2018. The project is expected to create more than 2,000 temporary and permanent jobs. CHDG is led by Real Estate Services and is comprised of a number of firms, including Plenary Group, Walsh Investors, Walsh Construction Company, Granite Development, Loop Capital, SOM, Health Management Associates and Legat Architects, according to Cook County records.

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Milwaukee Center Sold for $60.5M

An affiliate of Associated Bank, a regional bank holding company based in Green Bay and the biggest bank headquartered in Wisconsin, has purchased the 28-story office tower at 111 E. Kilbourn Ave. for $60.5 million. The property was sold by Hub Milwaukee Center Properties LLC, a real estate investment trust registered in Wisconsin, according to state real estate records posted Tuesday. The city's assessed value for the property is $49.5 million. Terms of the deal and representation were not disclosed.

According to Philip Flynn, president and CEO, Associated will occupy a significant portion of the building when the lease on its current regional office expires in 2022. Approximately 320 Associated employees currently occupy 97,000 square feet of the Plaza East towers at 330 East Kilbourn. "Our purchase of this iconic, city-center building aligns with our efforts to become the city's hometown bank," Flynn said. "As a major corporate citizen, we're filling that role through our support of consumers and business clients, and through our strategic investments in new office locations, economic and cultural development initiatives, and affiliations with the Milwaukee Brewers, Marcus Center, United Performing Arts Fund and other community partners."

Built in 1988, the Milwaukee Center is a 373,000 square foot Class A office building, believed to be the sixth largest multi-tenant office property in downtown Milwaukee and the fourth tallest building in the state. The Milwaukee Center's construction was spurred by the Milwaukee Repertory Theater's purchase and subsequent selling of the land surrounding the former Wisconsin Electric Powerhouse which was converted into The Rep's primary performance venue, the Quadracci Powerhouse. The Milwaukee Center's rotunda connects the office tower with the Inter Continental Hotel Milwaukee and the historic Pabst Theater.

Flynn said the purchase of the building does not signal an intention to move Associated's headquarters to Milwaukee from Green Bay. "We have no plans to move the headquarters of the company," he said. There is more than $1 billion in development under way in downtown Milwaukee, including the $450 million corporate headquarters being built by Northwestern Mutual, according to a Milwaukee Business Journal article. In addition, the Milwaukee Bucks will soon start construction on a new $500 million arena and $500 million in adjoining development, including a practice facility and a multi-use parking structure.

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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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Bellevue's Sunset North Sold for $155M

M-M Properties, in partnership with a large unnamed institutional investor, has completed the acquisition of a three-building, 464,000 square foot office campus in Bellevue, Washington for $155.3 million. The property, known as Sunset North, was sold by a fund managed by Beacon Capital Partners; Beacon originally acquired the property in 2007 as part of a $6.35 billion, 39 property portfolio from Blackstone Group. The deal includes the three buildings at at 3120-3180 139th Ave. S.E., a parking lot and two adjacent vacant lots, according to property records. CBRE's Institutional Properties team represent the seller in the transaction with assistance from the Broderick Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"We are excited to add Sunset North to our expanding institutional investment portfolio," said Ken Moczulski, CEO of M-M Properties. "Following our October 2015 acquisition of the Sawgrass Centre office portfolio in Fort Lauderdale, the acquisition of Sunset North continues our geographic diversification into high-quality institutional assets."

"Sunset North is among the highest-quality office properties in Bellevue's I-90 corridor," added Tom Pehl, a senior vice president with CBRE Capital Markets. "The complex's unobstructed views of the downtown Seattle skyline and Olympic Mountains and easy access to downtown Bellevue and downtown Seattle have attracted an impressive mix of tenants."

Built in 1999-2000, Sunset North was developed jointly by Wright Runstad & Company and Equity Office Properties Trust. Wright Runstad started the 83-acre Sunset Corporate Campus, which includes Sunset North and three other buildings, in 1990 with Obayashi America Corp. as its financial partner. Obayashi later purchased Wright Runstad's interest in other sections of the campus, but Wright Runstad retained rights for the remaining three building sites, partnering with Equity Office when development began in 1998. The office park was designed by the award-winning firm of Zimmer Gunsul Frasca and features polished Canadian Gold granite, a state-of-the-art energy management system, and an on-site fitness center with showers and deli. Sunset North is currently 99% leased and anchored by The Boeing Company.

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CIM Picks Up Boston South End Office Building

Los Angeles-based CIM Group, an urban real estate and infrastructure fund manager, together with Boston-based Center Court Mass, LLC, announced that it has purchased 95 Berkeley Street in Boston's South End for $43 million. CIM acquired the property from The Community Builders, a nonprofit urban housing developer in Boston, which purchased the property as their first acquisition in the South End market. The building previously sold for $2,373,100 in 1992. Colliers International represented The Community Builders in the transaction, and markets the property for lease; CIM's representation and terms of the deal were not disclosed.

95 Berkeley Street comprises approximately 103,265 square feet on six floors, plus a basement with parking for 36 cars. Originally built in the 1920's, the property was redeveloped in 1988 by The Community Builders, which previously placed the property on the market in 2004 with Meredith & Grew Inc. for sale as a residential conversion. Formerly the headquarters of Morgan Memorial, the property is prominently situated at the corner of Berkeley and Chandler Streets in Boston's South End and offers immediate access to public transportation located just blocks away from Back Bay Station.

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Columbia Sells 100 East Pratt for $187M

Columbia Property Trust, a real estate investment trust that owns and operates Class-A office buildings concentrated in CBD locations, announced that it has completed the sale of 100 East Pratt Street in Baltimore, Maryland for $187 million. Columbia sold the iconic 653,000 square-foot office building to Vision Properties, an east coast real estate firm. The HFF investment sales team represented Columbia Property Trust in the transaction; Vision Properties' representation and full terms of the deal were not disclosed. Columbia said in a press release that it would use the proceeds of the sale to repay a $119 million short-term bridge loan and borrowings on its unsecured credit facility. The building was previously sold by Boston Properties in 2005 to Wells Real Estate for $207.5 million, and was added to the Wells REIT II portfolio, which later became Columbia Property Trust.

"This week's sale of 100 East Pratt, which was our only asset in Baltimore, represents another milestone in our ongoing transformation of Columbia Property Trust's portfolio into one that is primarily focused on the acquisition, leasing and operation of top quality office properties in the nation's high-barrier markets," said Nelson Mills, president and chief executive officer of Columbia Property Trust. "Through this sale, we achieved pricing well within our target range for the property, which reflects its overall quality and solid performance during our years of ownership. More importantly, we have now successfully sold 48 non-core properties totaling $2.3 billion in proceeds since 2011, while simultaneously investing $2 billion in prime office properties located in New York, San Francisco, Washington and Boston."

Located at the intersection of Pratt and Light Streets, 100 East Pratt Street is the long-time home of investment management firm T. Rowe Price, which occupies 65% of the building. the 28-story tower features a 2-story lobby, ground-level retail, fitness and conference center and an abutting 8-level parking structure with 940 parking spaces and direct access into the building. The building originally began construction in 1973 by Emery Roth & Sons, then completed and developed in 1992 by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. The property was 98.5% leased as of December, with additional key tenants including PriceWaterHouseCoopers, Merrill Lynch and Tydings & Rosenberg.

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