Stiles Purchases Downtown Fort Lauderdale Property

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An affiliate of Stiles Corp. paid $13.1 million for a Bank of America drive-thru facility in downtown Fort Lauderdale, a property that could be primed for redevelopment.

The bank sold the 1.45-acre site at 212 S.E. 2nd Ave. — a block north of Las Olas Boulevard — to 212 Partners LLC, an affiliate of Fort Lauderdale-based Stiles Corp.

The 2,797-square-foot financial facility was built in 1983.

Stiles Corp. has developed many office buildings and residential towers in downtown Fort Lauderdale. In a recent feature story on his company, founder and co-CEO Terry Stiles told the Business Journal that he’d like to build a 300,000-square-foot office tower in downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Bank of America drive-thru teller site was one of the possible locations for that project. He’s also exploring putting the office building at the Broward College downtown campus – right next to the drive-thru – as Stiles Corp. is one of three parties in an ongoing request for proposals process with the college to redevelop that site.

So with the acquisition from Bank of America, Stiles Corp. can tell BC that it would have an even larger property to develop if it wins the bidding.

Stiles Corp. Vice Chairman Doug Eagon said it has been trying to acquire the Bank of America property since 2008 and the bank finally put it on the market. He said the property would have the office tower, or be used in combination with the college site – should Stiles be selected – build office and other uses. Stiles will now start approaching prospective office tenants, he added.

 

“We believe in the downtown office market,” Eagon said. “We think that this is the time to be planning for the development of the next office building downtown…Vacancies have declined over the last few years. We understand what tenants might want to come downtown. We understand the tenants with expansion needs.”

 

Source:  SFBJ

 

Fort Lauderdale Office Tower Trades For $113 Million

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Cushman & Wakefield negotiated the $113 million sale of 110 Tower, a 394,830-square-foot trophy office building in the Fort Lauderdale CBD.

The Capital Markets brokerage team of Executive Director Mike Davis, Senior Director Rick Brugge, Senior Director Michael Lerner, Executive Director Scott O’Donnell and Senior Director Dominic Montazemi represented Dallas-based seller Genesis Capital Partners XI Ltd., a GenCap Partners, Inc. investment fund. The asset was acquired by Boca Raton-based IP Capital Partners, LLC for $286 per square foot.

110 Tower is a 30-story, Class A office tower built in 1988. As the tallest and most recognizable building in the CBD, 110 Tower features 22 stories of office space, five stories of structured parking, two stories of mechanical space and ground-floor retail and parking. On-site amenities include restaurants, a health club, a full-service bank, as well as conference and entertainment facilities.

In 2011, 110 Tower completed a comprehensive $15 million renovation program that included upgrades to the ground floor lobby; a new 6th Street look; upgraded upper-floor common areas and other interior spaces; replacement and improvement of all building primary mechanical systems; and a unique exterior lighting system. New and existing amenities include 110 Fitness, Subway, That’s A Wrap, Dunkin’ Donuts, Sabadell Bank, car wash, a wrap-around outdoor terrace, ballroom and multiple conference centers.

110 Tower has received numerous accolades, including USGBC of South Florida’s Gala Verde Award as Florida’s Best in LEED for Existing Buildings; BOMA Fort Lauderdale/Palm Beaches’ TOBY Award for Renovated Building of the Year; BOMA’s Southern Regional TOBY Award for Renovated Building of the Year; and the PRISM Award for Renovated Building.

The property’s location at 110 SE 6th Street sits directly across from the new Broward County Courthouse. Fort Lauderdale has also made a commitment to municipal improvements in immediate proximity to 110 Tower, including the completion of the Wave electric streetcar with a stop directly in front of the asset.

“The CBD has evolved into a true live, work and play environment, which is driving strong demand for office space,” said Davis. “Despite the growth in residential construction and population within the CBD, however, there is currently no new Class A office construction. With growing demand and no new supply, rental rates and occupancies in the Fort Lauderdale CBD are expected to continue to grow well into the future.”

 

Avison Young Engaged To Sell Weston Office Building

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Avison Young has been named the exclusive listing agent to market and sell the 52,960-square-foot office building located at 1725 North Commerce Parkway in Weston.

David Duckworth, Principal, Investment Sales, with Avison Young, was retained by ownership to spearhead the sale.

“Southwest Broward County’s office leasing activity continues to accelerate with mid-year 2016 reports showing decreasing vacancy rates, currently at 14.6 percent. As vacancy is absorbed, we are seeing rental rate growth outpacing inflation, growing over 2 percent annually since 2013,” said Duckworth. “These market trends, coupled with the long-term credit tenant in place and recent renovations completed, make 1725 North Commerce Parkway an amazing investment opportunity.”

Recent renovations include a new roof, a new back-up generator, exterior paint, and class A finishes.

In 2Q2015, Avison Young secured the long-term lease with the current tenant, a national vendor of technology-enabled, end-to-end payment health plan solutions for organizations, taking the last available contiguous office space over 50,000 square feet off the market in Weston. In 2Q2016, Avison Young was named the exclusive firm to manage the property.

Another Fort Lauderdale Office Asset Changes Hands

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Investor Yoav Merary just paid $43 million to buy the Cypress Park West I & II office campus in Fort Lauderdale, plus a spit of adjacent land, from the Stockbridge Capital Group.

In two separate deals, Merary bought both the office campus at 6700-6750 North Andrews Avenue, as well as a small chunk of nearby vacant land along Cypress Creek Road, according to county records.

For the larger of the two sales, Merary used an LLC called CPN West to buy the office park, which houses about 225,000 square feet of rentable space and a six-story parking garage with 350 spaces. That deal broke down to about $189 per leasable square foot.

Data from the CoStar Group shows asking rents average $18 per square foot and the buildings were more than 95 percent occupied at the time of their sale. One of the largest tenants is Microsoft, taking up 43,675 square feet, and shared workspace provider Regus, which 22,547 square feet.

The larger deal also includes 6.2 acres of vegetated land right behind the offices.

In the smaller deal, Stockbridge sold a separate parcel of land measuring just under 1.5 acres to F Land LLC, another company managed by Merary.

Merary financed the deals with a $29.25 million loan from Benefit Street partners CRE Finance, a lending arm of asset manager Providence Equity, county records show.

Stockbridge had purchased both the offices and land for $32.95 million and $800,000, respectively. That purchase broke down to $146 per rentable square foot.

Merary is the same investor who flipped a two-story apartment building in Surfside to the Chateau Group for $6.2 million last year. That property is now part of Chateau’s extensive holdings in the oceanfront city.

 

Source:  The Real Deal

KAS Partners Unloads Office Property, More Than Doubles Investment

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MandelPartners-Douglas-Mandel-Tim-ThomasMarcus & Millichap Senior Vice President and Institutional Property Advisors (IPA) Senior Director Douglas K. Mandel, along with National Office and Industrial Properties Group Associate Timothy P. Thomas facilitated the sale of 2425 Office Plaza, a 21,625-square-foot boutique office asset located at 2425 East Commercial Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale.

Real estate investor Corey Shader purchased the office building for $2.3 million from a subsidiary of Coral Gables-based KAS Partners. The property last traded in December 2010 for $1,450,000.

2425 Office Plaza was approximately 70 percent occupied at the time of the sale, which closed on September 16.

 

“With its central location, direct frontage on Commercial Boulevard and tremendous lease-up potential, 2425 Office Plaza provided Mr. Shader with an excellent opportunity to acquire a well-maintained, value-add office building,” commented Mandel.

The 1971-built office property, which consists of four stories situated on a 0.45-acre parcel of land with direct frontage along Commercial Boulevard, just east of Federal Highway (US Highway 1), was renovated in 2005.

Mandel and Thomas represented the seller in the transaction. The buyer was represented by One Investment Group.

 

Downtown Fort Lauderdale Office Sale Closes At $220 Million

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The South Florida office market keeps reeling in investors ready to drop large sums on the region’s trophy assets.

In one of the biggest commercial real estate deals this year, a downtown Fort Lauderdale office tower changed hands for $220 million.

A company linked to Deutsche Bank‘s asset and wealth management division pocketed the Bank of America Plaza at Las Olas City Centre, a 23-story office tower built in 2002, from J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc., according to Broward County property records.

The pricey deal closed Monday, five years after New York-based J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. originally purchased the asset. The seller walked away with a $56 million gain, or 34 percent

The 725,898-square-foot Class A office building at 401 E. Las Olas Blvd. sits on 2½ acres with about 408,000 square feet of leasable office space. It is anchored by Bank of America, and other tenants include Greenberg Traurig; Boies, Schiller & Flexner; GrayRobinson; Patriot National Inc.; and Farlie Turner & Co.

The deal broke down to $303 per square foot.

Fort Lauderdale’s office market has attracted new players this year looking for valuable assets away from Miami’s congested urban core.

Miami-based Steelbridge Capital purchased the two-building Class A SunTrust Center office complex a block away at 501-505 Las Olas Blvd. for $87 million in June. That deal, at $320 per square foot, was the largest transaction since June 2015.

In August, Massachusetts-based Brookwood Financial Partners sold an 11-story office building in downtown Fort Lauderdale for $46.5 million — $14 million more than what it paid two years ago.

Broward County’s investment sales activity picked up last quarter with eight transactions totaling $134 million, according to CBRE Inc. Overall, commercial transactions totaled $345 million during the first half of the year.

The submarket’s vacancy rates dropped to 12 percent in the second quarter as new entrants vie for space and existing companies expand their footprints.

 

Source:  DBR