Occasionally, I may post something elsewhere that may be worth circulating via SFOBA.
This appears on the Brenner Blog. Hope you enjoy.
http://www.breg.net/blog222-Reflections-on-the-Greatest-%23CRE-Super-Bowl-Ad-that-Never-Was
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BOCA RATON, Fla. — January 6, 2015 — Crocker Partners, a fully integrated real estate company with
an 8 million-square-foot portfolio valued at nearly $2 billion, and Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC, acting on behalf of a Cornerstone-managed fund, today announced the acquisition of the mixed-use Boca Center, one of Boca Raton’s most prominent properties.
The portfolio, which includes three Class A office buildings and a high-end retail center totaling 476,000 square feet, is located in the heart of Boca Raton, just east of the Town Center Mall. Although not part of the transaction, Boca Center also includes a 256-room Marriott, the only full-service, non-resort hotel in the Boca Raton market.
Boca Center, purchased from TIAA-CREF, was originally developed by Tom Crocker in the mid-1980s. At that time, it garnered a national reputation as a prototype for successful suburban mixed-use development and even today is an Urban Land Institute (ULI) Development Case Study. Crocker Partners will manage the portfolio for the new ownership. It is the second high-profile South Florida acquisition by the companies, which previously partnered on West Palm Beach’s Esperanté, a 20-story, 256,151-square-foot office tower.
Boca Center’s 360,000-square-foot office component is currently 91% leased to a marquee rent roll that includes FINRA, UBS, and Sun Capital. The 116,000-square-foot retail component is 98% leased, with popular tenants including Rocco’s Tacos, Morton’s, Joseph’s Classic Market, and Total Wine.
“Boca Raton’s office and retail markets have matured, and we believe there is significant upside potential given Boca Center’s draw, mix of uses and location at the heart of suburban Boca Raton,” said Tom Crocker, Managing Partner of Crocker Partners. “We intend to realize Boca Center’s full potential, with significant investment to reposition and reimage the property.”
“We are pleased to have established a presence in Boca Raton, and to continue expanding our relationship with Crocker Partners whose knowledge of both this portfolio and the market will serve our investors well,” said Michael Zammitti, Managing Director of the Eastern Region Equity Office for Cornerstone.
The Boca Center acquisition brings Crocker Partners’ holdings to more than 8 million square feet in the Southeast U.S. and Texas, and more than 1 million square feet in Boca Raton alone. The company recently acquired One Boca Place, a 277,390-square-foot office building, as well as a two-building, 330,438-square-foot Class A office portfolio in the city. It also owns and operates trophy assets around the state, including Miami Center, and Two Harbor Place in Tampa.
About Crocker Partners
Headquartered in Boca Raton, FL, with regional offices in Atlanta, Miami, and Jacksonville, Crocker Partners is known as a leading owner and developer of high profile properties in key markets, with a highly disciplined approach to investing. In all, Crocker Partners principals have owned, managed and developed more than 32 million square feet of Class A mixed-use, office or residential projects valued at approximately $4.0 billion in major markets in the Southeast and Texas. For information contact Angelo Bianco, 561-447-1810, email investor_relations@crockerpartners.com and visit www.crockerpartners.com.
About Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC
Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC, with subsidiary and affiliate offices in the U.S., UK, Europe, and Asia, is one of the largest global real estate investment managers. It provides core and valu
e-added investment and advisory services, including a comprehensive suite of private and public real estate debt, equity and securities expertise and services, to institutional and other qualified investors around the globe. Cornerstone is a member of the MassMutual Financial Group. Visit www.cornerstoneadvisers.com.
From our offices to yours, we wish you a safe and very Happy and Healty (and of course, Profitable!) New Year!
If you’re an office broker, and not yet a member of SFOBA, start 2015 off right and join us! Membership is free! – but open to office brokers only.
Our meetings are hosted, graciously, by our members. The host property gets exposure to market the space available in the building and for all to see it first hand.
Just leave us a comment below if you’re interested in membership and we’ll take care of the rest.
Be sure to include your name and email address and we’ll be happy to add your name to our current email distribution list to keep you informed of upcoming meetings.
We’ll see ya’ll in 2015!
Fort Lauderdale-based Stiles and Prudential Real Estate Investors announced today the acquisition of 200 East Las Olas, also known as New River Center, a 20-story trophy Class A office tower located directly on Las Olas Boulevard in the heart of Fort Lauderdale’s bustling central business district.
Developed by Stiles in 1990, this institutional quality asset is currently 86% leased and encompasses 281,713 rentable square feet of some of the most desirable office and ground-floor retail space in the vibrant South Florida region.
The property was acquired from Invesco Ltd. for $108 million, or $383 per square foot, by a joint-venture between Stiles Property Fund (SPF) and PREI. SPF is a discretionary value-added real estate fund that invests in office and retail properties throughout Florida. PREI®, among the world’s largest real estate investment management and advisory businesses, is a business of Prudential Financial, Inc.
New River Center was marketed through commercial real estate and capital markets services firm HFF, L.P. Hermen Rodriguez, senior managing director at HFF L.P., led the sale effort along with Ike Ojala, Jorge Portela and Tracey Goo.
“We are proud to once again partner with Prudential Real Estate Investors, one of the nation’s top commercial and residential investment groups,” said president of Stiles Doug Eagon. “As its original developer, we have come full circle with New River Center. Given our deep knowledge of the asset, the property’s upside potential and the robust market outlook, this acquisition fit well with our investment strategy.”
New River Center is positioned on 1.4 acres and includes unparalleled views of the New River and downtown Fort Lauderdale. The property consists of a 12-story office tower above an eight-story parking garage with 675 spaces, as well as nearly 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. It is currently leased to “blue chip” tenants, including: Fifth Third Bank; Akamai; Yum! Brands; Brinkley Morgan; and Stearns Weaver.
Following the acquisition, Stiles plans to implement its asset management best practices to drive further upside and additional synergies at New River Center. Stiles Leasing and Management will be engaged exclusively to handle the asset.
“The opportunity for SPF to acquire prime office real estate on Las Olas Boulevard with upside potential made this investment very attractive,” said SPF Fund Manager Kyle Jones. “We are looking forward to executing our business plan and creating further value at the Property utilizing Stiles’ diverse range of services.”
While Stiles has a long history of real estate transactions, New River Center is the first office transaction the Company has made through SPF, which it launched in 2011. Previous SPF acquisitions have targeted retail shopping centers throughout Florida and have included: Ormond Beach Mall, a 102,170-square-foot Publix grocery-anchored center in Ormond Beach; Market at Southside, a 95,135-square-foot center in Orlando; the former PGA Design Center, a 145,500-square-foot mixed-use property in Palm Beach Gardens; and Galleria Plaza, a 29,443-square-foot center in one of the most visible and affluent retail corridors of Fort Lauderdale.
According to Eagon, Stiles remains very active in Broward and especially the central business district of Fort Lauderdale, which is characterized by an urban lifestyle that has helped to drive concentrated growth in the downtown area.
“The 24/7 environment in downtown Fort Lauderdale is contributing to a thriving market with strong employment growth and lower vacancy rates,” commented Eagon. “Most of the new jobs being created are in the downtown urban areas of South Florida, including Brickell Avenue and Coral Gables.”
Stiles track record on Las Olas goes back to 1951 when the company was first established. Stiles has since developed 43 million square feet of real estate throughout Florida and more than 3.5 million square feet of projects in downtown Fort Lauderdale with uses ranging from office and retail to residential and associated parking. Responding to market demand for urban living, Stiles is currently underway with an ultra-luxury 254-unit apartment high-rise one-block from Las Olas Boulevard.
Crocker Partners has acquired two high-profile office towers in Boca Raton from MetLife Real Estate Investors, adding 339,000 square feet of Class A space to its growing South Florida portfolio.
Crocker paid $81 million for the Boca office complexes.
The two buildings, both originally developed by Crocker entities, are One Town Center and The Plaza, located just south of Glades Road.
The two buildings are currently 42 percent leased and major tenants include Wells Fargo and Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors. This latest acquisition, in partnership with Siguler Guff, brings Crocker Partners’ holdings in Boca Raton to more than 616,000 square feet. Earlier this year, Crocker Partners acquired the 277,390-square-foot One Boca Place office center, and the company expects to finalize another major acquisition by year-end that will bring its Boca Raton portfolio to more than one million square feet.
“Buying Class A vacancy in one of South Florida’s most desirable office markets is central to our investment strategy,” said Thomas J. Crocker, Founder and Managing Partner. “Our basis in these assets is a fraction of the cost it would take to replace them and we have significant upside potential as both buildings come with extensive development opportunities.”
Crocker Partners will manage the properties and has engaged CBRE for leasing, according to Angelo J. Bianco, Partner. He said Crocker Partners sees upside potential from development of surplus land surrounding the projects. The company, Bianco noted, has deep roots in the Boca Raton market, where it is headquartered and has developed many of the city’s most prominent buildings. In addition to The Plaza, built as Boca Raton’s first Class A office tower, and One Town Center, home to W.R. Grace and later Tyco, Crocker introduced the City’s two major mixed-use centers, Downtown Boca Raton’s Mizner Park, and suburban Boca Center.
Overall, Crocker Partners’ portfolio now includes more than 8.0 million square feet of office real estate in the Southeast U.S. and Texas, representing more than $1.5 billion invested.
The FBI’s far-flung operations in South Florida are being centralized in a new $156 million headquarters in Broward County.
The General Services Administration says FBI employees from 12 locations have begun moving into the single facility. The FBI Miami field office has jurisdiction in federal cases along Florida’s southeast coast from Vero Beach to Key West.
The FBI says more than 1,000 employees can work in the new building, which covers 330,000 square feet on a 20-acre site in Miramar. There also are parking spaces for 1,075 vehicles.
The FBI’s headquarters in South Florida had been located in North Miami Beach for the past 28 years.
Source: Local 10
