Las Olas Abuzz With Activity
Las Olas Centre has a new owner and the boulevard is getting a new Class A office building.
Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management’s (formerly RREEF Real Estate) real estate investment business snapped up 350 and 450 East Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale on behalf of one of its clients.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
A victim of the economic meltdown, the two towers faced a $219 million foreclosure in 2009, ironically after signing a series of lease renewals. It was 95% occupied at the time.
“Las Olas Centre is a great addition to our portfolio,” says Todd Henderson, head of Real Estate for the Americas at DeAWM. “We believe Las Olas Centre is the premier office asset in the market with exceptional amenities including its retail tenancy.”
In 2010, the two-building office complex spanning 469,353 square feet in the Las Olas corridor, sold for $170 million. San Antonio-based USAA Real Estate Company affiliates US Republic Core Fund and US Premier Office Equities purchased the towers from BF Las Olas, LLC, an entity of Wachovia/Wells Fargo about four years ago.
“Our view is that the buildings’ improvements and central location in the Fort Lauderdale CBD will continue to attract top tier tenants at market leading rents—positioning the property to deliver strong long term returns for our client,” says Henderson. The property offers office and retail space in Fort Lauderdale’s Central Business District.
Las Olas Centre occupies about 3.4 acres and 600 feet of frontage on Las Olas Boulevard. Certified LEED Gold with the U.S. Green Building Council, the project is one of very few options for trophy quality class A office space in a desirable location due to walking distance to shopping, restaurant and entertainment precincts, as well as proximity to airports, highways, and executive housing.
Just a few blocks away, the One West Las Olas office building in downtown Fort Lauderdale got an $8.67 million construction mortgage from Branch Banking & Trust Co.
The bank made the loan to One West LOA LLC, which is managed by attorneys Jeffrey Ostrow and Brian Kopelwitz. They are the managing partners of Kopelowitz Ostrow P.A., which will be the anchor tenant in the 40,000-square-foot “Class A” office building.
Stiles Construction is the general contractor for the project at 13 West Las Olas Blvd., along South Andrews Avenue.
The six-story building will break ground in May.
Source: GlobeSt.
