Tag Archive for: christian lee

Downtown Fort Lauderdale Office Tower Trades For $108.5 Million

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1 East Broward Owner, LLC, a joint venture between affiliates of NAI/Merin Hunter Codman and PCCP, LLC, has acquired 1 East Broward, a Class A office tower in downtown Fort Lauderdale for $108,500,000.

The CBRE Capital Markets team facilitated the sale of the 19-story, 351,705 square foot, institutional-quality office building on behalf of the seller, Ivy Realty.

Additionally, the CBRE Debt & Structured Finance team arranged acquisition financing of $77,465,500 with SunTrust Bank on behalf of the buyer. Vice Chairman, Christian Lee and Senior Vice President, José Lobón of CBRE oversaw the transaction on the sale effort, and First Vice President Amy Julian oversaw the financing for CBRE, working with Chief Financial Officer Dung Lam and Acquisitions Director Corey Winsett on behalf of NAI/Merin Hunter Codman. The CBRE team also included Senior Financial Analyst Andrew Chilgren. Rebecca M. Cox, SunTrust Senior Vice President, provided the financing. Kapp Morrison LLP provided legal counsel to the seller and Shutts and Bowen provided legal counsel to the buyer.

The property is located on the northeast corner of Broward Boulevard and Andrews Avenue, in the heart of Fort Lauderdale’s rapidly expanding downtown, across from the new Brightline Rail Station. The 91% leased property includes a 19-story building and a 5-story building that are connected by a covered sky bridge to a 4-story parking structure that provides the office tenants with 772 covered parking spaces. The property recently received an extensive renovation with over $4.9 million invested since the beginning of 2013 and serves as the new U.S. headquarters for KEMET Corporation, a leading publicly-traded global supplier of electronic components. KEMET recently relocated its corporate headquarters from Greenville, SC to 1 East Broward bringing 150 additional jobs to the Fort Lauderdale CBD. KEMET joins several leading law firms who have corporate and regional headquarters at 1 East Broward including Becker & Poliakoff, Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A., McGlinchey Stafford and Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP.

The purchaser of the property, 1 East Broward Owner, LLC is a joint venture between affiliates of NAI/Merin Hunter Codman, Inc. and PCCP, a real estate finance and investment management firm, based in New York and San Francisco that has over $6.5 billion in assets under management on behalf of institutional investors.

Jordan Paul, CEO of NAI/Merin Hunter Codman stated, “We are excited to form this venture with PCCP. Fort Lauderdale is transforming into one of the great live, work, play environments in the United States and 1 East Broward enjoys a unique position within the marketplace. NAI/Merin Hunter Codman and PCCP plan to continue improving the property to solidify its position as one of downtown Fort Lauderdale’s premier corporate addresses and we appreciate that SunTrust was able to provide us with a loan that allows for flexibility in achieving this goal.”

NAI/Merin Hunter Codman will take over property management and leasing at 1 East Broward.

NAI/Merin Hunter Codman Chairman, Neil Merin who will oversee the leasing team with NAI/Merin Hunter Codman Commercial Associate Max Pawk stated, “With its strategic location adjacent to the Brightline Rail Station, the Federal Courthouse and within walking distance of both Las Olas Boulevard and all of the exciting new residential and cultural development taking place in Flagler Village, 1 East Broward offers its tenants an ideal corporate home with easy access to everything that is happening in Fort Lauderdale and South Florida.”

Christian Lee, Vice Chairman of CBRE Capital Markets stated, “Ivy did an outstanding job executing its business plan and creating value at 1 East Broward. By virtue of the 20% rent growth we have witnessed in Downtown Fort Lauderdale since 2014, every building in the CBD affords significant upside potential as leases expire and we expect that the new ownership group will be able to continue to enhance the building and benefit from the exciting growth taking place in Fort Lauderdale.”

Jose Lobon, Senior Vice President, CBRE Capital Markets added, “1 East Broward has benefited tremendously from its location in the burgeoning Flagler Village neighborhood of Downtown Fort Lauderdale. Not only is it the closest office tower to the recently opened Brightline train station, but it is also at the gateway to the CBD’s youngest and hippest enclave which has seen a generational transformation over the last decade, including 6,415 new multifamily units, as well as numerous art galleries, restaurants, and amenities.”

Sawgrass Pointe I In Sunrise Sells For $51.1 Million

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CBRE arranged the sale of Sawgrass Pointe I, a 230,668-sq.ft. 6-story Class A office building to New York-based True North for $51.1 million.

The property located at 1000 Sawgrass Corporate Parkway in Sunrise was sold by an institutional investor. CBRE’s Capital Markets team of vice chairman Christian Lee and senior vice president José Antonio Lobón represented the seller.

“Sawgrass Pointe I is located in South Florida’s largest office park, Sawgrass International Corporate Park, which is strategically bounded by the Sawgrass Expressway, Interstate 75 and Interstate 595,” explained José Lobón, senior vice president, CBRE Capital Markets. “Being at the nexus of three major South Florida roadway systems offers the business park unmatched access – an estimated 5.6 million people, more than 90 percent of South Florida’s population, live within a 60-minute commute.”

Built in 2002, Sawgrass Pointe I features an above-market parking ratio of 5.0 per 1,000 square feet, water views and recent common area upgrades. The property is 96 percent leased to 17 tenants with a remaining weighted average lease term of more than five years. The office park is the regional headquarters to several blue-chip companies, including Ford, Fidelity Information Systems, AT&T, American Express, Harris Corporation, Xerox and Ticketmaster.

“Sawgrass Pointe I’s location and high-quality modern design make the property extremely attractive to both tenants and investors. Consequently, demand within the investor community was robust,” explained Christian Lee, vice chairman, CBRE Capital Markets.

Market fundamentals in greater Broward County are strong, with positive net absorption and vacancy declining continuously over past six years. Broward’s unemployment rate of 3.3 percent as of October 2017 is the lowest in South Florida, despite robust population growth. The Sawgrass Park submarket has been exceptionally strong. Vacancy has averaged in the single digits over the past six years and currently sits at just 7.6 percent.

The CBRE South Florida Capital Markets team also included Vice President Amy Julian, Senior Vice President Chris Gallagher and Financial Analyst Tyler Ploshnick.

The Forum Office Buildings Trade In $22.5 Million Deal

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CBRE arranged the sale of The Forum in West Palm Beach.

The 185,089 sq.ft. property, consisting of two multi-tenant office buildings and a four-story structured parking garage, is located at 1665 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd.

A subsidiary of Triarch Capital Group acquired the property for $22.5 million.

CBRE’s Miami-based Capital Markets team facilitated the sale on behalf of the seller, Crimson Peak and Panther Capital Management. Vice Chairman Christian Lee oversaw the transaction alongside Senior Vice President José Lobón and Vice President Amy Julian. The Capital Markets team representing the seller also included Financial Analysts Marcos Minaya and Joseph Chick.

Neil Merin of NAI/Merin Hunter Codman and Jonathan Kingsley of Colliers also worked on the transaction.

“The Forum features unparalleled connectivity to Interstate 95, great access to West Palm Beach’s major transportation hubs, the highest covered parking ratio among its peers and an unrivaled amenity base that includes an on-site hotel that will become the winter home to the Houston Astros,” said Christian Lee, vice chairman, CBRE Capital Markets.

Located a half mile east of Interstate 95, the property offers tremendous transportation dynamics–over half of South Florida’s 6 million residents live within a one-hour drive from the property. Additionally, the property is adjacent to the Palm Beach Outlet mall.

“The West Palm Beach submarket has seen five straight years of positive net absorption resulting in a 670-basis point decline in vacancy and 18% market rent growth,” commented José Lobón, Senior Vice President, CBRE Capital Markets. “Combined with a lack of any new office construction underway in the submarket, the outlook is positive for further vacancy decline and market rent growth.”

 

Boca Raton Office Complex Has New Owner

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Fountain Square, a 241,000-square-foot office complex in Boca Raton, traded for $54.5 million — a 47 percent increase over what it sold for three years ago.

Bridge Investment Group Partners of Sandy, UT bought the three-building development at 2600, 2650 and 2700 N. Military Trail from a joint venture between affiliates of Contrarian Capital Management LLC of Greenwich, CT, and NAI/Merin Hunter Codman in West Palm Beach.

The sellers bought the property for $37 million in 2014 from JP Morgan, which paid $63.5 million in 2007.

NAI launched a multimillion dollar capital improvement program to upgrade common areas and tenant suites. That resulted in more than 100,000 square feet of leases in the past two years and boosted occupancy from 62 percent to 90 percent.

The owners filled the building by negotiating leases for $15 and $16 per square foot, according to Neil Merin, chairman of NAI Merin Hunter Codman. He said rents today are in the range of $22 to $23 per square foot.

“It’s a real marker for the recovery of values in Florida,” Merin told CoStar News. “We did well — no doubt about it.”

 

Gil Tenzer, portfolio manager and director of real estate investments at Contrarian, said, “Fountain Square represents our commitment to partnering with local operators to invest in and turn around under-performing assets with high potential.”

Christian Lee and Jose Lobon of CBRE and Neil Merin, of NAI Merin Hunter Codman, represented the seller. The buyer did not have representation.

 

Source:  CoStar

Downtown Fort Lauderdale Office Tower Trades For $282 PSF

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After only two years carrying the property, Brookwood Financial Partners has sold Fort Lauderdale’s Plaza 100 office building for $46.5 — $14 million more than what the company originally paid.

Brookwood, which is headquartered in Massachusetts, just sold its 330,747-square-foot property to an affiliate of Zurich Asset Management, an alternative investment division of the international Zurich Insurance Group, records show.

The 11-story building is located at 100 Northeast Third Avenue in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Its square footage is split by offices with 165,000 square feet of leasable space and a garage with roughly 580 parking spaces.

According to data from the CoStar Group, it is 92.5 percent leased, with asking rents averaging $23.5 per square foot, triple net. Notable tenants include Comerica Bank, which has its signage displayed prominently on the building, and financial consulting firm RSM McGladrey.

Brookwood came onto the scene in 2014 when it paid $32.5 million to buy Plaza 100 from an affiliate of Accesso Partners, according to county records. Accesso had paid $20.8 million four years earlier.

The Massachusetts private equity company’s purchase price had broken down to nearly $197 per square foot. Now, the company has raked in just under $282 per foot.

CBRE’s Christian Lee, Jose Lobon, Amy Julian and Marcos Minaya marketed the property on behalf of Brookwood.

According to its website, Brookwood has built a portfolio worth $2.2 billion since launching in 1993. Office properties in central business districts like Plaza 100 make up a relatively small chunk of Brookwood’s real estate purchases, equating to about 8 percent of its portfolio.

The Plaza 100 sale also came sooner than Brookwood’s typical holding period, which lasts three to five years under its current strategy.

 

Source:  The Real Deal

Downtown Fort Lauderdale Office Tower Trades For $32.5 Million

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CBRE arranged the sale of Comerica Tower, also known as Plaza 100, a Class A, 166,098-square-foot boutique office tower located at 100 NE 3rd Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.

Brookwood Financial Partners of Beverly, Massachusetts, acquired the 11-story downtown tower from Beacon Investment Properties of Hallandale Beach for $32,500,000, or $196 per square foot.

In August 2013, Brookwood purchased Plantation office building Lakeside Office Center, located at 600 N. Pine Island Road.

Comerica Tower, which features an above-market parking ratio of 3.5 per 1,000 square foot, was 82% leased at the time of the sale.  The property has benefited tremendously from robust leasing activity in downtown Fort Lauderdale over the last two years.

“Downtown Fort Lauderdale absorption has been led by a migration of tenants from the suburbs to the CBD. This has been a national trend, where possible, as employers find it easier to attract and retain higher level talent to urban locations,” explained CBRE Vice Chairman Christian Lee.

Mr. Lee noted that Beacon Investment Properties owned Comerica Tower for two years, increased occupancy from 69% to 82% during its ownership and sold it when it realized the company’s investment objectives for the property. “While Beacon is widely known for its disciplined and expedited acquisition strategies, it was just as responsive as a seller,” Mr. Lee said.

Ariel Bentata, co-founder and managing partner of Beacon, commended Brookwood Financial “for being an astute investor. The buyer performed as anticipated on all aspects of the acquisition and we feel confident this exceptional office tower and its tenants will be in very good hands.”

Comerica Tower is centrally located in downtown Fort Lauderdale’s walkable “live, work, recreate and educate” vibrant cosmopolitan core, within walking distance of numerous shops, restaurants and over 3,500 multi-family units that are either under construction or planned.

“Of this multi-family activity, 1,850 units are north of Broward Boulevard in close proximity to the property,” added José Lobón, CBRE Senior Associate. “This area is now a young and hip enclave, home to neighborhoods such as Progresso Village, Flagler Village and F.A.T. (Flagler Art & Technology) Village, and amenities such as the new Fresh Market supermarket, and numerous art galleries and cafes.”

The Miami-based CBRE team representing the seller included Christian Lee and José Lobón with CBRE’s Capital Markets Institutional Group; and Charles Foschini and Chris Apone with CBRE’s Debt & Structured Finance Group.

Assisting the CBRE Team was the CBRE Office Leasing team of Deanna Lobinsky and Travis Herring, and JLL office leasing broker Jonathan Kingsley.