Tag Archive for: keith o’donnell

Avison Young Wins Leasing Assignment For The North 40

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Avison Young was awarded the exclusive leasing assignment of “North 40,” a 350,616-square-foot two-building complex recently acquired by Mainstreet Capital Partners Inc. and Carval Investors in the largest investment sale transaction to date in Palm Beach County in 2014.

Located at 901 Yamato Road and 5201 Congress Avenue in Boca Raton, North 40 is comprised of two class B buildings with a total of 350,616 square feet that have direct access to Interstate 95. The property will undergo a $2 million destination rebranding, positioning its buildings as unique, campus-like offerings in the market. Emphasizing its expansive floor plate design and open atrium amenities, renovations will include the implementation of collaborative spaces, natural light, soft seating, and Wi-Fi.

“Our team was selected to represent ownership in the marketing and leasing initiatives due to our in-depth knowledge and proactive approach within the market as well as our deal creativity, which has resulted in some of the largest transactions completed in South Florida,” said Keith O’Donnell, Principal with Avison Young’s Boca Raton office.

O’Donnell, along with his team Gary Gottlieb, Principal, and Jonathan Senn, Associate, will initiate a North Boca-centric leasing and marketing strategy.

According to second quarter 2014 office market reports, the financial services, healthcare and technology sectors are leading office demand and lease transactions in Palm Beach County, contributing to steadily decreasing vacancy rates.

“Taking advantage of the new mixed-use environment that is fueling the resurgence of the Arvida Park of Commerce (APOC) area, the area’s office market is thriving with a number of companies expanding and total vacancy seeing a decrease,” according to Gottlieb. “North 40 is one of the only office campuses which offers quality blocks of office space currently available for lease for large-scale tenants seeking efficient and collaborative spaces.”

Bringing valuable expertise in these industries to the North 40 leasing project, O’Donnell is an established “placemaker” in Boca Raton and co-founder of MedUTech, a community-led initiative to showcase success, innovation and growth in healthcare, education and technology in the area. In addition, he co-authored the groundbreaking Planned Mobility overlay district for the northwest sector along with Jamie Danburg of Danburg Management.

“The activity level we are seeing at North 40 is validated by over 220,000 square feet of absorption in the first half of this year,” continued O’Donnell.

Beacon Square Sells In Largest Sale Transaction In Palm Beach County For 2013

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Avison Young’s South Florida operations announced the largest office building sale transaction in Palm Beach County to date in 2013, overseeing the sale of Beacon Square, a 160,000-square-foot building located at 8051 Congress Avenue in Boca Raton.

Avison Young Principals Keith O’Donnell and Greg Martin, and Associate Jonathan Senn, represented the seller during the transaction. The buyer, SBA Communications Corporation is a leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure across North, Central and South America. The company plans to use the building as their corporate headquarters.

“The Beacon Square building was originally designed for IBM’s exclusive use, however, we carefully planned the building to be flexible and accommodate other users down the road,” said Mr. O’Donnell. “The movement we are seeing from both large and small businesses transitioning from leasing to owning their space is a trend we expect to continue as tax laws change, enhancing the benefits of ownership, and the supply of new space remains limited.”

According to recent market trend reports, office properties in Palm Beach County witnessed a decrease in total vacancy as a result of growth in housing, employment and the economy in 2013. Along with the West Palm Beach submarket, Boca Raton was a contributing factor to the majority of the positive activity in the market this year.

Beacon Square is a four-story, class A office building which features an open layout, highly upgraded finishes, hurricane-resistant windows and a dining facility. Following the sale, SBA will temporarily remain in their current building, as renovation will occur to repurpose the property for SBA’s use and future expansion.

Gregory Katz, Executive Vice President with Studley, represented SBA Communications Corporation.

 

Boca’s Plum Park Trades

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Avison Young’s South Florida office announced the sale of Plum Park, a 61,759 square foot class B business complex located at 141 NW 20th Street in Boca Raton, for $6 million.

Vice President of Investment Sales David Duckworth, Principal Keith O’Donnell and Associate Jonathan Senn of Avison Young were responsible for executing the lease-up and represented ownership CW Capital during the sale. “This project was a true collaborative effort between the leasing team and the investment sales team within our company,” said Mr. Duckworth. “It once again highlights Avison Young’s ability to stabilize an asset and then maximize the sale price by executing a well thought out plan with our client.”

The Plum Park transaction shows the aggressiveness of commercial property investors and the intensifying competition for B market properties in the Boca Raton area. In response to the uptick in demand of current and new buyers, Avison Young’s keen understanding of area trends and strategic marketing approach to investment sales while working with clients during the diversification process allows properties to properly compete in the market as high quality assets.

“When we were initially awarded the responsibility of leasing, repositioning and the ultimate sale of Plum Park, the asset had high vacancy with existing tenants in default,” said Mr. Duckworth. “Our team was uniquely qualified to replace delinquent tenants with high caliber businesses in stronger financial conditions, thereby adding value to the property.”

Plum Park is comprised of five singe-story office/retail buildings with flexible space plans from 761 square feet up to 7,521 square feet. The well-maintained grounds feature lush tropical landscaping, signage and ample parking. Located just west of Dixie Highway and minutes away from the I-95, the property allows tenants convenient access to major thoroughfares and local amenities.

Greg Martin, Keith O’Donnell Sign 43,000 SF

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Avison Young South Florida signed five leases, including one expansion, totaling 42,736 square feet at Lynn Financial Center located at 1875 NW Corporate Blvd. in Boca Raton.

The transactions increased the occupancy at Lynn Financial Center from 35 to 75 percent.

On behalf of the landlord, Avison Young South Florida Principals Greg Martin and Keith O’Donnell and Director of Leasing David Bateman, completed the following transactions:

  • Polen Capital Management, a South Florida based investment management firm, signed a new long-term lease for 12,904 square feet
  • JVB Financial, a national investment firm specializing in the wholesale distribution of fixed income securities, signed a new long-term lease for 9,601 square feet for its new headquarters
  • MDVIP, Inc., a network of physicians and division of Proctor & Gamble, signed a renewal and expansion for 9,325 square feet, totaling 31,084 square feet within the building for its headquarters
  • Frank, Weinberg & Black P.L., a full-service law firm with additional offices in Broward County, signed a new lease for 6,973 square feet
  • Opus Business Centers, a virtual office space provider, signed a new long-term lease for 3,933 square feet to house its corporate headquarters and Boca Raton service operations

“With the support of ownership, we were able to aggressively market the unique virtues of this property,” said Mr. Martin. “In spite of the economic uncertainties we knew we could identify companies that were positioned for the long haul and would be drawn to a quality asset.”

Lynn Financial Center offers twin buildings totaling 123,882 square feet of Class “A” office space in two innovative three-story structures. The buildings are free of interior columns and designed to support open office architecture with extensive use of natural light and sustainable materials which made Lynn Financial Center one of Boca Raton’s first commercial office projects to be Certified LEED® Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Avison Young opened its South Florida offices in 2012 with 30 members joining from Flagler Real Estate Services, a service arm of Flagler, one of Florida’s oldest and largest full-service commercial real estate companies with recent transactional and development activities totaling more than $1 billion.