September – Briefs/Sales & Development

CalPERS Fund Buys L.A.-Area Buildings from Hines for $550M

TechCore L.L.C., a fund managed by GI Partners on behalf of CalPERS, has purchased One Wilshire, a 30-story, 663,000-square-foot Class A telecom and office building in downtown Los Angeles, as well as three buildings in the L.A. suburb El Segundo, for a total of $550 million.

In addition to One Wilshire, TechCore/GI Partners also acquired 2200, 2222 and 2230 East Imperial Highway in El Segundo, near Los Angeles International Airport. The 550,579-square-foot complex comprises two 11-story Class A office towers, plus a parking structure with two floors of office space at the top.

Kimco Completes Sale of Extended-Stay Business

Retail giant Kimco Realty Corp. has completed the sale of the single-largest remaining non-retail asset in its portfolio with the sale of the InTown Suites company and its related real estate assets to an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group for a gross sales price of $735 million, including $609 million in existing mortgage debt. Kimco’s share of the proceeds was approximately $103 million. InTown Suites was owned by InTown Hospitality Investors L.P., a joint venture in which Kimco held a 75 percent interest with a portfolio of 138 extended-stay properties totaling approximately 18,000 rooms across 21 states.

Thayer Lodging Buys Ritz-Carlton San Francisco

Thayer Lodging Group has made a high-class first investment through its Thayer Fund VI with the purchase of the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco. The 338-room luxury hotel was purchased from Host Hotels and Resorts Inc. for an undisclosed amount, so it is hard to say how much buying power is left in the fund, which has a $300 million target. Thayer Lodging Group plans to invest as much as $17 million into the property in its first 24 months of ownership.

Behringer Harvard, Wood Partners Kick off $191M Suburban Boston M-F Project

Behringer Harvard and Wood Partners have commenced construction on 22 Water St., a luxury apartment community in Cambridge, Mass., just outside of downtown Boston. The $191.1 million residential high-rise will deliver 392 residential units to the rental-thirsty Cambridge market. Behringer Harvard Multifamily REIT I Inc. is providing equity capital for the project and will have an 80 percent ownership stake in the property. Wood Partners, which is overseeing development and construction, will own the remaining 20 percent.

C&W Reps St. John’s in Lower Manhattan Sale

St. John’s University had its pick of offers after it put its prime Lower Manhattan campus at 101 Murray St. up for sale. The result was a record-setting $223 million deal between the university and The Witkoff Group, Fisher Brothers and Vector Group Ltd. The partnership plans a mixed-use residential building ranging from 310,028 to 373,336 square feet in the highly sought-after Tribeca neighborhood. When St. John’s hired Cushman & Wakefield Inc.’s Capital Markets team to shop the property in March, the university reportedly hoped to sell the 10-story, 145,525-square-foot-building at Murray and West streets for $150 million to $200 million. The sale was the largest of a residential site in Lower Manhattan, setting a record price for the area year-to-date.

TCC, Clarion Break Ground on Industrial Project

Trammell Crow Co. and Clarion Partners are one big step closer to bringing 677,000 square feet of Class A industrial space to one of the top industrial markets in the country: Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. The partners recently broke ground on a premier speculative industrial building within the master-planned Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII in Bethlehem, Pa. CBRE Group Inc. has been tapped to find a tenant, which shouldn’t be too hard considering that the Lehigh Valley is among the top eight big-box industrial markets in North America.

Woods Acquires 1.4 MSF Tower in Dallas

A partnership led by Dallas-based Woods Capital Management L.L.C. has acquired the Thanksgiving Tower, a 50-story office high-rise located at 1601 Elm St. in Dallas. The property last sold in February 2013 when then-owner Younan Properties defaulted on its mortgage. The lender, Berkadia, purchased the 31-year-old skyscraper at the foreclosure auction for $58.5 million. The most recent sales price was not disclosed, though CBRE Group Inc.—who arranged the sale for Berkadia—did reveal that the property was 55 percent occupied. The current market value according to the Dallas County Tax Office was $65.7 million. Woods Capital Management has plans to reposition the building, with capital upgrades to the lobby and exterior and an on-site amenity package.

Ares Originates $75M for Orange County Office Portfolio

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp. has originated a $75 million first mortgage loan to finance Blackstone Real Estate Advisors’ newly acquired office portfolio in Irvine and Newport Beach, Calif. The four properties feature eight buildings with a combined 521,232 square feet. With this transaction, Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp. has originated or co-originated more than $402 million in commitments year-to-date. As of July 18, 2013, Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp.’s loan portfolio had outstanding principal of approximately $619.8 million.

Chevron to Build 1.7 MSF Houston High-Rise

Chevron U.S.A. Inc. is adding 1.7 million square feet of space to its downtown Houston offices with the addition of a 50-story skyscraper. The asset will be built next to two neighboring Chevron buildings to create a company campus in the middle of the central business district of the Lone Star State’s largest city. Though the development cost has not been disclosed, the state has committed to providing Chevron with $12 million through the Texas Enterprise Fund. Carrying the address of 1600 Louisiana St., the property is slated for occupancy in the fourth quarter of 2016.