Cushman & Wakefield Tapped to Lease Florida Office Tower

Bank of America Tower. Image courtesy of Cushman & Wakefield

Black Creek Group has tapped Cushman & Wakefield as the exclusive leasing advisor for the eight-story Bank of America Tower in Boca Raton, Fla. The Denver-based real estate investment firm company also plans to upgrade the 109,497-square-foot Class A office building.   

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The Cushman & Wakefield brokerage team of John Criddle and Joseph Freitas was selected as leasing brokers for the building at 150 East Palmetto Park Road. In December, Criddle and Freitas represented landlord AGS Properties in the leasing of a 27,079-square-foot space at Boca Village Corporate Center in the West Boca Raton submarket to Mill Creek Residential. The same team spearheaded the leasing efforts in June at Sabre Center I in The Park at Broken Sound Business complex in Boca Raton, where they added three new tenants.

Dividend Capital Diversified Property Fund Inc., a Black Creek fund, acquired the Bank of America Tower in December 2015 from Clarion Partners for $34.2 million. The building, which is an ENERGY STAR-rated asset, has Atlantic Ocean and city views, free covered parking and high-end finishes. It is also located near numerous dining and retail options, offering easy accessibility to U.S. Highway 1, Mizner Boulevard and Interstate 95. Notable tenants include Bank of America, Waypoint Residential, Charles Schwab & Co. and Zen Offices.

Renovation plans

Developed in 1969 on a 1.6-acre site in Boca Raton’s downtown, the building was renovated in 1997 and again in 2013, when common areas, elevators and bathrooms were updated. Current renovation plans include upgrades to the main building lobby, vacant office suites, upper-level corridors, elevator lobbies and restrooms. The owner also plans to install a new roof on the second floor of the tiered roof, replace the chiller and modernize the elevators. The security and access control system will be expanded and upgraded. Renovations are expected to start this year and be completed by 2021.

Criddle called the tower one of the most desirable office destinations in Boca Raton, adding that Black Creek’s renovations will further enhance interest in the building and establish the Bank of America Tower as a premier office location in the region for years to come.

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the office market in South Florida, including Boca Raton, had been strong as Palm Beach County saw the unemployment rate fall to an all-time low of 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019. Of the top six fourth-quarter leases in the county, Boca Raton had five of them including the Mill Creek Residential lease at the Boca Village Corporate Center, according to Avison Young. Late last year, Boca Raton city officials approved the construction of a new train station for Virgin Trains USA, formerly known as Brightline. The Boca Raton station could be done later this year and the expansion of the Miami-to-Orlando line could be completed by 2022.