Monday, October 20, 2008

Sale of 1620 L Street in Washington, D.C. closed by HFF

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Washington, D.C. office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) has closed the sale of 1620 L Street, (top right photo) a 164,079-square-foot Class A office building in Washington, D.C.

The HFF investment sales team was led by executive managing director Stephen Conley,(middle left photo) managing director Andrew Weir (bottom right photo) and director Daniel McIntyre who exclusively represented the seller, a joint-venture between TIAA-CREF and Equity Office.

The John Buck Company purchased the property for an undisclosed amount. HFF also secured acquisition financing on behalf of The John Buck Company.

1620 L Street is situated in downtown Washington, D.C. within walking distance of four Metro Stations, Farragut Park, as well as being proximate to the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and K Street, the “main and main” intersection of the District.

The 12-story property is 97% leased to tenants including the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, MetLife, Cresa Partners, the National Association of Independent Schools and Liberty Mutual.

“The Washington, D.C. office market continues to attract institutional capital given the stabilizing effects of the U.S. government,” said Conley. “The property’s location in the heart of the nation’s capital places the new owner in an ideal position to capture upside value over the next five to seven years.”

TIAA-CREF (http://www.tiaa-cref.org/) is a national financial services organization and the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields with $420 billion in combined assets under management (3/31/08).

Equity Office is one of the nation’s largest owners of office buildings with over 50 million square feet in major markets across the country. Equity Office is owned by an affiliate of The Blackstone Group, a leading global private equity firm that is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol BX.

Founded in 1981, The John Buck Company offers comprehensive real estate services in the areas of development, finance, investment brokerage, fund management, project leasing, tenant representation, marketing and management, as well as construction for commercial, mixed-use and residential properties.

The international, employee-owned firm is headquartered in Chicago. For additional information on The John Buck Company, please visit the company’s website at http://www.tjbc.com/.


CONTACTS:

Stephen C. Conley, HFF Executive Managing Director, 202 533 2500, sconley@hfflp.com
Andrew M. Weir, HFF Managing Director, 202 533 2504, aweir@hfflp.com
Laurie Fish McDowell, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, 617 338 0990, lmcdowell@hfflp.com

Grubb & Ellis|Commercial Florida negotiates $2.8M sale on 72,000 square foot industrial building in Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. -- Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida recently negotiated the sale of a 72,000 square foot industrial building on a two-acre site at 5102 W. Hanna Ave. (bottom right photo) in Tampa for $2,800,000.00.

Vice President/ Principal Jan Boltres, (top right photo) CCIM and Mike Scott, (top left photo) Vice President/ Principal at Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida’s Tampa office negotiated the transaction working with both the seller, Roger Kumar Revocable Trust and the buyer, Kennedy Investments, Inc.

Kennedy Investments has assigned Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida the listing of the property for lease at $4.25 per square foot.

“It’s encouraging to see there’s still investor confidence in the market despite the current economic conditions,” Boltres said.

Contacts:

Jan Boltres, CCIM or Michael Scott, Independently Owned & Operated Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida, 813-639-1111

Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

Grubb & Ellis Represents ACCO Brands Corporation in Sale of Northbrook Office Building

CHICAGO, IL – Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, represented ACCO Brands Corporation in the sale of 56,700 square feet of Class B office space at 1135 Skokie Blvd. in Northbrook to Stepan Chemical Company.

Senior Vice Presidents Louis Hall, (top right photo) Dirk Riekse (top left photo) and Chad Galayda (bottom right photo) managed the transaction.

“The building is in a phenomenal location with signage visible from the Edens Expressway,” said Hall. “Given the state of the market, the economics of buying the property worked out well for Stepan, which leased its prior location.”

ACCO Brands Corporation owns General Binding Corp., a manufacturer of office supplies for binding, lamination and other presentation products. GBC occupied the building prior to the sale.

Hall, along with John Best of Grubb & Ellis’ affiliate Grubb & EllisBest/White, also recently represented ACCO Brands in the sale of a 356,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution facility in Nogales, Mexico, to ITT, a technology and engineering company.

Stepan Chemical Company, which was represented by Cushman & Wakefield, is a global manufacturer of specialty and intermediate chemicals used in consumer products and industrial applications.

Contact: Erin Mays, Phone: 312.698.6735. Email: erin.mays@grubb-ellis.com

Grubb & Ellis|Commercial Florida negotiates new long term lease of 14,300 square feet at Dynatech Centre in Orlando

ORLANDO, FL--Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida has negotiated a new long-term lease of 14,313 square feet of Class A office space on the 12th floor of downtown Orlando’s new Dynetech Centre (bottom left photo) at the northeast corner of Magnolia Ave. and Washington St.

Andrew E. McCaw, FMA, (top right photo) senior vice president of the firm’s Office Services Group in tandem with Bo Terry in the Grubb & Ellis Dallas office, negotiated the transaction representing Littler Mendelson, P.C., the nation’s largest law firm devoted to employment and labor law.

The firm is expanding from its current Orlando division offices in Baldwin Park. Littler Mendelson has over 45 locations and is based in San Francisco.

The landlord, Lincoln Orlando Holdings, LLC, was represented by Jeff Patterson.

Contacts:
Andrew E. McCaw, FMA, Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida, 407-481-5391
Larry Vershel Communications Inc., 407-644-4142