Cole Boosts CCIT Portfolio With 3 Recent Acquisitions

By Gail Kalinoski, Contributing Editor

Cole’s Allstate Building, Irving, Texas

Cole Real Estate Investments, Inc. has boosted the portfolio of Cole Corporate Income Trust, Inc. to 35 properties in 17 states with the recent acquisitions of three Class A office buildings in Texas and Massachusetts for $160 million.

The acquisitions, one each in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Boston areas, give CCIT a portfolio of approximately 5.6 million purchased for about $921.1 million. The overall weighted credit rate of the tenants in the portfolio is A – and the weighted average remaining lease term is 11 years. Nearly 90 percent of the tenants are rated investment grade.

“These high-quality assets exemplify CCIT’s investment criteria,” Robert Micera, chief investment officer for office and industrial at Phoenix-based Cole, said in a news release. “Strategic properties with creditworthy corporate tenants, under long-term net leases, are our primary target. These properties are well-located in major MSAs and are mission control for the corporate tenants.”

Cole did not break out the purchase price for each property, only stating that the three assets were acquired for a total of $160 million.

CCIT acquired a multi-building corporate campus in Irving, Texas, from Allstate Insurance Co. under a sale-leaseback transaction. Allstate will occupy the campus located at 8675, 8711 Freeport Parkway and 8901 Esters Blvd. under a 12-year lease with renewal options. The campus has a total of 458,338 square feet in three interconnected three-story office buildings, one five-story office building and a single-story flex industrial building.

The REIT also purchased a 206,362-square-foot office building at 6380 Rogerdale in the Westchase submarket of Houston that is the corporate headquarters for The Men’s Wearhouse from GE Commercial Business Property Corp. The specialty apparel retailer has more than 14 years remaining on its lease, plus renewal options.

A recently completed 49,250-square-foot medical office building at 330 Baker Ave. in Concord, Mass., is the third purchase. CCIT bought the property from Normandy Real Estate Partners. It is leased for 17 years to Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, a 630-physician medical group that provides primary and specialty medical care.

Boyd Messman, senior vice president for office and industrial acquisitions at Cole, represented CCIT on the Texas transactions. Robert Corry, vice president for office and industrial acquisitions, handled the Massachusetts deal.

Cole has been making several purchases lately on behalf of CCIT, including the acquisition in late May of the corporate headquarters for The Hillshire Brands Company in the West Loop of Chicago’s CBD for $97.5 million. The 233,869-square-foot building had recently been redeveloped by Sterling Bay Cos. Hillshire has a long-term net lease for the property.

In late April, CCIT announced it had acquired a four-story, 205,439-square-foot build-to-suit property in Bridgewater, N.J., leased by Sanofi-Aventis from developer Mack-Cali Realty Corp. for $72.3 million. The global pharmaceutical company has at least 13 years remaining on its lease at the 55 Corporate Drive property.

CCIT made another New Jersey purchase in April, picking up the 150,500-square-foot building in Morris County, N.J., that is the U.S. headquarters for Evonik Degussa for $32.4 million. The specialty chemicals company has a lease that runs for 11 more years.

Two other large acquisitions occurred in April, including the $142.5 million purchase of the 299,643-square-foot corporate headquarters of F5 in Seattle for $142.5 million. CCIT also bought a 441,000-square-foot office building across from the Philadelphia International Airport that is the regional operations center for PNC Bank for $74.6 million.