Commonwealth Office Tower Sells for $69M

By Anca Gagiuc, Associated Editor

Commonwealth Office Tower, Portland

Portland, Ore.—Newport Beach-based KBS Growth & Income REIT announced it has acquired the 14-story Commonwealth office property for $69 million.

HFF marketed the property on behalf of the seller, Unico Properties LLC. KBS Capital Advisors purchased the asset on behalf of KBS Growth & Income REIT, and was assisted by HFF in securing a $47.4 million, five-year, floating-rate acquisition loan through an insurance company.

The HFF investment sales team representing the sellers was led by Senior Managing Director Nick Kucha and Director Nick Kassab. HFF’s debt placement team was led by senior managing directors Tom Wilson and Kevin MacKenzie.

Commonwealth is located in Portland’s “Technology Triangle”, near Pioneer Square. Pearl District and Pioneer Place Mall are less than a mile from the building, while the Pine Street Market is four blocks away. The Nines, Hotel Monaco and The Westin are also within walking distance of the property.

“We believe the vibrant nature of Commonwealth’s central location presents a compelling opportunity for KBS Growth & Income REIT,” said Rodney Richerson, KBS regional president. “Portland is very attractive to the tech sector, and we are pleased to add this property to the KBS Growth & Income REIT portfolio.”

The 219,742-square-foot office property was built between 1946 and 1948 with Pietro Belluschi as architect; it is recognized as one of the first glass box, mid-century design towers ever built. Moreover, the property is among the oldest buildings in Portland to be awarded LEED-EB Gold by the USGBC.

Commonwealth was 95 percent leased at the time of the transaction. Some of the current tenants include Quantum Spatial, the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) and Galois. Amenities include access to a rooftop deck, a bike center, tenant lounge, fitness center with locker rooms and showers and a central lobby KBS has plans to redesign. Furthermore, the new owner plans to add a new onsite management office.

“With 70% of the property leased to tenants with true creative space, the Commonwealth Building is one of Portland’s first traditional office towers to undergo a creative conversion and has been a preferred location for creative-tech tenants,” said KBS vice president & asset manager for the property, Clint Copulos. “We believe the tech ecosystem at the property, along with the unique building amenities, has created a sense of community highly sought-after by forward-thinking users.”

Image courtesy of KBS