Duke Sells Last Six Northeast Ohio Office Buildings for $20M

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

Duke Realty Corp. is leaving the Northeast Ohio commercial real estate market. The Indianapolis-based REIT recently sold its last six office buildings in the area.

According to Crain’s Cleveland, Time Equities Inc. is the new owner of the six properties. The New York City-based investor purchased them through an affiliate called Rockside Magnolia SCC LLC for $20 million. Rockside Magnolia is managed by Robert Kantor, who is also COO of Time Equities. JLL represented the seller in the transaction, which closed on Feb. 13.

Four of the six office properties are located in the city of Independence: Freedom Square I, II and III on the 4400 block of Rockside Road and Oak Tree Place, at 6111 Oak Tree Blvd. The other two properties, Rock Run North and South, are located in Seven Hills.

Together, the six buildings offer 422,073 square feet of office space. They were 66 percent leased at the time of the sale. Duke first put them on the market in 2005, as part of its plan to exist Northeast Ohio and move to areas with stronger real estate markets, but failed to attract buyers because of the recession. Over the years, the Indianapolis-based company sold 18 office buildings, 11 industrial buildings and a site on Rockside Road as part of this strategy.

Photo credit: Duke Realty Corp.