February – Briefs/Leasing & Management

Kilroy Fills 445 KSF San Fran Development

Kilroy Realty Corp. has signed a long-term lease with cloud-computing giant salesforce.com for 100 percent of the REIT’s 27-story, LEED Platinum-designed office tower under construction in San Francisco’s South of Market financial district. Terms of the transaction have salesforce.com agreeing to lease approximately 445,000 square feet, which includes about 50,000 square feet of must-take space that is subject to Kilroy obtaining entitlements to add three stories to the asset.

Kilroy acquired the site at 350 Mission St. in October. Upon completing the property, the company will own 2.6 million square feet of office space in South of Market—a portfolio that is 94 percent leased or committed. This newest development has an open-plan workspace and state-of-the-art sustainability practices. If all goes as planned, 350 Mission will be the first ground-up commercial development in San Francisco to earn LEED Platinum certification. First occupancy is estimated for early 2015.

Dillard’s Joins Summerlin Tenant Roster

Dillard’s Inc. has become the latest anchor to be part of The Shops at Summerlin, a regional mixed-use development in Las Vegas being executed by The Howard Hughes Corp. The department store will comprise 200,000 square feet on two shopping levels. Opening is scheduled for fall 2014. This will be Dillard’s fourth Las Vegas location since entering the market in 1984. In September, Macy’s signed on as the first anchor tenant in a transaction that restarted the stalled development.

Macerich Signs Intelsat for 188 KSF

Satellite services provider Intelsat is moving its U.S. headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Tysons Tower at Tysons Corner Center in Virginia. The firm signed a 15-year, 188,000-square-foot lease with building owner Macerich, effectively taking 37 percent of the asset, with an option to expand to 50 percent. The lease in its current form makes Intelsat the marquee anchor for the office building, which is currently under construction. The tower is part of the 1.4 million-square-foot expansion currently underway at Tysons Corner Center, which includes adding the Tysons Tower office building, the recently announced 17-floor, 300-room Hyatt Regency hotel, a residential tower and additional retail space.

CBRE Arranges for 50,000 SF Austin Lease

CBRE Group Inc. has landed a 50,000-square-foot lease with tech company VMware Inc. in northwest Austin. The new space at 6500 River Place Blvd. is actually the Paolo Alto-based company’s second location in Austin, adding to its current 77,000-square-foot office at 3900 North Capital of Texas Highway. Other River Place tenants include Motorola, ShoreTel and Edge of Reality.

Akridge Inks 64,669 SF in D.C.

Akridge has signed a lease agreement with housing and community development non-profit NeighborWorks America at its Union Square property, located at 999 North Capital St., N.E., in Washington, D.C.’s NoMa submarket. The deal was the largest private-sector lease signed in the submarket in 2012, with NeighborWorks taking 64,669 square feet in the northernmost building of the Union Square complex. The 10-year lease will commence on June 1, 2013. The two freestanding buildings at Union Square represent approximately 300,000 square feet of rentable space.

Ramco-Gershenson Signs 172 KSF at Wisconsin Shopping Centers

Ramco-Gershenson signed 172,000 square feet in new leases at two recently acquired shopping centers in Wisconsin during the fourth quarter of 2012. The figure represents only those tenants taking more than 5,000 square feet of space at The Shoppes at Fox River and an adjacent unnamed center. New contracts include Ross Dress for Less, LA Fitness, ULTA Beauty and Five Below. The firm projected its year-end 2012 core leased occupancy to be at the high end of its previously estimated range of 94 to 95 percent.

Aimbridge Adds 103 Hotels to Management Portfolio

Aimbridge Hospitality has added 103 hotels (formerly Jameson Inns) located in 12 Southeastern states to its management portfolio. Earlier this  year, an investment vehicle managed by affiliates of Colony Capital L.L.C., including Colony Financial Inc., assumed ownership of the portfolio. Colony Capital picked Ambridge to manage the portfolio and instate a substantial renovation and rebranding under the banners of certain nationally-recognized chains. A fund affiliated with Aimbridge Hospitality and Argonaut Private Equity also acquired a minority economic stake in the portfolio, which encompasses 7,000 rooms.

Hudson Pacific Properties Signs 236 KSF Lease in San Fran

Hudson Pacific Properties Inc. has signed a new lease at its Rincon Center property in San Francisco to salesforce.com, a cloud computing leader. The 235,733-square-foot lease backfills nearly 200,000 square feet of currently occupied space, including approximately 156,000 square feet occupied by AT&T that is scheduled to expire on August 31, 2013. It also takes an additional 36,000 square feet of vacant space. Occupancy under the lease is scheduled to occur in phase through the middle of 2014