Lone Star Funds Acquires Office Building for $53/SF; University of Memphis Launches $40M Campaign for New Music Center

By Liviu Oltean, Associate Editor

Lone Star Funds, L.P., a Dallas-based private equity firm, recently purchased the four-story Lakecrest III office building for $6.9 million, according to the Memphis Business Journal.  Acquired from Management & Research LLC, the office building spans across 130,593 square feet, from which, 48,000 square feet are leasable.

Graphic Rendering of the Music Center

With a price tag of $52.83 per square foot, Lakecrest III is leased to anchor tenants composed of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., with 32,000-square-foot lease, and Total Eye Care. Phil Dagasastino, senior vice president with Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Advisors Asset Services, said that his company will continue to manage the property.

In other regional news, the University of Memphis launched a $40 million capital campaign to build a new music center. Located near the University of Memphis Holiday Inn, the music facility will include a 1,200-seat performance hall and a stage with high-end audio and acoustic technology. According to the same source, the campaign has a private fundraising goal of $10 million, the rest of the amount being matched on a three-to-one basis by government funds.

The project was conceptualized in response to the overuse and overpopulation of the current music center. Initially designed for a maximum capacity of 250 students and 18 faculty members, the music center currently holds more than 500 students and 63 faculty members. In addition, the original performance spaces, which were designed to hold about 100 performances per year, are now overused by three times as much.

Photo Courtesy of University of Memphis