November – Briefs/Leasing & Management

Cassidy Turley Secures 640 KSF Management Assignment

USAA Real Estate Co. has picked Cassidy Turley to spearhead property management services for two premier office buildings in Arlington, Va. With the new assignment, the commercial real estate services firm adds 621,800 square feet to its third-party management portfolio.

Six years old and 12 stories high, One and Two Potomac Yard carry the addresses of 2777 and 2733 Crystal Drive and sit in Arlington’s Crystal City submarket. One Potomac Yard is 100 percent leased, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the sole occupant. The government entity spills over into Two Potomac Yard, accounting for 50 percent of the building’s 99 percent-full tenant roster.

USAA has owned the asset since 2010, when it acquired the transit-oriented towers from JP Morgan Chase & Co. for roughly $231.9 million.

One Financial Plaza Sees 200 KSF in Renewals and Expansions

CBRE/New England and Meritage Properties L.L.C. have closed four leases totaling 200,261 square feet at One Financial Plaza in Providence, R.I. Bank of America will occupy 84,690 square feet in a long-term lease expansion and extension; Edwards Wildman Palmer L.L.C. will occupy 74,319 square feet in a 10-year lease extension; Morgan Stanley will occupy 32,014 square feet in another long-term lease expansion and extension; and Robinson & Cole L.L.P. will occupy 9,238 square feet in a long-term lease expansion and extension.

Health Care REIT to Sell Sunrise Senior Living Management

Health Care REIT Inc. has entered into an agreement to sell Sunrise Senior Living Management Co., the management company of Sunrise Senior Living, for approximately $130 million. The entity will be acquired by affiliates of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., affiliates of Beecken Petty O’Keefe & Co. and Coastwood Senior Housing Partners L.L.C. Healthcare REIT will invest approximately $26 million for a 20 percent interest in the new entity. Under the agreement, the sale will close immediately prior to Health Care REIT’s previously announced acquisition of Sunrise Senior Living.

Chadbourne Signs 20-Year Manhattan Lease

International law firm Chadbourne & Parke L.L.P. has inked the largest lease transaction made by a law firm in Manhattan in 2012 to date. The firm will take more than 200,000 square feet at 1301 Sixth Ave., a 45-story office building owned by the Paramount Group. Chadbourne & Parke’s new headquarters was formerly the headquarters of Dewey & LeBoeuf L.L.P. Chadbourne was represented by Newmark Grubb Knight Frank in the lease transaction.

OHL Renews, Expands Space to 591 KSF in Dallas

Ozburn-Hessey Logistics, one of the world’s largest third-party logistics companies, has expanded and renewed a lease for 591,000 square feet of space at 3700 Pinnacle Point Drive in Dallas’ Pinnacle Park. The expansion adds nearly 200,000 square feet to the original lease, bringing OHL’s occupancy to 1.1 million square feet at the complex. Ann Huntington, a senior vice president with CBRE Dallas, and Doug McDowell with ProVenture, an OHL affiliate, represented OHL. Toby Rogers of Hillwood Investment Properties represented the landlord, Bentall Kennedy.

JLL Tapped for 190 KSF Leasing Assignment

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.’s office leasing responsibilities in Manhattan have grown by 190,000 square feet, courtesy of a new outsourcing assignment. The services firm was tapped by Brause Realty Inc. to tend to the tenant roster at 52 Vanderbilt. JLL steps into the role previously held by Newmark Grubb Knight Frank. The 20-story tower boasts a direct underground connection to Grand Central Terminal and a history that dates back to 1916.

MB Real Estate Completes 260 KSF in Chicago Leases

MB Real Estate has closed 26 lease transactions totaling 260,000 square feet so far this year at Michigan Plaza, a two-building Chicago complex. The property consists of a 44-story building at 205 N. Michigan Ave. and an adjacent 25-story building at 225 N. Michigan Ave. Combined, the complex totals approximately 2 million square feet. The top transaction was a 78,000-square-foot lease renewal for the headquarters of Cramer-Krasselt at 225 N. Michigan. The communications agency has called Michigan Plaza home since 1985; the new lease will keep it in tow until at least 2025.

Alexandria Signs 75,000 SF to NIH

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. has completed a 75,000-square-foot lease with the National Institute of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translation Sciences (NACATS) at the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center in Rockville, Md. The 15-year lease expands the NIH’s existing presence at Alexandria’s translational life science campus to approximately 135,000 square feet. The mission critical requirement will house the NCATS division of Pre-Clinical Innovation.