Transwestern to Manage Sumitomo’s $800M Portfolio

Sumitomo Corp. of Americas has chosen Transwestern Commercial Services to handle property management services for an $800 million, 3.1 million-square-foot Class A office portfolio, which represents the company’s entire U.S. holdings.

“Being selected by Sumitomo to manage their portfolio came from a collective effort both from our local teams on the ground and national support across the platform,” Bruce Ford, Transwestern’s TCS East Region President and relationship manager for Sumitomo, told Commercial Property Executive. “Being selected speaks to our collaborative, cohesive approach in how we manage and provide a high level of service to our clients no matter the geographic location—our approach and delivery is always the same.”

The properties are located in five major metropolitan markets. “Every asset Sumitomo acquires offers a unique opportunity,” Ford added. “Whether it’s driving community, executing on tenant engagement and retention initiatives or implementing placemaking strategies to reducing operating costs, our team is committed to providing customized solutions to each of the assets within this portfolio.”

Fab Five

The buildings in the portfolio consist of:

• SPS Tower, a 31-story, 655,070-square-foot office tower at 333 S. Seventh St. in downtown Minneapolis, which SCOA acquired in February for $144 million. The 31-story high-rise is connected via skywalk to a trio of adjacent buildings and features a 630-space underground parking facility and 3,000 square feet of retail space. 
• 203 N. LaSalle, a 27-floor, 625,221-square-foot office tower in Chicago’s central business district, which earlier this year added marketing execution firm InnerWorkings Inc. to its tenant roster. According to Yardi Matrix data, Sumitomo bought the 1986-built tower in 2014 for $111.7 million.
• Miami Tower, a 47-story, 619,084-square-foot office high-rise at 100 S.E. Second St. in Miami’s central business district, which the company acquired in May of 2016 for $220 million. Designed by I.M. Pei and completed in 1987, the LEED certified building features 37 stories of Class A office space atop a 10-story, 1,500-space parking garage and ground-floor retail.
• The largest of the properties is Atlanta Financial Center, a three-building, 914,774-square-foot office complex located at 3353 Peachtree Road in Atlanta’s Financial District.
• The fifth property is 450 B St., a 20-story, 283,786-square-foot office tower in San Diego’s Downtown Core District.

As part of the deal, TCS also provided investment advisory services and will offer asset services for any new acquisitions in the 34 cities in which Sumitomo enters that TCS already operates. TCS will also serve as the leasing agent for Atlanta Financial Center, 203 N. LaSalle, Miami Tower and SPS Tower.

A long-term relationship

The two companies have already shared a successful six-year relationship. Over that time, TCS has offered investment advisory services to Sumitomo including sourcing, property evaluations, operational assessments and market assessments.

“The relationship between SCOA and Transwestern goes back several years to the management of several of their properties and the sale of Miami Center in 2012,” Ford said. “From there, we continued to grow our relationship acting as advisors in possible acquisitions, assisting in due diligence and overall being a resource for SCOA in their real estate decisions. We value the relationship with them and believe together we have had great success.”

In May, TCS secured the sale of Airport Square Portfolio, a 238,459-square-foot industrial portfolio consisting of four buildings located in Baltimore. JU Holdings of New York acquired the properties.