South Carolina's BofA Plaza to be Sold Out of Receivership

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

 Transwestern is betting that investors will snap up Bank of America Plaza, a 303,200-square-foot office building in Columbia, S.C. The commercial real estate services firm has been tapped by Lincoln Harris, the property’s receiver, to market BofA Plaza in a call for offers on July 25.

 The 23-year-old BofA Plaza, located on a 3.5-acre site at 1901 Main St., was owned by Cooper Realty Investments before being put into receivership. According to Richland County records, Cooper had acquired the asset for $43.2 million in 2006. The 17-story property is presently 70 percent leased, with Bank of America serving as anchor in a 62,700-square-foot space.

“Bank of America Plaza presents a value-add opportunity for an investor seeking a high-quality office asset that can generate solid returns on in-place income and presents significant upside potential,” said Transwestern’s Kevin Markwordt. “This, combined with the property’s strategic location in Columbia’s tight office market and diversified economy, are strong selling points for a potential buyer.”

For Class A space in Columbia’s central business district, signs of an upswing are apparent. Concessions are beginning to weaken, according to a first quarter report by commercial real estate services firm Colliers International, and rental rates are on the rise, with the average asking rate having experienced a quarter-over-quarter increase from $19.15 to $19.48 per square-foot.

While a great many investors continue to hunt for increasingly elusive premier, stabilized properties, many have turned their attention to troubled assets that have solid potential, and purchasing properties out of foreclosure or receivership is one way to go.

Such recent transactions include Beck Ventures’ acquisition of the 1.6 million-square-foot Valley View Center retail destination in Dallas from special servicer LNR Partners in April.  Also in April, Invesco Ltd. and Zeller Realty Corp. bought the 1.1 million-square-foot Fifth Street Towers office complex in Minneapolis in a foreclosure auction for $110.7 million.