Last year, Miami office sales volume reached $858 million across its top 10 transactions and the market’s largest transaction nearly made the list of top 50 U.S. office deals. The Sabadell Financial Center’s $248.5 million sale came in just under a $255 million deal for an Oakland office building. Coincidentally, both properties were purchases made by joint ventures that included KKR, a leading global investment firm.
Four of the top 10 office sales in Miami were above the $100 million mark, with three of these involving assets in Coral Gables and one in Miami Beach. 2018 was also the year in which Florida’s largest office landlord, Crocker Partners, sold two trophy assets that landed in third and fourth place, respectively.
Check out the full list below and keep reading for more details about the assets and companies involved in some of last year’s most noteworthy transactions.
No. 1 Sabadell Financial Center – $248.5 million
Sabadell Financial Center, 1111 Brickell Avenue, Miami
In June, a joint venture between Parkway Properties and New York-based investment firm KKR forked over $248.5 million for the Sabadell Financial Center in Miami’s largest office deal of 2018. This was also the second most significant transaction in Downtown Miami since the sale of the Southeast Financial Center for $500 million in 2016.
Built in 2000 and renovated in 2014, the 30-story Class A office building on 1111 Brickell Avenue had been part of PGMI Real Estate’s portfolio since 2013, when the company acquired it for $184 million or $478 per square foot. The 522,892-square foot property has 8,000 square feet of retail space, a conference center, an on-site café, deli and convenience store, as well as a car wash and dry-cleaning services. The tenant roster includes the likes of Telefonica USA, Baker & McKenzie, Regus and Barclays.
The current owners have announced plans for $10 million-worth of improvements to the property’s gym and amenity deck on the 10th floor as well as its common areas, including the lobby and entrance.
No. 2 Telemundo Center – $239 million
Telemundo Center, 2350 NW 117Th Place, Miami
Miami office market’s second largest sale was closed in December, when the Telemundo Center changed hands for $239 million. The buyer was AVR Realty, who also owns the Marriott Courtyard Convention Center Hotel and several apartment buildings in Davie and Pembroke Pines.
Previous owner Comcast completed the $250 million office building last April, allowing Telemundo to set up headquarters in the 450,000-square foot property located at 2350 NW 117th Place in Beacon Lakes industrial park, just west of Dolphin Mall. The building houses the Spanish language network’s 1,200 employees and 13 TV production studios used to create news, TV series, digital and sports content for its growing viewership. It was designed by RLC Architects and built by Turner Construction.
AVR Realty assumed two loans originated by Wells Fargo; one of them, in the amount of $185 million has a 4.29% interest rate and the second $25 million mortgage bears interest at 3.82% per annum.
No. 3 SunTrust International Center – $127 million
SunTrust International Center, 1 SE 3Rd Avenue, Miami
Crocker Partners began its divestiture of Miami office market assets with the sale of the 449,076-square foot SunTrust International Center in May. The 31-story office tower at 1 SE 3rd Avenue earned the Boca Raton-based operator and developer roughly $127 million, or $289 per square foot. The buyer, PCCP―a real estate investment firm headquartered in Los Angeles―financed the deal through a $101.8 million mortgage from Invesco, which was later assigned to Wells Fargo.
The SunTrust International Center was completed in 1969 and encompasses 33,500 square feet of retail space. Crocker Partners had acquired the property in 2011 from Guggenheim Partners, for $82.4 million and proceeded to renovate the Class A office space. The company spent roughly $13.5 million on improvements, refurbishing the lobby, elevators, outdoor terraces and multi-tenant floors.
The office building was fully leased at the time of the sale. Amenities include a Walgreens, fitness center with yoga and pilates rooms, conference room, on-site deli and dry-cleaning services. The property also includes 1,415 parking spaces and a rooftop terrace. It currently houses the likes of SunTrust, Adstream America, Q-nomy, Cogent Communications and the Italian Trade Commission.
No. 4 Brickell City Tower – $117 million
Brickell City Tower, 80 SW 8Th Street, Miami
In October, Crocker Partners and its venture partners, Banyan Street Capital and Independence Asset Management closed a $117 million sale of Brickell City Tower. The 33-story office tower at 80 SW 8th Street was acquired by New York Life Real Estate Investors, the real estate and equity investment arm of NYL Investors. The property is 87% leased and houses candy maker Mars Inc., Chase Bank, Uber, the Japanese and Turkish Consulates and the South Florida Business Journal.
Before its most recent sale, Brickell City Tower last traded for $70 million in 2013. After purchasing the office tower from Colony Capital, the joint venture sold the parking area to ZOM for $16.75 million, which later built the Solitair apartment building there and a new, shared parking lot.
The 285,595-square foot office building is located near Brickell Metrorail Station and Mary Brickell Village, a lifestyle center that has become a popular destination for visitors to Downtown Miami. Built in 1985, Brickell City Tower underwent a $6.4 million renovation in 2017, which added a new conference center, a tenant lounge and upgrades to the lobby, elevators and common areas.
No. 5 555 Washington – $38 million
555 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach
The most expensive office space under 100,000 square feet that changed hands in 2018 was the 68,000-square foot office space at 555 Washington in Miami Beach. Newport Beach-based KBS Realty Advisor sold the Class A office building to GreenOak Real Estate and East End Capital in February for $38 million. The deal was financed by a $27.5 million loan from Mesa West Capital.
555 Washington previously traded in 2007, when it was acquired by KBS for $30 million or $441 per square foot from businessman and real estate investor Sam Jacobson, breaking Miami Beach sales-price records at the time.
The property, completed in 2001 and renovated as recently as 2015, has roughly 46,000 square feet of office space, 22,000 square feet of ground retail space and a 243-space parking lot. It was 85% occupied at the time of the transaction, featuring Warner Music Group, CVS, Alacran Records and Wells Fargo among its tenants.
Both GreenOak and East End Capital have been active on the local real estate scene lately. East End developed Wynwood Annex and owns the office tower at 100 Biscayne Blvd. GreenOak has built and sold the Thompson Hotel.
Methodology
We used Yardi Matrix data to analyze all transactions recorded up until February 18th, 2019 of office buildings equal to or in excess of 25,000 square feet. In the case of mixed-use assets, only properties featuring more than 50% office space were included in the analysis. We counted portfolio deals as single transactions and only analyzed portfolio sales of buildings that were part of the same campus or property, and that shared the same transaction terms. Distressed sales were excluded altogether.
Property images courtesy of Yardi Matrix.
