In this week's issue:
- Presidential transition office sets up near white house.
- Nuke resurgence.
- Plus, we give you expansion news of: ACME Furniture, American Security Insurance, Assurant, Eisner LLP, Houghton Mifflin, Humana, Netflix, News America, Siemens Healthcare, Stoel Rives, Sun Products, WEG Electric Corp., Wurk Environments, Yahoo! and others.
Presidential Transition Office Sets Up Near White House
By: Josiah Tindor
It's not the White House, but it will do for the next 74 days.
The presidential transition team for President-Elect Barack Obama has found a home at Liberty Square, taking two floors at the office building that is a few blocks from the White House, CoStar News has confirmed with multiple sources.
The General Services Administration (GSA) leased the entire 482,130-square-foot building, which is at 450 5th St. NW in Washington, DC, in 2006 for the Justice Department. A security perimeter has been erected around the building on D and E and 5th and 6th streets, according to WTOP News, which reported the building address separately this morning. WTOP identified the space as 451 6th St., which CoStar data shows alternately as 450 5th St.
Calls to GSA were not returned in time for publication.
The transition office will serve as a staging area for the incoming administration, which took control of the space Wednesday. GSA provides the president-elect and vice president-elect with services, facilities and funding during the transition period, as stated under the Presidential Transition Acts of 1963 and 2000.
Liberty Square is an 11-story office building that formerly housed the Securities & Exchange Commission. It delivered in 1982 and was renovated in 2006, according to CoStar information.
With his inauguration 74 days away, Obama has been assembling his transition team while also mulling Cabinet appointments and solutions to the economic crisis. This week he named John Podesta, Bill Clinton's former chief of staff, to head the transition team, and Illinois House Representative Rahm Emanuel as his White House chief of staff.
Obama was in Chicago Friday to deliver his first press conference as president-elect, which focused heavily on the economy.
Nuke Resurgence
AREVA and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, a sector of Northrop Grumman Corp., have joined forces to build a new manufacturing and engineering facility in Newport News, VA, to supply the growing American nuclear energy sector. The joint venture, AREVA Newport News LLC, with AREVA as the majority owner, will establish a world-class facility to manufacture heavy components for the U.S. Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR), AREVA's Generation III+ nuclear reactor.
The 300,000-square-foot facility represents a significant investment of more than $360 million in the U.S. commercial nuclear and manufacturing industries and will bring more than 500 skilled hourly and salaried jobs to the Commonwealth of Virginia.
AREVA Newport News will be the first full-scale manufacturing facility dedicated to supply heavy components, such as reactor vessels, steam generators and pressurizers to the U.S. nuclear energy industry. These components will supply the first new U.S. nuclear power plants to be built in 35 years. Industry experts have viewed limited production of heavy components positioned against rising demand as a constraint on nuclear energy's expansion.
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Expansions & Relocations
ACE, a global logistics provider, completed a 102,000-square-foot lease at 545 Dowd Ave in Elizabeth, NJ. Mark Tannen, first vice president CB Richard Ellis, represented ACE, as well as the landlord, 553-565 Dowd LLC.
ACME Furniture signed a lease to occupy 103,662 square feet of industrial space at 15124 Grand River in Fort Worth, TX. Jeff Jackson of Granite Properties represented the landlord in-house. Brad Larson and Kane Dossett of Partners National Real Estate Group Inc. represented the tenant. (By: Johanna Rollman)
American Security Insurance Co. leased 70,393 square feet of Class B office space at 2975 Breckinridge Blvd. in Duluth, GA, which represents the entire building. American Security Insurance Company is expected to utilize the space primarily as a call center with some management and operations functions. Doug Wise, vice president of Grubb & Ellis, and Eric Carlton, associate, represented the lessor, Magnolia Norcross LLC.
Assurant Inc., a New York based specialty insurance provider, signed a 70,393-square-foot lease at 2975 Breckinridge Blvd. in Duluth, GA. The firm will occupy the Breckinridge business park office property in January. Robert Metcalf and Nicole Janney of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the tenant, while Doug Wise and Eric Carlton of Grubb & Ellis represented the landlord, Magnolia Norcross LLC. (By: Kenneth Hutton)
Central Florida Regional Workforce will relocate its Orange County, FL, offices to 23,824 square feet at 707 Mendham Blvd., in the University/Research Park area of Orange in 2009. Douglas Eber and Matthew McKeever CCIM, SIOR of Cushman & Wakefield of Florida represented the landlord, Continental Properties.
Cuyahoga Community College leased 38,079 square feet of office space at the Tower City Center in Cleveland, OH, at 50 Public Square. Cuyahoga Community College, also known as Tri-C, is Ohio's oldest and largest multi-campus community college, which opened in 1963. Jim Crosby of Forest City Enterprises Inc., along with Douglas Leary, Brian Hurtuk and Mary Izant of CB Richard Ellis, represented the landlord, in-house. Robert Brandon of CB Richard Ellis represented Tri-C. (By: Sharon Iringan)
Eisner LLP expanded by leasing 33,981 square feet for eight years, taking the entire 13th floor at SL Green's 750 Third Ave. in New York, which was previously scheduled to become vacant in 2009. The firm will now occupy 106,904 square feet at Grand Central Square, which is 100% leased. Harry Krausman of Colliers ABR represented the tenant, while David Turino represented SL Green in-house.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co. plans to relocate its headquarters to SouthPark Center, a premier office park in the heart of the growing South Orlando, FL, business district. Harcourt’s 250,000-square-foot lease at Flagler Development Group's SouthPark Center marks one of Florida’s largest leases this year.
Humana Inc. leased 140,795 square feet at Park 75 in Opus North’s Union Centre II, an industrial, multi-tenant development in West Chester, OH. Humana’s portion of Park 75 includes approximately 80,000 square feet for a call center and 60,000 square feet for drug fulfillment. Dave Noonan and Norm Khoury from Colliers Turley Martin Tucker brokered the long-term lease on behalf of Opus North. Bob Ryan of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker represented Humana.
Netflix, a movie-rental subscription service, signed a 90,200-square-foot lease at 2141 Southwest Blvd. in Grove City, OH. It plans to open a warehouse and distribution center next April. Michael Linder, Shane Woloshan and Joel Yakovac represented the owner, Meridian Industrial Trust. (By: Laura Dudzinski)
News America, an affiliate of global media giant News Corp., expanded its existing space at 1185 Avenue of the Americas by taking floors 22 and 23, which were previously scheduled to become vacant in 2009. The 12-year lease for 54,472 square feet brings the company’s total occupancy at the building to 138,284 square feet. David W. Levinson and David C. Berkey of L&L Holding Co. represented the tenant. Howard Tenenbaum and Gary Rosen represented SL Green in-house.
O'Neal Steele, a family-owned metals service center, purchased a former AmSouth operations center in Birmingham, AL, from Roughtyde Associates LP for $3.25 million, or about $17 per square foot. The 189,125-square-foot, two-story office building at 720 N. 39 St. was constructed in 1978 and is on 13.24 acres. Dan Lovell and Walter Brown of Graham & Co. represented the seller, while Ogden Deaton, also of Graham, represented the buyer. (By: Scott Herman)
Sage Software Healthcare signed a 32,750-square-foot lease at 13545 Progress Corporate Park in Alachua, FL. Matthew McKeever, CCIM, SIOR, senior director of office brokerage services at the Orlando office of Cushman & Wakefield, and Christopher White, brokerage associate in C&W's Atlanta office, negotiated on behalf of the tenant.
Siemens Healthcare USA leased 320,070 square feet at the Plainfield Distribution Center, Building 100 in Plainfield, IN. The diagnostic solutions provider plans to move into the 493,500-square-foot industrial building at the corner of State Road 267 and Stafford Road in January. The new 10-year lease helps the landlord, Republic Property, with its planned expansion in Indiana. The developer is breaking ground on a 450,000-square-foot sister building in March of next year. Chip Barnes and Matt Dickerson of NAI Olympia Partners represented Republic Property. Ryan Beesley, Paul Novello and Tom Cooler represented Siemens. (By: Carlin K. Cook)
Stepan Chemical Co. acquired the vacant office property at 1135 Skokie Blvd. in Northbrook, IL, from ACCO Brands Corp. for $6.43 million, or about $129 per square foot. Louis Hall, Dirk Riekse and Chad Galayda of Grubb & Ellis represented the seller. Laura Quayle of Cushman & Wakefield Inc. represented the buyer. (By: Erik Smith)
Stoel Rives, Portland's largest law firm, will relocate to the forthcoming Park Avenue West office building. The firm will take up 11 floors in all, a total of 168,311 square feet. The project, located at 732 S.W. 9th Ave., broke ground in April and is set to deliver in January 2011. Stoel Rives plans to take occupancy in August of that year. Jeffrey Falconer and Scott Madsen of Capacity Commercial Group represented the owner. Dan Swift and Thomas Usher of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant. (By: Aaron Turkeltaub)
Stream expanded its lease of office space by 23,518 square feet, for a total of 98,000 square feet leased at 6302 E. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Tampa, FL, from Alliance Commercial Partners. Robin Bishop of Bishop & Associates represented the landlord. Jim Allen and Jeff Tolrud, CCIM of Colliers Arnold represented the tenant.
Sun Products Corp., a fabric care products maker, is moving its headquarters to the Wilton Corporate Park and will occupy 56,603 square feet on two floors at 60 Danbury Road in Wilton, CT. The three-story, 82,050-square-foot office building was developed by Davis Marcus Partners and recently delivered. Sun Products will take occupancy next March and employ 130 people at its new building. Gregory Frisoli of Cushman & Wakefield represented Sun Products. Jeffrey Gage and Ed Tonnessen of Albert B. Ashforth represented the landlord. (By: Sharon Koutroumpis)
Universal Healthcare leased 30,865 square feet of office space at 100 Bay Central located at 100 Central Avenue in St. Petersburg from Lutz Real Estate Investments. Jeff Tolrud, CCIM and Claire Calzon of Colliers Arnold represented the landlord. Chad Rupp of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the tenant.
WEG Electric Corp. leased 250,000 square feet at Duke Realty's Business Park at Sugarloaf in Duluth, GA, for its North American headquarters. WEG will occupy the entire building at 6655 Sugarloaf Parkway in the first quarter of 2010 and utilize 50,000 square feet of office space. The company will move from its current location 1327 Northbrook Parkway in nearby Suwanee, GA. Darren Ross and Dave Watson at Grubb & Ellis represented WEG, while Duke vice president Brian Sutton represented ownership.
Wurk Environments LLC, signed a new 10-year lease for 64,788 square feet at 1515 Broadway, SL Green’s iconic Times Square office tower in New York, taking the previously vacant 11th and 12th floors. Adam Rappaport of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the transaction. David Kaufman, together with Frank Doyle, Cynthia Wasserberger, Edward DiTolla and David Kleiner of Jones Lang LaSalle, represented SL Green in-house.
Yahoo! has selected Nebraska as the home of two new developments. A 150,000-square-foot data center will be located in LaVista and a customer care center in Omaha. Company representatives began the site selection process in January.
CoStar Columns
For news of companies shedding commercial space, see
Closures & Layoffs, a weekly listing of future corporate downsizings.
For news of property financing and a listing of loans nearing their maturity, see
Property Finance, a weekly column of commercial real estate finance news and loan leads.
For news of properties about to go through a change of ownership, see
Under Contract, a weekly listing of properties to be sold or acquired.
For news of distressed properties, see
Watch List, a weekly column of property and credit market conditions and real estate investment opportunities.
For development and construction news, see
In the Pipeline.
For retail news including expansions, closings and mergers and acquisitions, see
CoStar's Retail News Roundup.
For green building news from CoStar, see
Green Lede.