337,000-SF Flex-Office Park Sells in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, TN-Talcott Realty Investors made its first purchase in Tennessee recently, paying Lord Baltimore Properties $31.8 million for Grassmere Business Park, a 337,000-sf flex-office park that includes room to grow.Hartford, CT-based Talcott acquired the park as part of its third fund. Located at 601-624 Grassmere Park, the development includes three brick (façade) buildings and 7.6 acres of excess land. The park was constructed in three phases from 1984 to 1990 and is 90% leased, with half the space leased to national tenants. Tenants include Trane Corporation, Investment Scorecard, AAA, Verizon, Deutsche Bank, Asurion, T-Mobile and the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors.. Terry Smith with Cushman & Wakefield in Nashville and Stuart Calhoun with C&W in Atlanta handled the disposition. Smith and others at the Nashville office also will be handling property management and leasing for Talcott. Smith tells GlobeSt.com he received the disposition assignment at the first of the year. Talcott held the property for five years. Of the top 10 bidders, eight were from out of state, says Smith. Talcott’s cash-on-cash return on the investment will reportedly be in the mid-9% range.In an unrelated transaction, the New York-based REIT Kimco recently paid $20.6 million for Rivergate Station, a 216,701-sf shopping center north of Nashville in the city of Goodlettsville. Built in 1988, the center is located on Gallatin Road, directly southeast of Rivergate Mall and includes tenants such as TJ Maxx, Joann’s Etc., Gold’s Gym and Sam Ash Music. The center’s out-parcel tenants include Logan’s Roadhouse and Olive Garden.The property was about 96% occupied at the time of sale. The seller was a local partnership. The seller’s representative Paul Gaither of CB Richard Ellis in Nashville tells GlobeSt.com that due to the center’s location next to Rivergate Mall it received a significant response, with bids coming in from REITs and national, regional and local private companies.