Crescent Pays $72M for Two Class A Office Towers

CORAL GABLES, FL-Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. acquired the office portion of the Alhambra, consisting of two class A towers totaling 317,566 sf in the city, for $72.3 million. The price equals approximately $227.67 per sf.The two buildings are called the Alhambra Plaza and Alhambra West. The Alhambra Plaza has nearly 225,000 sf and Alhambra West totals about 92,500 sf. The Alhambra mixed-use complex also includes the 220-room hotel Hyatt Regency Coral Gables, which was not part of the sale.The sellers, the Peabody Global Real Estate Fund of New York and EdwardsDay of Atlanta, acquired the towers for $54.5 million, or about $171.62 per sf, in fall 2002 from YCP Alhambra LP, an investment partnership advised by Lend Lease Real Estate Investments Inc. of Atlanta. The Peabody Global Real Estate Fund is a real estate opportunity fund sponsored by JW O’Connor & Co. and JP Morgan & Co. EdwardsDay is a private real estate investment firm that invests with institutional capital partners.Robert M. Day, president of EdwardsDay Inc., says, “We are extremely pleased with the sale price. We are very excited about it.” It was a good time to sell the buildings, he adds, as the owners had achieved planned lease-up and capital improvements.

Alhambra West was built in 1961 and renovated in 1987. The Alhambra Plaza was built in 1987. The two towers are an average of 93% leased and no one tenant occupied more than 13% of the space. Tenants of include the US Department of State, Yahoo, Quick & Reilly, Bank of America, Hyatt Corp., Prudential, Dannon, Wrigley, Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, BBDO Worldwide, PeopleSoft and Buena Vista International Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Television International Inc.Crescent’s purchase was funded by a $45-million loan and a draw on the company’s revolving credit facility. “This strategic acquisition substantially increases our presence in the South Florida market,” John C. Goff, vice chairman and CEO of Crescent, notes in a statement. “With nearly 1.8 million sf wholly owned or joint ventured in Miami, we continue to consider it one of our targeted markets for further acquisitions and joint-venture activity.”Manny de Zarraga, Dan Carlo and Hermen Rodriguez of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler represented the sellers and were the only brokers involved in the sale to Crescent.