EquiProperty Plans Office Condos With $30M Buy

MIAMI-EquiProperty LLC is purchasing 1000 Brickell Ave., a 144,659-sf office building here, for less than $30 million and plans to convert the building into office condominiums. The office condos have a sellout value of more than $40 million.The Allen Morris Co. is the seller of the 12-story building. Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed. EquiProperty plans to spend approximately $2 million on renovations to the class B building, including improvements to the lobby and other common areas. The building is currently 80% leased, and most tenants were expected to buy their space. The building’s tenants include Ocean Bank, Charles Schwab, Shay Financial Services, Plus International Bank, and several law and accounting firms. The new owners have not begun marketing the property. The plans have only been advertised by word-of-mouth; however, prospective tenants have inquired about the space.The partners in EquiProperty are Hank Bush, a real estate developer from Atlanta, Ricardo Bajandas and Rick Skelton. “This building provides the best possible opportunity for office condo conversion of Brickell Avenue,” Bush says. He expects the project to be successful due to its flexible floor plates, location and parking ratios, as well as the anticipated growth on the Brickell corridor and the “huge economic advantages owning office space provides over leasing,” he says. The building’s parking ratio is close to 2.5 spaces per 1,000 sf owned.The building, located on nearly 1.8 acres of land in Brickell Avenue’s business district, has floor plates that range from 1,208 sf to 12,293 sf. The building, built in 1968 by Allen Morris Sr., was renovated in 1996 by Allen Morris Jr.Alan Kleber, director, Rashid Siahpoosh, associate, and Douglas Campbell, executive director, of Cushman & Wakefield of Florida Inc. represented the seller in the transaction. EquiProperty is based at 1000 Brickell, and the Allen Morris Co. recently relocated from that building to Coral Gables.