Principal Financial Buying 1M SF From State Farm

BEAVERTON, OR-The 1.2-million-sf Amberglen Business Center here is changing hands. State Farm Insurance of Bloomington, IL is selling the 20-building, 216-acre development to Principal Financial Group of Des Moines. The sale price is believed to be in excess of $120 million. The transaction is scheduled to close Monday.None of the parties involved in the transaction or associated with the property would comment on the transaction. However, a Principal Financial spokesperson did confirm it, saying, “it is not appropriate to comment until the deal closes.” The purchase includes 10 flex-office buildings, six class A office buildings, four class B office buildings and 47 acres of developable land. Occupancy at the park is pushing 80%, which is well above the market average. David Squire, Brandon Frank and Eric Haskins of Grubb & Ellis have had the exclusive leasing assignment. They declined comment on the transaction.Portions of the property reportedly were being shopped quietly by Laguna Nigel, CA-based Birtcher Development and Investment. The company has been responsible for asset management and ongoing development of the property, which has been built up over the past 15 years. Birtcher’s on-site SVP Jim Edwards did not return a phone call seeking comment. The idea that State Farm might be willing to sell the entire development is said to have been brought to Principal Financial by the lone brokerage firm in the transaction, Seattle-based GVA Kidder Mathews. Local sources tell GlobeSt.com the brokers involved were Monte Haynes and Keith Young of GVAKM’s Portland office and Jim Lovsted of the firm’s Seattle office. Steve Klein, head of the firm’s Portland office, declined comment on the transaction.When the transaction closes, it is believed GVAKM will assume the leasing role and Seattle-based KG Investment Management will take over as asset and property manager. Rick Gervais and Steve Kramer, the founders of KG, did not return a phone call seeking comment. Gervais was previously with Spieker Properties and Kramer was previously with Principal Financial. KG is said to be putting the property management duties for Amberglen in the hands of Lynda Clarke, a former Spieker property manager who moved to Equity Office with that company’s acquisition of Spieker in 2001 and now is with KG’s Portland-area office. Clarke did not return a phone call seeking comment. Local sources tell GlobeSt.com that KG is hoping to hire more former Spieker employees as it grows its Portland-area operations. KG’s other property management assignments in the Portland area include the 1.2-million-sf Scholls Business Center in Portland and the 170,000-sf Westbrook Corporate Park in Hillsboro.