Crescent's $2B Asset Disposition On Track

FORT WORTH-In its transition to a “pure play office REIT,” Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. has its resort residential properties ready to hit the market. Before the second quarter ends, the REIT plans to polish off sales of a 3.1-million-sf office portfolio in Dallas, an office building in Austin and its entire resort hotel package.

In today’s earnings call, Crescent president and COO Dennis H. Alberts also disclosed the REIT’s intention to sell its stake in the 217-room Ritz-Carlton condo hotel in Dallas’ Uptown. “I see us exiting that asset at some point in time. It will not be a long-term asset for us,” he told shareholders and analysts. The 70-condo project, with 68 units already sold, will be completed in August, a new neighbor for the REIT’s trophy Crescent. The expected gain is pushing $22 million. And it’s a safe bet that the REIT’s stake in the project’s 96-unit second phase will go as well.

GlobeSt.com has confirmed that the Schenectady, NY-based Trimarchi Management is negotiating to buy 3.1 million sf of Crescent’s 5.6-million-sf office portfolio in Dallas. If the would-be buyer follows his normal course, it could play out as joint venture with Fortis Property Group of New York City. The fiscal powerhouse already owns two CBD high rises and JPMorgan International Plaza in North Dallas.