Piedmont sources were unable to answer GlobeSt.com queries before deadline. Unidentified broker sources tell GlobeSt.com that asking rents for the property are $45 per sf. Deborah Jackson, executive managing director of locally based Weiser Realty Advisors, tells GlobeSt.com that average asking rent for office space in the Financial District at year end of 2007 was $50.29 per sf for class A space and $42.10 per sf for class B. "Clearly, this can vary by building, by the size of the space being leased, the term and by any concessions being given," she says.
The property was built in 1962, but was renovated in 1997, the year the state agencies moved in. Tenants at the one-million-sf building include five agencies of the New York state government: Court Administration, Housing & Community Renewal, Insurance, Commission for Blind & Visually Handicapped, and Lottery.
[IMGCAP(2)]As GlobeSt.com exclusively reported January 2004, Atlanta-based Wells REIT I, which has been known as Piedmont since August, picked up the property for just north of $213 million. The trust purchased the 986,593-sf property on Dec. 31, 2003 from a partnership between Cogswell Realty Group and Lend Lease.
The building has maintained high occupancy levels since that acquisition. Arthur Stern, Anthony Stapleton, Eric Sarner and Ross Jacobs of Cogswell Realty Group, LLC, represented Piedmont in the extension as its exclusive leasing agent. "This is an important transaction for us, as the state is one of our largest tenants in the REIT," notes George Wells, SVP of Piedmont in a prepared statement.
As of Sept. 30, Piedmont owned 82 buildings totaling more than 21 million sf in 23 states and Washington, DC. Across the portfolio, Piedmont properties are approximately 94% leased. In December, Piedmont acquired the 100% ownership interest of Rock Spring LLC, the entity owning Opus Center at Rock Spring Park I, a recently completed class A office building in suburban Washington, DC. Piedmont also has signed a contract to purchase the entity that owns Opus Center at Rock Spring Park II, an adjacent building under construction.
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
