NASHVILLE-Jones Lang LaSalle, in conjunction with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), negotiated two new leases worth more than $75 million in Tennessee. The IRS is taking down space in Franklin and the Social Security Administration is absorbing space in Jackson.
JLL Vice Presidents Tracy Bibbens and Barbara Jeanneret, along with Senior Vice President Tal Isbell, represented the IRS. Buffalo, N.Y.-based Acquest is constructing the building. Omar M. Abu-Sitta, vice president of Development at Acquest, represented the builder.
“We went out to the market, but we didn’t specify a need for a build-to-suit,” Bibbens tells GlobeSt.com. “In both instances, we were taking into account existing buildings. In Nashville, there was an existing building that was suitable, but in the end the build-to-suit was the most cost-effective solution. There was no existing property in Jackson that fit the needs of the Social Security Administration.”
The IRS will take up five floors for a call center in the Franklin submarket of Nashville. The IRS plans to take occupancy of a newly constructed build-to-suit project, to be located at the Market Exchange Center, in December 2011. The 20-year lease totals 135,372 rentable square feet of office space and has a value of $63 million.
The second deal is a full-building lease agreement for a new Social Security Administration (SSA) Teleservice Center, as well as a permanent remote site for the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR). Bibbens and JLL Managing Director Russ Westlake represented the government. Gary A. Taylor Investment Company is constructing the building.
Ryan Johnson, GSA’s Leasing Contracting Officer, managed the procurement and awarded both Tennessee leases. Neither Gary Taylor nor Johnson could be reached for comment on the deal. Elliot Embry, an affiliate broker at NAI Saig Company in Memphis, did not return calls seeking comment.
The SSA and ODAR will take occupancy of a build-to-suit single-story building, to be located at Park Place Development on BancorpSouth Parkway in Jackson, in late 2011. The 15-year lease totals 41,569 rentable square feet of space and has a value of $12.2 million.
Bibbens expects more government leasing activity this quarter. “We haven’t seen a slow down in government leases this year,” Bibbens says. “If anything, it’s picked up. We continue to see a steady, consistent flow of government projects in the Southeast region.”
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