MIAMI—Metropolitan Life Insurance Company just shed some of its Miami assets. The company sold the West Building Portfolio, five buildings on Blue Lagoon Drive in Miami, to DRA Fund VII. The portfolio spans 345,000 square feet. Sources say the portfolio sold for $44 million.
Mark Gilbert, Mike Davis and Adam Feinstein of Cushman & Wakefield’s Southeast Capital Markets Group served as the exclusive advisors to MetLife. Completed between 1982 and 1988, the assets have always been institutionally owned.
“These buildings were well maintained and upgraded during MetLife's ownership period which really makes a difference in the quality of the assets DRA purchased,” Gilbert said in a statement. “The assets are in a condition that allows DRA to take advantage of Miami-Dade County’s recovering real estate and employment markets.”
According to Feinstein, Waterford at Blue Lagoon, which is home to the five office buildings, is one of Miami-Dade’s premier business parks. Waterford at Blue Lagoon spans 250 acres along the Dolphin Expressway opposite Miami International Airport. In a statement, Feinstein said, “The park’s 20 office buildings are primarily owned by institutions such as TIAA-CREF, TA Associates Realty as well as MetLife, which continues to own three buildings in the park.”
While MetLife will maintain a level of investment in the Miami office market, DRA is no stranger to the region, either. The acquisition expands DRA’s already sizeable South Florida real estate portfolio. DRA owns high quality office buildings as well as shopping centers in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. “DRA’s multiple purchases across South Florida over the past year is a strong vote of confidence in the region by an experienced and well respected real estate investor,” Davis said in a statement.
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