Market Data
Regional Outlook(18)
EAST
Despite fears that metro
D.C. leasing activity will slow this year due to federal government cutbacks,
Market Square, a 679,710-sf mixed-use complex sold for around $615 million,
setting a new record for office sales at $904 psf, according to the Washington
Business Journal. Wells Real Estate Investment Trust II purchased the property
from Beacon Capital Partners at a 4.9 percent capitalization rate, reports
Jones Lang LaSalle.
MIDWEST
WEST
Retail 2.0
“The country simply has too
many empty stores — and houses — out in its hinterlands for the original
‘chasing the rooftops’ strategy to make sense anytime soon.”
—Jeff Green, CEO of Phoenix-based Jeff Green Partners, in Chain Store Age
Great Hearts Academies,
which operates 12 state-funded charter schools in the Phoenix area, purchased
the Arcadia Corporate Center in east Phoenix for $5.96 million, according to
Colliers International, which represented the buyer. The 141,000-sf building on
13 acres will serve as Great Hearts headquarters and house two schools after an
extensive renovation to add more school facilities. Charter schools are finding
great reuse opportunities in today’s real estate market, says Great Hearts CEO
Dan Scoggin. The school, which began in a strip mall, also has purchased and
renovated a former grocery store and light industrial property to serve as
school campuses.
EAST
Boston Tees Up
The Canadian superstore
Golf Town opened five locations in the Boston area with a sixth to open this
summer. The stores are 20,000 sf or larger with putting greens and six computer
golf simulators that allow customers to test products. The company plans to
open 12 stores in the Northeast over the next two years, says Golf Town
president and CEO Stephen Bebis, who hopes to eventually expand into all U.S.
markets with 600 stores.
SOUTH
Hot Picks for Headquarters
Companies looking to cut
costs are more attracted to secondary cities, particularly those in Florida,
according to a report in Site Selection magazine. A recent business costs study
found Orlando, Fla., the least expensive headquarters city, with operating
costs totaling $19.9 million annually, compared with the U.S.’s most expensive
city, New York, where operating costs total $28.4 million. The study also found
Jacksonville, Palm Beach County, and Tampa-St.Petersburg competitive on
operating costs. Perhaps the report will help Florida office vacancy rates,
which, while high, are moving in the right direction.
NORTH
