$107.75 million sale of Class A office tower in downtown Charlotte closed by HFF

CHARLOTTE, NC - May 6, 2015 - Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announced today that it has closed the $107.75 million sale of 101 Independence Center, a 565,694-square-foot, Class A office tower in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina.

 

HFF exclusively marketed the property on behalf of the seller, KBS Real Estate Investment Trust, and their asset manager, Gramercy Property Trust Inc.  A joint venture between LRC Properties, LLC (LRC) and an undisclosed institutional capital source purchased the asset free and clear of existing debt.  LRC now owns and manages approximately 3.4 million square feet of space in Charlotte and is also the third largest industrial owner in Charlotte. 

    

101 Independence Center is situated on 1.83 acres at The Square, the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets that comprise the center of downtown Charlotte.  The building is two blocks from the CTC Lynx light rail station, the terminus of the new Lynx Gold Line that runs 10 miles with 34 stops.  Renovated in 2001, the 20-story tower features a concierge, food court, restaurants and three-story atrium connecting the tower to the adjacent 451-key Charlotte Center City Marriott hotel.  Additionally, the building has a connected three-story underground parking garage with 320 spaces and an adjacent 268-space parking lot.  101 Independence Center is 82.2 percent leased to office tenants Bank of America; Northeastern University; Clifton Larson Allen LLP; G4S Solutions; Grier Furr and Crisp PA; Robinson, Bradshaw and Hinson and Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP in addition to retail tenants Newk's Eatery, Starbucks, Uptown Sundries, Subway, Tin Tin Box & Noodles and Showman's.

 

The HFF investment sales team representing the seller was led by senior managing director Ryan Clutter and real estate analyst's Zachary Drozda, Kelly Kuykendall and Ryan Eklund.

 

"101 Independence Center received very strong interest from the marketplace, attracting a deep bench of investors," Clutter said.  "Charlotte has truly evolved into a dynamic market for institutional capital.  Given the strong investor appeal of Charlotte currently, we anticipate a very active selling environment through the remainder of 2015 with many notable institutions seeking quality investments in the city."  

 

Founded by Peter Bren and Charles J. Schreiber, Jr. in 1992, KBS is one of the nation's preeminent buyers of commercial real estate and structured debt investments, having completed more than $32 billion in transactional volume since its inception.  KBS Realty Advisors has created six institutional commingled funds, fourteen separate accounts with public and corporate pension funds, and five sovereign wealth funds.  KBS Capital Advisors was formed in 2006 as the exclusive advisor for KBS' publicly registered non-traded REITs, which are designed to give individual investors the ability to invest in a similar type of real estate as KBS pension fund and institutional partners.  Since 2006, KBS has formed six non-traded REITs that have acquired more than $11.9 billion in real estate and real estate-related assets.

 

Gramercy Property Trust Inc. is a leading global investor and asset manager of commercial real estate.  Gramercy specializes in acquiring and managing single-tenant, net-leased industrial and office properties purchased through sale-leaseback transactions or directly from property developers and owners. The company focuses on income producing properties leased to high quality tenants in major markets in the United States and Europe.  To review the company's latest news releases and other corporate documents, please visit the company's website at www.gptreit.com or contact Investor Relations at 212-297-1000.

 

About LRC Properties, LLC 

LRC Properties, LLC is an experienced investment manager focused on East Coast commercial real estate investments.  Headquartered in the New York City metro area, with offices in Charlotte, North Carolina, LRC concentrates in acquiring core plus and value add properties in improving markets in the Southeast.  LRC focuses on creating above-market returns for its investment partners by providing substantial value to the properties it purchases through operations, repositioning, restructuring and redeveloping, utilizing a "hands-on" management approach.  For more information on LRC Properties, LLC, visit www.lrcprop.com.

                

LRC Properties owns other properties in Charlotte, including Logistics Point, Colonial Plaza, the Tranquil Court mixed-used building, and the industrial complex at 1800 and 1900 Continental Blvd. With the completion of this deal, LRC now owns and manages approximately 3.4 million square feet of space in Charlotte and LRC is also the third largest industrial owner in Charlotte.  The company also owns other properties in North Carolina, notably 227 Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh and the 500,000-square-foot Madison Park corporate park in Winston-Salem.

 

HFF and HFFS (HFF Securities L.P.) are owned by HFF, Inc. HF. HFF operates out of 22 offices nationwide and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry.  HFF together with its affiliate HFFS offer clients a fully integrated national capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, equity placement, advisory services, loan sales and commercial loan servicing.  For more information please visit hfflp.com or follow HFF on Twitter @HFF.

 

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. acting by and through Holliday GP Corp, a North Carolina licensed real estate broker.    

HFF Senior Managing Director

(704) 331-6511

rclutter@hfflp.com

 

HFF Associate Director, Marketing

(617) 338-0990

krmurphy@hfflp.com

 

Goldman Communications Group

(718) 224-4133

sherry@goldmanpr.net