Disposition comes on heels of multi-million dollar renovations, recent leasing momentum that enabled property to stay full during pandemic
ATLANTA (Oct. 2021) – Bridge Investment Group’s office subsidiary Bridge Office Fund Manager (Bridge) and JV partner Ascentris announced today it has completed the sale of Fountain Square, a three-building, 242,816-square-foot Class-A office campus in Boca Raton, Florida. Located in the heart of Boca Raton’s leading office district and surrounded by a bevy of premier shopping and dining destinations, Fountain Square offers convenient access to I-95 and Florida’s Turnpike, and also lies in close proximity to residential areas that attract top professional talent.
Bridge and Ascentris purchased the property in 2017 and recently completed a $4.9 million capital improvement plan that delivered new lobbies, restrooms and common area corridors, modern exteriors, conference center, outdoor pavilions and signage, along with 23,000 square feet of high-tech, move-in-ready spec suites customizable for a wide array of users.
Bridge has overseen more than 121,000 square feet of leasing activity since acquiring the property, including more than 54,000 square feet of new and expanded agreements year-to-date. Tenants range from a variety of industries, including banking, legal, medical, dental, real estate and financial services. Three major retail centers, including Town Center at Boca and Boca Center, are located within two miles of Fountain Square, providing access to over two million square feet of retail options. Favorable demographics, a high quality of life and lack of new supply have caused market rents in Boca Raton to increase by more than 30% since 2013.
CBRE Capital Markets Vice Chairman Christian Lee and Executive Vice President José Lobón represented Bridge in the transaction.
“Bridge’s playbook in repositioning office space for the new needs of today’s workforce and ability to think ahead of the curve enabled us to add significant value for our investment partners on this project,” said Kelly Kuykendall, Managing Director of Asset Management at Bridge. “The improvements we have made at Fountain Square over the last few years and overall attention to detail were key factors in the success of the asset, creating a clean, fresh and modern workplace where tenants wanted to be, even through a pandemic. Balanced rent rolls and the ability for the new owners to capitalize on our investment position the building for a bright future in the decade ahead.”
“Ascentris is very pleased with the outcome of this investment,” said Ascentris Managing Director and Partner Tricia Noble. “The recent leasing velocity at the property demonstrates the continued demand for well-amenitized office space in growth markets. The investor interest in the property was very strong, as we are continuing to see in many of the top markets around the country.”
The buyer, IP Capital, in joint venture with Edge Principal Advisors, is a private real estate investment and asset management firm headquartered in Boca Raton. IP Capital currently owns and operates in excess of 6 million SF across the state of Florida.
According to CBRE’s recent Q2 Office Marketview report, average asking rents across the Palm Beach office market continue to eclipse record highs, with demand leading to one of the strongest quarters on record for leasing activity.
“The lack of new office construction over recent years in Boca Raton has put significant upward pressure on market rents,” said Lee. “With a growing population base and job market in Boca Raton, continued upward pressure on rents is expected.”
Following the disposition, Bridge’s South Florida portfolio includes five additional properties, including Sawgrass Technology Park and 5601 Hiatus Road in Broward County, and 775,000 square feet across three assets in Miami-Dade County. For more information, visit www.bridgecre-office.com/portfolio_category/florida/.
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About Bridge Commercial Real Estate
(“BCRE”) is a fast-rising player in the U.S. commercial office market that specializes in creating desirable, next-generation workspaces. BCRE provides world-class commercial office brokerage services, property management, accounting and commercial construction services for Bridge Office assets. With a proven blueprint that delivers long-term value for tenants and investors, our portfolio includes office properties uniquely positioned in dynamic, high-growth markets across the U.S. and continues to grow. We are laser focused on how companies work today – and will work tomorrow. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and Salt Lake City, Utah, BCRE is a subsidiary of Bridge Investment Group.
About Ascentris
Ascentris is a real estate private equity firm based in Denver, Colorado. With over $2.2 billion in assets under management, Ascentris manages a series of fully discretionary institutional vehicles targeting both core and value-add investments across the major property types and geographic regions within the United States. Since 2003, Ascentris’ management team has relied on an investment philosophy and organizational structure that results in its investors getting to opportunities ahead of the market while receiving an unmatched level of service, transparency and accountability. Ascentris is a privately held and management-owned SEC registered investment adviser that maintains an unwavering commitment to put its investors’ needs first. Additional information is available at www.ascentris.com.
About CBRE Group, Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2019 revenue). The company has more than 80,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate investors and occupiers through approximately 450 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers a broad range of integrated services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com
About Bridge Investment Group: Bridge is a leading, vertically integrated real estate investment manager, diversified across specialized asset classes, with approximately $28.7 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2021. Bridge combines its nationwide operating platform with dedicated teams of investment professionals focused on select U.S. real estate verticals: multifamily, affordable housing, seniors housing, office, development, logistics net lease, logistics properties, debt strategies and agency mortgage backed securities.