Bank sells downtown Class A office center for $90M
Steelbridge Capital acquired the 270,000-square-foot SunTrust Center office complex on Las Olas Boulevard, the most expensive address for Class A office space in Fort Lauderdale.
Steelbridge Capital acquired the 270,000-square-foot SunTrust Center office complex on Las Olas Boulevard, the most expensive address for Class A office space in Fort Lauderdale.
SunTrust Banks sold the two buildings at 501 and 515 East Las Olas Blvd. for $90 million, according to a source familiar with the deal. That equates to about $333 per square foot.
This is the largest office deal in downtown Fort Lauderdale in the past 12 months.
CBRE’s Christian Lee, Amy Julian and José Lobón helped Steelbridge Capital obtain a $75.4 million loan through the Blackstone Group to finance the deal. SunTrust Banks was represented in the deal by Lincoln Harris.
“Iconic is a term that is often thrown around, however, in this case, we could not be more pleased to have this truly iconic asset under our ownership,” said Mike Manno, managing principal at Miami-based Steelbridge Capital. “We are pleased to partner with SunTrust Bank, our lead tenant and an established financial brand within the Southeast, to elevate this asset to compete at the highest level within the downtown submarket.”
The bank, which owned the property since 1999, committed to a long-term lease there, according to Steelbridge Capital. SunTrust Center is 77 percent occupied and the new owner plans to spend millions of dollars upgrading the property, including technology improvements and renovations to the lobby and common areas.
The complex has a 17-story tower, a three-story office annex, a parking garage and several development parcels. It was built in 1992. The 45,000-square-foot annex will be largely vacant by early 2017 and Steelbridge Capital plans to reposition it for retail and creative office space.
“Our vision for the future of SunTrust Center goes beyond visual enhancements to include a transformation of the annex to include high-street retail to meet market demands,” said Jay Caplin, managing principal at Steelbridge Capital. “With single-digit vacancy for retail and office space on Las Olas Boulevard, SunTrust Center is well positioned to take advantage of an increasing rental rate environment while maintaining strong occupancy, particularly with the planned capital improvements.”
Steelbridge Capital said the office occupancy rate on Las Olas averages 93 percent.