Steelbridge Buys The Same Building Twice
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—Steelbridge managing principal Gavin Campbell tells GlobeSt.com’s Jennifer LeClaire why his firm bought this iconic office building a second time.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—What was old has become new again for Steelbridge Capital. The Miami- and Chicago-based real estate investor has purchased Cypress Financial Center for a second time. The sale price was $32.55 million.
Cypress Financial Center is the area’s iconic office asset—and its sale is a key indicator that investor demand in this in-fill suburban market is strong. The 11-story, 198,528-square-foot class A office building sits on Interstate 95 at Cypress Creek Road in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
“We’ve always like this building’s unique location on I-95 and in fact had owned it previously in the 1998-2006 time period,” Gavin Campbell, managing principal at Steelbridge, tells GlobeSt.com. “When the opportunity presented itself to buy it again below our 1998 price we decided to proceed. “
Steelbridge principals were part of the prior ownership from 1998 thru 2006. The firm bought back the asset back from the owner it had sold the property to in 2006.
Steelbridge plans to reposition the asset, beginning with an aggressive capital improvement and leasing plan that will return it to its class A-plus status. Kravit Architectural Associates is heading design upgrades, including plans to renovate the lobby, make common area improvements, paint the exterior, install native Florida landscaping, and complete elevator modernization.
“Cypress Financial Center has long been considered the best asset in the market, and through our multi-million dollar capital improvement plan and active management, we will ensure that the building accurately reflects this iconic stature, both inside and out,” says Jay Caplin, managing principal at Steelbridge. This transaction comes on the heels of another recent Steelbridge value-add purchase of the SunTrust Building, the largest office purchase in Naples in 2014.
Cypress Financial Center is the only building in the tri-county area that’s sits directly on Interstate with direct expressway access. It’s 76% occupied to tenants such as MetLife, TD Bank, BDO, Altadis, and Marcus & Millichap. HFF represented the seller Tricony CFC.