Industry News
May 15, 2008
By: Tonie Auer, Southwest Correspondent
Less than a month after the launch of Thompson National Properties L.L.C., the firm has acquired two Dallas Class B office buildings as the company’s first acquisition on behalf of the Bruin Fund, a $250 million opportunity fund.
The properties, Oakwood Tower and One Lee Park West, were acquired for an undisclosed amount. Located in the Uptown/Turtle Creek submarket, the buildings total approximately 118,400 leasable square feet. Built in 1964 and 1972, the properties are designed for smaller tenants ranging from 500 to 6,000 square feet. The buildings are considered value added because rents are 30 to 40 percent below market, according to Thompson information.
Adam Levinson of Cohen Financial arranged the financing with Grandbridge Real Estate Capital L.L.C.
"This acquisition shows that we're looking at opportunities everywhere. These buildings are located in Turtle Creek, which is a wonderful submarket of Dallas. They're good buildings but dated, having been built in the '60s and '70s. So, we'll bring them into this century and with the modernization, we'll raise the rents, which were way below market," Darryll Goodman, senior vice president for asset management for Thompson, told CPN. Goodman was senior vice president, asset management at Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors Inc., formerly Triple Net Properties L.L.C., from 2003 to 2008. "The barrier to entry to that market is phenomenal because there is not much land available there. We're going to update and modernize within the first two years, but we'll take it slow because the buildings are about 92 to 94 percent occupied," Goodman added.
The impact of the credit market crunch curbed Dallas/Fort Worth’s investment volume in the first quarter of 2008. According to Real Capital Analytics (RCA), private, public and institutional investors have spent nearly $737 million so far in this year to acquire office properties in the DFW Metroplex. Total volume over the last 12 months accumulated to $4.8 billion, a drop of approximately $1 billion compared to the previous 12 months.
However, the area's office leasing market jumped off to a great start in the first quarter of 2008 with 834,200 square feet of positive net absorption, which was primarily driven by the Class B sector, according to a Grubb & Ellis Co. report. The overall absorption recorded in the fourth quarter of 2007 was dramatically lower at a positive 287,800 square feet. Among all property classes, Class B properties registered the largest quarterly absorption growth with 643,500 square feet.
On April 17, Tony Thompson launched Thompson National Properties with a goal of providing value-added real estate investment opportunities and asset management to high net worth domestic, foreign and institutional investors. Thompson previously founded Triple Net Properties L.L.C. in 1998 and was its chairman & CEO until October 2006 when he was elected chairman of the board of NNN Realty Advisors Inc., Triple Net Properties’ affiliated holding company. In December 2007 NNN Realty Advisors completed a merger with Grubb & Ellis Co., and Thompson was elected chairman of the board of Grubb & Ellis. He stepped down from that post to form Thompson National Properties.
By: Tonie Auer, Southwest Correspondent
Less than a month after the launch of Thompson National Properties L.L.C., the firm has acquired two Dallas Class B office buildings as the company’s first acquisition on behalf of the Bruin Fund, a $250 million opportunity fund.
The properties, Oakwood Tower and One Lee Park West, were acquired for an undisclosed amount. Located in the Uptown/Turtle Creek submarket, the buildings total approximately 118,400 leasable square feet. Built in 1964 and 1972, the properties are designed for smaller tenants ranging from 500 to 6,000 square feet. The buildings are considered value added because rents are 30 to 40 percent below market, according to Thompson information.
Adam Levinson of Cohen Financial arranged the financing with Grandbridge Real Estate Capital L.L.C.
"This acquisition shows that we're looking at opportunities everywhere. These buildings are located in Turtle Creek, which is a wonderful submarket of Dallas. They're good buildings but dated, having been built in the '60s and '70s. So, we'll bring them into this century and with the modernization, we'll raise the rents, which were way below market," Darryll Goodman, senior vice president for asset management for Thompson, told CPN. Goodman was senior vice president, asset management at Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors Inc., formerly Triple Net Properties L.L.C., from 2003 to 2008. "The barrier to entry to that market is phenomenal because there is not much land available there. We're going to update and modernize within the first two years, but we'll take it slow because the buildings are about 92 to 94 percent occupied," Goodman added.
The impact of the credit market crunch curbed Dallas/Fort Worth’s investment volume in the first quarter of 2008. According to Real Capital Analytics (RCA), private, public and institutional investors have spent nearly $737 million so far in this year to acquire office properties in the DFW Metroplex. Total volume over the last 12 months accumulated to $4.8 billion, a drop of approximately $1 billion compared to the previous 12 months.
However, the area's office leasing market jumped off to a great start in the first quarter of 2008 with 834,200 square feet of positive net absorption, which was primarily driven by the Class B sector, according to a Grubb & Ellis Co. report. The overall absorption recorded in the fourth quarter of 2007 was dramatically lower at a positive 287,800 square feet. Among all property classes, Class B properties registered the largest quarterly absorption growth with 643,500 square feet.
On April 17, Tony Thompson launched Thompson National Properties with a goal of providing value-added real estate investment opportunities and asset management to high net worth domestic, foreign and institutional investors. Thompson previously founded Triple Net Properties L.L.C. in 1998 and was its chairman & CEO until October 2006 when he was elected chairman of the board of NNN Realty Advisors Inc., Triple Net Properties’ affiliated holding company. In December 2007 NNN Realty Advisors completed a merger with Grubb & Ellis Co., and Thompson was elected chairman of the board of Grubb & Ellis. He stepped down from that post to form Thompson National Properties.
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