Downtown Fort Lauderdale Office Tower Trades for .1M

A neglected 4-star office building in downtown Fort Lauderdale, FL traded for almost $41.06 million, and the new owner is expected to launch a major renovation to bring the asset in line with nearby properties.

Stockbridge Capital Group LLC of San Francisco bought 100-110 E. Broward Blvd. at a foreclosure auction. The 342,465-square-foot property includes a 24-story tower and an adjacent two-story office and retail annex. The seller was LNR Property Corp., a Miami Beach-based special servicer.

Built in 1981, the building is within walking distance of Las Olas Boulevard and the new Brightline rail service. It features panoramic city and ocean views, covered garage parking, a concierge and an on-site generator, according to the listing from CBRE, which represented the seller.

CBRE’s Jose Lobon said the building previously was owned by a Tenancy-in-Common, but the fractured ownership led to significant challenges that included non-working elevators in recent years.

Downtown Fort Lauderdale’s vacancy rate is about 10 percent, but 110 E. Broward is 58 percent vacant, with asking rents in the $20 to $25 a square foot range, according to CBRE.

Lobon said Stockbridge plans common-area upgrades and other improvements that likely will boost rents to more than $30 a square foot, the going rate for other class A buildings in the submarket.

“It’s very exciting to see this property reclaim its rightful place in downtown Fort Lauderdale,” Lobon told CoStar News.

The building sold for more than $107 per square foot, but it likely would cost more than $300 a square foot to rebuild the property, said Peter Reed, managing principal of Commercial Florida Realty Services in Boca Raton, FL. Reed, who was not involved in the sale, said it’s becoming more difficult to find below-market deals.

“They are highly sought-after by value-add investor groups,” he said. “But you’ve got to have the stomach for it.”

Before LNR acquired the property last year, the building last traded in March 2006 for $62.2 million, or $182 a square foot, according to CoStar data.

^{See CoStar COMPS #1097069.}

The largest tenants in the building are BB&T, Regus and Wells Fargo Capital Finance. The building also has four on-site restaurants.

As of Sept. 30, Stockbridge and its affiliates have assets of $11.3 billion. Company officials did not immediately return calls for comment.

Christian Lee and José Lobón with CBRE in Miami represented LNR Partners in the sale.

Please see CoStar COMPS #4099432 for additional information on this latest transaction.

Source: Downtown Fort Lauderdale Office Tower Trades for .1M