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MHCommercial Real Estate Fund and Waterfall Asset Management Acquire Prestigious Palm Beach Office Project – Golden Bear Plaza – for $49,750,000

— NAI/Merin Hunter Codman has been retained for the management and leasing of the property –

West Palm Beach, Fla. – MHCommercial Real Estate Fund LLC (“MHC”) a Florida based discretionary private real estate fund has formed a joint venture with Waterfall Asset Management, LLC (“Waterfall”), a New York based institutional asset manager, to acquire Golden Bear Plaza, an iconic 243,000 SF, Class-A, office complex located in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida for $49,750,000.

Golden Bear Plaza, a three-building project originally developed between 1985 and 1990 by Jack Nicklaus’ development company, is a locally recognized landmark with panoramic views of the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean that serves as home to some of the most prominent tenants in South Florida including AT&T, Otis Elevator Company, Pike Electric, Dycom Industries, NextEra Energy, SlimFast and Zimmer Biomet 3i.

The 90% occupied property is the third acquisition for MHC which was formed in the fall of 2019 by Dung Lam, Neil Merin and Jordan Paul, Principals of West Palm Beach, Florida based NAI/Merin Hunter Codman, Inc. along with Florida based real estate veteran Joe Sprouls to acquire income producing properties with strong cash flow potential in dynamic markets throughout the Southeastern United States. Corey Winsett, MHC Director of Acquisitions and Asset Management, spearheaded the due diligence for MHC working with Shutts & Bowen LLP who served as counsel for the purchaser under the direction of Art Menor.

“We are very pleased to have successfully closed this transaction in a challenging environment,” said MHC Principal Jordan Paul, “Golden Bear Plaza is a trophy asset that aligns perfectly with MHCommercial Real Estate Fund’s investment goal to acquire high-quality assets in growing Southeastern markets. The property benefits from a strong and diverse tenant base and we are particularly pleased to have an exceptional financial partner in Waterfall Asset Management.”

The project represents the first office acquisition in South Florida for Waterfall, a New York based registered investment advisor with approximately $8.8 billion in assets under management as of February 1, 2020. Patti Unti, Managing Director in charge of commercial real estate equity for Waterfall said, “The acquisition of Golden Bear complements our portfolio with the addition of a well performing asset within a desirable sub-market while partnering with a best-in-class local operator, MHC.”

Financing for the project was provided by M&T Bank under the direction of Senior Relationship Manager Steve Potting. MHC Principal Dung Lam, who structured the financing with M&T Bank stated, “The acquisition of Golden Bear fits very nicely with our investment thesis and hurdles. We were able to structure a phenomenal loan with M&T Bank that will allow us to realize this asset’s potential. This was our first deal with M&T Bank and we hope it’s the first of many as we deploy the remaining capital in our fund.”

NAI/Merin Hunter Codman will provide property management and leasing services for the new ownership group under the direction of MHC Principal Neil Merin, SIOR, CCIM who said, “After 17 years of providing leasing and management services at this iconic office project, we are excited to step into an ownership role and continue to operate this first-class office project as part of our portfolio”.

Jason Sundook, SIOR and Lesley Sheinberg will oversee leasing for NAI Merin Hunter Codman and may be contacted at 561-471-8000.

Click here to read the full Press Release.

Brokerage General Press Releases Property Management Transactions
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PRESS RELEASE: Major Boca Raton Office Campus in Foreclosure Sale

— NAI/Merin Hunter Codman bringing former Canon Solutions Campus to market. —

West Palm Beach, Fla. – The former Canon Solutions America, Inc. customer experience and showroom center, located in the Park at Broken Sound, is being offered for sale by Court Appointed Receiver Neil Merin, Chairman of NAI/Merin Hunter Codman. The receivership is the result of a foreclosure action filed due to a loan default which occurred when Canon’s long-term lease expired. Consisting of 143,290 square feet of office space situated on 12.24 acres in Boca Raton’s premier mixed-use development, the site and building is one of the largest commercial real estate offerings in Boca Raton, Florida.

According to Mr. Merin the property is being offered on an “as-where is” basis. “This is a significant piece of real estate that has generated much interest as a result of the foreclosure,” Mr. Merin stated, “I expect to market the property and accept bids for just a few weeks before selecting a buyer.” The property is located at 5600 Broken Sound Boulevard NW, Boca Raton, Florida 33487. It was constructed in 2002 to the highest corporate levels as a build-to-suit for the former tenant. Features of the property include a full backup generator facility, over 450 on-site parking spaces, an on-site full-service cafeteria with indoor and outdoor seating, and the offices all feature raised floor electrical distribution for easy reconfiguration and layout. Additionally, due to the large site size, there is potential to add significant additional building area to the existing structures.

For additional information about this opportunity please contact Neil. E. Merin, SIOR, CCIM at 561-471-8000.

Click here to view the full Press Release.

Brokerage Press Releases Property Management
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Billionaire Jeff Greene battles with WPB mayor over unfinished office building

The following excerpt was originally written by Katherine Kallergis and Keith Larsen of The Real Deal. Click here to view the full article.

Two weeks ago, billionaire developer Jeff Greene threatened to stop construction of a two-tower, 30-story mixed-use project in downtown West Palm Beach.

Jeff Greene and a rendering of 550 North Quadrille Boulevard (Credit: Arquitectonica International via Facebook)

Greene, who told the Palm Beach Post in late April that he would “leave the shell up” because the city was resistant to approve a zoning request, is changing his tune. Now, he’s saying that he will build the project at 550 North Quadrille Boulevard as is, but at a slower pace, if he can’t get the property rezoned. Greene wants to change the project’s zoning from hotel, office space and multifamily to all multifamily.

West Palm Beach’s Central Business District has 673,350 square feet of Class A office space under construction, with an average asking rent of $54.39 per square foot, according to Colliers International South Florida’s first quarter report.

Neil Merin, chairman of the commercial real estate firm NAI Merin Hunter Codman, said the city has shown that it can only absorb one new Class A office building every 10 years.

To go forward with the office component of the One West Palm project “seems to be silly,” Greene said. He’s already invested $100 million into construction.

Want to read the full story? View PDF | View Link

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Tuesday’s Tour of the Day: Centurion Tower

Check out Centurion Tower, a first-class office building near downtown West Palm Beach.

Centurion Tower delivers downtown West Palm Beach Class-A office space amenities at a suburban price point. Centurion Tower is a 144,000-square foot, 14-story, Class-A office building which features an attached 5-story parking garage with covered access, ample surface parking, 24-hour security with closed circuit TV monitoring system, and separately metered, multi-zoned HVAC with no overtime HVAC charges.

Centurion Tower is located just off of Palm Beach Lakes Blvd on Forum Place, less than a minute to I-95 and the Palm Beach Outlets with numerous restaurants, shops and banks within walking distance. Palm Beach International Airport, the County Courthouse, and Downtown West Palm Beach are also just a short drive away.

Call Christopher T. Smith or Shelbi Quinn at 561-471-8000 and come experience Centurion Tower’s stunning golf course and water views today. Don’t forget to ask about Centurion Tower’s recently completed move-in ready spec suites available for lease.

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Tuesday’s Tour of the Day: 900 Broken Sound

Check out 900 Broken Sound, a modern, first-class office building in the heart of North Boca Raton!

900 Broken Sound is a five-story, 116,000 square foot, Class-A, Boca Raton professional office building. Undergoing $2 million of property upgrades since 2009, this fully modernized building features a dramatic two-story lobby finished with mahogany wood paneling, marble floors and shared conference center. Located in the heart of the Park of Broken Sound, a blossoming live-work-play environment, the property is surrounded by over 500 residential units, numerous restaurants, shops and hotels. I-95 is a minute away along with easy access to Florida’s Turnpike, TriRail, the Boca Raton Executive Airport and Palm Beach International Airport.

Call 561-471-8000 today to learn more about Boca Raton move-in ready spec suites, customizable space for lease, or full floor opportunities.

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NEWS PICK-UP: Coronavirus Florida; One West Palm complex, partly built, could halt construction for years

The following excerpt was originally written by Alexandra Clough of The Palm Bach Post. Click here to view the full article.

Photo by: Greg Lovett/palmbeachpost.com

A $250 million twin-tower complex in West Palm Beach is likely to stop construction within days, leaving the city with skeletal towers that could stand as unbuilt eyesores for the next decade.

Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene, who is developing the 30-story One West Palm apartment-hotel-office complex, said on Tuesday he is about to pull the plug on construction, three stories shy of reaching the top, because the city is pushing back against his request for a zoning change.

Greene wants to build apartments in a northeast tower, rather than the offices and hotel slated for the space. The southwest tower already is approved for 328 apartments.

With the coronavirus pandemic putting a halt to tourism and shuttering offices nationwide, office space and hotel rooms no longer work, Greene said. He said financing sources for the 200,000 square feet of office and 201-room hotel have collapsed, and a hotel partner withdrew.

Even before the pandemic, Greene said his real estate brokerage could not find even one office tenant willing to lease space in the project, a reflection of the market’s thin demand for new office space downtown.

Real estate experts said Greene’s concerns about office space are valid.

Last year, experts began warning that West Palm Beach’s downtown office market was loaded with empty space, even though business leaders insisted the city needed more space to lure employers.

The city’s existing offices buildings, including its Class A towers, had floors of vacant sublease space. This resulted in a shadow vacancy rate of about 17 percent downtown, said Neil Merin, chairman of NAI/Merin Hunter Codman in West Palm Beach.

Historically, downtown West Palm Beach can only absorb one new office tower every 10 years, Merin said. In addition to One West Palm, the 300,000-square-foot 360 Rosemary office tower also began construction last year.

With businesses alarmed by the pandemic or financially damaged by the tumbling economy, the outlook for urban office leasing is unpredictable.

Some theories predict office tenants will flock to less dense, suburban offices, Merin said.

Others predict companies will shrink their office space to save money on overhead while continuing to let employees work from home.

Want to read the full article? View PDF | View Link

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