
Dealmaker: CapRidge Partners Acquires Texas Office Park
CapRidge Partners, Austin, Texas, acquired Lakewood on the Park, a 180,500-square-foot suburban office campus in Austin’s Northwest submarket, from Equity Commonwealth, Chicago.
Mesa West Capital, Los Angeles, provided CapRidge a $32.1 million short-term non-recourse loan for the property. The Austin Business Journal reported that the property’s value approaches $40 million.
Located at 7600 Capital of Texas Highway in Austin’s Loop 360 corridor, the property includes two three-story Class A buildings on 10 acres overlooking Bull Creek. Built in 1998 by local developer HPI, Lakewood on the Park was 77 percent leased at closing by tenants including Centaur Technology and Bulldog Solutions.
Mesa West’s floating-rate loan included future funding for an extensive capital improvement program and leasing costs associated with repositioning and stabilizing the property. CapRidge plans to completely redesign all common areasand improve property landscaping, signage and lighting.
“When it completes the renovation, CapRidge will be able to leverage the strong market fundamentals and leasing in the Northwest submarket by re-positioning Lakewood on the Park as a well-located value alternative to the higher-priced space in competitive buildings,” said Mesa West Vice President Jason Bressler, who originated the financing.
Bressler called the Loop 360 corridor Austin’s strongest performing suburban submarket. The area maintained 90 percent occupancy and returned 6 percent rent growth over the past five years despite more than 650,000 square feet of deliveries in that time.