Dealmaker: CBRE Global Investors Fund Acquires Office Pittsburgh Building
A fund advised by CBRE Global Investors, Los Angeles, acquired Liberty Center, a 27-story Class A office building in downtown Pittsburgh, Pa.
The firm did not release precise terms, but the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported a nearly $98 million transaction price for the building at 1001 Liberty Ave. Starwood Capital Group, Greenwich, Conn., acquired the asset in 2013.
“Institutional demand for Pittsburgh office has increased significantly,” said CBRE Global Investors Americas Chief Investment Officer Vance Maddocks. “The metro has particularly strong educational and cultural institutions, which has allowed for a more diversified economy. The Pittsburgh central business district office market has one of the lowest vacancy rates in the United States.”
Maddocks noted that the CBD location offers tenants access to the city’s Cultural District, David Lawrence Convention Center, the Strip District and the Pittsburgh Amtrak Station.
Financial services company Federated Investors occupies the 529,000-square-foot property as its headquarters.
Maddocks said Pittsburgh’s downtown area has recently seen a migration toward the Strip District due to the arrival of well-known technology companies and new restaurants, bars and apartment communities opening, and said Liberty Center is positioned to benefit from the improving neighborhood.
In November 2016, CBRE Global Investors acquired Park Square Campus in Portland, Ore. for a European client. The 296,000-square-foot two-building office campus is 97.5 percent leased with an 8.7-year weighted-average lease term.
“With a strong job market and an unemployment rate that has fallen below the national average, coupled with its natural beauty, Portland is a desirable market benefiting from its role as a relatively low-cost tech hub as well as its diverse roster of other industries,” said CBRE Global Investors Americas Managing Director and Portfolio Manager Stu Sziklas.
The Urban Land Institute ranked Portland a Top 10 Investment Market for 2016, citing the city’s 60 percent GDP growth over the past 10 years.
