HFF closes sale of and arranges financing for Research Triangle market transaction
Chicago-based Origin Investments has acquired Keystone 100, an approximately 62,300-square-foot, Class A office building within Keystone Office Park in Durham, North Carolina, from Herndon, VA-based American Real Estate Partners for an undisclosed purchase price.
Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. completed the investment transaction, representing American Real Estate Partners, and arranged acquisition financing for Origin Investments.
Keystone 100 is a two-story office building located at 630 Davis Drive, within Keystone Office Park. The broader Keystone Office Park is a three-building business park conveniently situated close to Interstates 40 and 540 and the Triangle Expressway, providing easy access to downtown Raleigh, downtown Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill and the Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
This location is particularly appealing to Origin Investments because of its immediate proximity to the Research Triangle Park. Additionally, a major mixed-use project, led by Atlanta-based Pollack Shores, is under construction directly across Hopson Road. When completed later this year, it will provide immediate walkability to retail amenities. The property also benefits from numerous surrounding academic institutions, including Duke University, The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University.
Tenants occupying space at Keystone 100 include ZTE, Inno Clinical, State of North Carolina and Oriel Therapeutics. Upon acquisition, Origin will complete a building modernization program to update the lobby, fitness center and other common area and amenity spaces.
According to David Welk, Managing Director of Acquisitions for Origin Investments, the characteristics of this acquisition are in keeping with the firm’s investment platform.
“We look for modern, well-located assets like Keystone 100 that can be successfully repositioned in the local market,” Welk said. “The continued growth of the Research Triangle marketplace warrants the investment we are making in acquiring and further modernizing Keystone 100.”
“We are excited about and committed to the Research Triangle area,” Welk concluded. “It remains an area where strong growth potential is being forecasted and realized.”
The investment opportunity at Keystone 100 is similar to Origin’s investment in 2015 when it acquired 2605 Meridian Parkway, a 73,446-square-foot, Class A office building in the Research Triangle market. After acquiring that asset at 72 percent leased, Origin completed a modernization program and re-tenanting of the property, including the relocation of Avaya and its 43,500-square-foot requirement to the building. Origin now owns three office assets in the West Raleigh and Durham markets.
The HFF investment sales team representing the seller was led by director Scot Humphrey, senior managing director Ryan Clutter and associate director Chris Lingerfelt. HFF’s debt placement team representing the buyers was led by director Cory Fowler.
“Keystone Office Park is one of the region’s premier business parks and we were pleased to see such high institutional interest in this asset,” commented Humphrey.
About Origin Investments
Founded in 2007, Origin Investments is a real estate investment firm that acquires office and multifamily properties in eight fast-growing markets: Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston and Raleigh, with offices in Chicago, Charlotte, Dallas and Denver. Origin has more than $600 million dollars in assets under management. The firm also offers its investment opportunities to accredited investors at origininvestments.com.
Origin is currently raising capital for its Fund III, a $150 million fund for which it has already raised $100 million in committed capital, including a $10 million commitment from the firm’s cofounders, David Scherer and Michael Episcope. Origin’s previous two funds are averaging a 24% Net return to investors and have been ranked by Preqin as top quartile.
About HFF
Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P., HFF Securities L.P. and HFF Securities Limited are owned by HFF, Inc. (NYSE: HF). HFF operates out of 24 offices and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the global commercial real estate industry. HFF, together with its affiliates, offers clients a fully integrated capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, equity placement, advisory services, loan sales and commercial loan servicing. For more information please visit hfflp.com or follow HFF on Twitter @HFF.
About American Real Estate Partners
American Real Estate Partners, a vertically integrated real estate fund manager, invests alongside of a cross section of domestic and international institutional partners. The firm concentrates primarily on acquiring Class A office assets, as well as real estate related financial instruments in markets throughout the Mid-Atlantic along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Since October 2003, American Real Estate Partners has completed 39 acquisitions totaling 15.1 million square feet, with an aggregate capitalization of $3.2 billion. The firm’s current portfolio totals 6.7 million square feet. For more information about American Real Estate Partners, please review the firms’ website at www.americanrepartners.com, or contact Jon Dishell, Managing Director of Fund Management and Investor Relations at JDishell@americanREpartners.com.
