Press Releases

July 30, 2018


Jacksonville, FL – Transwestern today announces it has closed the $24.47 million sale of BB&T Tower, a 285,497-square-foot, 18-story office tower at 200 W. Forsyth St. in downtown Jacksonville, Florida. Transwestern Managing Director John Bell marketed and led the sale of the landmark asset on behalf of the seller, special servicer LNR Partners and John Mitchell, its Asset Manager. The building sold on the Ten-X auction platform to Talara Investment Group LLC.

Since LNR Partners took the title of the iconic downtown Jacksonville office building, Mitchell implemented a successful leasing strategy to preserve occupancy and renew expiring tenants resulting in a solid credit rent roll while managing $3.87 million in key property upgrades to enhance the asset’s value and tenant experience. Included was an elevator modernization program with North Florida’s first state-of-the-art destination dispatch elevators.

“The BB&T Tower listing was a unique opportunity to acquire a trophy landmark with value-add characteristics in that it is 63 percent leased with in-place income, positioned to experience an expedited lease-up with new and committed long-term ownership,” said Bell. “The property offers a prospective anchor tenant signage at the top of one of downtown’s most prominent locations, a rare point of differentiation.”

BB&T Tower underwent an intense bidding process with over 300 confidentiality agreements from capital sources across the country and internationally, underscoring the investment market’s confidence in Jacksonville.

Bell added, “This was the most sought-after office investment in Jacksonville to-date this year.”

Bell has executed real estate transactions in excess of $4 billion across all asset types with a primary focus on the Florida and Southeast U.S. markets. He is an expert in trophy and distressed assets and has a diverse roster of institutional, private, and special servicer clients.

ABOUT TRANSWESTERN

Transwestern is a privately held real estate firm of collaborative entrepreneurs who deliver a higher level of personalized service – the Transwestern Experience. Specializing in Agency Leasing, Tenant Advisory, Capital Markets, Asset Services and Research, our fully integrated global enterprise adds value for investors, owners and occupiers of all commercial property types. We leverage market insights and operational expertise from members of the Transwestern family of companies specializing in development, real estate investment management and research. Based in Houston, Transwestern has 35 U.S. offices and assists clients through more than 211 offices in 36 countries as part of a strategic alliance with BNP Paribas Real Estate. Experience Extraordinary at transwestern.com and @Transwestern.

Media Contact:

Typhanie Stewart

954.873.2204

typhanie@stir-communications.com

twmediarelations@transwestern.com

John Bell

Senior Managing Director

Miami, Florida

(305) 808-7820