Denver, CO (Nov. 15, 2021)
Ascentris, Highline Real Estate Capital and SQUARE2 Capital announced the acquisition of Westside Plaza I, II and III, a three-building, four-story, 372,639-square-foot Class A office campus located at 8400, 8300 and 8200 NW 33rd Street in Doral, Florida.
The LEED Silver-certified buildings were constructed between 1996 and 2001 by Codina Partners and have maintained an average occupancy of 90% since completion. The property’s strong historical occupancy has been driven by its premier location within a half mile of CityPlace Doral, one of the city’s most prominent retail destinations featuring 22 restaurants, a Fresh Market supermarket and a luxury movie theater.
The property also benefits from direct access to major transportation corridors including the Palmetto and Dolphin Expressways and the Florida Turnpike, allowing convenient access to residential areas and employment centers throughout Miami-Dade County.
The property’s occupancy recently declined to 73% following a tenant move-out and is expected to decrease further to 51% in the fourth quarter of 2022 due to a tenant consolidation within Doral. These vacancies provide an opportunity for the partnership to complete extensive renovations and re-lease the space in one of Miami’s top-performing office submarkets.
Planned renovations include upgrades to the lobbies, common areas and restrooms, along with the addition of a conference center, fitness facility, tenant lounge and café. Exterior improvements will include new landscaping, paint, monument signage and the creation of outdoor seating and collaboration areas.
“We are excited to bring a significantly improved office experience to the current and future tenants of this high-quality property,” said David Moret, President of Highline. “Benefiting from the highest net absorption for Class A office space of any Miami submarket in the third quarter of 2021, the Airport/Doral submarket is primed for further demand, especially in property of the caliber we’ll unveil post capital improvements.”
“Ascentris is focused on acquiring well-located, highly amenitized office properties in the top-performing suburban submarkets within specific growth corridors across the United States,” said Tricia Noble, Partner and Managing Director at Ascentris. “The ability to create Class A amenities at the property and re-lease the situational vacancies with the strong tailwinds of Miami’s in-migration and growth story is exciting. We are excited to partner with the Highline and SQUARE2 teams who together bring decades of South Florida investment knowledge and operational experience.”
“We are pleased to be acquiring this best-in-class office property with Ascentris,” said Jay Caplin, Principal with SQUARE2. “We have been tracking the Doral office market with Ascentris for the past two years because of its increasing residential density, limited land for future office development and its highly centralized location within Miami, which led to this joint venture acquisition.”
CBRE Capital Markets’ Chris Lee, Jose Lobon, Andrew Chilgren and Marcos Minaya represented the seller in the transaction. Acquisition financing was arranged by Amy Julien of CBRE Capital Markets. Steven Hurwitz and Doug Okun from JLL will handle leasing, and SQUARE2 Management will provide on-site property management.
About Ascentris
Ascentris is a real estate private equity firm based in Denver, Colorado. With over $2.2 billion in assets under management, Ascentris manages a series of fully discretionary institutional vehicles targeting both value-add and core investments across major property types and geographic regions within the United States.
Since 2003, Ascentris’ management team has relied on an investment philosophy and organizational structure that enables investors to access opportunities ahead of the market while receiving a high level of service, transparency and accountability. Ascentris is a privately held and management-owned SEC registered investment adviser committed to putting its investors’ needs first. Additional information is available at www.ascentris.com.
About Highline Real Estate Capital
Highline Real Estate Capital is a Miami-based value-focused real estate investment company that invests in office and retail assets throughout Florida and the Southeast. The firm seeks opportunities where value can be enhanced through temporary market dislocations and proactive asset management.
Highline’s principals bring extensive experience across all facets of real estate ownership, operations and investment, enabling the firm to identify opportunities and create value through hands-on management. Additional information is available at www.highlinerecapital.com.
About SQUARE2 Capital
SQUARE2 Capital is an investment management company based in Miami that invests and operates throughout Florida and the Southeast. The firm focuses on transformational real estate investing, guiding assets through changes in form, appearance and operational performance.
Leveraging deep industry expertise and a multi-cycle track record as a manager, owner and operator, SQUARE2 targets both on- and off-market opportunities where it can implement strategies to create differentiated office environments. For more information, visit www.s2c.com.
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