Taconic's flagship high-tech development fills up fast
New York-based Taconic Investment Partner's flagship 111 Eighth Ave. development has secured two more high-profile tenants, who have taken a combined total of 175,000 sq. ft.
Kansas City, Mo.-based Sprint Corp. has signed a long-term lease for an additional 100,000 sq. ft. The company currently occupies 85,000 sq. ft.
In a separate transaction, Vancouver, British Columbia-based 360networks has leased 75,000 sq. ft. at 111 Eighth Ave. The structure now is fully leased.
Together, the two companies will occupy the entire 10th floor, where they will house collocation facilities and data switches. The New York State Insurance Fund, which previously occupied space on the floor, consolidated its offices to another location in Manhattan.
Locally based Insignia/ESG represented Taconic in the transaction. Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle represented Sprint, while locally based Technology Real Estate represented 360networks.
Formerly the headquarters of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Taconic began redeveloping 111 Eighth Ave. when it acquired the 3 million sq. ft. building in 1998. The structure occupies an entire city block between Eighth and Ninth avenues and 15th and 16th streets in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood.
Gale & Wentworth picks Citadon for online project management
Florham Park, N.J.-based Gale & Wentworth (G&W) has selected San Francisco-based Citadon Inc. to provide online project management services for two New Jersey office developments. G&W initially will use the entire Citadon product line on the Siemens development in Woodbridge, N.J., which includes three, 8-story office buildings and five remaining buildings at Gale & Wentworth's Mountain View Corporate Center in Bernardsville, N.J. The Citadon agreement is valued at $2.7 million.
Gale & Wentworth eventually will implement Citadon's online management system across 75 large-scale projects and 450 smaller tenant-improvement projects. The deal includes a three-year agreement that will replace the developer/owner's legacy client server project management system with Citadon's ProjectNet online application. Citadon and G&W will work to integrate Citadon's technology through all phases of the supply chain, including shop drawings, invoicing, collaborative project management and facilities management.
Olympus partnership acquires LightSpeed Miami Center
A partnership led by Dallas-based Olympus Real Estate Corp. has acquired LightSpeed Miami Center, formerly known as Beacon Tradeport, in Miami's Airport West submarket. The partnership includes: Olympus; Landmark Real Estate Fund III, a fund sponsored by Simsbury, Conn.-based Landmark Partners Inc.; The Swerdlow Group, Hollywood, Fla.; and Greenwood Properties, an affiliate of New York-based Deutsche Bank. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
LightSpeed Miami Center consists of 710,000 sq. ft. of industrial space, 527,000 sq. ft. of telecom space and 75 acres for future telecom development. The property is located four miles west of Miami International Airport near the Florida Turnpike. It features underground telecommunications networking that includes high-speed SONET and gigabit-Ethernet connectivity between each building. At the park, Atlanta-based BellSouth is building a NAP, an interconnecting point for telecommunications providers serving the Internet. NAPs are currently operating in Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
CBRE, CalPERS complete high-tech private equity fund
Global Innovation Partners LLC, a joint venture between Los Angeles-based CB Richard Ellis Investors and the California Public Employees Retirement System, Sacramento, Calif., has raised $526 million for its first private equity fund.
The partnership also announced that Eric Harrison, a venture capitalist with extensive experience in the Internet infrastructure and networking sectors, has been appointed managing director of Global Innovation Partners. Prior to joining Global Innovation Partners, Harrison was a partner at Los Altos, Calif.-based Crosspoint Ventures.
Global Innovation Partners will invest primarily in technology-based, later-stage growth businesses and buyout situations. Targeted sectors for investment include telecommunications, Internet infrastructure, IT, energy management and technology intensive real estate. The fund, which was formed late last year, has opened offices in Los Angeles, Boston and London.
AvidXchange finds financial services dancing partner
Charlotte, N.C.-based AvidXchange has signed an agreement with Stamford, Conn.-based GE Capital Commercial Services that allows AvidXchange customers access to GE Capital's risk management services and working capital facility applications.
Augmenting AvidXchange's e-procurement capabilities, the GE Capital Commercial Services deal includes off-balance-sheet financing for business transactions, credit protection and insurance, and receivables management services for AvidXchange customers.