Workspace Property Trust, a consortium led by Thomas Rizk and Roger Thomas and a privately-held commercial real estate company, has purchased an additional 1 million square feet across six class A office buildings in five markets across the U.S. from Griffin Realty Trust Inc. for $170.4 million.
The six buildings, located in suburban Chicago, Dallas, San Jose, Cincinnati and Greensboro, N.C., increase the size of Workspace’s holdings to 19 million square feet with over 200 buildings in 23 metropolitan markets in the U.S. GRT will retain a minority ownership in the portfolio.
“Investing in the suburban office market has evolved quickly from a contrarian play into a sought-after, mainstream and competitive sector as the suburbs continue to perform well, characterized by continued robust leasing activity fueled by strong demand from larger, national tenants to increase their footprint outside of central business districts,” states Rizk. “We see compelling opportunities for growth – both in our existing footprint as well as in select growth markets – and will continue to work with our large corporate partners to deliver solutions to their office needs in the suburbs.”
UBS provided debt financing. Newmark Group served as advisor to Workspace on the debt financing. Seyfarth Shaw LLP and McCausland Keen + Buckman served as legal counsel to Workspace.