IBM Vacating Site of Classified, High-Tech Research, Creating 143,000 SF of Leaseable Space

BOCA RATON, Fla.-Asking $20-triple-net per square foot, Cliff Stein really doesn’t expect too much trouble in leasing a fortress of a building IBM Corp. presently occupies on 16 acres just off I-95 in Boca Raton. The New York-based computer hardware and software maker is moving into a nearby 160,000-sf office building that Miami-based Codina Group is developing in the Beacon Square corporate park.

“Already, I’ve been approached by one or two major telecommunications companies,” Stein, president and CEO of Miami Beach-based Savitar Realty Advisors, tells GlobeSt.com. “For a tech company to replicate this building, you’re looking at $350 to $400 a square foot to duplicate.” Indeed, the 143,000-sf building Stein purchased for about $9.4 million in 1997 bears all the characteristics of a defense stronghold–built to operate almost under any act of human or nature.

“Back when IBM negotiated the sale-leaseback, it was a little different,” Stein says. “The lease rate, compared to today’s standard, was substantially below market value. I would entertain a sale, but it would have to be an attractive price.” Replete with 24-inch, poured concrete walls, the building at Military Trail and Spanish River Boulevard possesses some of the most highly sought-after amenities available in a high-tech data center.