Dale Watchowski, chief investment officer at Kojaian, says his company gratefully grabbed the property. "We felt as though the fact that Prentiss is divesting assets in Michigan presented a good opportunity to buy," Watchowski told GlobeSt.com.

The three-story Seven Mile site at I-275 and Seven Mile Road is near Kojaian's large office complex, Victor Corporate Center, and a new office development by the company in Farmington Hills, at the former Bank One building site. "There, we have about 125 acres, where we're developing a 200,000-sf build-to-suit for Motorola," he says.

Watchowski said he couldn't reveal exactly how much his company paid for the Seven Mile site, but added a "good guess" would be $40 million. Matthew Fenster of Paragon Corporate Realty Services Inc. of Bingham Farms, MI says Prentiss had been asking $130 per sf to $135 per sf for the Seven Mile complex.

Kojaian leases the Seven Mile complex property from its owner, Schoolcraft College."Our company has a ground lease for the property; we're in essence paying rent to Schoolcraft," he says.

Plans for the new acquisition are to maintain the building, and continue to renew leases as they roll over, Watchowski notes. Occupancy in the building is in the mid-90% range and company officials are currently determining new lease rates. Fenster says class A office space is leasing for $23.38 per sf in the I-275 area.

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Kojaian Takes Advantage of Prentiss Divestiture to Grab Livonia Office Building

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